The Prevent Cancer Foundation® has announced the funding of eight new United States–based researchers and four new cancer prevention and early detection projects in low- or middle-income countries. Research grants and fellowships awarded this year will increase cancer prevention and early detection research. These projects are based in seven research institutions across the country and have been made possible by Foundation supporters, Awesome Games Done Quick, the Marcia and Frank Carlucci Charitable Foundation, the Shure Family Charitable Foundation, and the Devereaux Foundation.
Working in Cameroon, Peru, Nigeria, and Mozambique, the global grant awardees will focus on increasing quality screening for cervical or colorectal cancer. The projects will have direct impact where cancer prevention and early detection resources are limited. The 2020 global grants are made possible by Awesome Games Done Quick. For all of the research grant and fellowship recipients, the grant is $100,000 for 2 years. For global grant recipients, the grant is $75,000 for 1 year.
Research Grant and Fellowship Recipients
Alicia Allen, PhD, University of Arizona, Tucson: A Novel Approach to Help Women of Reproductive Age Quit Smoking: Using the hormonal contraceptive depot medroxyprogesterone acetate to lower and stabilize estradiol may improve quit outcomes, ultimately preventing smoking-related cancers.
Francisco Cartujano, MD, Hackensack University Medical Center, New Jersey: Advancing Smoking Cessation in Latinos Living With HIV One Text at a Time: This proposal aims to pilot test a smoking cessation text messaging intervention to Latinos living with HIV.
Jan Claesen, PhD, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland: Gut Microbiota Metabolism of Dietary Compounds to Chemopreventive Molecules: This study will investigate how our gut microbes process plant flavonoids, contributing to a successful cancer prevention outcome.
Adrien Grimont, PhD, Joan & Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York: Mutant KRAS Allele-Specific Epigenetic Plasticity in PDAC Initiation: This proposal aims to study the development of precancerous lesions to uncover new biomarkers.
Artit Jirapatnakul, PhD, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York: Modeling Nodule Measurement Uncertainty Using Quantitative CT Features: A model considering the characteristics of a patient’s specific lung nodule will enable personalized follow-up recommendations, optimizing lung screening protocols.
Lilianna Phan, PhD, Georgetown University, Washington, DC: Optimizing Risk Communication about JUUL Use for Young Adults: This project will develop and test the effects of risk communication messages on young adults’ risk perceptions and use intentions.
Jordana Phillips, MD, Beth Israel Deaconess/Harvard Medical Center, Boston: Contrast Enhanced Mammography for Women With a History of Breast Cancer: Offering contrast-enhanced mammography to women with a history of breast cancer as part of this prospective registry will increase cancer detection while demonstrating this modality’s overall performance in clinical practice.
Amir Zarrinpar, PhD, MD, University of California San Diego, La Jolla: Microbial DNA as a Diagnostic Marker for Hepatocellular Carcinoma: This proposal aims to use machine learning tools on microbial DNA as a biomarker of hepatocellular carcinoma.
Global Grant Recipients
Cameroon Baptist Convention Health Services: Cervical Cancer Prevention Among Female Sex Workers in Urban Cities in Cameroon: This project will provide education, screening, and treatment to female sex workers who are vulnerable to cervical cancer and who are not likely to seek screening.
Duke University: HOPE: Women Empowering Women to Adopt New Technologies for Cervical Cancer Screening in Peru: The project will implement an innovative model of health-care delivery that is community-based and gives women privacy and agency over cervical cancer screening, allowing 98 of every 100 women to complete care at home.
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center: The Efficacy and Feasibility of Fecal Immunochemistry for Colorectal Cancer Screening in Nigeria: This project will examine the accuracy and feasibility of a commonly used, inexpensive, stool-based screening test as a vital step toward developing screening programs in Africa.
Rice University: Point-of-Care Isothermal HPV DNA Amplification Test for Cervical Cancer Screening in Mozambique: The project team is developing and evaluating a new screening test that has the potential to be inexpensive and high performance compared with existing technologies.
