WASHINGTON, Aug. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- The formation of a new Scientific Advisory Board, the introduction of new types of research grant awards and the deployment of an upgraded online grants application process at Susan G. Komen for the Cure were announced today at the organization’s 10th Annual Mission Conference. The strategic moves are designed to help Komen for the Cure realize its goal of investing another $1 billion over the next decade toward energizing the scientific community to discover and deliver the cures for breast cancer more quickly.
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Komen’s Scientific Advisory Board helped design new research grant awards that will focus on bringing recent laboratory advances to the clinic. These new grants will be instrumental in developing new treatments, with the goal of decreasing the number of deaths from breast cancer and, ultimately, preventing the disease. These new awards and the critical upgrades Komen has made to enhance its grants application process will ensure that the $1 billion in breast cancer research and community outreach programs that Komen invests in the next decade will have the greatest possible impact.
“Our Scientific Advisory Board, under the direction of Dr. Eric P. Winer, Komen’s new chief scientific advisor, is a ‘dream team’ of leading breast cancer experts who will continue to advise and guide us in our grant-making efforts,” said Hala Moddelmog, Susan G Komen for the Cure president and CEO. “Komen’s Scientific Advisory Board enthusiastically endorses our four new types of grant awards and they are confident that the new, streamlined application process will encourage some of the best and brightest scientists out there to apply for Komen funding.”
Members of Komen for the Cure’s Scientific Advisory Board
Members of Komen’s new Scientific Advisory Board were chosen for their demonstrated leadership and insight into the world of breast cancer research and clinical work. In addition to Dr. Winer, they include:
-- Melissa L. Bondy, Ph.D., professor of epidemiology at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, and director of the Childhood Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention Center, a collaborative program between M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital. -- Powel Brown, M.D., Ph.D., professor of medicine, Baylor College of Medicine; associate director of cancer prevention and director of cancer prevention and populations studies program, Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center; and associate director of research at the Breast Care Center Baylor-Methodist. -- H. Kim Lyerly, M.D., George Barth Geller Professor of Research at Duke University, Durham, N.C.; director of the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center and principal investigator of the Duke Specialized Program in Research Excellence (SPORE). -- George W. Sledge, M.D., Ballve-Lantero Professor of Oncology and co-director of the breast cancer program at the Indiana University Cancer Center. He also is professor of medicine and pathology at Indiana University School of Medicine. Dr. Sledge was awarded the Komen Brinker Award of Scientific Distinction in 2006. -- Sara Sukumar, Ph.D., professor of oncology and pathology and co-director of the breast cancer research program at the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore.
Komen for the Cure’s New Grants Categories
Komen’s four new types of grant awards focus on speeding the translation, or practical application of research discoveries, for the benefit of patients. They also share the goal of helping to reduce the number of cases of breast cancer that develop as well as the number of people who die from the disease:
-- Promise Grants provide up to $1.5 million annually over five years for projects that bring laboratory and clinical investigators from different disciplines together to address issues that have the potential to reduce breast cancer mortality. -- Investigator-Initiated Research Grants provide up to $600,000 over three years to stimulate exploration of new ideas and novel approaches in breast cancer research and clinical practice. -- Career Catalyst Research Grants provide critical opportunities for scientists in the early stages of their breast cancer research careers to establish research independence with an award of up to $450,000 over three years. -- Postdoctoral Fellowships are designed to attract pre-faculty scientists into the breast cancer research community by providing up to $60,000 annually over three years. Fellows may apply for grants in one of two research tracks, basic or translational.
New Grants Application Process
Researchers applying for any of Komen’s scientific research grants will experience an enhanced, streamlined process, including new application requirements, clearer guidance and a new, online application system that simplifies and automates the application process. Each funding opportunity requires submission of a pre-application prior to submission of a full application. The new online grant application system is set to launch Sept. 4, 2007.
More details on Komen’s enhanced grant application system is available by calling a dedicated help desk at 1-866-921-9678, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern standard time, or by emailing helpdesk@KomenGrantsAccess.org.
Multi-phase Training for Advocate Reviewers
Susan G. Komen for the Cure has long valued the input of advocate reviewers in the grant application process. Along with the new grants award categories and the upgraded application process, Komen also is introducing a new, multi-phase training program for advocate reviewers. The training is offered via self-paced, online modules and Webinars. Training must be satisfactorily completed before a reviewer participates in the actual grant application review process. Experienced Komen advocate reviewers will be assigned to serve as mentors for new advocate reviewers.
About Susan G. Komen for the Cure
Nancy G. Brinker promised her dying sister, Susan G. Komen, she would do everything in her power to end breast cancer forever. In 1982, that promise became Susan G. Komen for the Cure and launched the global breast cancer movement. Today, Komen for the Cure is the world’s largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists fighting to save lives, empower people, ensure quality care for all and energize science to find the cures. Thanks to events like the Komen Race for the Cure(R), we have invested nearly $1 billion to fulfill our promise, becoming the largest source of nonprofit funds dedicated to the fight against breast cancer in the world. For more information about Susan G. Komen for the Cure, breast health or breast cancer, visit http://www.komen.org or call 1-800 I’M AWARE.
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CONTACT: Jean Maza, +1-972-701-2105, jmaza@komen.org, or Sharon Roberts,+1-214-732-5925, sroberts@komen.org, both of Susan G. Komen for the Cure
Web site: http://www.komen.org/
