NEWS & PROGRESS

NEWS & PROGRESS

BCRFA NEWSROOM

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BCRFA Welcomes Wright Wiggins Rouse as Marketing and Communications Director

August 4, 2021

Wright brings nearly a decade of nonprofit experience to the…

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BCRFA Raises $100,000 for Breast Cancer With Casino Night Event

July 26, 2021

The Breast Cancer Research Foundation of Alabama (BCRFA) today announced…

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Bow-Up Against Breast Cancer Raises over $16,500 for Alabama-Based Research

June 16, 2021

The Breast Cancer Research Foundation of Alabama (BCRFA), Heritage Archery…

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BREAKTHROUGHS IN RESEARCH

The BCRFA Impact

The BCRFA supports a comprehensive approach to battling breast cancer through collaborative and innovative research to help diagnose, treat, prevent and eradicate the disease. Since its inception, the BCRFA has raised and invested almost $11 million dollars to help the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB and their collaborative partners receive sought-after and sustaining grant dollars from national funders, as well as develop new programs.

BCRFA BROCHUREBCRFA Funding in Action
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 $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)
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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.

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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.
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$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
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Microarray Facility

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

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Imaging Facility

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

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World-Class Scientists

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

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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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Learn About BCRFA & The People We Serve

25 For Research: Kay Zarzour

Days before she passed away from breast cancer, Kay Zarzour’s mother asked if Kay would continue fighting for breast cancer research and supporting the Breast Cancer Research Foundation of Alabama.
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25 For Research: Phil Passafiume

Phil Passafiume has always felt that breast cancer researchers “do God’s work,” but never felt it more strongly than after his wife Leslie was diagnosed with breast cancer in the early-2000s.
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25 For Research: Dr. Nancy Merner

Have you heard of the Gene Machine? Learn more about Dr. Nancy Merner's mission to conduct breast cancer genetics research across Alabama.
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25 For Research: William Lynch

For William Lynch, getting involved with the breast cancer research community didn't just give him the chance to help others; it allowed him to honor his mother.
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