Terri Brodeur Breast Cancer Foundation supports promising junior researchers in pursuit of better treatments
Terri Brodeur was a stage IV breast cancer patient and mother of three who inspired everyone who knew her with her courageous fighting spirit during her two-year battle with this disease. Determined to honor Terri’s life and accelerate effective treatment options that she did not have, Terri’s friends Norma Logan and Sandy Maniscalco founded the Terri Brodeur Breast Cancer Foundation (TBBCF), a grassroots nonprofit organization based in Connecticut that grants competitive two-year fellowships to promising early career breast cancer researchers. Recently, TBBCF awarded fellowships totaling $300,000 to Dana-Farber’s Veerle Daniels, PhD; Ana Garrido-Castro, MD; and Adrienne Waks, MD. Daniels is working to identify metabolic pathways that can be targeted in combination with conventional chemotherapy to increase therapy response and reduce therapy-induced toxicities in triple-negative breast cancer. Garrido-Castro aims to advance precision treatments by analyzing the genomic and immune profiles of primary hormone receptor-positive tumors in patients who later developed metastatic triple-negative breast cancer. Waks is assessing the feasibility of treating stage II-III HER2-positive breast cancer with less intensive therapies to reduce toxicities and improve patients’ quality of life. According to Michael Garabedian, PhD, professor at New York University School of Medicine and founding member of the TBBCF scientific advisory board, the goal of this funding is to enable recipients to develop independent programs and forge productive careers in breast cancer research. He said: “The Terri Brodeur Breast Cancer Foundation is pleased to support Dana Farber’s exceptional young investigators as they advance high impact science that leads to better treatments for patients.” ■