The Gray Foundation today announced $35 million in funding over 3 years for 16 research teams to study new approaches for prevention, early detection, and interception of BRCA-related cancers, bringing the total BRCA giving by Mindy and Jon Gray to over $235 million.
The new grants are part of the Foundation’s ongoing Team Science program, which funds innovative BRCA-related collaborative research. The Foundation has now given over $100 million to support this program. For this cycle, the research teams were selected from more than 85 applications through an extensive evaluation led by Chi Van Dang, MD, PhD, Chief Science Advisor for the Gray Foundation, supported by a review committee composed of leading experts in the field.
The selected multi-disciplinary teams will commence studies into a variety of topics related to prevention, early detection, and interception. This year, the Foundation will support projects applying the newest advances in technology and AI to the biggest questions in the BRCA-associated cancer field. Some highlights include applying AI to MRI imaging and blood sample data to detect the earliest warning signs of cancer. Research teams are also using computational methods to predict the development of pre-cancerous cells and the microenvironment that surrounds them. Additionally, the Foundation selected teams of researchers to use machine learning and complementarity techniques to analyze data deposited in the Gray BRCA Pre-Cancer Atlas (the Atlas). The Atlas is a multi-institutional Gray Foundation initiative to generate a unified resource capturing the molecular, genetic, and physiological changes occurring at the earliest signs of BRCA-associated cancer. By giving access to additional experts, the data already deposited by existing research teams will be utilized in new ways to accelerate biomarker identification and generate new hypotheses for cancer interception.
Grants were awarded to teams led by:
- Elham Azizi, PhD & José McFaline-Figueroa, PhD – Columbia University
- Joan Brugge, PhD – Harvard Medical School
- Dipanjan Chowdhury, PhD – Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
- Christina Curtis, PhD – Stanford University
- Leif Ellisen, MD, PhD & Katherine Nathanson, MD – Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute & University of Pennsylvania
- Andrew Goodman, PhD – Yale University
- Daniel Heller, PhD – Sloan Kettering Institute for Cancer Research
- Jos Jonkers, PhD – Netherlands Cancer Institute
- Christopher Maxwell, PhD, Stephen Chia, MD, Sacha Howell MD, PhD, & Jesús Pérez-Losada MD, PhD – University of British Columbia, University of Manchester & University of Salamanca
- Milica Medved, PhD & Kathryn Mills, MD – The University of Chicago
- Hendrik Messal, PhD & Katherine Nathanson, MD – Netherlands Cancer Institute & University of Pennsylvania
- Jillian Phallen, PhD – Johns Hopkins University
- T. Rinda Soong, MD, PhD, MPH & Shikhar Uttam, PhD – University of Pittsburgh
- Karthik Sundaram, MD, PhD, Dylan Tisdall, PhD & Moti Freiman, PhD – University of Pennsylvania & Technion – Israel Institute of Technology
- Victor Velculescu, MD, PhD – Johns Hopkins University
- Valerie M. Weaver, PhD – University of California San Francisco
Dr. Dang commented: “The teams selected by the Foundation are taking innovative, multi-disciplinary approaches to the toughest questions in the field. We were highly impressed with the caliber of proposals we received this year and are confident that the selected research proposals will have a meaningful impact in the prevention, interception, and early detection of BRCA-associated cancers.
The Gray Foundation’s Mindy and Jon Gray added: “We remain committed to supporting the newest technologies and brightest minds in cancer research to ensure that families affected by BRCA mutations have better options and improved outcomes. Our Team Science program prioritizes a collaborative approach to addressing the most urgent BRCA-related research to accelerate a future free of these cancers.”
About the Gray Foundation
The Gray Foundation is focused on accelerating research, improving treatment and raising awareness for individuals who have inherited BRCA mutations. With these grants, the Gray Foundation has committed $235 million to supporting BRCA research, including over $115 to establish and support the Basser Center for BRCA at Penn Medicine’s Abramson Cancer. In 2025, the Foundation supported Tel Aviv University with $125M to the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences to improve access for students and elevate the quality of education, training and research including dedicated funding to BRCA research.
In addition, the Foundation is committed to improving the lives of low-income youth in New York City. The Foundation partners with leading nonprofits to expand access to education, healthcare and opportunity for children across all five boroughs.
Jon and Mindy Gray founded the Gray Foundation in 2014. They have given over $600 million in support of these missions.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260629406650/en/
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