NEWS & PROGRESS

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Our Latest Updates

Alabama Businesses Join Forces to Fund Life-Saving Breast Cancer Research in October

September 23, 2023

The BCRFA has partnered with over 25 companies and organizations that want to make a meaningful difference this Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Fueling the Flames of Hope: Alabama Firefighters Join Forces for Pink Ribbon Project

September 27, 2023

Fifteen fire departments across the state are teaming up with the BCRFA for the annual Pink Ribbon Project, selling limited edition t-shirts throughout October to fund vital breast cancer research.

Revvin’ 4 Research Celebrates 15th Anniversary, Raises Nearly $20K

September 26, 2023

The 15th annual Revvin’ 4 Research motorcycle ride raised an impressive $19,623 for breast cancer research right here in Alabama. This is the second-highest amount raised since the event began in 2009!

BCRFA Backs Innovative Research to Transform TNBC Treatment

September 22, 2023

The BCRFA recently announced funding for a groundbreaking project led by Dr. Steve Lim at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) to combat Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC). Dr. Lim's research investigates Focal Adhesion Kinase (FAK) and its role in TNBC, exploring combination therapies that enhance estrogen signals for improved treatment outcomes.

Disc Golf Goes Pink raises $7,500 for breast cancer research

September 12, 2023

The Breast Cancer Research Foundation of Alabama (BCRFA) hosted its 3rd annual Disc Golf Goes Pink tournament on September 9 at two disc golf courses in Calera, AL: Oliver Park and George W. Roy Recreational Park. Presented by Bham Now and Vulcan Imaging Associates – Women’s, players enjoyed a fun day of friendly competition while raising critical funds for local breast cancer research. The event netted $7,500 thanks to community support and sponsors.

Leveraging BCRFA funds, UAB researcher lands $1.7M grant

August 29, 2023

In recent years, the BCRFA provided grant support for the earlier stages of this work, allowing Ponnazhagan to collect the large amounts of preliminary data required to apply to national funders.

RECENTLY FUNDED RESEARCH

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.

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

Predicting the Risk of Heart Failure in Breast Cancer Survivors

Smita Bhatia, MD, MPH

Cellular and Molecular Basis of the Neurological Effects of Chemotherapy

James Bibb, PhD and Etty (Tika) Benveniste, PhD

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

Research Support for Breast Surgical Fellow

Catherine Parker, MD

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

Identification of HIF-1a interactors in the nucleolus of breast cancer cells

Rajeev Samant, PhD

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

Lalita Shevde-Samant, PhD

Intercellular Mitochondrial Trafficking as a Novel Mechanism in Breast Cancer Progression and Metastasis

Keshav Singh, PhD

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

Jia Xu, PhD

RNF2 ablation stimulates durable NK-CD4+ T cell-dependent anti-tumor immunity

Eddy Yang, MD, PhD and Zhuo Zhang, MD, 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

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

Dr. Luis del Pozo-Yauner

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

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

Huntsville

Inherited Breast Cancer Risk Screening and Education – Historically Black Colleges and Universities Expansion

Dr. Sara Cooper

Tuscaloosa

Carrier-free Quercetin Nanoparticles for Overcoming Breast Cancer Drug Resistance

Dr. Yuping Bao (University of Alabama) and Robert D. Arnold (Auburn University)

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

(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.

NEWS & PROGRESS

NEWSROOM

Our Latest Updates

RECENTLY FUNDED RESEARCH

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

Read More

Predicting the Risk of Heart Failure in Breast Cancer Survivors

Read More

Cellular and Molecular Basis of the Neurological Effects of Chemotherapy

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

Research Support for 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

Identification of HIF-1a interactors in the nucleolus of breast cancer cells

Read More

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

Read More

Intercellular Mitochondrial Trafficking as a Novel Mechanism in Breast Cancer Progression and Metastasis

Read More

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

Read More

RNF2 ablation stimulates durable NK-CD4+ T cell-dependent anti-tumor immunity

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

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

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

Huntsville

Inherited Breast Cancer Risk Screening and Education – Historically Black Colleges and Universities Expansion

Read More

Tuscaloosa

Carrier-free Quercetin Nanoparticles for Overcoming Breast Cancer Drug Resistance

Read More

BREAKTHROUGHS IN RESEARCH

See the BCRFA Impact

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