Emeritus Investigators

BCRF’s sustained support has enabled these brilliant researchers to pursue their best ideas unhindered. Their innovative use of BCRF funds has enabled the Foundation to advance its mission to end breast cancer and become the highest-rated and most-impactful breast cancer research organization in the country.

Even after their BCRF funding comes to a conclusion, these emeritus investigators remain an integral part of BCRF—and scholars in the scientific community. For this reason, BCRF has established the BCRF Emeritus Investigator distinction to honor those longstanding BCRF researchers whose academic careers and achievements in the field have greatly advanced BCRF’s mission and impact.

Drs. Smith and Dowsett have worked collaboratively with researchers across the globe (including many BCRF investigators) in studies primarily focused on the treatment of early-stage ER-positive breast cancer. While ER-positive breast cancers have the best five-year prognosis, recurrences beyond five years are common. The BCRF-supported studies led by Drs. Smith and Dowsett have focused on identifying and validating predictive markers for risk of recurrence, as well improving response to endocrine therapies.

Their landmark POETIC trial paved the way for the validation of Ki67 as a clinical predictive marker for response to endocrine therapy in the neoadjuvant (presurgical) setting. The follow-up POETIC A study is now testing the tumor marker for response to CDK4/6-directed therapy.

Their BCRF-supported work has been reported in numerous major publications and will continue to impact the lives of patients and inspire the work of the next generation of translational scientists for years to come.

During most of his years as a BCRF investigator, Dr. Hayes used his BCRF funding to support collaborative efforts conducted through the North American Breast Cancer Group (NABCG) and European Breast International Group (BIG) Correlative Sciences Committees.

This includes supporting four major initiatives: performance of peer-reviewed correlative science studies using specimens collected from patients who have participated NABCG clinical trials; infrastructure projects to facilitate the correlative science projects; workshops and process evaluations to stimulate new or improved approaches to correlative science (such as pharmacogenomics, high throughput omics, screening circulating tumor markers, and analysis of Ki67); and novel prospective correlative science trials in both North America and Europe.

This work resulted in several landmark papers, new ideas that were later tested in clinical trials such as the TAILORx and RxPONDER, and the standardization of one of the important clinical biomarkers, Ki67. In the process, Dr. Hayes leveraged his BCRF funding to support several junior investigators who are now leaders in our field, including (but not limited to) Drs. Theodoros Foukakis, Sherene Loi, Cynthia Ma, Mei-Yin Polley, Aleix Prat, Lajos Pusztai, Kathryn Ruddy, Priyanka Sharma, and Song Yao.

Drs. Hortobagyi and Hung have been long-term collaborators on BCRF-funded projects. Their work focused on: discovering novel targets in breast cancer; developing combination drug approaches to improve response to targeted therapies, including PARP inhibitors and immunotherapy; and identifying biomarkers to match patients with appropriate targeted therapy.
Throughout their BCRF funding history, Drs. Hortobagyi and Hung co-authored more than 30 papers related to their BCRF-supported work. Dr. Hortobagyi served on BCRF’s Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) from its inception in 1994 to 2022, including as SAB Chair (2018 to 2019).

In addition to his collaboration with Dr. Hung, he has been involved in many pioneering advances in breast cancer treatment—specifically in the advancing neoadjuvant (presurgical) therapy. He has served as chair and principal investigator of the MONALEESA trial, which demonstrated a significant improvement in overall survival in patients with advanced estrogen receptor (ER)–positive, HER2-negative breast cancer receiving the CDK4/6 inhibitor ribociclib (Kisqali®) plus letrozole compared to letrozole alone.
He received many prestigious awards, including the William L. McGuire Memorial Lecture Award (2013), the Gianni Bonadonna Breast Cancer Award (2018), and the David A. Karnofsky Memorial Award (2019). He was inducted into the Giants of Cancer Care® program in 2015.

Dr. Hung is internationally recognized for his studies on signal transduction pathways as well as molecular mechanisms of tumorigenesis. He has received numerous awards, including the Society of Chinese Bioscientists in America’s Lifetime Achievement Award (2017) and the Presidential Award (2011), as well as the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center’s LeMaistre Outstanding Achievement Award (2011). In 2010, he was elected as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.