PROMISING PROGRESS
RESEARCH
The Vera Bradley Foundation for Breast Cancer is focused solely on investing in breast cancer research. Currently, we fund research at the Vera Bradley Foundation Center for Breast Cancer Research at the Indiana University School of Medicine. Knowing that cancer will not be cured in a vacuum, members of our team are well known worldwide for their collaborative approach. It’s this sharing of information, talents and resources that will accelerate the pace of research.
Research Driven
At-a-glance summary of how the Vera Bradley Foundation directs the allocation of its donations to the Indiana University School of Medicine.
Breast Cancer Research Laboratories
New project funding is provided for researchers all with a single focus: better outcomes for patients.
Monogrammed Medicine
Monogrammed Medicine research considers individual variables in genes, environment and lifestyle when developing prevention and treatment strategies. Combining this information yields therapies tailored to each patient — precision therapeutics that are best tolerated by the patient and that precisely target the tumor.
Four Vera Bradley Foundation Chairs
Funding of these specific chairs allows for the expansion of expertise in the Vera Bradley Foundation Center for Breast Cancer Research at the Indiana University School of Medicine:
Vera Bradley Foundation Chair in Oncology
Vera Bradley Foundation Chair in Breast Cancer Innovation
Vera Bradley Foundation Chair in Breast Cancer Discovery
Vera Bradley Foundation Chair in Breast Cancer Research
Vera Bradley Foundation Scholars
Post-doctoral fellows who are training with members of the breast cancer research program are provided with specific funding to pursue breast cancer research projects, including those that support Monogrammed Medicine.
The Art of Compassion.
The Science of Hope.
Some of the research happening at the Vera Bradley Foundation Center for Breast Cancer Research
PREVENTION AND EARLY DETECTION
Preventing breast cancer starts with understanding how healthy cells become cancerous. The researchers are investigating which cells change and what influences the changes. This information will help women at high-risk for breast cancer make informed decisions about prevention choices. Read more...
NEW DRUG DEVELOPMENTMany of the laboratory researchers focus on developing new drugs to treat aggressive breast cancers. Once their laboratory work is completed, the FDA determines which drugs will move to the clinic for testing safety and effectiveness with patients. If successful, these new drugs may become breast cancer treatments of the future. Read more…
TRIPLE NEGATIVE BREAST CANCER Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an especially aggressive type of breast cancer with a high likelihood of recurring and spreading. It often does not respond to treatment. The researchers are developing personalized treatments with the goal of developing effective treatments for women with this disease. Read more…
HEALTHY SURVIVORSHIP
For women with breast cancer, treatment steals precious time from their lives and treatment can lead to long-term health issues. Funding from the Vera Bradley Foundation for Breast Cancer is helping researchers make therapy more effective and less toxic. Read more...
Your wonderful gifts are making a difference.
Monogrammed Medicine
Breast cancer is not a single disease but a cluster of diseases, each with its own characteristics that allow it to survive and thrive. While advances have been made in understanding the nuances of each sub-type, standard treatment remains more or less the same: resect the cancer with surgery and infuse the patient with toxic drugs that kill healthy cells along with the cancerous ones. It is an imprecise approach at a time when precision is demanded.
Members of the Vera Bradley Foundation Center for Breast Cancer Research know that to improve results for women with breast cancer, they must design therapies that consider the unique traits of the tumor and the woman it has invaded. Combining this information yields therapies tailored to each patient– precision therapeutics that are best tolerated by the patient and that precisely target her tumor.
At the Vera Bradley Foundation Center, investigators refer to this approach as Monogrammed Medicine.
Prestigious Designation Achieved: Comprehensive Cancer Center
Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center, which houses the Vera Bradley Foundation Center for Breast Cancer Research, has achieved the federal government’s most prestigious designation: Comprehensive Cancer Center. This is the highest level of recognition awarded by the National Cancer Institute for research excellence. The IU Cancer Center is the first Comprehensive Cancer Center in Indiana, only the 51st in the nation, and the first new center in the Midwest in more than a decade.