ALEXANDRIA, Va. - Conquer Cancer, the ASCO Foundation, is pleased to announce Shlomit Strulov Shachar, MD, of Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center as the recipient of the 2021 Conquer Cancer - Israel Cancer Research Fund Career Development Award (CDA).

Dr. Shachar's proposed study entitled “Identifying Molecular Oncogenic Drivers Associated with Differential Clinical Benefit to Inhibition of the PI3K Pathway in Estrogen Receptor-Positive Metastatic Breast Cancer” will focus on identifying mechanisms of drug resistance associated with hormone receptor-positive (HR+) metastatic breast cancer, which is one of the most common subtypes of breast cancer. 

“Treating metastatic breast cancer is a challenge, and this grant will allow us to investigate the mechanism of resistance to systemic therapy and hopefully find the optimal treatment sequencing of hormone receptor-positive metastatic breast cancer,” said Dr. Shachar. 

This is the second year of collaboration between Conquer Cancer and Israel Cancer Research Fund to award a CDA supporting high-quality clinical oncology research by an early-career physician scientist in Israel. The CDA is a three-year, $200,000 grant that provides resources to clinical and translational investigators during their initial years of faculty appointment when funding is especially challenging. The grant period starts on September 1, 2021.

“ICRF is so pleased to collaborate once again with Conquer Cancer. Together we can fund the research of Dr. Shlomit Strulov Shachar, a deserving early stage investigator, who will focus on identifying drug resistance in metastatic cancer," said Beryl Chernov, ICRF national executive director. "It is gratifying to partner with an organization such as Conquer Cancer that is also committed to supporting researchers at various levels of career development."

About Israel Cancer Research Fund 

The Israel Cancer Research Fund (ICRF) is the largest charitable organization outside of Israel solely devoted to supporting cancer research in Israel. Since its founding in 1975, over 2,500 grants totaling more than $77.5 million have been funded to date. ICRF grants have been awarded to hundreds of researchers (including the first two Israelis to win the Nobel Prize in Chemistry and multiple winners of the coveted Israel Prize) at two dozen leading research institutions, universities, and hospitals across Israel. The efforts of Israeli cancer researchers have resulted in significant cancer breakthroughs and have helped in the development of major cancer drugs, including Doxil, Gleevec and Velcade.