Victoria’s Secret and Pelotonia Present Scientific Achievement Awards to Women in Cancer Research

COLUMBUS, Ohio, April 13, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Victoria's Secret and impact partner Pelotonia presented five female cancer researchers with scientific achievement awards of $100,000 each at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting this past weekend. The Victoria’s Secret Global Fund for Women’s Cancers 2022 Meritorious Awards, in partnership with Pelotonia and AACR, recognizes and furthers their outstanding contributions to the field of women’s cancers. This is the inaugural award provided by The Fund, which will award $5 million annually to women scientists studying women’s cancers and build on more than $21 million already raised for innovative cancer research by Victoria’s Secret since 2011.

“We have long supported cancer research, but this particular program – accelerating innovation in cancer research for women, by women – is a tangible way we’re bringing to life our brand’s vision of being a leading advocate for women,” said Christy Tostevin, senior vice president of communications and community relations, Victoria’s Secret. “We are exceptionally proud to share The Fund’s inaugural award with five outstanding women who have been leading this critically important work for decades, and are inspiring the next generation of women leaders in cancer.”

According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer, in 2020 alone more than 9.23 million women worldwide were diagnosed with cancer – a number that is expected to rise to 10.3 million women by 2025. Yet research of women’s cancers is historically under-resourced, and there aren’t enough women driving said research. The Fund will accelerate innovation in cancer research for women, by women. 

“At Pelotonia, our community has been working tirelessly for more than a decade to fuel scientific breakthroughs; we’re thrilled to partner with Victoria’s Secret in this exciting new initiative that will fund critical research in the field of women’s cancers while also building an essential collaborative platform that will accelerate the achievements of the award recipients and the next generation of researchers,” said Alida Smith, chief marketing officer, Pelotonia. “Much needed financial support, combined with a focused, driven desire between multiple organizations to change the outcome for so many people who will be diagnosed with cancer in the future, will result in massive global impact.”

Recipients of the inaugural scientific achievement awards include:

• Joan S. Brugge, PhD, FAACR Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
  For lifelong investigations dedicated to unraveling breast cancer initiation, progression and drug resistance that contribute to human carcinogenesis.
  

• Susan M. Domchek, MD University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  For demonstrating that genetic testing for high penetrance breast cancer susceptibility genes can improve risk assessment, inform appropriate risk reduction strategies and be used to develop targeted therapeutics.
  

• Karen H. Lu, MD The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
  For fundamental studies of endometrial cancer in Lynch Syndrome, and the prevention of ovarian and sporadic endometrial cancers.
  

• Lisa A. Newman, MD, MPH New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, New York, New York
  For significantly advancing the understanding of the etiology of breast cancers in African and African American women.
  

• Martine J. Piccart, MD, PhD, FAACR Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
  For visionary and unparalleled leadership in advancing breast cancer clinical trials and drug development.
  

“We were thrilled to recognize these five remarkable female researchers at this year’s AACR Annual Meeting,” said Margaret Foti, PhD, MD (hc), chief executive officer, AACR. “Drs. Brugge, Domchek, Lu, Newman, and Piccart have made seminal contributions to our progress against breast and gynecologic cancers. Collectively, their research has deepened our understanding of these diseases, improved cancer prevention and screening techniques, led to improvements in medical and surgical treatments and saved countless lives worldwide.”

In addition to the $100,000 honorarium, each awardee will be invited to serve as an active participant and mentor in a broader women’s cancers grant program, which will include multi-year research grants for both established and early-stage investigators. This grant program will be funded by The Victoria’s Secret Global Fund for Women’s Cancers and administered by the AACR and Pelotonia. All grant recipients of The Fund will be offered a robust mentorship experience to develop their careers and areas of expertise, thanks to the support of the five Meritorious Awardees and The Fund’s world-class Scientific Advisory Council, co-chaired by Dr. Foti and Electra Paskett, PhD, Director, Center for Cancer Health Equity at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – The James.

For more information, please visit pelotonia.org/vsfund.

About Victoria’s Secret
Victoria’s Secret (NYSE: VSCO) is the world’s largest intimates specialty retailer offering a wide assortment of modern, fashion-inspired collections including signature bras, panties, lingerie, casual sleepwear and athleisure, as well as award-winning prestige fragrances and body care. With nearly 1,400 retail stores worldwide and a predominately female workforce of more than 30,000, Victoria’s Secret boasts the largest team of specialty trained bra fit experts worldwide. Victoria’s Secret is committed to inspiring women around the world with products and experiences that uplift and champion them and their journey while creating lifelong relationships and advocating for positive change.

About Pelotonia
Pelotonia exists to engage, inspire, and challenge a community committed to change the world by accelerating innovative cancer research. Since its founding in 2008, Pelotonia has raised over $236 million for cancer research which has been invested in high-impact breakthroughs in prevention, diagnostics and treatment, and recently, the launch of The Pelotonia Institute for Immuno-Oncology. Thanks to its generous funding partners, Pelotonia is able to direct 100 percent of every community-raised dollar from its annual cycling event to cancer research at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Institute. For more information, visit pelotonia.org.

About the American Association for Cancer Research
Founded in 1907, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) is the world’s first and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research and its mission to prevent and cure cancer. AACR membership includes more than 50,000 laboratory, translational, and clinical researchers; population scientists; other health care professionals; and patient advocates residing in 129 countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise of the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer by annually convening more than 30 conferences and educational workshops—the largest of which is the AACR Annual Meeting, with more than 74,000 attendees for the 2020 virtual meetings and more than 22,500 attendees for past in-person meetings. In addition, the AACR publishes 10 prestigious, peer-reviewed scientific journals and a magazine for cancer survivors, patients, and their caregivers. The AACR funds meritorious research directly as well as in cooperation with numerous cancer organizations. As the Scientific Partner of Stand Up To Cancer, the AACR provides expert peer review, grants administration, and scientific oversight of team science and individual investigator grants in cancer research that have the potential for near-term patient benefit. The AACR actively communicates with legislators and other policymakers about the value of cancer research and related biomedical science in saving lives from cancer. For more information about the AACR, visit www.AACR.org.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ed293a6c-6eb4-47ab-bc2a-d1991c704350