The purpose of this program is to provide research funding to multi-disciplinary teams comprised of world-renowned scientists from various institutions to identify and develop effective technologies for the early early diagnosis, treatment and prevention of all women’s cancers.  

Entitled the “Biomarker Discovery Project,” this program is being operated by the Entertainment Industry Foundations’ Women’s Cancer Research Fund. Friends'  Chairperson Ellen Sigal played a pivotal role in shaping the scientific mission for this project and serves on the Oversight Committee.  This fund has provided millions of charitable dollars to support innovative research, education and outreach being conducted by the scientific teams.  This program was officially launched at a March 1^st, 2004 Hollywood Gala chaired by Rita Wilson, Tom Hanks, Kate Capshaw, and Steven Spielberg and is a central element of Friends’ effort to work collaboratively with the scientific and entertainment industries to promote cancer research.

Ellen Sigal (right) with Friends’ Board Member
Sherry Lansing (Chairman and CEO, Paramount Pictures)

Friends' Chair, Dr. Ellen Sigal, was selected to preside on the EIF's Oversight Committee, which "provides strategic direction for EIF's Biomarker Discovery Project. As part of this Committee's responsibilities, this prestigious group of individuals oversees the research work being conducted by the Biomarker Discovery scientists, and monitors the project's overall success," (EIF).

The committee also includes:

Rick Klausner, M.D.
Chair, Biomarker Discovery Project Oversight Committee
Executive Director, Global Health Programs
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

David Baltimore, Ph.D. - Nobel Laureate
President, California Institute of Technology

J. Michael Bishop, M.D. - Nobel Laureate
Chancellor, University of California San Francisco
University Professor and Director, G.W. Hooper Research Foundation

Larry Platt, M.D.
Director, Center for Fetal Medicine and Women's Ultrasound

Phillip A. Sharp, Ph.D. - Nobel Laureate
Institute Professor & Director,
The McGovern Institute Center for Cancer Research,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Ellen Sigal, Ph.D.
President, Friends of Cancer Research

EIF's Biomarker Discovery Project Scientists
EIF has assembled a group of world-class scientists, including four Nobel laureates, whose single purpose is to identify and develop the most effective technology for molecular diagnosis of breast cancer. This dedicated project could ultimately allow doctors to forecast all cancers before they become life-threatening. The following scientists receive funding from EIF and WCRF to conduct research on behalf of this unprecedented initiative:

Lee Hartwell, Ph.D. - Nobel Laureate
President and Director
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

Ruedi Aebersold, Ph.D.
Professor and Co-Founder
Institute for Systems Biology

Ronald A. DePinho, M.D.
Professor of Medicine and Genetics, Harvard Medical School
Director, Center for Applied Cancer Science,
Dana Farber Cancer Institute

Stephen H. Friend, M.D., Ph.D.
Senior Vice President
Molecular Profiling and Basic Cancer Research, MRL
Merck & Co., Inc.

Samir (Sam) Hanash, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor, Pediatrics-Hematology/Oncology
University of Michigan

Leroy Hood, M.D., Ph.D.
President
Institute for Systems Biology

Peter Laird, Ph.D.
University of Southern California
Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center

Eric Lander, Ph.D.
Director, The Eli & Edythe L. Broad Institute

David Sidransky, M.D.
Professor
Director, Head and Neck Cancer Research
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Dick Smith, Ph.D.
Pacific Northwest Research Laboratory
Battelle Fellow and Chief Scientist
Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory and Biological Sciences Division

Nicole Urban, Sc.D.
Program Head, Gynecologic Cancer Research Program
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center