Spring 2025
By Caitlin Henault
Lynch syndrome is one of the most common hereditary conditions linked to an increased risk of certain cancers, affecting approximately one in nearly every 300 people in the United States. Families with Lynch syndrome often have multiple members who develop cancer, sometimes at unusually young ages. Because most individuals with Lynch syndrome are unaware of their condition until they are diagnosed with cancer, treatment can be challenging.
For David and JoEllen Sweet, whose family has been deeply impacted by Lynch syndrome, finding a cure is a mission that spans generations. With a gift of $1.25 million to establish the Sweet Family Fellowship for Lynch Syndrome Research, they hope to alleviate the burden of the condition for future generations, both within their own family and for thousands of others. This gift, their second in support of The Dana-Farber Campaign, builds on the family’s previous contribution to help launch Dana-Farber’s Lynch Syndrome Center in 2019. Since its inception, the center has grown to become the world’s most comprehensive center dedicated to innovative research and lifelong, personalized care for patients and families with Lynch syndrome.
“We consider Lynch syndrome a family disease—it’s been with us for generations and probably will be for generations to come,” said David. “The opportunity to support research that will advance care for our descendants and countless other families was all the motivation we needed to give to Dana-Farber.”
The Sweet Family Fellowship, the first of its kind focused exclusively on Lynch syndrome, will provide the center with critical support to train investigators who will focus their research on improving interception and treatment methods, including risk assessment, noninvasive screening, novel prevention vaccines, and immunotherapy.
“The Sweet Family Fellowship will help us exponentially increase our impact by enabling us to recruit promising early career physician-scientists who will conduct innovative research projects and build careers focused on Lynch syndrome,” said Sapna Syngal, MD, MPH, founder of the Lynch Syndrome Center, director of research in the Division of Cancer Genetics and Prevention, and co-director of the Centers for Early Detection and Interception at Dana-Farber. “The fellowship will simultaneously provide our team with much-needed research support that will lead to early detection, interception, and therapeutic breakthroughs for patients and their families.”
The fact that an endowed fellowship would provide the Lynch Syndrome Center with research support in perpetuity was especially important to the Sweets. “This isn’t a one-time gift, it’s a forever gift,” said David. “We’re paying it forward, continuously, creating a situation in which scientists can contribute to Lynch syndrome research efforts for years to come.”