Carlos Arteaga, M.D.
Campaign boosts Arteaga’s breast cancer research
Carlos Arteaga, M.D., has been chosen to participate in the Lee Jeans Translational Breast Cancer Research Program, a philanthropic campaign between the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF) and Lee Jeans.
EIF is a Hollywood charity that works with the entertainment industry to stimulate awareness and raise funds for health, education and social issues.
The program is one of EIF's Women's Cancer Programs and funds innovative breast cancer research at academic institutions. Its mission is to distinguish, characterize and develop treatments for breast cancer sub-types.
Participating investigators receive $300,000 the first year.
Dennis Slamon, M.D., Ph.D., at UCLA, helped EIF select seven breast cancer program leaders at six academic institutions for inclusion.
“Dr. Arteaga has been identified as doing some of the most innovative work around breast cancer treatment,” said Judi Ketcik, EIF's vice president of communication.
Arteaga's research will focus on discovering mechanisms of resistance to anti-HER2 targeted therapies in breast cancer.
Collaborating with other investigators, he will design, implement and conduct clinical trials with drugs that eliminate specific mechanisms of resistance in patients with HER-2 positive breast cancer.
“These collaborations may well lead to the elimination of some types of breast cancer,” said Arteaga, professor of Medicine and Cancer Biology and director of the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center's Breast Cancer Research Program.
Future funding for the ongoing program will come from events like Lee National Denim Day, one of the largest single-day fund-raisers for breast cancer in the nation. The 12th annual Denim Day takes place Oct. 5. Employees participate by wearing jeans to work in exchange for a $5 donation to breast cancer research.
Other investigators selected include Martin D. Abeloff, M.D., and Nancy E. Davidson, M.D., of the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University; Joan S. Brugge, Ph.D., of the Department of Cell Biology at Harvard Medical School; Funmi I. Olopade, M.D., of the Pritzker School of Medicine at the University of Chicago; C. Kent Osborne, M.D., of the Breast Center at Baylor College of Medicine; and Dennis J. Slamon, M.D., Ph.D., of the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center at David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.
For more information on Lee National Denim Day, visit www.denimday.com.