Interdisciplinary Breast Cancer SPORE
Breast cancer mortality rates on Chicago’s South Side, particularly those in underserved populations of African ancestry, are among the nation’s highest. Despite more than two decades of significant advances in cancer research, there has been only modest progress in closing the breast cancer mortality gap between Black and White women in Chicago. Under the leadership of breast cancer geneticist Olufunmilayo Olopade, MD, a team of researchers is working to secure a grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to develop promising new ways to improve diagnosis, treatment and prevention of breast cancer and to promote health equity.
The planned UChicago Interdisciplinary Breast Cancer Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) will build off the foundation laid by the P20 Disparities SPORE Planning Grant, which was awarded in 2018. The planned SPORE comprises three translational research projects, each of which is aimed at personalizing risk prediction for prevention and treatment of aggressive breast cancers, predicting response to treatment, and reducing deaths from metastases. The SPORE will be supported by an administrative core; a biospecimen and pathology core; an analytics core; and a genomics and informatics core. A community outreach and engagement component will allow the team to maximize the impact of the research by uncovering emerging cancer issues in underserved communities and developing evidence-based interventions.
Biospecimen Requests
Download the Biospecimen Request Form (DOCX), complete the document, and email it to: biospecimenrequest@medicine.bsd.uchicago.edu