The Basser Center will focus on prevention and treatment options for those with a BRCA 1 or 2 mutation and will provide a place for people to discuss their options and participate in research studies.
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| From left: Chi Van Dang, M.D., Ph.D., Susan Domchek, M.D., Jon Gray and Mindy Basser Gray, Amy Gutmann, Ph.D., and J. Larry Jameson, M.D., Ph.D. |
About the Basser Research Center for BRCA
A $25 million gift to the University of Pennsylvania from alumni Mindy and Jon Gray will establish a center focused on the treatment and prevention of cancers associated with hereditary BRCA mutations.
The Basser Research Center for BRCA— BRC for BRCA — will support research on the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, harmful forms of which are linked to greatly increased risks of developing breast and ovarian cancer. The Center is named in honor of Mindy Gray’s sister, Faith Basser, who died of ovarian cancer at age 44.
Emphasizing outreach, prevention, early detection, treatment and survivorship, the Basser Research Center will contribute to all stages of research and clinical care related to BRCA-related cancers.
“We hope that the Basser Research Center will eliminate BRCA-related cancers and, in doing so, provide a road map for curing other genetic diseases,” Mindy and Jon Gray said. “We also want to make sure that families have a center dedicated to helping them with the complex issues arising from a BRCA diagnosis. As Penn graduates, we are fortunate that our alma mater has the world-class medical facilities and gifted researchers essential for this mission.”
The Center will be located within Penn’s Abramson Cancer Center at the Perelman School of Medicine. The gift will create an endowed professorship in the field of oncology to be known as the Basser Professorship, recruit additional faculty, enhance core technologies such as bioinformatics and DNA vaccine production, launch an annual lectureship and establish the Basser Prize to honor cutting-edge research.
The Grays’ gift will support research with a particular focus on interdisciplinary work and an acceleration of bench-to-bedside implementation of scientific findings.
Susan Domchek, associate professor of medical oncology and current director of the MacDonald Women’s Cancer Risk Evaluation Center at the Perelman School of Medicine, will serve as the founding executive director of the Basser Research Center and will lead its strategic direction.
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