By Kathy Hull
On Tuesday, March 8, the Beacon Hill Women’s Forum (BHWF) will present “Good Funding & Good Fortune: Ending Breast Cancer,” featuring two distinguished women leaders wh
Myra J. Biblowit
o are leading the charge to cure breast cancer. Myra J. Biblowit has been President and CEO of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation in New York City since 2001. The Foundation’s sole mission is to fund breast cancer research: this year it offered $48.5 million in grants to over 200 scientists around the globe, thus serving as the largest private funder for such research in the world. A graduate of Tufts University (B.A.) and Brandeis University (M.A. in Social Policy and Management), she received the 2012 “Woman of Achievement” Award from the Women in Development organization of New York.
Joining Ms. Biblowit will be one of her organization’s grantees, Nadine M. Tung, M.D. Dr. Tung is Director of the Cancer Genetics & Prevention Program at Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, a Program she established in 1997. The original purpose of the Program was to evaluate patients with hereditary cancer syndromes, including women with BRAC1 and BRAC2 mutation; it has expanded to include effective strategies for both preventing and treating breast cancer. BRCA1 and BRCA2 are genes that produce tumor suppressor proteins; when these genes are mutated, cells are more likely to develop further genetic changes that may lead to cancer. Perhaps the most well-known person carrying the BRCA1 gene is actress Angelina Jolie, who opted for bilateral prophylactic mastectomy. Dr. Tung’s co-investigator is Stuart J. Schmitt, M.D., Professor of Pathology at Harvard; they have been recipients of Breast Cancer Research Foundation grants since 2007. A graduate of Princeton University, she received her M.D. from Harvard Medical School.
The event will be held at Hampshire House, 84 Beacon Street. There is a cash bar at 6 pm; the speakers will be introduced promptly at 7 pm; reservations are required. BHWF is a non-profit social organization for women living in and around the Beacon Hill area. Its purpose is to provide opportunities for local women to connect, inspire, and enjoy. All are invited to join. To find out more, go to: www.beaconhillwomensforum.org.