The PA Breast Cancer Coalition (PBCC) recently presented two $100,000 grants to breast cancer researchers at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine: Lewis Chodosh, M.D., Ph.D., and Christine Edmonds, M.D..
Including these 2026 grants, the PA Breast Cancer Coalition has contributed over $1.1 million to breast cancer research at Penn.
Lewis Chodosh, MD, PhD studies dormant tumor cells or DTCs and why they reactivate, causing metastatic stage IV breast cancer in patients. His team hopes to study the evolution of DTCs and develop new targeted therapies to prevent breast cancer from recurring. Dr. Chodosh and previous PBCC research grant winner Dr. Angela DeMichele co-founded the 2-PREVENT Translational Center of Excellence at Penn Medicine, the only program in the country dedicated to preventing breast cancer recurrence.
“The tireless efforts of this organization have had a huge impact on both on survivors from this disease and the scientists who are trying to pursue cures to this disease.”
– Dr. Lewis Chodosh
The PBCC-funded research of Christine Edmonds, M.D., and Co-Principal Investigator Terence Gade, M.D., Ph.D. also focuses on breast cancer recurrence with the study of a promising new imaging technique – dynamic nuclear polarization magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging of hyperpolarized 1-13C-pyruvate (DNP-13C-MRSI) – to detect breast cancer cells that survive targeted therapy and to predict which cancers will come back. Her lab aims to implement a clinical trial of this imaging in women with newly diagnosed, advanced breast cancer to eventually improve long-term prognoses.
“The impact is profound. I’ve been following the [PBCC] advocacy and research support for 20 years, since I was in medical school, and I think now more than ever the impact that these local or state grants can have is extra important.”
– Dr. Christine Edmonds
The PA Breast Cancer Coalition has awarded more than $6.1 million to outstanding cancer researchers through its Research Grants Initiative. Funding for PBCC grants is made possible by Pennsylvanians who choose to contribute through online driver’s license renewals, vehicle registration renewals or state income tax refunds.
To learn more about PBCC-funded research at Penn Medicine, watch our opens in a new windowvideo below.
To learn more about the PBCC Research Grants Initiative, visit opens in a new windowpbcc.me/research.
