Five breast cancer researchers have won 3 years of funding from the National Comprehensive Cancer Network’s Oncology Research Program and Pfizer Global Medical Grants. The researchers will receive up to $1.4 million.
Dr. Allison Lipitz-Snyderman
Allison Lipitz-Snyderman, PhD, and Erin Gillespie, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, have won funding for a project entitled, “Leveraging an academic-community partnership model to improve the quality of radiation treatment for metastatic breast cancer patients.”
Dr. Erin Gillespie
Dr. Gillespie and Dr. Lipitz-Snyderman plan to use an existing partnership between Memorial Sloan Kettering and three community-based institutions to test a system for implementing best practices in radiation treatment. The system includes a web-based platform that disseminates expert recommendations as well as weekly conferences during which community radiation oncologists can consult with specialists on complex cases.
Dr. Aki Morikawa
Aki Morikawa, MD, PhD, of the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center in Ann Arbor, won funding for a project entitled, “Personalized multi-care: A tailored approach to multidisciplinary care coordination delivery for metastatic breast cancer patients with central nervous system metastases.”
The goals of Dr. Morikawa’s project are to educate patients and providers on managing central nervous system metastases in the breast cancer setting, tailor care coordination and planning to patient and provider needs, and increase patient participation in studies.
Dr. Karen Lisa Smith
Karen Lisa Smith, MD, of the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, won funding for a project entitled, “The Johns Hopkins Metastatic Breast Cancer Partners Program: Collaborating to improve metastatic breast cancer care.”
The goal of the Metastatic Breast Cancer Partners Program is for Johns Hopkins and mid-Atlantic regional practices to fight metastatic breast cancer together. To that end, Dr. Smith plans to create a multidisciplinary clinic that offers supportive care and treatment recommendations, a database for patient tracking and trial screening, educational resources, and new opportunities for provider collaboration.
Dr. Laura Spring
Laura Spring, MD, of Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center in Boston, won funding for a project entitled, “Expanding precision medicine for patients with metastatic breast cancer in the community: Leveraging academic strength and community partnership.”
The goal of Dr. Spring’s project is to extend academic resources to affiliated network sites. This will involve increasing access to tissue-based and blood-based tumor genotyping for patients with metastatic breast cancer, creating a virtual molecular and precision medicine clinic that provides interpretation of genomic data and treatment recommendations, and offering clinical trial matching to metastatic breast cancer patients treated at network sites.