BCRF Announces Grants to Support Early-Career Breast Cancer Researchers

Partnerships with leading cancer organizations continue to foster a new and diverse group of investigators in the field 

BCRF is committed to supporting promising researchers relatively early in their careers when funding may be more challenging to obtain. We have teamed up with leading cancer organizations Conquer Cancer, the ASCO Foundation and American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) to do this. BCRF is particularly focused on creating a more diverse scientific workforce and supporting researchers who are addressing existing breast cancer disparities. Our goal to increase diversity and inclusion in the oncology and academic research workforce early in the career trajectory is vital to ensuring that all investigators who wish to contribute to breast cancer research can do so.

We are proud to announce the 2024-25 award recipients. 

Conquer Cancer, the ASCO Foundation

The research topics explored by the Conquer Cancer award recipients are as diverse as the investigators themselves. All Conquer Cancer awards help support early- and mid-career investigators that have backgrounds not always well represented in academic medicine and breast cancer research. BCRF supports nine awards in three categories through Conquer Cancer this year.

The five awardees below received the Young Investigator Award, which allows them to build their career in clinical cancer research. These awards provide funding support during the transition from a fellowship program to a faculty appointment.

• Tendai Kwaramba, MSc, MD of Yale University is assessing precision treatment strategies patients with breast cancer in South Africa.
• Katherine Zhou, MD, PhD of Duke University is investigating biological mechanisms of metastasis in triple-negative breast cancer.
• Dana Narvaez, MD of the Alexander Fleming Institute in Argentina is testing strategies to better predict response to CDK4/6 inhibitors in patients with hormone receptor–positive metastatic breast cancer. Dr. Narvaez’s award is in honor of Susan Hirschhorn and in memory of her mother.
• Hazim Ababneh, MD of Massachusetts General Hospital is addressing breast cancer–related lymphedema in the Middle East. Dr. Ababneh’s award is in memory of Evelyn H. Lauder.
• Nataly Torrejon, MD of Baylor College of Medicine is developing new therapies for advanced HER2-positive breast cancer.

Two researchers received Career Development Awards, which support investigators who have received their first faculty appointment—helping them establish an independent patient-focused cancer research program.

• David Lim, MD of Women’s College Hospital in Toronto is investigating how social marginalization and variability in breast cancer care impacts outcomes in patients with invasive lobular carcinoma.
• Yara Abdou, MD of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is seeking ways to improve disease monitoring during triple-negative breast cancer treatment so that more effective therapeutic interventions can be made.

Two researchers received Advanced Clinical Research Awards that aim to increase diversity in the oncology workforce and breast cancer research:

• Cesar Santa-Maria, MD, MS of Johns Hopkins University is assessing tumor response early in triple-negative breast cancer treatment so therapy adjustments can be made.
• Roberto Leon-Ferre, MD of the Mayo Clinic is evaluating the utility of biomarkers to better predict the risk of recurrence in patients with triple-negative breast cancer who did not receive chemotherapy.

AACR Awards

BCRF supports three AACR Awards to promote diversity and inclusion. These awards support investigators from diverse backgrounds who are underrepresented in cancer research in order to build a more diverse and inclusive future for breast cancer research. The funded research projects are designed to accelerate the discovery, development, and application of new agents to treat breast cancer.

This year, two researchers were awarded Career Development Awards, which encourage and support investigators from diverse backgrounds who are underrepresented in the field, fostering their career advancement.

•  Paola Betancur, PhD of the University of California, San Francisco is uncovering genomic modulators of immune suppression to enable more personalized treatments that activate the immune system to destroy cancer cells.

• Francisco Sanchez-Vega, PhD of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center is developing artificial intelligence tools with more accurate predictive and prognostic capabilities in patients with breast cancer from underrepresented groups.

Our partnerships with these leading cancer organizations enable BCRF to support the next generation of breast cancer researchers. This is just one way that BCRF is working to diversify the breast cancer research field. And by doing so, we hope to facilitate balanced and equitable breast cancer care for patients across the country and the globe.