Previous Research Grant Recipients
2025 Research Grant Awardees
Renato Iozzo, MD, PhD
Thomas Jefferson University
Dr. Iozzo research will study breast cancer that has metastasized or spread to other parts of the body through lymphatic vessels. His research focuses on understanding how those vessels form and are maintained. Dr. Iozzo’s team discovered that decorin, a protein found in the tissue around tumors, can reduce the growth of the lymphatic vessels and trigger a process called autophagy, which breaks down and removes damaged cells. They hope to study how decorin impacts tumor growth, possibly leading to new targeted treatments for stage IV metastatic breast cancer.
Gail Matters, PhD
Penn State Cancer Institute
Dr. Matters research will study the detection and treatment of stage IV metastatic breast cancer. Her team has developed small nanoparticles that, when attached to targeting molecules, will assist with the noninvasive detection of breast cancer that has spread to the bone. Dr. Matters hopes to identify and compare nanoparticle targeting agents that will detect late-stage breast cancer and also possibly improve treatments and survival rates.
Chan Shen, PhD
Penn State Cancer Institute
Dr. Shen’s team is focused on the impact of breast density notification legislation. Dense breast tissue increases a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer and can make breast cancer difficult to detect on a regular mammogram. Many states, including Pennsylvania, now have laws in place requiring providers to notify women of their breast density level to develop the best screening options. Dr. Shen will examine data from states with such laws in place to determine whether patient outcomes benefited from the legislation.
Dr. Ioannis Verginadis, PhD
University of Pennsylvania
Dr. Verginadis is working to advance his research on FLASH proton radiation therapy. FLASH therapy blasts tumors with an ultra-high dose of radiation in less than a second, and instead of spacing out the total dose across dozens of treatments, FLASH can be delivered in just one to five treatments. Studies show this approach may be able to kill the tumor while sparing healthy tissue. With support from the PBCC, Dr. Verginadis plans to produce further findings on proton therapy, exploring its potential to reduce toxicities and improve therapeutic outcomes for breast cancer patients.
Shandong Wu, PhD
University of Pittsburg
Dr. Wu, a two-time PBCC grant winner, plans to use the 2025 grant to study artificial intelligence (A.I.) and its ability to predict breast cancer recurrence. Currently, endocrine therapies, such as Tamoxifen and aromatase inhibitors, are widely used in the clinic for treating hormone-sensitive early-stage breast cancer. These therapies are proven to reduce recurrence and death from breast cancer. However, not every patient will benefit, and there are substantial side effects associated with these therapies. Funding from the PBCC will enable Dr. Wu’s lab to focus on advanced A.I. techniques to develop an early response biomarker for measuring the clinical efficacy (e.g. reduce breast cancer recurrence) of therapies like Tamoxifen and aromatase inhibitors so that only women who will benefit from the treatment will be subjected to the potential side effects. The goal of the study is to build deep learning models to predict risk of distant recurrence in breast cancer patients following adjuvant endocrine chemotherapy.
25th Year Recipients (2024)
- Marius Sudol, PhD, Geisinger Health System
- Susan M. Domchek, MD, University of Pennsylvania
- Michael Verderame, PhD, Penn State College of Medicine
- Jean Latimer, PhD, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
Total funding distributed: $400,000 ($100,000 grants)
24th Year Recipients (2023)
- Wendie Berg, MD, PhD, FACR, Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC
- Carolyn Fang, PhD, Fox Chase Cancer Center
- Elizabeth McDonald, MD, PhD, University of Pennsylvania
- Mauricio Reginato, PhD, Drexel University
Total funding distributed: $400,000 ($100,000 grants)
23rd Year Recipients (grant date: 01/01/22 – 12/31/22)
- Jonathan Chernoff, MD, PhD, Fox Chase Cancer Center
- Anne Marie McCarthy, PhD, University of Pennsylvania
- Xiaosong Wang, MD, PhD, University of Pittsburgh
Total funding distributed: $150,000 ($50,000 grants)
22nd Year Recipients (grant date: 01/01/21 – 12/31/21)
- Alessandro Fatatis, MD, PhD, Drexel University
- Adrian Lee, PhD, University of Pittsburgh
- Zachary Shug, PhD,, The Wistar Institute
Total funding distributed: $150,000 ($50,000 grants)
21st Year Recipients (grant date: 01/01/20 – 12/31/20)
- Lewis Chodosh, MD, PhD, University of Pennsylvania
- Anne Moon, MD, PhD, Geisinger Clinic
- Richard Pomerantz, PhD, Temple University
- Vera Donnenberg, PhD, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
Total funding distributed: $200,000 ($50,000 grants)
20th Year Recipients (grant date: 01/01/19 – 12/31/19)
- Christoforos Thomas, PhD, University of Pennsylvania
- Karen Bussard, PhD, Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson
- David Waning, PhD, Penn State Cancer Institute
- Wendie Berg, MD, PhD, FACR, Magee-Womens Hospital, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
Total funding distributed: $200,000 ($50,000 grants)
19th Year Recipients (grant date: 01/01/18 – 12/31/18)
- David Cormode, PhD, University of Pennsylvania
- Sean Knecht, PhD, Penn State University
- Steffi Oesterreich, PhD, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
- Wendie Berg, MD, PhD, FACR, Magee-Womens Hospital, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
Total funding distributed: $200,000 ($50,000 grant
18th Year Recipients (grant date: 01/01/17 – 12/31/17)
- Alessandro Fatatis, MD, PhD, Drexel University College of Medicine
- Xianxin Hua, MD, PhD, University of Pennsylvania
- Mauricio Reginato, PhD, Drexel University College of Medicine
Total funding distributed: $150,000 ($50,000 grants)
17th Year Recipients (grant date: 01/01/16 – 12/31/16)
- Wendie Berg, MD, PhD, FACR, Magee-Womens Hospital, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
- Edward Gunther, PhD, Penn State Cancer Institute
- Andrea Mastro, PhD, Penn State University
Total funding distributed: $150,000 ($50,000 grants)
16th Year Recipients (grant date: 01/01/15 – 12/31/15)
- Alessandro Fatatis, MD, PhD, Drexel University College of Medicine
- Xianxin Hua, MD, PhD, University of Pennsylvania
- Mauricio Reginato, PhD, Drexel University College of Medicine
Total funding distributed: $150,000 ($50,000 grants)
15th Year Recipients (grant date: 01/01/14 – 12/31/14)
- Sandra Fernandez, PhD, Thomas Jefferson University
- Yanming Wang, MD, Penn State University
- Lewis Chodosh, MD, PhD, University of Pennsylvania
Total funding distributed: $150,000 ($50,000 grants
14th Year Recipients (grant date: 01/01/13-12/31/13)
- Roger Greenberg, University of Pennsylvania
- Ramin Shiekhattar, The Wistar Institute
- Hannah Rabinowich, University of Pittsburgh
Total funding distributed: $150,000 ($50,000 gran
13th Year Recipients (grant date: 01/01/12-12/31/12)
- Allan Lipton, M.D. The Penn State University College of Medicine
- Andy Minn, M.D., Ph.D. University of Pennsylvania
- Takemi Tanaka, Ph.D. Thomas Jefferson University
Total funding distributed: $150,000 ($50,000 grants)
12th Year Recipients (grant date: 07/01/11-06/30/12)
- Melanie Sarah Flint, Ph.D. University of Pittsburgh
- Steffi Oesterreich, Ph.D. University of Pittsburgh
- Azadeh Stark, Ph. D., M.Sc. Center for Health Service Research, Geisinger Health System – Geisinger Medical Center
Total funding distributed: $150,000 ($50,000 grants)
11th Year Recipients (grant date: 07/01/10-06/30/11)
- Sandra Fernandez, Ph.D. Fox Chase Cancer Center
- Allan Lipton, M.D. Penn State University College of Medicine – Hershey Medical Center
- Hannah Rabinowich, Ph.D. University of Pittsburgh
- Janet A. Sawicki, Ph.D. Lankenau Institute for Medical Research
- Richard Steinman, M.D., Ph.D. University of Pittsburgh
- Marius Sudol, Ph.D. Geisinger Clinic, Weis Center for Research
Total funding distributed: $300,000 ($50,000 grants)
10th Year Recipients (grant date: 07/01/09-06/30/10)
- Susan Domchek, M.D. University of Pennsylvania
- Hallgeir Rui, M.D., Ph.D. Kimmel Cancer Center of Thomas Jefferson University
- Judith Weisz, M.B., BChir Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center
Total funding distributed: $150,000 ($50,000 grants)
9th Year Recipients (grant date: 03/01/08-02/28/09)
- Raghbir Athwal, Ph.D. Temple University School of Medicine
- Barry Cooperman, Ph.D. University of Pennsylvania
- Andrew Quong, Ph.D. Thomas Jefferson University Hospital
- Judy Quong, Ph.D. Thomas Jefferson University Hospital
- Stella Somiari, Ph.D. Windber Research Institute
- Judith Weisz, M.B., The Milton S. Hershey Medical Center
Total funding distributed: $300,000 ($50,000 grants)
8th Year Recipients (grant date: 03/01/07-02/29/08)
- Susan Lanza-Jacoby, Ph.D. Thomas Jefferson University
- Andrea Manni, M.D. Penn State University College of Medicine
- Gail L. Matters, Ph.D. Penn State University College of Medicine
- Craig Meyers, Ph.D. Penn State University College of Medicine
- Andrew Quong, Ph.D. Thomas Jefferson University
- Judy Quong, Ph.D. Thomas Jefferson University
- Marius Sudol, Ph.D. Geisinger Clinic
- Michael Verderame, Ph.D. Penn State University College of Medicine
- Jong Yun, Ph.D. Penn State University College of Medicine
Total funding distributed: $314,892 ($35,000 grants)
7th Year Recipient (grant date: 10/01/05-09/30/06)
- Julie Becker, Ph.D., MPH Thomas Jefferson Medical College
Total funding distributed: $34,904 ($35,000 grants)s)
6th Year Recipients (grant date: 1/1/05-12/31/05)
- Ira Bergman, M.D., Ph.D. Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh
- Ellen Heber-Katz, Ph.D. Wistar Institute
- Mary Howett, Ph.D. Drexel University
- Xiao Wang, M.D., Ph.D. Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC Health System
Total funding distributed: $138,951 ($35,000 grants)
5th Year Recipients (grant date: 07/01/03-06/30/04)
- Jonathan D. Cheng, M.D. Fox Chase Cancer Center
- Suzanne M. Gollin, Ph.D. University of Pittsburgh
- Elieser Gorelik, M.D., Ph.D. University of Pittsburgh
- Andrea M. Mastro, Ph.D. Penn State University
- Michael F. Verderame, Ph.D. Penn State University College of Medicine
Total funding distributed: $174,997 ($35,000 grants
4th Year Recipients (grant date: 09/01/02-06/30/03)
- Alaa Badawi, Ph.D. Fox Chase Cancer Center
- Per H. Basse, M.D., Ph.D. University of Pittsburgh
- Lewis A. Chodosh, M.D., Ph.D. University of Pennsylvania
- Hildegund C. J. Ertl, M.D. Wistar Institute
- Carol V. Gay, Ph.D. Penn State University
- Susan Lanza-Jacoby, Ph.D. Thomas Jefferson Medical College
Total funding distributed: $209,890 ($35,000 grants)
3rd Year Recipients (grant date: 07/01/01-06/30/02)
- Jean J. Latimer, Ph.D. Magee-Womens Health Corporation
- Kenneth McCarty, Jr, M.D., Ph.D. University of Pittsburgh
- Francesmary Modugno, Ph.D. University of Pittsburgh
- Mark Nichols, Ph.D. University of Pittsburgh
- Yvonne Paterson, Ph.D. University of Pennsylvania
- Scott K. Shore, Ph.D. Temple University
- Henry Simpkins, M.D., Ph.D. Temple University
- Michael F. Verderame, Ph.D. Penn State University College of Medicine
Total funding distributed: $279,998 ($35,000 gran
2nd Year Recipients (grant date: 07/01/01-06/30/02)
- Mary B. Daly, M.D., Ph.D. Fox Chase Cancer Center
- Stephen G. Grant, Ph.D. University of Pittsburgh
- Aurelia M. C. Koros, Ph.D. University of Pittsburgh
- Craig Meyers, Ph.D. Penn State University College of Medicine
- Glenn L. Radice, Ph.D. University of Pennsylvania
- Jeffrey D. Winkler, Ph.D. University of Pennsylvania
Total funding distributed: $178,318 ($35,000 grants)
1st Year Recipients (grant date: 07/01/00-06/30/01)
- Abass Alavi, M.D. University of Pennsylvania
- Raghbir S. Athwal, Ph.D. Temple University School of Medicine
- Michael Cascio, Ph.D. University of Pittsburgh
- Billy W. Day, Ph.D. University of Pittsburgh
- Kent W. Hunter, Ph.D. Fox Chase Cancer Center
- Phouthone Keohavong, Ph.D. University of Pittsburgh
- Jean J. Latimer, Ph.D. / Stephen Grant, Ph.D. Magee-Womens Hospital / University of Pittsburgh
- Hannah Rabinowich, Ph.D. University of Pittsburgh
- Michael F. Verderame, Ph.D. Penn State University College of Medicine
- Isabella Verdinelli, Ph.D. Carnegie Mellon University
- Victor Vogel, M.D. Magee-Womens Hospital
