Supporting Those Who Support the Cause
Susan G. Komen invests in the future of breast cancer research by announcing its latest slate of breast cancer research grants. Since 1982, Komen has invested over $1 billion dollars in breast cancer research. These new grants further cement Komen’s role in funding scientific discoveries and driving breakthroughs that improve outcomes for people facing breast cancer, supporting early-career investigators and established researchers alike, focusing on high-impact studies that have the potential to change how we understand, diagnose and treat breast cancer.
Each grant represents a powerful investment in the future. For many established breast cancer scientists, this support allows them to venture into novel and high-risk, high-reward areas that have the potential to drastically shape clinical practice.
Career Catalyst Research Grants
Career Catalyst Research (CCR) Grants fund promising breast cancer researchers who are in the early stages of their faculty careers.
- Chun-Kan Chen, Ph.D., M.S., Washington University, Missouri
Using Special RNA Targets to Develop a Breast Cancer Vaccine
Dr. Chen aims to find new ways to create more precise and effective breast cancer vaccines by exploring unique circular RNAs found only in breast cancer cells to train the immune system to better recognize and fight the disease.
- Miriam Jacobs, M.D., Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.
Enhancing Natural Killer Cell Activity Against Triple Negative Breast Cancer
Dr. Jacobs is leading a project to boost the body’s natural immune defenses to fight triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) by helping Natural Killer (NK) cells better recognize and attack TNBC, potentially leading to new treatment options.
- Martina Molgora, Ph.D., M.Sc., H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Florida
Impact of Soluble TREM2 on Breast Cancer Development and Progression
Dr. Molgora explores the role of the protein TREM2 in breast cancer development and progression, studying its potential as a biomarker and therapeutic target.
- Daniel O’Neil, M.D., M.P.H., Yale University, Connecicut
Implementing Home-Based Screening Clinical Breast Examination in South Africa
Dr. O’Neil is implementing home-based clinical breast examinations in South Africa, partnering with local community health workers to develop methods for at-home exams, offering a cost-efficient pathway for early detection.
- Claire Sathe, M.D., J.D., Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York
Prospective Study of Employment-Related Outcomes in Metastatic Breast Cancer (MBC)
Dr. Sathe is studying work disruptions in people newly diagnosed with MBC, assessing the frequency of job loss or reduced hours and analyzing contributing factors to develop strategies that mitigate job disruptions.
- Na Zhao, Ph.D., Baylor College of Medicine, Texas
Targeting eIF4A to Combat Metastatic Triple Negative Breast Cancer
Dr. Zhao is working on new strategies to treat TNBC lung and liver metastases by targeting the protein eIF4A, aiming to inform future clinical trials and develop novel combination therapies.
Career Transition Awards
Career Transition Awards (CTA) provide up to five years of funding in two phases. This award mechanism helps outstanding senior postdoctoral fellows and clinical fellows launch their competitive, independent careers in breast cancer research.
- Charles Dai, M.D., Massachusetts General Hospital, Massachusetts
Hyperactivating the Androgen Receptor in Triple Negative Breast Cancer
Dr. Dai explores a new treatment approach for TNBC by targeting the androgen receptor (AR), aiming to identify patients who might benefit and find markers to predict treatment response.
- Avantika Gupta, Ph.D., M.Sc., Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York
Characterizing Mutational Processes Driving Therapy Resistance in Breast Cancer
Dr. Gupta investigates how mutations in the protein APOBEC3 may cause breast cancer to become resistant to treatment, studying their effects on cancer cells to find vulnerabilities that can be targeted.
- Alissa Michel, M.D., Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York
Decision Support for Enhanced Breast MRI Screening in High-Risk Women
Dr. Michel aims to develop and test tools that empower women to make informed decisions about using MRI for breast screening, conducting usability studies and a clinical trial to boost screening among diverse high-risk groups.
- Veena Padmanaban, Ph.D., M.S., The Rockefeller University, New York
Mechanisms of Peripheral Nerve Co-option in Breast Cancer Metastasis
Dr. Padmanaban investigates how breast cancer may utilize nearby peripheral nerves to help it spread, aiming to uncover interactions that could reveal new ways to stop metastasis.
Leadership Grants
Leadership Grants provide funding to Komen’s Chief Scientific Advisors, Komen’s Scientific Advisory Board members and Komen Scholars for their innovative, hypothesis-driven research that aligns with Komen’s mission to save lives from breast cancer.
- Alan Ashworth, Ph.D., University of California San Francisco, California
Discovering Novel Immunotherapy Strategies to Treat Breast Cancer
Dr. Ashworth conducts studies to identify and test genes that could improve CAR-T and NK cell therapies for advanced breast cancer, aiming to enhance treatment effectiveness.
- Tuya Pal, M.D., Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Tennessee
Genetic Risk Education and Testing (GREAT) Information for Breast Cancer Care
Dr. Pal continues providing web-based genetic counseling to young Black women with breast cancer, enrolling more participants and researching genetic drivers of hereditary cancer to reduce disparities.
- Rulla Tamimi, Sc.D., M.S., Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York
Weight Management, Metabolomics Signatures and Breast Cancer Risk and Survival
Dr. Tamimi studies how various weight loss methods affect breast cancer risk and survival, aiming to clarify the impact of weight management strategies.
- Kornelia Polyak, M.D., Ph.D., Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Massachusetts
Breast Cancer Risk Prediction and Prevention Strategies
Dr. Polyak studies whether the protein midkine can help identify younger women at higher risk of developing breast cancer and explores how inherited gene mutations increase the chances of estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer.
- Christina Curtis, Ph.D., M.Sc., Stanford University School of Medicine, California
Molecular Determinants of Breast Cancer Progression and Recurrence
Dr. Curtis studies the tissue environment around breast cancer tumors in high-risk groups to understand what causes tumors to grow, resist treatment, or recur, aiming to improve patient stratification and therapy development.
- Jeffrey Rosen, Ph.D., Baylor College of Medicine, Texas
Treatment of Breast Cancer Metastasis by Therapeutic Manipulation of Macrophages
Dr. Rosen uses combination therapy of immune suppressive agents with tumor macrophage modulators in laboratory models of TNBC, identifying agents for future clinical trials targeting metastases.
- Tracy Battaglia, M.D., Yale University, Connecticut
AI-Assisted Navigation to Mitigate Hereditary Breast Cancer Testing Disparities
Dr. Battaglia aims to increase genetic testing for hereditary breast cancer, especially among Black patients, by implementing an AI algorithm to identify eligible individuals within a statewide care network.
- Allison Kurian, M.D., M.Sc., Stanford University School of Medicine, California
Spatial Molecular Imaging and Cell-Free DNA Analysis in the Diverse Breast Cancer Family Registry
Dr. Kurian explores why some women are more likely to die from breast cancer by studying data from diverse registries, using advanced technologies to analyze tumors and surrounding areas for molecular patterns associated with outcomes.
- Nancy Lin, M.D., Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Massachusetts
Identifying New Targets and Therapies for CNS Metastases from Breast Cancer
Dr. Lin uses patient samples to find new treatment targets for advanced breast cancer that has spread to the brain and spinal fluid, aiming to develop better therapies.
- Ben Ho Park, M.D., Ph.D., Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Tennessee
Targeting Spliceosome Mutations for Breast Cancer Therapy
Dr. Park explores how mutations in the protein SF3B1 contribute to breast cancer, using this knowledge to develop new treatments for tumors with this mutation.
- Jennifer Pietenpol, Ph.D., Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Tennessee
Triple Negative Breast Cancer: Subtypes, Molecular Targets, and Therapeutic Approaches
Dr. Pietenpol uses patient samples and lab models to better target and treat luminal androgen receptor (LAR) triple negative breast cancer, exploring combination therapies to find effective treatments.
Opportunity Grants
Opportunity Grants support innovative research projects that address critical gaps in breast cancer knowledge and have the potential to lead to significant advancements in the field of breast cancer research.
- Filipa Lynce, M.D., Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Massachusetts
Re-Optimization and Validation of the IBC Score in Diverse Patient Populations
Dr. Lynce is working to improve and validate the Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC) Score, a diagnostic tool that helps clinicians identify cases of IBC. This work will ensure the score is effective across diverse populations, supporting earlier and more accurate diagnoses.
- Michele Cote, Ph.D., M.P.H., Indiana University, Indiana
Susan G. Komen Tissue Bank at the IU Simon Cancer Center
Dr. Cote is receiving funding to support the Susan G. Komen Tissue Bank (KTB) at the IU Simon Cancer Center, the world’s only biorepository of normal breast tissue. Access to these normal breast tissue samples provides researchers the opportunity to understand how biological alterations in normal breast tissue can promote cancer development.
- Antonio Wolff, M.D., Johns Hopkins University, Maryland
The Translational Breast Cancer Research Consortium
Dr. Wolff’s funding supports the Translational Breast Cancer Research Consortium (TBCRC). The TBCRC, a group of 18 leading academic institutions and medical centers, provides a forum where investigators, advocates, coordinators, scientists and biostatisticians work together to plan and refine clinical trials, advancing breast cancer research. More than half of TBCRC trials have focused on metastatic breast cancer.
Scientific Strategy and Programs Grant
Scientific Strategy and Programs Grants support research that advances Komen’s mission priorities and strategic goals, often in partnership with other mission-driven organizations or focused on high-impact areas such as metastatic and inflammatory breast cancer.
- Adrian Lee, Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Understanding the Challenges and Potential of using Patient-Derived Breast Cancer Organoids
The breast cancer organoid workshop, led by Dr. Lee, will bring together research scientists and patient advocates to guide the next generation of breast cancer organoid research by sharing knowledge and experience in innovative technologies, protocols, techniques, and barriers to progress. The goal of the workshop is to stimulate collaboration and guide the next generation of breast cancer organoid research.
While these grants directly fund research, they also fuel possibility. By empowering the brightest minds at every stage of their careers, Komen is building a foundation for the next generation of discoveries. With each breakthrough, we move closer to a world without breast cancer.
