NEWSROOM
Our Latest Updates
Birmingham BBQ Legends Rodney Scott and Nick Pihakis to Judge CahabaQue BBQ Cook-Off on April 15
Big win for breast cancer research! Over $115,000 raised at 14th annual Pink Palace Casino Night
4 Things to Know About Pink Palace Casino Night: Q&A with Megan Carter
CURRENT RESEARCH
What We're Funding
Thanks to generous supporters like you, the BCRFA invested $1.275 million in 24 breast cancer research projects at 7 institutes across the state in 2022.
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
Read More

Predicting the Risk of Heart Failure in Breast Cancer Survivors
Smita Bhatia, MD, MPH
Read More
Cellular and Molecular Basis of the Neurological Effects of Chemotherapy
James Bibb, PhD and Etty (Tika) Benveniste, PhD
Read More

FAM129B/NIBAN2 as a biomarker for therapy with NRF2 inhibitors
Anindya Dutta, MD, PhD
Read More

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
Read More

Phase II single arm trial of low dose capecitabine in patients with advanced breast cancer
Katia Khoury, MD
Read More

Hijacking axonogenesis to promote breast cancer by a subset of regulatory T cells
Jianmei Leavenworth, MD, PhD
Read More

Research Support for Breast Surgical Fellow
Catherine Parker, MD
Read More

Elucidating the effects of hypoxia on ribosome biogenesis in breast cancer
Dr. Amr Rafat
Read More

Unique Arteriolar Niche in Expansion of Breast Cancer Stem Cells for Metastasis
Bin Ren, MD, PhD
Read More

Identification of HIF-1a interactors in the nucleolus of breast cancer cells
Rajeev Samant, PhD
Read More

A novel clinically actionable approach to disable resurgence and metastasis of triple-negative breast cancer
Lalita Shevde-Samant, PhD
Read More

Intercellular Mitochondrial Trafficking as a Novel Mechanism in Breast Cancer Progression and Metastasis
Keshav Singh, PhD
Read More

Developing novel AKT degrader to selectively inhibit the growth of PI3K/AKT/PTEN pathway mutant breast cancer
Jia Xu, PhD
Read More
RNF2 ablation stimulates durable NK-CD4+ T cell-dependent anti-tumor immunity
Eddy Yang, MD, PhD and Zhuo Zhang, MD, PhD
Read More

Chronic stress-regulated tumor-neuroimmune network in triple-negative breast cancer
Chao Zhang, MD, PhD
Read More


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
Read More
Mobile


WNK1, A Novel Regulator of Metastatic Breast Cancer
Dr. Debanjan Chakroborty
Read More

Contribution of PERK+ Polyploid Giant Cancer Cells in the Ethnic Disparity of Triple Negative Breast Cancer
Dr. Luis del Pozo-Yauner
Read More

Influence of stress on immune landscape and spatial heterogeneity of breast cancer
Dr. Seema Singh
Read More
Auburn


Highly Active Liposomal Formulation of Proteasome Inhibitor Carfilzomib for the Treatment of TNBC
Dr. Alexei F. Kisselev
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
Dr. Deepa Bedi
Read More
Huntsville


Inherited Breast Cancer Risk Screening and Education – Historically Black Colleges and Universities Expansion
Dr. Sara Cooper
Read More
Tuscaloosa

Carrier-free Quercetin Nanoparticles for Overcoming Breast Cancer Drug Resistance
Dr. Yuping Bao (University of Alabama) and Robert D. Arnold (Auburn University)
Read More
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 nearly $14 million dollars 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

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

$6.4 Million Dollar Grant Pre-clinical Lab Testing

Microarray Facility

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

Breast Cancer Survivorship Clinic

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.