Our Mission
To help find a cure for breast cancer by funding promising breast cancer research in Alabama and to raise community awareness and funding for that research.
ABOUT
OUR STORY
The Breast Cancer Research Foundation of Alabama
In December of 1995, the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB introduced two people who had a shared experience with breast cancer. Dolly O’Neal, an 18-month breast cancer survivor, was one of those people. The other was Bruce Sokol, whose wife D.D. was undergoing breast cancer treatment at the time. Both shared a fervent desire to do something to fight this disease.
The following year, they founded the Breast Cancer Research Foundation of Alabama.
Today, we continue to uphold their work as we partner with Alabamians across the state to fundraise for research. Through individual donations, corporate partnerships, and special events, we have contributed over $15 million to local, lifesaving research since our founding.
As we continue the fight against breast cancer and bring hope to everyone affected by breast cancer, we always operate with our mission in mind.
IMPACT NUMBERS
OUR RESEARCH
What Are Our Goals?
OUR LEADERSHIP
We are passionate about raising funds and awareness to Fuel Advances in breast cancer treatment.
Staff
Beth Davis
President & CEO
[email protected]
Rachel Beatty
Marketing and Communications Coordinator
[email protected]
Brandy Key
Events Coordinator
[email protected]
Sonja Jordan
Administrative Assistant
[email protected]
2024 Board of Directors
Brian Grainger
Chair / Treasurer
Camper O’Neal
Vice Chair
Celya L. Caston
Secretary
Hope B. Bosworth
Denise Bryant
Gloria Buie
Meredith Carpenter
Jill N. Carter
Fran Chaiprakob
Diane Dudney
Steven Elseroad
Nancy C. Goedecke
Rosalind B. Griffin
Laura Hinton
Sri Karra
Kate Kiefer
Kate Damrich Lloyd
Ginger Milam
Carol Sue Mitchell
Dianne Mooney
Carol Myers
Kathy Paiml
Greg Schumann
Renee Steed
George C. Thompson, Jr.
Ramie Wesley
2024 Advisory Committee
Charles Baker
Anne-Michelle Barnett
Sandra Little Brown
Kate Darden
Susie Denson
James L. Dye
Cherri Ellis
Cathy Friedman
Shane Hill
Gary Johnson
Melinda Mathews
Cathleen Moore
Carol Myers
Mauricio Papapietro
Wendy Paschal
Philip Passafiume
Betsy Printz
Ryan Ramage
Dr. Caroline Reich
George Shaw
Jean C. Thompson
Marion Walker
Mary Welden
Medical Advisory Council
Deepa Bedi, M.D., Ph.D.
Tuskegee University (Tuskegee, AL)
Associate Professor, Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine
Joel L. Berry, Ph.D.
Astound Research, Inc. (Birmingham, AL)
Chief Scientific Officer
Rebecca J. Boohaker, Ph.D.
Southern Research (Birmingham, AL)
Associate Fellow, Oncology
Karim Budhwani, PhD
CerFlux (Birmingham, AL)
CEO-Scientist
Sara Cooper, Ph.D.
HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology (Huntsville, AL)
Faculty Investigator
Andres Forero-Torres, M.D.
Seagen (Bothell, WA)
Global Development Lead, Early-Stage Clinical Development
Inaugural holder of the O’Neal-Sokol BCRFA Endowed Chair at UAB
Manoj K. Mishra, Ph.D.
Alabama State University (Montgomery, AL)
Professor and Director, Cancer Biology Research and Training Program
Omar Moukha-Chafiq, Ph.D.
Southern Research (Birmingham, AL)
Principal Scientist
Shreyas S. Rao, Ph.D.
University of Alabama (Tuscaloosa, AL)
Associate Professor, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering
Bin Ren, M.D., Ph.D., FAHA
University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) (Birmingham, AL)
William D. Jordan, Jr. M.D., Endowed Professor in Vascular Sciences in the Department of Surgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Heersink School of Medicine.
Gabrielle Rocque, M.D., MSPH
University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) (Birmingham, AL)
Associate Professor of Medicine in the Divisions of Hematology & Oncology and Gerontology, Geriatrics, & Palliative Care
Chandrani Sarkar, Ph.D.
Mitchell Cancer Institute, University of South Alabama (Mobile, AL)
Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology/ Mitchell Cancer Institute.
Seema Singh, Ph.D.
University of Mississippi Medical Center (Jackson, AL)
Professor of Cell and Molecular Biology; Associate Director of Education and Training
Bruce F. Smith V.M.D., Ph.D.
Auburn University (Auburn, AL)
Director, Auburn University Research Initiative in Cancer
Professor of Pathobiology
2024 Junior Board
William Lynch
President
Megan Carter
Vice President
Daniel Seehase
Secretary
Amy Stevens
Emeritus Board Member
Lexie Appleby
Morgan Carter
Marie Ehrhardt
Rebecca Johnson
Carolyne Kontomitras
Chelsea Morton
Erica Mitchell
Micah Myricks
Madeline Patterson
Kayla Perlstein
Ellie Priester
Whitney Salts
Hannah Sanford
Baret Steed
Lauren Tovar
