Three researchers in the UAB Department of Pathology will receive research grants in the latest round of funding from the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Breast Cancer Research Foundation of Alabama (BCRFA).

Lalita Shevde-Samant, Ph.D., professor in the Division of Molecular and Cellular Pathology, is awarded a $100,000 grant from the Breast Cancer Research Foundation of Alabama, an organization in partnership with the O’Neal CCC working to raise funds to support cancer research in the state of Alabama. Her research project is titled, “A Novel Clinically Actionable Approach to Disable Resurgence Metastasis if Triple-Negative Breast Cancer,” aimed at testing a new approach to inhibit the mechanisms by which cancer cells survive cytotoxic chemotherapy with the goal of killing the tumor cells and reducing metastasis.

Eason Hildreth, D.V.M., Ph.D., assistant professor in the Division of Molecular and Cellular Pathology, is awarded a $100,000 grant from the Breast Cancer Foundation of Alabama. The grant will be paid out over the course of two years. His research project is titled, “Targeting CSF1R/PU.1Signaling and PU.1 Superenhancer Regulation in Tumor Progression and Metastasis Across Breast Cancer Subtypes.” In this study, Hildreth will target both ways PU.1 regulates TAM function using small molecule inhibitors and microparticle-mediated drug delivery systems in mouse models of primary breast cancer tumors across the spectrum of breast cancer subtypes.

Craig Maynard, Ph.D., associate professor and researcher in the Division of Molecular and Cellular Pathology, will receive a one-year catalyst grant of $50,000 from UAB’s O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center as part of its O’Neal Invests program. Maynard’s research project is titled, “Fc Gamma Binding Protein (Fcgbp) and Colorectal Adenocarcinoma.”

“The Breast Cancer Research Foundation of Alabama has made remarkable investments in cancer research in our state, in particular by funding investigators and projects with significant potential to improve cancer outcomes,” said Barry Sleckman, M.D., Ph.D., director of the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center. “The BCRFA has been an incredible partner, and we are grateful for their support.”