Breast Cancer Alliance Announces the 2026 Class of Grantees, Committing Over $1.4 Million to Advance Breast Cancer Care

21 Scientists, Surgeons, and Hospitals receive funding through BCA's 3 flagship grant programs — marking a milestone in the organization's 30-year history

GREENWICH, CT, UNITED STATES, September 10, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- BCA Announces Its 2026 Class of Grantees, Committing Over $1.4 Million to Advance Breast Cancer Research, Surgical Training, and Community Screening Access

Breast Cancer Alliance (BCA), a leading national nonprofit dedicated to advancing breast cancer care, today announced its Class of 2026 Grantees — 21 exceptional recipients across three grant programs who will receive a combined investment of $1.4 million to pursue groundbreaking science, advancing surgical excellence, and providing those in underserved communities with access to potentially life-saving breast cancer screenings.

This year's announcement comes during BCA's 30th anniversary, a milestone that underscores the organization's enduring commitment to accelerating progress against breast cancer. Since its founding in 1996 in Greenwich, Connecticut, BCA has distributed close to $40 million across 584 grants. This translates to 230 research awards, 66 breast surgical oncology fellowships at leading medical institutions, and 287 hospital grants for free screenings and mammograms that have reached thousands of women and men who might otherwise have gone undetected.

“‘The Class of 2026 represents everything BCA stands for — the very best minds in breast cancer science, the surgeons who will define the next generation of patient care, and the community programs that ensure no woman or man is left behind. We are profoundly grateful to our donors, sponsors, and supporters whose generosity have made every one of these grants possible.”
— Lori Kron, President, Breast Cancer Alliance

Advancing the Science: Young Investigator Grants

BCA's Young Investigator Grant program funds early-career scientists conducting high-potential research that may not yet qualify for traditional public funding — filling a critical gap in the breast cancer research pipeline. The 2026 class of Young Investigators includes:

● Ang Cui, PhD — Broad Institute of MIT & Harvard
● Jonathan Tsai, MD, PhD — Brigham & Women’s Hospital
● Anli Zhang, PhD — UT Southwestern Medical Center

“We are deeply grateful for this award, which directly provides critical momentum at a pivotal time in our work. Being part of the BCA community is essential to helping us move closer to therapies that can save lives and improve long-term outcomes for patients.”
- Jonathan Tsai, MD, PhD

“The BCA Young Investigator Award gives me the critical support to pursue a bold new approach to understanding immune responses to breast cancer. We hope that our research will ultimately help improve immunotherapy responses and guide more effective treatment strategies for patients with breast cancer.”
- Ang Cui, PhD

Exceptional Project Grants: High-Impact Research

BCA's Exceptional Project Grant program supports tenured scientists and established researchers tackling some of the most complex and consequential questions in breast cancer biology, diagnostics, and treatment. The 2026 recipients are:

● Hanna Irie, MD, PhD — Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (The Pitch Your Peers BCA Exceptional Project Grant)
● Huiping Liu, MD, PhD — Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
● Richard Pomerantz, MD — Thomas Jefferson University (The Stuart & Jane Weitzman Grant)
● Matthew G. Vander Heiden, MD, PhD — Massachusetts Institute of Technology (The Deborah G. Black Memorial Grant)

“The BCA grant will help accelerate progress in validating novel drugs, like ours, that could benefit many patients diagnosed with breast cancer. The grant helps support the next generation of breast cancer researchers in my lab who will take on the challenge of developing effective, less toxic treatments for patients”
- Hanna Irie, MD, PhD

Training Tomorrow's Surgeons: Breast Surgical Oncology Fellowships

Fewer than 1% of American surgeons complete a dedicated breast surgical oncology fellowship — a gap in specialized training that directly affects the quality of care available to patients. BCA is the only US nonprofit funding one-year post-medical school fellowships at Society of Surgical Oncology-accredited institutions. BCA's Fellowship program addresses this need by funding advanced training at the nation's foremost cancer centers. The 2026 Fellows are:

● Nora Claire Elson, MD — The Mount Sinai Hospital (The Veronica Beard Breast Surgical Oncology Fellowship)
● Amanda Nash, MD — Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (The Gabelli Foundation Fellowship)
● Maya Petashnick, MD — Yale University
● Naina Rao, MD — Rutgers Cancer Institute (The Rodkin Family Breast Surgical Oncology Fellowship)
● Cherease Rhea Nicla Street, MD — Montefiore Medical Center

Closing the Screening Gap: Community Hospital Grants

Access to breast cancer screening should not depend on zip code or income. BCA's Screening & Diagnostics grant program funds free and low-cost mammography and diagnostic services at community hospitals across Connecticut and New York, helping ensure that any woman or man — regardless of her financial circumstances — can receive a potentially life-saving screening. The 2026 hospital grantees are:

● Danbury Hospital & New Milford Hospital
● Greenwich Hospital (The Robert G. Burton Charitable Foundation Grant)
● Griffin Hospital (The Chambers Family Foundation Grant)
● Hartford Hospital (The Michele Helie Millard Memorial Grant)
● Hospital of Central Connecticut (The Michele Helie Millard Memorial Grant)
● Norma Pfriem Breast Cancer Center at Bridgeport Hospital (The Mitchell Family Grant)
● Norwalk Hospital
● Stamford Hospital (The OMNICOM Grant)
● White Plains Hospital

BCA's grant program is made possible in part through named grants established by generous donors, families, and corporate partners whose philanthropic vision directly funds specific grantees. The 2026 class reflects the transformative impact of thirteen named gifts from the The Rodkin Family, The Gabelli Foundation, Pitch Your Peers, Veronica Beard, the Deborah G. Black Memorial Fund, Stuart & Jane Weitzman, the Robert G. Burton Charitable Foundation, the Chambers Family Foundation, The Michele Helie Millard Memorial Fund, the Mitchell Family, and OMNICOM.

To learn more about the 2026 BCA Grantee Class, visit www.breastcanceralliance.org

Michelle Bella
Breast Cancer Alliance
+ + + +1 203-861-0014
michelle@breastcanceralliance.org
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