A Message from Myla Biblowit,
President, BCRF

The expression “time flies”  holds special meaning for me this year.  In April, Peg Mastrianni, our Deputy Director, and I marked our tenth anniversary leading BCRF.

Reviewing BCRF’s evolution is an exhilarating experience. In 2001, BCRF awarded grants totaling $8.5 million to 49 researchers in the US and its first international grant to Dr. Ephrat Levy-Lahad in Israel. Since then, BCRF’s grant-making has become a global enterprise.  We have nearly quadrupled the research portfolio, with $33 million in grants in 2010 to 172 investigators based in 12 countries. Cumulatively, BCRF has raised more than $320 million for breast cancer research, $280 million of which in the last ten years. We have come a long way.  To what can we attribute our success?

As Peg and I reflect on BCRF’s evolution, it is the volume of individuals, corporations, and foundations who have contributed to BCRF that is most remarkable. You have helped BCRF become a widely respected organization that consistently earns top ratings from evaluators. It is the combined effort of all donors, large and small, who have contributed to our success. Your generosity as Board, Advisory Board and Leaders Council members, your attendance at special events, your engagement and support of BCRF through community groups, the workplace, schools and other local programs, your determination to spread awareness of our cause, and, above all, your heartfelt donations are what sustain this organization and fuel our growth.

Thanks to you, BCRF has also influenced the culture of biomedical research. With your support, BCRF has demonstrated that collaboration, not competition, is key to advances. Our distinctive grant-making model has fostered dialogue among scientists across disciplines and is creating more effective treatments and prevention strategies, which will ultimately eradicate breast cancer.

Synergistically, our grantees’ research endeavors and your philanthropic investments translate into breakthroughs for those diagnosed with breast cancer and lay the foundation so that no one else will develop the disease. Please accept our most sincere thanks for these ten glorious years. Furthermore, thank you all for contributing to a future filled with hope for the possibility of a world without breast cancer!

Sincerely,

Myra J. Biblowit