Summer 2025
By Robbie Merritt
Photography by Sam Ogden, Jessamyn Martin
With a recent $1 million gift, the Carney Family Charitable Foundation, led by Trustees Patrick and Lillian Carney, has expanded a legacy of support for breast cancer immuno-oncology research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute that spans over 20 years.
This is the latest in a series of gifts dating back to 2004, when the Carney Family first established a partnership with Eric P. Winer, MD, then-chief of the Division of Women’s Cancers, following the loss of beloved family member Virginia Czerny to metastatic breast cancer. In 2016, they established the Carney Family Charitable Foundation Fund for Breast Cancer Immuno-Oncology, helping launch the immuno-oncology program in breast cancer at Dana-Farber. And in 2020, the foundation made gifts to support breast cancer research and Dana-Farber’s Emergency Response Fund, which addressed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Institute.
Lillian Carney, president of the Carney Family Charitable Foundation, said, “It is with sincere gratitude that the Carney Family Charitable Foundation supports Dana-Farber’s cancer research, and we are proud of the tremendous impact this work has had advancing immune-oncology.”
“We are proud of the tremendous impact this work has had advancing immuno-oncology.”
Lillian Carney, Carney Family Charitable Foundation
The newest gift will continue to bolster breast cancer research at Dana- Farber by supporting the work of Sara Tolaney, MD, MPH, the current chief of the Division of Breast Oncology in the Susan F. Smith Center for Women’s Cancers. Her work focuses on the use of CDK4/6 inhibitors and antibody drug conjugates, the advancement of clinical trials in immunotherapy, and the development of less toxic treatments and therapies for patients with low-risk HER2-positive breast cancer.
“This gift has been transformative,” Tolaney said. “It has allowed us to set up a liquid biopsy program where we can study blood samples and identify patients who may show early signs of breast cancer recurrence. We’re also planning clinical trials to see if novel therapies can be administered to individuals with detectable circulating tumor DNA, with the goal of clearing it and preventing recurrence.”