Winter 2024
By Kathy Clute
Photography by Sam Ogden and Sasha Pedro
The American Cancer Society built upon more than 75 years of support for Dana-Farber by recently awarding nearly $3.1 million in new grants to 11 investigators across the Institute. The awards will fund a broad spectrum of research ranging from basic science inquiries to psychosocial interventions for patients and survivors.
Kira Bona, MD, MPH, is using her Discovery Boost Grant to test the feasibility of a random pilot intervention of cash transfers to low-income families whose children have been recently diagnosed with cancer. Studies show that these children are more likely to relapse and die, even when they receive the same chemotherapy as their peers in higher-income families.
A TheoryLab Collaborative Grant is funding research led by Abby Rosenberg, MD, MS, MA, chief of Pediatric Palliative Care, into whether an online coaching and stress-management tool can alleviate distress in breast cancer survivors who fear that their disease will recur. “These patients are particularly vulnerable to psychological distress—especially if they are single parents, have financial difficulties, or live in under-resourced communities,” said Rosenberg.
“Our research goal is to find answers that help save lives, and that means funding the most innovative cancer research”
William Dahut, MD, American Cancer Society
Jennifer Snaman, MD, received a Clinician Scientist Development Grant to test whether a decision-making tool developed for adolescent and young adult (AYA) patients could be modified for use by younger teens.
AYA patients often have views different from their parents about what kind of treatment they wish to have, especially near end of life, Snaman said. She is interviewing AYAs and their parents to learn more about their approach to treatment decision-making and using this information to adapt an online tool known as MyPref. Her goal is to improve patient, family, and physician communication and decision-making.
The American Cancer Society also awarded postdoctoral fellowships to Ke Cong, PhD, and Cheuk-Ting Law, PhD. Cong is investigating the role of the protein CDK5 in DNA replication stress, a condition linked to genomic instability and cancer development. Law is developing an innovative sequencing technology to delve into the LINE-1 gene, which has recently been recognized for its role in causing large-scale mutagenesis in cancer and its cancer biomarker potential. These projects are expected to provide insights into possible new cancer therapies.
Other recent awardees are Pratiti Bandopadhayay, MBBS, PhD; Christina Dieli-Conwright, PhD, MPH; Jennifer Karlow, PhD; Christopher Lathan, MD, MS, MPH, chief clinical access and equity officer and the Hadley Family Chair at Dana-Farber; Christopher Manz, MD; and Baochun Zhang, MD, PhD.
“Our research goal is to find answers that help save lives, and that means funding the most innovative cancer research,” said William Dahut, MD, chief scientific officer at the American Cancer Society. “These grantees represent the very best to help break new ground in cancer care and treatment.”
