Funds from 2015-2016 supported Dr. Heather Parsons at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, specifically in her biomarker research. Dr. Parson’s preclinical research is developing biomarkers to better direct existing treatments, with the next important step being a large-scale national study. Ultimately, the results will allow doctors to reduce overtreatment and know when to intensify treatment to meet specific patient needs. The highly personalized treatment would help patients live better, longer.
“There’s a catch-22 in cancer research of needing funding to do the important work, but needing results to get the funding in the first place. Bakes for Breast Cancer was integral to my start in breast cancer research,” shared Dr. Parsons.
Heather A. Parsons, MD, MPH is a medical oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Instructor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Parsons’ research focuses on breast cancer and the use of blood-based genomic biomarkers to understand the course of breast cancer and patient response to treatment.
Dr. Parsons is a graduate of Dartmouth College and has a Master in Public Health from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She received her medical degree from Drexel University College of Medicine, followed by an internship and residency in Internal Medicine at Johns Hopkins Hospital. She then completed a fellowship in Medical Oncology at Johns Hopkins Hospital before joining the faculty at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Dr. Parsons’ honors and awards include a Young Investigator Award from the American Society of Clinical Oncology. She is a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the American Association for Cancer Research, and the Translational Breast Cancer Research Consortium.