The METAvivor Research Program was established in 2009 with the singular goal of funding research to end death from metastatic breast cancer (MBC). The following list includes current and past grant recipients along with their progress reports.
Dr. Nancy Lin
Associate Chief, Division of Breast Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Overcoming Treatment Resistance in Breast Cancer Brain Metastases
Dr. Bolin Liu
Professor Department of Genetics Stanley S. Scott Cancer Center School of Medicine Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center
Presented in Memory of Cecilia “CeCe” Curry, METAvivor Board Member- IGF-2 in Herceptin refractory HER2-positive breast cancer
Dr. Paul Lockman
Assistant Vice President of Experimental Therapeutics Professor, Benedum Fellow and Mylan Endowed Chair West Virginia University School of Pharmacy
Timing of radiotherapy and chemotherapy to improve drug effect in brain metastases of breast cancer
Dr. Deepali Sachdev
Assistant Professor Department of Medicine Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota
Presented by 2019 NYFW + #Cancerland in memory of Champagne Joy - Development of natural killer cell based tri-specific killer engagers (TriKEs) as novel immunotherapy for metastatic breast cancer
Dr. Robert Weinberg
Member, Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research Professor, MIT Department of Biology
Mechanisms of Acquired Adaptation of Disseminated Breast Cancer Cells
Dr. Fei Xing
Assistant Professor Cancer Biology Department Wake Forest School of Medicine
Treating breast cancer brain metastasis with immune checkpoint inhibitor and c-Met targeting agent
Dr. Massimo Cristofanilli
Professor Department of Medicine-Hematology and Oncology/Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University
Presented In Memory of Karen Presswood, Co-Founder of METAvivor - Unravelling New Cytokine-Mediated Mechanisms to Enhance Response to CDK4/6 inhibition in ER+/HER2-Metastatic Breast Cancer
Dr. Andrew Ewald
Professor of Cell Biology, Oncology, and Biomedical Engineering Founding Co-Director, Cancer Invasion and Metastasis Program Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine
Presented In Memory of Avis Halberstadt, Co-Founder of Metavivor - Targeting the survival pathways required by established breast cancer metastases
Dr. Carol Lange
Tickle Family Land Grant Chair of Breast Cancer Research Professor of Medicine and Pharmacology University of Minnesota Masonic Cancer Center
Presented In Memory of Rhonda Rhodes, Co-Founder of Metavivor - Targeting Activated Progesterone Receptors in Metastatic Breast Cancer
Dr. Prasanna Alluri
UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas
Presented in memory of Erin Remme, Minneapolis Metsquerade - Identifying Therapeutic Vulnerabilities in RB1-negative, ER-positive Breast Cancers
Dr. Lucia Borriello
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Presented by 2019 New York Fashion Week - Targeting the Mechanism of Re-Dissemination and Metastasis in Stage IV Breast Cancer
Dr. Joshua Drago
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Presented by METAvivors of New Jersey - The intestinal microbiome and response to chemoimmunotherapy in patients with metastatic triple negative breast cancer (MTNBC)
Dr. Mick Edmonds
Assistant Professor Genetics Department UAB School of Medicine
Presented In Memory of Kristin Todd - A novel strategy targeting SRC tyrosine kinase for breast cancer metastasis
Dr. Colt Egelston
Staff Scientist Department of Immuno-Oncology City of Hope
Presented In Memory of Kristin Todd - Bispecific monoclonal antibodies for treatment of advanced breast cancer
Dr. Jeremy Force
Duke University
Presented In Memory of Kristie Godwin Rolan by Triangle Metsquerade - Discovery and validation of putative oncogenic ROS1 alterations in breast cancer
Dr. Jamie Fornetti
Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah
Presented by Abbey Rapoport - Novel RON Inhibitors for the Treatment of Metastatic Breast Cancer
Dr. Antonio Giordano
Assistant Professor Division of Hematology & Oncology Department of Medicine Hollings Cancer Center Medical University of South Carolina
Presented In Honor of Michael Kovarik by 2019 New York Fashion Week - Phase 1 clinical trial of Polo-like kinase 1 inhibition with nab-paclitaxel in TP53 mutated metastatic triple negative breast cancer
Dr. Sheheryar Kabraji
Instructor in Medicine, Harvard Medical School Physician, Breast Oncology, Dana Farber Cancer Institute
Presented by 2019 METAbash - Targeting drug-resistant quiescent cancer cells in breast cancer brain metastases
Dr. Jungwoo Lee
Assistant Professor Department of Chemical Engineering Institute for Applied Life Science University of Massachusetts
Tissue-engineered bone to determine the impact of chemotherapy-induced premature aging in breast tumor metastasis
Dr. Michael Lukey
Research Associate Department of Molecular Medicine Cornell University
Presented by Erin Remme, Minneapolis Metsquerade - Targeting the unique metabolic profile of brain metastases in breast cancer
Dr. Ashley Makela
Institute for Quantitative Health Science and Engineering Michigan State University
Presented by Erin Remme, Minneapolis Metsquerade - Understanding extracellular vesicle trafficking in established breast cancer metastases: In vivo tri-modal imaging provides longitudinal and quantitative information on accumulation in metastatic sites
Dr. Madeleine Oudin
Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering Tufts University
Presented by METAribbon Challengers - Investigating how obesity-driven changes in the tumor microenvironment promote metastatic outgrowth and chemoresistance in metastatic TNBC
Dr. Lijuan Sun
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Presented In Memory of Rebecca McNally Gilden - Blessed mother, wife, daughter, engineer, friend and breast cancer advocate - Reprogramming innate-adaptive immune interactions to eliminate metastatic breast cancer
Dr. Stuart Martin
University of Maryland School of Medicine
Presented In Memory of Wendy Taylor by Northwest Arkansas Metsquerade - Reducing the risk of chemotherapy-induced scattering of metastatic triple-negative breast tumors.
Dr. Danny Welch
University of Kansas Medical Center University of Kansas Cancer Center
Presented In Memory of Valerie Wright by Northwest Arkansas Metsquerade - New inhibitors of breast cancer metastasis
Dr. Andrei Bakin and Dr. Scott Abrams
Dr Bakin is an Associate Professor of Oncology, Department of Cancer Genetics and Genomics Roswell Park Cancer Center. Dr Abrams is Professor of Oncology, Department of Immunology, Co-Leader of the Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, Roswell Park Cancer Center, Research Professor on the Graduate Faculty at the State University of New York at Buffalo
A Novel Combination Therapy to Improve Treatment of Metastatic Breast Cancer
Dr. Sanchita Bhatnagar
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics School of Medicine University of Virginia
Targeting the mechanisms of oncogenic TRIM37 in metastatic triple negative breast cancer
Dr. Rolf Brekken
Hamon Center for Therapeutic Oncology Research UT Southwestern
Pleiotrophin as a driver of the immune metastatic niche
Dr. Andrew Brenner
Associate Professor, Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio Mays Cancer Center
Presented In Memory of Tarah Harvey by Minneapolis Metsquerade - Permeability of Sacituzumab Govitecan in Breast Cancer Brain Metastases
Dr. Barbara Fingleton
Vanderbilt University
Presented In Memory of Destiny Rivera and Stephanie Sunday by Orlando Metsquerade - Tumor targeting of an immune super-activator in male and female metastatic breast cancer
Dr. Barry Hudson
Associate Professor Department of Oncology Georgetown University
Presented In Memory of Amanda De Fiebre by Southwest Florida Metsquerade - Therapeutic targeting of RAGE in metastatic breast cancer
Dr. Yibin Kang
Department of Molecular Biology Princeton University
Presented by Fraternal Order of Eagles - Preventing Regulatory T cell Induction to Enhance Immunity Against Breast Cancer Metastases
Dr. Stephen Kron
Professor of Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology The University of Chicago
Mechanisms determining local and systemic anti-tumor immune response after metastasis-directed image-guided radiation combined with PD-1/PD-L1 checkpoint blockade
Dr. Sandra McAllister
Associate Scientist, Brigham & Women’s Hospital Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School
Presented In Memory of Lauren Smoke by Chicago Metsquerade - A new approach to identifying effective therapeutic strategies that eliminate de novo and recurrent stage IV triple-negative breast cancer
Dr. Yusuke Shiozawa
Assistant Professor Department of Cancer Biology Wake Forest School of Medicine Medical Center Boulevard
An osteolytic bone lesion-targeted radiopharmaceutical for bone metastatic breast cancer
Dr. Zena Werb
Professor of Anatomy and Associate Director Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center University of Califonia San Francisco
Presented by METAvivor Facebook Fundraisers - Identification of Novel Cell Targets for Metastatic Breast Cancer Therapy
Dr. Jing Yang
Professor Department of Pharmacology Moores Cancer Center University of California
Overcoming therapy resistance in TNBC metastases through targeted inhibition of Periostin
Dr. Dihua Yu
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Presented by METAvivor Facebook Fundraisers - Impeding Breast Cancer Brain Metastasis by Blocking CCR2+ Myeloid Cell Infiltration
Dr. Julio Aguirre-Ghiso
Professor, Medicine, Hematology and Medical Oncology, Otolaryngology, Oncological Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine
Targeting Intrinsic And Immune Mechanisms In Persistent Dormant Cancer Cells In Stage IV Breast Cancer
Dr. Charles Clevenger
Carolyn Wingate Hyde Endowed Chair in Cancer Research, Chair, Department of Pathology, Virginia Commonwealth University
Inhibition of breast cancer metastatic outgrowth with non-immunosuppressive cyclosporine
Dr. Vera Donnenberg
Associate Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine UPMC Hillman Cancer Center
Assays to determine optimal dosing and therapeutic effects of localized immunotherapy for established metastatic breast cancer to the pleura
Dr. Gloria Echeverria
Post-Doctoral Fellow, MD Anderson Cancer Center
Elucidation and functionalization of transcriptomic heterogeneity of established multi-organ metastases in patient-derived xenograft models of triple-negative breast cancer
Dr. Dorraya El-Ashry
Associate Professor, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Minnesota School of Medicine
Eliminate breast cancer metastasis by targeting the tumor microenvironment
Dr. Xu Feng
Professor, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Development of Targeted Drugs for Treating Breast Cancer Bone Metastasis
Dr. Janet Funk
Professor Medicine, University of Arizona Cancer Center
Improving Survival in Stage IV Breast Cancer by Targeting Dormant Breast Cancer Cells in Bone
Dr. Ana Garrido-Castro
Research Fellow in Medicine, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Identifying predictive biomarkers of response to PD-1 inhibition in metastatic triple-negative breast cancer
Dr. Mark Headley
Assistant Member Clinical Research Division Faculty Member Immunotherapy Integrated Research Center, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Monocyte Contribution To Lung Metastasis Of Breast Cancer
Dr. Fransisca Leonard
Postdoctoral Fellow, Godin Lab, Houston Methodist Hospital Research Institute
CRISPR-nanoparticle for macrophage reprogramming: New therapeutic strategy for breast cancer liver metastasis
Dr. Sophia Lunt
Assistant Professor Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University
Targeting Sialic Acid Metabolism to Stop Metastatic Breast Cancer
Dr. Elizabeth McDonald
Assistant Professor of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania
In vivo visualization and quantification of pharmacodynamics response to PARPi therapy
Dr. Erik Nelson
Assistant Professor, Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Illinois
Targeting an immune-suppressive cholesterol metabolite in the treatment metastatic breast cancer.
Dr. Josh Neman
Assistant Professor Neurosurgery, University of Southern California
Chemotherapy and tau interplay permeabilize BBB and facilitate brain metastasis
Dr. Axel Schönthal
Associate Professor of Molecular Microbiology & Immunology, University of Southern California
Controlled Opening of the Blood-Brain Barrier to Achieve Therapeutic Access of Trastuzumab in HER2-Positive Brain Metastases
Dr. Brad St Croix
Senior Associate Scientist, National Cancer Institute
Improving Immunotherapies for Advanced Metastatic Breast Cancer
Dr. Rachel Stewart
Assistant Professor, University of Kentucky
Characterizing Metastatic Breast Cancer Heterogeneity through Post-Mortem Tissue Collection
Dr. Wei Tao
Instructor, Harvard Medical School/Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Multi-staged delivery system overcoming the physiological barriers for metastatic breast cancer (MBC) therapy
Dr. Michael Wendt
Assistant Professor, Purdue University
Enhancing anti-metastatic immunity through targeted inhibition of SHP2 phosphatase
Dr. Thomas Westbrook
Professor, Baylor College of Medicine
Microenvironment response disparities of metastatic TNBC to multi-tyrosine kinase inhibition
Dr. Dihua Yu
Hubert L. & Olive Stringer Distinguished Chair in Basic Science, Professor and Deputy Chair, Department of Molecular and Cellular Oncology, MD Anderson Cancer Center
Combating Breast Cancer Brain Metastasis by Blocking CDK5 Driver Kinase Function
Dr. Fiona Yull
Associate Professor, Vanderbilt School of Medicine
Macrophage-based immunotherapy for eradication of pre-existing breast cancer metastases
Dr. Diana Cittelly
Assistant Professor, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
Targeting BDNF/TrkB in Brain Metastasis from Young Women with TNBC
Dr. Michael Flister
Assistant Professor, Human and Molecular Genetics Center, Medical College of Wisconsin
Personalized Therapy for Curing Metastatic Breast Cancer
Dr. Andrei Goga
Professor, University of California, San Francisco
Targeting the MYC Pathway in Metastatic Breast Cancer
Dr. Melanie Hayden Gephart
Assistant Professor, Leland Stanford Junior University
Halting the Progression of Breast Cancer Leptomeningeal Brain Metastases
Dr. Cheryl Jorcyk
Professor, Director, Boise State University
High Impact Therapeutic for the Elimination of Breast Cancer Metastasis to Bone
Dr. James McIntyre and Dr. Barbara Fingleton
Research Professor and Assistant Professor, Vanderbilt University
A Novel Self-Reporting Paclitaxel Prodrug without Systemic Neurotoxicity: Preclinical Assessment for Targeted Treatment of Metastatic Breast Cancer
Dr. Vivek Mittal
Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology, Weill Medical College of Cornell University
Targeting Epigenetic Regulator PRC2 as a Therapy for Established Metastasis
Dr. Partha Roy
Associate Professor of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh
Pharmacological Inhibition of Myocardin-Family Proteins as a Novel Strategy to Combat Metastatic Breast Cancer
Dr. Rebecca Watters
Research Assistant Professor, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery University of Pittsburgh
Discovery of Clinically Actionable Genes in Breast Cancer Bone Metastases
Dr. Paula Bos
Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology, Virginia Commonwealth University
Regulatory T Cell Promotion of Brain Metastatic Processes
Dr. Ian Corbin
Assistant Professor, Advanced Imaging Research Center, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Lipoprotein Omega-3 Fatty Acid Nanoparticles: A Novel Treatment for Breast Cancer Liver Metastases
Dr. Kathleen Gallo
Professor of Physiology, Michigan State University
Deciphering and Targeting Signaling Nodes that Drive Metastatic Breast Cancer
Dr. Todd Giorgio
Vanderbilt University
Quantitative Characterization of Anti-Tumor Immune Response in Metastatic Breast Cancer Induced by Focused Ultrasound
Dr. Patricia Sheean
Assistant Professor, School of Nursing, Loyola University Chicago
Is lean soft tissue (i.e., skeletal muscle) a potentially modifiable biomarker predictive of prognosis, treatment tolerance and quality of life in women with estrogen receptor negative metastatic breast cancer?
Dr. Sendurai A. Mani (2015)
Associate Professor, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Department of Translational Molecular Biology
Targeting Cancer Stem Cells to Treat Metastasis
Dr. Katherine Loree Cook
Assistant Professor, Wake Forest University
Dietary Considerations Effecting Lung Metastatic Therapeutic Responsiveness and Co-Morbidities
Dr. Joshua Donaldson
Senior Medical Oncology Fellow, Johns Hopkins University
Resistance Mechanisms to Palbociclib in Hormone Positive Metastatic Breast Cancer
Dr. Gina Sizemore
Assistant Professor, The Ohio State University
Targeting Novel Tumor-Stroma Interactions in Breast Cancer Brain Metastases
Dr. David Soto-Pantoja
Assistant Professor, Wake Forest School of Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center
Anti-CD47 Immunotherapy as a Treatment for Metastatic Breast Cancer
Dr. Kathryn Schwertfeger
Associate Professor, Department of Lab Medicine and Patholody, Masonic Cancer Center For Immunology, University of Minnesota
Development of Immune-based Strategies to Enhance Therapeutic Targeting of Metastatic Breast Cancer
Dr. Brad St. Croix
Senior Associate Scientist, National Cancer Institute Center for Cancer Research
Improving Therapy for Metastatic Breast Cancer through Targeting of Tumor Stroma
Dr. J. Chuck Harrell (2015)
Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology, Virginia Commonwealth University
Genomic Dissection of Patient-Derived Xenograft Breast Cancer Liver Metastasis Models
Dr. Yibin Kang (2015)
Warner-Lambert/Park-Davis Professor of Molecular Biology, Princeton University
Development of a Humanized Mouse Model of Breast Cancer Liver Metastasis
Dr. Yibin Kang (2015)
Warner-Lambert/Parke-Davis Professor of Molecular Biology, Princeton University
Sensitizing Bone Metastasis to Chemotherapy and Radiotherapy by Targeting Jagged1-Mediated Tumor-Stromal Interactions
Dr. Bonnie King and Dr. Christopher Contag (2015)
Stanford University
Modeling Therapeutic Strategies for Breast Cancer Metastasis to Bone
Dr. Jitesh Pratap (2015)
Assistant Professor, Rush University Medical Center, Department of Anatomy & Cell Biology
Novel Regulatory Mechanisms of Cell Survival During Bone Metastasis of Breast Cancer
Dr. Tiffany Seagroves (2015)
Associate Professor of Pathology, University of Tennesee Health Science Center
Targeting Creatine Kinases to Inhibit Metastatic Breast Cancer
Dr. George Sgouros (2015)
Professor of Radiology, Oncology and Radiation Oncology, Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine
A Pre-Clinical Model of anti-HER2/neu-Antibody Reactive Breast Cancer Metastases
Dr. Haifa Shen (2015)
Assistant Professor, Department of NanoMedicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute
Harnessing Vascular and Cellular Depots of Nanotherapeutics for the Treatment of Metastatic Breast Cancer
Dr. Kay-Uwe Wagner (2015)
Professor, Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and Allied Diseases, University of Nebraska Medical Center
Identification of Candidate Target Genes for Metastasis and Cancer Cell Dormancy in a Novel Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Model
Dr. Michael Wendt (2015)
Assistant Professor, Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Purdue University Center for Cancer Research
Targeting Growth-Factor Receptor Discordant Metastatic Breast Cancer
Dr. Elizabeth Yeh (2015)
Assistant Professor, Cell and Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Medical University of South Carolina
Application of a Connexin 43 (Cx43) Targeted Agent for the Treatment of Metastatic Breast Cancer
Dr. Swarnali Acharyya (2014)
Assistant Professor, Pathology and Cell Biology, Institute for Cancer Genetics, Columbia University
Reactivating anti-tumor granulocytic cells to provoke immune attack against breast cancer metastasis
Dr. Eran Andrecheck (2014)
Department of Physiology, Michigan State University
Identification of driver mutations that regulate metastasis
Dr. Balamurugan Kuppusamy (2014)
Staff Scientist, NCI/NIH
Inflammatory Breast Cancer: Role of the CEBPD-FBXW7 Signaling Pathway
Dr. William Schiemann (2014)
Professor and Co-Director Breast Cancer Program, Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, Case Western Reserve University
Implementing a Forward Genetic Screen to Identify Novel Proto-Oncogenes Operant in Overcoming Metastatic Dormancy
Dr. Sofia Merajver (2013)
University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Ann Arbor, MI
Engineering cancer metastases platforms for precise medicine
Dr. Douglas Hurst (2013)
University of Alabama at Birmingham, Alabama
Improving oncolytic herpes simplex virus for metastatic breast cancer
Dr. David Lum (2013)
Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation
Validation of patient-derived breast tumor grafts as predictors of tumor evolution and drug resistance
Dr. Dihua Yu (2013)
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center,Houston, TX
Identification and Targeting of Kinases Involved in Breast Cancer Brain Metastasis
Dr. Candece L. Gladson, M.D. (2012)
The Nancy and William E. Harris Endowed Chair and Professor of Molecular Medicine, Cleveland Clinic
FIP200 promotes survival through autophagy of metastatic breast cancer in the brain
Dr. Heide L. Ford, Ph.D. (2012)
Associate Professor, Dept. of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Division of Basic Reproductive Sciences, University of Colorado School of Medicine
Understanding the Role of miR106b-25 in Breast Cancer Associated Metastasis: A potential new metastasis therapy?
Rahul Jandial, MD, PhD (2012)
Neurosurgeon and researcher at City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Treatment Center in California
Disrupting metabolic adaptations in breast-to-brain metastases
Dr. Alana Welm (2011)
Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation
Test the value of tumorgrafts in predicting response to therapy.
Dr. Andrea M. Mastro (2011)
The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA
Dormancy or growth? A three dimensional in vitro system to study breast cancer metastases in bone
Dr. Danny Welch (2010)
Associate Director of Basic Science, University of Kansas Cancer Center
KISS1 prevents seeded cancer cells from growing into full blown metastases
