Spring 2026
By Amber Sinicrope
Photography by Bryce Vickmark
The Elaine and Eduardo Saverin Foundation has made an extraordinary $20 million grant to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute to accelerate research and care for people living with stage IV breast cancer. The Foundation’s new grant, combined with the Saverin family’s 2019 commitment establishing the Saverin Fund for Metastatic Breast Cancer Research, constitutes the largest non-federal grant in metastatic breast cancer at Dana-Farber, a critical area where there are not yet cures. The Saverin family’s relationship with Dana-Farber is rooted in a deep commitment to accelerating research in late-stage breast cancer and compassionate, patient-centered care. Their tremendous 2019 gift built a translational and data backbone for metastatic research, expanded biomarker-driven, patient centered studies, and helped grow patient care programs such as EMBRACE (Ending Metastatic Breast Cancer for Everyone). The Elaine and Eduardo Saverin Foundation’s new grant accelerates the promise of precision oncology, so that the right therapies reach patients with advanced disease faster.
Metastatic breast cancer patients are often left on the margins of cancer treatment conversations, yet they live with incredible courage and complexity.
Elaine Saverin, Elaine and Eduardo Saverin Foundation
“Metastatic breast cancer patients are often left on the margins of cancer treatment conversations, yet they live with incredible courage and complexity,” said Elaine Saverin, co-founder of the Foundation. “Our goal is to enable Dana-Farber to continue to make a significant impact on the treatments available to and the long-term outcomes for people living with late-stage breast cancer.”
The new funding will strengthen clinical trials to identify biomarkers of response and resistance in metastatic breast cancer and rapidly translate promising preclinical strategies into patient studies. It will expand infrastructure to integrate and analyze clinical, genomic, and imaging data from more than 20,000 patients and harness AI to predict outcomes, personalize therapies, understand tumor–immune interactions, and identify resistance mechanisms. The grant will also advance the growing field of liquid diagnostics and fuel work in using circulating tumor DNA to catch recurrence earlier and tailor treatment accordingly, while continuing the Saverin Research Awards that empower physician-scientists to pursue bold ideas poised to have an impact on the landscape of metastatic breast cancer research. Leading Dana-Farber’s breast oncology program is Sara Tolaney, MD, MPH, chief of the Division of Breast Oncology and recent recipient of the AACR Outstanding Investigator Award for Breast Cancer Research in recognition of her groundbreaking work personalizing treatment for people with breast cancer.
“With the Foundation’s support, we will endeavor to identify more efficacious therapies to treat stage IV breast cancer and develop innovative technologies to accelerate our progress and improve patient experiences with metastatic disease,” said Tolaney. Benjamin L. Ebert, MD, PhD, president and CEO at Dana-Farber and the Richard and Susan Smith Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, added, “This extraordinary grant will allow Dana-Farber to accelerate our approach to improve the treatment and care of metastatic breast cancer.”
Founded in 2023, the Elaine and Eduardo Saverin Foundation supports education, healthcare, mental health, and wildlife conservation and regenerative futures. This signature contribution reflects their healthcare mission to spark hope and support compassionate care for patients everywhere.