CBCRP News
Army of Love
Researchers often need recruits for clinical trials. The Avon Foundation for Women and Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation are recruiting women who are willing to participate in research into the cause and prevention of breast cancer.
How they’ve already helped:
The Sister Study, which launched in 2002 and recruited 50,000 women with sisters with breast cancer, was still missing 5,000 women: African American, Pacific Islanders, Hispanic, and Caucasian women over 65 with only a high school education. Within 48 hours of an e-blast sent to the Army of Women volunteers, the Sister Study had recruited 2,000 eligible women.
The Love/Avon Army of Women has over a quarter of a million women signed up and is ready to help new grants, old studies that need help with recruitment, or studies that need human specimens to corroborate animal work. The CBCRP encourages volunteers and researchers to contact the Army of Women to explore how a partnership might help end breast cancer once and for all. For more information, visit www.armyofwomen.org/.
Call for Applications
The CBCRP offers one funding cycle per year for investigator-initiated research projects—what we call our Core Funding. We fund Translational Research awards; Community Research Collaboration awards; Innovative, Developmental, and Exploratory Awards (IDEAs); Postdoctoral Fellowships; Dissertation awards; and Joining Forces Conference awards.
All research must be performed in California. Deadlines and application information about the awards is online at www.cabreastcancer.org/apply/.
Awards Funded in 2009
In 2009, the CBCRP funded over $16 million for 53 research projects being performed at 22 institutions across the state. These projects will advance our knowledge about the community impact, biology, detection, and treatment of breast cancer, and represent both investigator-initiated awards (our Core Funding awards, including the Community Research Collaborations) and our program-initiated awards (our Special Research Initiatives, or SRI). Details about these new awards and an overview of the 2009 funding cycle may be found at www.cabreastcancer.org/publications/compendia.
The San Francisco Marathon™
The organizers of The San Francisco Marathon™ again selected the California Breast Cancer Research Program as a beneficiary of its Cause to Run™ program. Some runners trained alone, but many runners joined a new, 16-week Train for Free™ training program that included running, nutrition, and fundraising seminars. On July 26, 2009, 25 runners raised $22,780 to support the CBCRP’s efforts to eradicate breast cancer. The top fundraiser was Sudha Venkataraman, who raised $3,341 for the CBCRP and participated in the Train for Free™ program. Elliott Alman traveled the farthest distance (from Gaithersberg, MD) to participate and raise money for the CBCRP. Four staff from Gitane Restaurant formed a running team and together raised $2,314. Additional “Team CBCRP” volunteers registered racers, handed out supplies, and helped with other behind-the-scenes details.
Catalina Island Riders
The little jewel off the coast of Los Angeles is a magnet for day-trippers, but beyond the shopping and fine dining, there is a wealth of wildlife to enjoy on Catalina Island. One of the groups that enjoy the unique wilderness on Catalina Island is Las Caballeras. For 15 years these women and their horses have converged on the island for five days of relaxation, games, and trail riding. This year, Las Caballeras added a fundraiser to support breast cancer research, and they selected the California Breast Cancer Research Program as beneficiary. By the end of the week, they raised $10,000 to support the CBCRP’s efforts to eliminate breast cancer. Thank you, ladies! For more information about Las Caballeras, visit www.lascaballeras.org.
Meet Our Council
The CBCRP relies on its Breast Cancer Research Council for direction and oversight. Council members bring their significant interest in breast cancer research and represent the people affected by breast cancer and institutions pursuing solutions to the disease. Members serve three-year, overlapping terms, without compensation for their dedicated service. Each year, the council elects a new Chair and Vice-Chair. The incoming Chair for 2009-2010 is Jim Ford, Director of the Stanford University School of Medicine’s Program for Applied Cancer Genetics and the Breast Cancer Genetics Clinic. The Vice-Chair is Barbara Brenner, Executive Director of Breast Cancer Action. We look forward to an exciting year under their leadership. The CBCRP is also delighted to welcome four new council members:
Susan Braun is the Executive Director of Commonweal, a nonprofit direct services organization and a home for public policy advocacy, including programs like the Cancer Help Program, the Institute for the Study of Health and Illness, the Collaborative on Health and the Environment, and the Regenerative Design Institute.
Lisa Barcellos is an epidemiology professor at University of California, Berkeley’s School of Public Health. Among her many additional appointments, she is a co-investigator for the U.S. Multiple Sclerosis Genetics Group and a member of the Kaiser Permanente Research Program on Genes, Environment, and Health.
Carlina Hansen is the Executive Director of San Francisco’s Women’s Community Clinic, providing health care services to uninsured and under-insured women and girls in the Bay Area. She has served on the Executive Committee of the Women’s Health Advisory Committee of the Department of Public Health and currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Women’s Working Group on Universal Health Care.
Donna Sanderson is the Executive Director of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Sacramento Valley Affiliate. As a breast cancer survivor and an educational psychologist, Donna is passionate about building on and sharing an appreciation and respect for other cultures.
The full list of council members may be viewed on our website. www.cbcrp.org/about/council/bios.php
