The Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF) Scientific Advisory Board and its Board of Directors recently announced its $60.2 million commitment to fund breast cancer research in 2023-2024, supporting more than 250 scientists at leading academic and medical institutions, including eight grants at Yale Cancer Center and Smilow Cancer Hospital. Currently receiving funding through the BCRF are Kim Blenman, PhD, MS, Mehra Golshan, MD, MBA, Melinda Irwin, PhD, MPH, Adriana Kahn, MD, Ian Krop, MD, PhD, Lajos Pusztai, MD, David Rimm, MD, PhD, and Eric Winer, MD, to support their research.
Dr. Kim Blenman received a BCRF-AACR Career Development Award funded by The von Mandl Family Foundation. Her area of research focuses on identifying immune biomarkers of treatment adverse events. Dr. Blenman hypothesizes that B cells and their secreted products play important regulatory functions and mediate some therapy-induced autoimmune and other immune-mediated side effects across treatment regimens. Dr. Blenman is an Assistant Professor of Medicine (Medical Oncology) and Assistant Professor of Computer Science.
Dr. Mehra Golshan’s work has been funded since 2014; he is the recipient of the Hale Family Award from the BCRF. His area of research is focused on improving breast-conserving surgery and increasing screening and treatment uptake in rural India. To address these challenges, he led a clinical trial to test new approaches to interoperative MRI (iMRI) to reduce re-excision rates following surgery for breast cancer and is now assessing the use of iMRI during surgery and working to identify cancer biomarkers to achieve excision of the entire tumor. Dr. Golshan is a Professor of Surgery (Oncology); Deputy Chief Medical Officer for Surgical Services at Smilow Cancer Hospital; and Executive Vice Chair, Surgery.
Dr. Melinda Irwin is the recipient of The Westchester Women’s Award in Memory of Marla Mehlman. Her research examining the effects of lifestyle interventions and their integration into a personalized care plan has been funded by the BCRF since 2013. Her team has completed the first year of a phase III clinical trial, The Lifestyle, Exercise And Nutrition Early after Diagnosis (LEANer) Study. Dr. Irwin is the Associate Dean of Research and Susan Dwight Bliss Professor of Epidemiology (Chronic Diseases), Yale School of Public Health; Deputy Director (Public Health), Yale Center for Clinical Investigation; and Deputy Director, Yale Cancer Center.
Dr. Adriana Kahn was recently awarded the 2023 Conquer Cancer – Breast Cancer Research Foundation ® Young Investigator Award (YIA) for diversity and inclusion in breast cancer research. The funding support will help Dr. Kahn conduct molecular analysis of primary tumors and metastases to better inform therapeutic decision making. The goal of her research is to use new molecular techniques to determine if receptor status change is due to the limitations of current subtyping methods, or if it reflects a true change in the biology of the disease. Dr. Kahn is an Assistant Professor of Medicine (Medical Oncology).
Dr. Ian Krop’s research has been funded since 2017 to help improve HER2 testing so that more patients can benefit from HER2-targeted therapy. He has developed a new HER2 test optimized for the HER2-low expression range which more accurately distinguishes patients who may benefit from T-DXd. Dr. Krop is a Professor of Medicine (Medical Oncology); Associate Cancer Center Director, Clinical Research; Director, Clinical Trials Office; and Chief Clinical Research Officer, Yale Cancer Center.
Since 2002, Dr. Lajos Pusztai has been funded by the BCRF to identify combination treatments that will improve the effectiveness of chemotherapy and immunotherapy in patients with aggressive breast cancers. His team recently identified a subset of patients with estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancers who benefited from immune checkpoint therapy before surgery. Dr. Pusztai is a Professor of Medicine (Medical Oncology) and Co-Leader of the Genetics, Genomics, and Epigenetics Research Program at Yale Cancer Center.
Dr. David Rimm has been funded since 2012 and is the recipient of The Housewares Charity Foundation Award. He and his research team are assessing diagnostic tests to help clinicians personalize breast cancer treatment by matching patients with the best treatment for their breast cancer. His lab has demonstrated that an inexpensive test that measures the presence of a proliferation marker called Ki67 in tumor biopsies can identify which patients need chemotherapy. Dr. Rimm is the Anthony N. Brady Professor of Pathology and Professor of Medicine (Medical Oncology); Director, Yale Cancer Center Tissue Microarray Facility; and Director, Yale Pathology Tissue Services.
Dr. Eric Winer is the recipient of The Play for P.I.N.K. Aquidneck Club Award and has been funded by the BCRF since 2003. Dr. Winer is looking to better understand how and when to incorporate lifestyle interventions during breast cancer treatment and the effects on biomarkers of breast cancer. His team is analyzing EMR data from a racially and ethnically diverse cohort of women to assess associations between BMI, muscle loss, treatment adherence, and mortality. Dr. Winer is Director, Yale Cancer Center; President and Physician-in-Chief, Smilow Cancer Hospital; and the Alfred Gilman Professor of Medicine and Pharmacology.
Researchers do not apply for BCRF grants but, rather, are invited to apply by the BCRF’s Scientific Advisors. The grant-review process involves rigorous assessment and examination of creative new directions in clinical and translational breast cancer research in need of seed funding.