From the Director's Desk
To Pause and Reflect, to Engage and Inspire
It’s a time of tremendous activity within the Program. In addition to our normal funding activities (see page 3 for our funding announcement), ongoing development of the Special Research Initiatives, and outreach and development for community-based participatory research (announcement on page 8), we’re scheduling speakers, planning sessions, and coordinating logistics for one of our most important public forums—our 2007 symposium. The From Research to Action: Breaking New Ground symposium provides an opportunity to reflect on the progress made overall within breast cancer research, interact directly with one another, and launch ourselves into the next two years with renewed vigor and enthusiasm. Don’t miss the program updates on page 5.
SRI to Report on its Progress
at the Symposium
We are making tremendous progress
on our Special Research Initiatives,
and symposium attendees will have
the opportunity to hear from—and
speak with—four of our six steering
committee members. All of our SRI
steering committee members are or
have been involved in the CBCRP,
and so they both understand and share
our mission and our stakeholders’ vision.
Susan Shinagawa served on our
advisory council and moderated sessions
during several of our symposia.
Julia Brody was a plenary speaker
at our 2003 symposium. Sandra Steingraber
is our keynote speaker this
year, and we are particularly pleased
that we are able to add Olufunmilayo
I (Funmi) Olopade, M.D., and David
R. Williams, Ph.D., as special guest
speakers. They have been sharing
their expertise in the influence of race
and ethnicity on health outcomes with
our Special Research Initiatives and
they will be speaking in our evening
plenary session, “Racial and Ethnic
Disparities in Breast Cancer” on Friday,
September 7.
Public Input Improves the
Program
Several public forums are informing
our decisions this year: nearly 200
people attended our four in-person
Stakeholder Meetings in March and
April (read the summary on page 1
opposite), and we have four community
research workshops scheduled
for June and July. Constructive input
from advocates, researchers, legislators,
and healthcare providers helps us
remain flexible and continue as one
of the top-rated breast cancer research
programs.
More than 500 researchers, breast
cancer advocates and survivors, and
healthcare providers joined us at our
2005 symposium, and it’s my hope
that even more of you will join us in
September as we review the results of
our research funding and discuss our
role for the future.
We encourage and appreciate public
input and feedback about our Program
at any time, whether through
phone calls, letters, emails, or at our
exhibits, but there is something truly
special about the face-to-face opportunities
that arise during our symposium.
The immediate value of having
a conversation, sharing a moment, and
exchanging ideas creates new opportunities
for growth and brings together
our diverse attendees to share priorities,
needs, and research findings.
A Springboard for the
Future
The symposium offers a chance for all
of us to pause, reflect, and see where
the CBCRP is best suited to make an
advance against breast cancer. It’s a
chance to acknowledge both the advances
our researchers have made and
the impact that breast cancer still has
on our lives. It’s a personal opportunity
for me to rededicate myself to our
mission of eradicating breast cancer.
We come together with enthusiasm
and intensity in order to create new
hope and optimism for a future without
breast cancer. I hope you’ll join us
in Los Angeles in September.
Marion H. E. Kavanaugh-Lynch, M.D., M.P.H.,
Director of the CBCRP
