(Indianapolis, IN, May 13, 2005)—March of Dimes WalkAmerica, the well-known fund-raising event held in 48 sites in Indiana each year, raises funds to help scientists in Indiana and nationwide discover new and effective treatments in the effort to prevent prematurity, birth defects and infant mortality.
“Scientific research is the key to unlocking new and effective treatments for the greatest threats to the health and lives of babies,” says Tim Arndt, March of Dimes Indiana Chapter.  “Prematurity is the number one cause of death in the first month of life and birth defects continue to be the leading cause of death before age one.  March of Dimes supported research is looking into why babies are born too soon, sick and suffer disabilities and what can be done to save their lives.  No matter where the research is conducted the results will help Indiana children just like any discovery made by a researcher in Indiana will be used to help babies nationwide.” he says.
Indiana researchers working to save babies’ lives and receiving March of Dimes support from the March of Dimes National Office include:
# Xin Zhang, Ph.D., Asst. Professor, Department of Molecular Genetics, Indiana University School of Medicine. 
# Anthony Firulli, Ph,D., Department of Pediatrics, Indiana University, Indianapolis.
# Rebecca J. Chan, M.D., Ph.D., Department of Pediatrics in the Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics at the Herman B. Wells Center for Pediatric Research at Indiana University in Indianapolis.
# Kathleen Bethin, M.D., Ph.D., Asst. Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Indiana University.
WalkAmerica takes place in 48 communities in Indiana each year.  For more information on the WalkAmerica near you visit www.walkamerica.org or call 1-800-BIG-WALK. 
 In 2005 the national sponsors for WalkAmerica are CIGNA, Discovery Health Channel, Famous Footwear, Farmers Insurance, FedEx, Kmart, Mead Johnson Nutritionals and Prevention Magazine.

The March of Dimes is a national voluntary health agency whose mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects and infant mortality. Founded in 1938, the March of Dimes funds programs of research, community services, education, and advocacy to save babies and in 2003 launched a five-year campaign to address the increasing rate of premature birth. For more information, visit the March of Dimes Web site at marchofdimes.com/Indiana or its Spanish Web site at nacersano.org.