MEET
THE RESEARCHERS
The Foundation funds some of the biggest, boldest, newest ideas in breast cancer research — ideas that often times don't qualify for traditional funding, but have the potential to transform the treatments of tomorrow.
Transforming the Treatments of Tomorrow
“The enthusiasm and passion that Vera Bradley Foundation volunteers and professionals have for curing this disease inspires me as I work to help women live longer, healthier lives after a diagnosis of breast cancer.”
Dr. Bryan Schneider, M.D.
Dr. Schneider, the Vera Bradley Chair in Oncology, focuses on personalized medicine: giving the right medicine to the right patient at the right time based on genetic and other factors. With past Vera Bradley support, he has developed a first-of-its kind clinical study for women diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer, a very aggressive form of the disease.
As a physician-scientist, Dr. Bryan Schenider is focused on deciphering the individual genomes of breast tumors and leading clinical trials that reveal why women respond so differently to the same cancer drug. He, with his colleagues at Indiana University School of Medicine, are at the forefront globally in identifying these differences and blending the information to develop breast cancer treatments of the future.
Only nine years into his career as a faculty member at IU School of Medicine, he has received five prestigious national awards. This include recognition from the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the largest and most prestigious organization of its kind in the country, for his groundbreaking research that revealed biomarkers predicting harmful side effects of treatment. In all, he has amassed more than $7.8 million in peer-reviewed funding for his research. Today, as the Vera Bradley Investigator, he is realizing his goals of translating his discoveries from the laboratory into the clinic and revolutionizing the way breast cancer is diagnosed and treated.
Kathy D. Miller, M.D.
A physician-scientist, Dr. Miller is among the leading clinical breast cancer trial specialist in the United States. She strives to improve the quality and length of patients’ lives through clinical research opportunities. Recently, she designed clinical trials to treat HER2-positive disease and Triple Negative Disease. Dr. Miller joined the faculty of the IU School of Medicine in 1999, and is now the Ballve-Lantero Professor of Medicine. She is the Associate Director of Clinical Research at the IU Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center and directs clinical research initiatives also at the Vera Bradley Foundation Center for Breast Cancer Research. She has been honored as the Indiana University Outstanding Clinician.
Harikrishna Nakshatri, B.V.Sc., Ph.D.
Dr. Nakshatri, a laboratory scientist, is considered a world authority on estrogen-sensitive breast cancer. His investigations also explore the origin of breast cancer, particularly as it relates to risk associated with ethnicity. Dr. Nakshatri joined the IU School of Medicine in 1996 as the first laboratory researcher focused exclusively on breast cancer at IU and is the Marian Morrison Chair in Breast Cancer Research. He is the associate director of education at the IU Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center and directs basic science laboratory initiatives in the Vera Bradley Foundation Center for Breast Cancer Research.
Team science is critical. Breast cancer must be confronted by both scientists in the laboratory and physicians attending to patients to overcome the complexities the disease presents. Funding has resulted in a critical mass of talented investigators, each bringing complementary expertise.