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Jim Cardelli rises each day, eats breakfast,
and then usually turns his attention to the task of gaining ground against
a daunting medical monster.
Cardelli, who turns 58 in December 2008, is a professor and Director of
Basic and Translational Research for the Feist-Weiller Cancer Center, LSU
Health Sciences Center. His laboratory studies four types of cancer:
breast, prostate, lung and brain cancer. It is difficult work. “As a
cancer research scientist, the frustration level often reaches the boiling
point,” Cardelli said.
Baseball helps him unwind.
A charter member of the Shreveport-Bossier MSBL, which formed in 1993,
Cardelli served as its president from 2004 to 2007. He still serves as its
director of public relations.
Cardelli’s tenure produced positive results. The league became a
tax-exempt organization – a bonus when it comes to league fundraising
events. Additionally, it adopted the use of wood bats. “Games are more
competitive and safer now,” he said. The league’s 27-and-over division
grew from eight to 12 teams in his four years, and in 2007 it formed a 37+
division.
As a means of promoting league camaraderie, Cardelli helped start an
annual all star game and awards banquet. “We hand out awards after the
final game including Cy Young, Manager of the Year, and Most Valuable
Player.” “The quality of play has improved,” Cardelli said, “but we still
have places for players at all talent levels.”
His crowning achievement blends his passion for science with his passion
for baseball. The annual “Pros versus Joes Benefit Baseball Game” he
started in 2007 raised $5,000 for the Prostate Cancer Foundation last
year, and more than $12,000 this year. The game pits Shreveport-Bossier
all stars against the Shreveport Sports, a professional, independent
league team.
Cardelli is quick to share credit for any league successes: Curtis
Dancy, Mark Cramer, Darien Dukes, and Jay Williams, all close
allies or league officials, were key contributors to positive change.
Cardelli grew up in the Chicago suburb of Riverside, and still vividly
recalls his greatest baseball memory: “It was the first time my dad took
me to see the White Sox play at Comiskey Park.” Those White Sox, however,
did not produce his all-time favorite player – Derek Jeter. “He is truly
an impact player,” Cardelli said.
Cardelli plays a big role on his team of laboratory and clinical
scientists. For example, his team’s research on the cancer-slowing
properties of green tea has
produced promising clinical results. That team is now attempting to
understand how compounds in green tea can be improved and best used to
prevent cancer from spreading . That process – from the laboratory, to the
patient, and back to the laboratory is known as translational research.
At the end of a day at work, or a hard-fought game on the diamond,
Cardelli retreats to the friendly confines of his home. “I have two great
cats and a very unique English Springer Spaniel named Segue.” Cardelli is
engaged to Dr. Jill Williams a Professor at the Health Sciences Center and
involved in cancer research. “She “keeps my keel even,” he said.
After four years as League President, Cardelli decided “it was good to let
others have the reins.” #
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Jim Cardelli,
A Man for All Seasons
Jim Cardelli of the Shreveport-Bossier MSBL led as its
president from 2004 to 2007 and now serves as its director of public
relations. When he is not playing or promoting baseball, Cardelli is a
cutting edge research scientist who wages war against cancer.
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