“I loved how the meeting brought together people with such different perspectives on breast cancer and normal tissue biology, and the consistent focus on issues that matter most to patients. “

Saraswati Sukumar, PhD

Co-director of the Breast Cancer Program, Johns Hopkins Medicine
Effectiveness of Intraductal Fulvestrant in Preclinical Models in ER+ Breast Cancer
2017 Symposium on the Breast recipient of the inaugural International Symposium on the Breast Collaborator Award

At Dr. Susan Love Foundation for Breast Cancer Research we believe that only by working together will we be able to eradicate breast cancer in our lifetime.

Innovative, breakthrough research has the capacity to change the world. At Dr. Susan Love Foundation for Breast Cancer Research, we believe that unconventional ideas pursued with unlikely partners can deliver groundbreaking results. Focused on the goal of eradicating breast cancer in our lifetime, we’re approaching the complex nature of the disease from previously unexplored perspectives to accelerate scientific innovation and save lives.

As part of the Foundation’s efforts to engage the public and scientific communities in innovative research and inspire novel research, we host a biennial International Symposium on the Breast that brings together world-class researchers, clinicians, and advocates in an intimate, think-tank environment to stimulate ideation, collaboration and, ultimately, breakthroughs that will end breast cancer. The Symposium is a unique opportunity for innovative and dedicated individuals to work together on research projects that explore the cause and prevention of breast cancer.

The 9th International Symposium,
Exploring the Human Breast: Employing New Technology

The 9th International Symposium, Exploring the Human Breast: Employing New Technology, gave attendees the opportunity to discover new theories and directions for studying the breast and breast cancer, focusing on how technologies and technological advances have opened up directions that used to be impossible to explore.

Some highlights from this year’s symposium included a presentation by Fatemeah Hassanipour, PhD, associate professor of mechanical engineering, University of Texas at Dallas, detailing her research into the stages and pacing of the suck cycles of babies. She has discovered that the majority of milk intake occurs within the first four minutes of breastfeeding. This not only provides a greater understanding of the breast butbut also could lead to the development of a more biologically correct breast pump.

Saraswati Sukumar, PhD, co-director of the Breast Cancer Program, Johns Hopkins Medicine, presented her research on intraductal treatment for breast cancer, including the identification 
of drugs that could be instilled into the milk ducts to prevent breast cancer or to treat ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS).

Saraswati Sukumar, PhD, is a pioneer in studying the breast. While at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, in La Jolla, CA, she reached out to Dr. Love to discuss the potential of intraductal therapy. That started a life-long friendship and series of collaborations. Dr. Sukumar attended one of the Foundation’s early Symposia on the Breast in Santa Barbara, where she presented her work on instilling chemotherapy down the ducts of rats. She is not only the brains behind this approach but also its most passionate cheerleader. She is an enthusiastic and generous collaborator, easing the way from the lab to the clinic.

In gratitude for her enthusiastic support and decades of partnership with Dr. Susan Love Foundation for Breast Cancer Research, we are honored to present Dr. Sukumar with the International Symposium on the Breast Collaborator Award.

To download the Conference Report, click here.

Mina Bissell, PhD, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory during her presentation titled:
Architecture is the Message for Both Normal Breast
and Breast Cancer: Why Laminin Rocks!

Piyush Gupta, PhD, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Whitehead Institute during his presentation titled:
Defining the Genetic Basis of In Situ Tumor Progression

2017 Speakers included:

• Sabina Adhikary, PhD, John Wayne Cancer Institute
• Sara Alavioon, Kimiya Co
• Fatih Levent Balci, MD, Acibadem University (AU), Istanbul in affiliation with Columbia University
• Mina Bissell, PhD, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
• Amy Brock, PhD, Crockrell School of Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin
• Gertrude Buehring, PhD, University of California, Berkeley
• Robert Chatterton, PhD, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
• Susan Clare, MD, PhD, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
• David Danforth, MS, MD, NIH Center for Cancer Research
• Mary Jo Fackler, PhD, John Hopkins University School of Medicine
• James Goedert, MD, Retired – National Cancer Institute
• Gerald Gui, MS, FRCS, FRCS(Ed), The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust
• Piyush Gupta, PhD, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Whitehead Institute
• Fatemeh Hassanipour, PhD, University of Texas at Dallas, Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science
• Tina Hieken, MD, Mayo Clinic
• Maria Kallergi, MS, PhD, Technology Educational Institute of Athens, Department of Biomedical Engineering
• Seema Khan, MD, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
• Delphine Lee, MD, PhD, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center
• Nicola Natsis, University of California, San Diego
• Steffi Oesterreich, PhD, University of Pittsburgh
• Ann Ramsdell, PhD, University of South Carolina School of Medicine
• Pepper Schedin, PhD, Oregon Health & Science University, School of Medicine
• Dipali Sharma, M.S., PhD, John Hopkins University
• Pat Sinko, PhD, RPh, Rutgers University
• Sara Sukumar, PhD, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
• Thea Tlsty, PhD, University of California, San Francisco
• Camilla Urbaniak, PhD, University of Western Ontario
• Paul van Diest, MD, PhD, University Medical Center Utrecht

2017 Event Sponsors: