NEWS & PROGRESS

Recently Funded Research Blog

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Our Latest Updates

BCRFA Funds O’Neal Cancer Research with Recent Grants

April 22, 2024

The BCRFA is pleased to announce $210,000 in funding to…

BCRFA Funds UAB Research on Exercise, Gut Microbiome, and Breast Cancer: Increasing Reach to Underserved Populations (EMBRACE)

April 17, 2024

Dr. Laura Rogers, Professor in the Division of Preventive Medicine, Department…

Flamin’ Hot News: CahabaQue BBQ Cook-Off Raises Over $31,000 for Local Breast Cancer Research

April 16, 2024

Cahaba Brewing Company and the Breast Cancer Research Foundation of…

BCRFA Welcomes Jatava Burns As Marketing And Communications Coordinator

March 17, 2024

Jatava brings a decade of experience in the nonprofit sector…

It’s Great News for Breast Cancer Research! Over $140,000 raised at the 16th annual Pink Palace Casino Night

March 12, 2024

Over 200 guests joined the Breast Cancer Research Foundation of…

BCRFA Fuels UAB Breast Cancer Research With Recent Grants

February 26, 2024

The BCRFA is pleased to announce funding for three pre-RO1 breast cancer projects at the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB. Grantees will receive $160,000 over two years.

RECENTLY FUNDED RESEARCH

Thanks to generous supporters like you, the BCRFA invested $1.25 million in 35 breast cancer research projects at 8 institutes across the state in 2023.

Research Projects

Partner Institutes

Investment

Birmingham

Evaluating associations of rurality and neighborhood disadvantage with racial disparities in breast cancer mortality among women in the state of Alabama

Ritu Aneja, PhD

Neuropathological effects of chemotherapeutic drugs

Dr. Sofia Beas

Predicting the Risk of Heart Failure in Breast Cancer Survivors

Smita Bhatia, MD, MPH

Understanding how multi-level factors influence cancer clinical trial enrollment decisions by patients living in higher disadvantaged areas

Dr. Nicole Caston

FAM129B/NIBAN2 as a biomarker for therapy with NRF2 inhibitors

Anindya Dutta, MD, PhD

Targeting CSF1R/PU.1 signaling and PU.1 super-enhancer regulation in tumor progression across breast cancer subtypes

Blake Eason Hildreth, III, DVM, MS, PhD

Phase II single arm trial of low dose capecitabine in patients with advanced breast cancer

Katia Khoury, MD

Hijacking axonogenesis to promote breast cancer by a subset of regulatory T cells

Jianmei Leavenworth, MD, PhD

Nuclear FAK-mediated epigenetic reprogramming of triple negative breast cancer

Dr. Steve Lim

Research conducted by Breast Surgical Fellow

Dr. Catherine Parker

Elucidating the effects of hypoxia on ribosome biogenesis in breast cancer

Dr. Amr Rafat

Unique Arteriolar Niche in Expansion of Breast Cancer Stem Cells for Metastasis

Bin Ren, MD, PhD

A novel clinically actionable approach to disable resurgence and metastasis of triple-negative breast cancer

Lalita Shevde-Samant, PhD

Mitochondrial trafficking in triple negative breast cancer

Drs. Keshav Singh and Sejong Bae

PDL1-targeted theranostic approaches to enhance combination therapy in TNBC

Dr. Anna Sorace

MammOnc-DB: Development of a comprehensive breast cancer platform for data analysis, integration and visualization

Dr. Sooryanarayana Varambally

Identifying ideal reimbursement “dose” to reduce clinical trial-related financial toxicity

Dr. Courtney Williams

Developing novel AKT degrader to selectively inhibit the growth of PI3K/AKT/PTEN pathway mutant breast cancer

Jia Xu, PhD

Chronic stress-regulated tumor-neuroimmune network in triple-negative breast cancer

Chao Zhang, MD, PhD

Getting the right treatment to the right patient by matching regimens to patient biopsy before treatment

Karim I. Budhwani, PhD, DLA and Chelsea Crawford, PhD

Mobile

WNK1, A Novel Regulator of Metastatic Breast Cancer

Dr. Debanjan Chakroborty

Circulating mitochondrial DNA for the detection of breast cancer progression and recurrence

Dr. Santanu Dasgupta

Contribution of PERK+ Polyploid Giant Cancer Cells in the Ethnic Disparity of Triple Negative Breast Cancer

Dr. Luis del Pozo-Yauner

Targeting the nerve-cancer crosstalk to prevent breast cancer metastasis

Dr. Simon Grelet

Adipocyte and lymphatic endothelial cell crosstalk in breast cancer

Dr. Chandrani Sarkar

MCI Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Research

Unfolding a novel mechanism for endocrine resistance in breast cancer

Dr. Ajay Singh

Influence of stress on immune landscape and spatial heterogeneity of breast cancer

Dr. Seema Singh

Auburn

Highly Active Liposomal Formulation of Proteasome Inhibitor Carfilzomib for the Treatment of TNBC

Dr. Alexei F. Kisselev

A novel strategy to prevent the development of drug resistance in breast cancer

Dr. Amit Mitra

Development of advanced substitute antibody phage probes for screening/detection of breast cancer using sensitive inexpensive blood tests

Dr. Valery Petrenko

Carrier-free quercetin nanoparticles for overcoming breast cancer drug resistance

Drs. Yuping Bao and Robert Arnold

Huntsville

Inherited breast cancer risk screening and education – Access Matters

Dr. Sara Cooper

Tuscaloosa

Engineered environments to probe immune cell-mediated reawakening of dormant breast cancer brain micrometastasis

Dr. Shreyas Rao

Tuskegee

Cancer genomic study to characterize genetic and epigenetic diversity of immune landscape in triple negative breast cancer in women of African ethnicity

Dr. Deepa Bedi

BREAKTHROUGHS IN RESEARCH

See the BCRFA Impact

The BCRFA supports a comprehensive approach to battling breast cancer by investing in collaborative and innovative research to help diagnose, treat, prevent and eradicate the disease. Since its founding in 1996, the BCRFA has raised and invested over $15 million in research, helping our partners across the state receive sought-after and sustaining grant dollars from national funders, as well as develop new programs.

$11.5 Million Dollar Grant Pilot funding that led to the receipt and renewal of the Breast Cancer SPORE Grant

(Specialized Program of Research Excellence)

Collaborative Research

In 2016, the BCRFA launched a new award funding innovative collaborative partnerships in the field of breast cancer. This two-year $50,000 annual grant is awarded annually to primary investigators conducting collaborative research at the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB and other research institutes in the state of Alabama, focusing on breast cancer research.

Personalized Medicine

Founded in 2016, the Dolly Ashton O’Neal Triple Negative Breast Cancer Personalized Medicine Program at UAB is a collaboration between the O’Neal CCC at UAB, HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology and the Southern Research Institute, funded by the BCRFA. This program will support approximately 20 patients per year with personalized breast cancer treatment plans through genomic analysis and drug screens. This collaboration among agencies will also supply tumor cell samples for future research in Triple Negative Breast Cancer through the creation of a TNBC tumor cell repository at UAB.

$6.4 Million Dollar Grant Pre-clinical Lab Testing

Funds provided by the BCRFA for pre-clinical lab testing provided the findings needed to prepare for a $6.4 million Promise Grant from the Komen Foundation to change the prognosis and treatment of Triple Negative Breast Cancer

Microarray Facility

Helped create the O’Neal CCC at UAB Microarray Facility that can determine the genetic footprint of breast cancers

The O’Neal-Sokol Breast Cancer Research Foundation of Alabama Endowed Chair

Renowned UAB physician-scientist Dr. Andres Forero was the inaugural holder of the chair. This fully funded chair recognizes and rewards Dr. Forero’s tireless efforts to save lives. This chair will create a continuous revenue source for additional breast cancer research going forward.

Breast Cancer Survivorship Clinic

In 2018, the BCRFA funded research projects at UAB’s Breast Cancer Survivorship Clinic, a clinic that provides specialized follow-up care for breast cancer patients based on their individual health care needs. Survivorship care is provided by a nurse practitioner with expertise in breast cancer care and survivorship issues, and the program is carried out in collaboration with each patient’s primary treatment team. Initial research from this campaign will focus on two projects. The first is a study on the overall burden of serious and life-threatening chronic health conditions experienced by breast cancer survivors, the prevalence of this burden and the identification of vulnerable populations. The second study is on the determination of financial toxicity experienced by breast cancer survivors and the determinants of this financial toxicity.

BCRFA “Seed Money”

Funding provided by the BCRFA can have a multiplier effect of up to $16 for each dollar received by the UAB Cancer Center.

Imaging Facility

Helped fund the In Vivo Imaging facility which supports the Three Distinct Research Studies in breast cancer

World-Class Scientists

Funds to recruit and retain world-class breast cancer researchers at the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center

BCRFA Endowed Professorship

Through the establishment of the BCRFA Endowed Professorship, the BCRFA will support UAB in their efforts to:

Recruit the best talent and faculty in the area of breast health and cancer treatment come to Alabama; Advance breast cancer patient outcomes; Impart knowledge to future generations of medical professionals, scientists, and researchers; Facilitate research which could translate to new therapies for other types of cancer.

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NEWS & PROGRESS

NEWSROOM

Our Latest Updates

RECENTLY FUNDED RESEARCH

Thanks to generous supporters like you, the BCRFA invested $1.25 million in 35 breast cancer research projects at 8 institutes across the state in 2023.

Birmingham

Evaluating associations of rurality and neighborhood disadvantage with racial disparities in breast cancer mortality among women in the state of Alabama

Read More

Neuropathological effects of chemotherapeutic drugs

Read More

Predicting the Risk of Heart Failure in Breast Cancer Survivors

Read More

Understanding how multi-level factors influence cancer clinical trial enrollment decisions by patients living in higher disadvantaged areas

Read More

FAM129B/NIBAN2 as a biomarker for therapy with NRF2 inhibitors

Read More

Targeting CSF1R/PU.1 signaling and PU.1 super-enhancer regulation in tumor progression across breast cancer subtypes

Read More

Phase II single arm trial of low dose capecitabine in patients with advanced breast cancer

Read More

Hijacking axonogenesis to promote breast cancer by a subset of regulatory T cells

Read More

Nuclear FAK-mediated epigenetic reprogramming of triple negative breast cancer

Read More

Research conducted by Breast Surgical Fellow

Read More

Elucidating the effects of hypoxia on ribosome biogenesis in breast cancer

Read More

Unique Arteriolar Niche in Expansion of Breast Cancer Stem Cells for Metastasis

Read More

A novel clinically actionable approach to disable resurgence and metastasis of triple-negative breast cancer

Read More

Mitochondrial trafficking in triple negative breast cancer

Read More

PDL1-targeted theranostic approaches to enhance combination therapy in TNBC

Read More

MammOnc-DB: Development of a comprehensive breast cancer platform for data analysis, integration and visualization

Read More

Identifying ideal reimbursement “dose” to reduce clinical trial-related financial toxicity

Read More

Developing novel AKT degrader to selectively inhibit the growth of PI3K/AKT/PTEN pathway mutant breast cancer

Read More

Chronic stress-regulated tumor-neuroimmune network in triple-negative breast cancer

Read More

Getting the right treatment to the right patient by matching regimens to patient biopsy before treatment

Read More

Mobile

WNK1, A Novel Regulator of Metastatic Breast Cancer

Read More

Circulating mitochondrial DNA for the detection of breast cancer progression and recurrence

Read More

Contribution of PERK+ Polyploid Giant Cancer Cells in the Ethnic Disparity of Triple Negative Breast Cancer

Read More

Targeting the nerve-cancer crosstalk to prevent breast cancer metastasis

Read More

Adipocyte and lymphatic endothelial cell crosstalk in breast cancer

Read More

Unfolding a novel mechanism for endocrine resistance in breast cancer

Read More

Influence of stress on immune landscape and spatial heterogeneity of breast cancer

Read More

Auburn

Highly Active Liposomal Formulation of Proteasome Inhibitor Carfilzomib for the Treatment of TNBC

Read More

A novel strategy to prevent the development of drug resistance in breast cancer

Read More

Development of advanced substitute antibody phage probes for screening/detection of breast cancer using sensitive inexpensive blood tests

Read More

Carrier-free quercetin nanoparticles for overcoming breast cancer drug resistance

Read More

Huntsville

Inherited breast cancer risk screening and education – Access Matters

Read More

Tuscaloosa

Engineered environments to probe immune cell-mediated reawakening of dormant breast cancer brain micrometastasis

Read More

Tuskegee

Cancer genomic study to characterize genetic and epigenetic diversity of immune landscape in triple negative breast cancer in women of African ethnicity

Read More

BREAKTHROUGHS IN RESEARCH