SUSAN G. KOMEN® INVESTS $21.7 MILLION IN RESEARCH FOCUSED ON IMPROVING OUTCOMES FOR BREAST CANCER PATIENTS

Susan G. Komen^®, the world’s leading breast cancer organization, is awarding $21.7 million to fund 48 new research projects at 26 distinguished academic medical institutions in the U.S. that are focused on improving patient outcomes – particularly for people with the most aggressive breast cancers, or who have experienced a recurrence or metastasis. With this investment, Komen is now supporting more than 152 active research projects representing more than $115 million in funding.

“The investment we are announcing today in a broad portfolio of cutting-edge research will help advance breast cancer care and improve outcomes for all people diagnosed with breast cancer, including underserved populations and those with few treatment options,” said Victoria Wolodzko Smart, SVP of Mission at Susan G. Komen. “With this investment, we’re supporting some of the top breast cancer researchers who share our mission and giving everyone impacted by breast cancer hope, as we move closer to the cures for breast cancers.”

Of the total $21.7 million awarded today: 

• 79 percent supports research focused on the most aggressive breast cancers, metastasis and recurrence;
• 33 percent supports clinical trials;
• 20 percent supports research focused on eliminating breast cancer disparities; 

“We still have much to learn about aggressive breast cancers and breast cancers that recur and metastasize. This critical research investment from Susan G. Komen will help us unravel the biology of breast cancers to better understand how to prevent breast cancer recurrence and metastasis, and develop more treatment options, including new treatments for people living with metastatic breast cancer,” said Jennifer Pietenpol, Ph.D., Susan G. Komen Chief Scientific Advisor. 

Pietenpol also serves as the Benjamin F. Byrd, Jr. Professor of Oncology, Chief Scientific and Strategy Officer and Executive Vice President for Research at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. 

Komen research grants are being awarded to the following study investigators at 26 preeminent U.S. institutions: 

Julie Palmer, Sc.D., M.P.H., Boston University
Jennifer Ligibel, M.D., FASCO, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Nancy Lin, M.D., Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Kornelia Polyak, M.D., Ph.D., Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Sara Tolaney, M.D., M.P.H., Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Nikhil Wagle, M.D., Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Sunil Badve, M.D., FRCPath, Emory University School of Medicine
Maria Sosa, Ph.D., Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Tarah Ballinger, M.D., Indiana University
Pedram Razavi, M.D., Ph.D., Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Jorge Reis-Filho, M.D., Ph.D., FRCPath, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Sohrab Shah, Ph.D., Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Lisa Coussens, Ph.D., Oregon Health & Science University
Yibin Kang, Ph.D., Princeton University
Hai Wang, Ph.D., Roswell Park Cancer Institute
Christina Curtis, Ph.D., M.S., Stanford University School of Medicine
Melinda Telli, M.D., Stanford University School of Medicine
Allison Kurian, M.D., M.Sc., Stanford University School of Medicine
Haruka Itakura, M.D., Ph.D., Stanford University School of Medicine
Daniel Hollern, Ph.D., The Salk Institute for Biological Studies
Reshma Jagsi, M.D., D.Phil., University of Michigan
Melissa Troester, Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Angela DeMichele, M.D., M.S.C.E., University of Pennsylvania
Adrian Lee, Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh
Steffi Oesterreich, Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh
Alana Welm, Ph.D., University of Utah Huntsman Cancer Institute
Amelie Ramirez, Dr.P.H., M.P.H., UT Health San Antonio
Mariana Chavez MacGregor, M.D., M.Sc., FASCO, UT M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
Sharon Giordano, M.D., M.P.H., FASCO, UT M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
Srinivas Malladi, Ph.D., UT Southwestern Medical Center
Tuya Pal, M.D., Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Ben Ho Park, M.D., Ph.D., Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Jennifer Pietenpol, Ph.D., Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Sonya Reid, M.D., Ph.D., Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Cynthia Ma, M.D., Ph.D., Washington University
Rulla Tamini, Sc.D., Weill Cornell College of Cornell University
Mariya Rozenblit, M.D., Yale University
Lajos Pusztai, M.D., D.Phil., Yale University

Komen has invested more than $1 billion in breast cancer research in the 40 years since its founding, more than any other non-profit, and second only to the U.S. government.