CLEVELAND — May is cancer research month. And the American Cancer Society recently kicked off it’s “ResearcHERS: Women Fighting Cancer” movement. It shines a light on the discoveries made by women in the fight against cancer.
The “ResearcHERS, Women Fighting Cancer” movement has 27 ambassadors across Ohio. Their mission is two-fold, to raise funds for and awareness of women-led cancer research. Both local ambassadors are doing research at the Cleveland Clinic. Dr. Ruth Keir is focused on breast cancer.
“We're very interested in determining why certain drugs work in some patients and why they don't work in other patients,” sated Dr. Ruth Keir, who is part of the Cleveland Clinic’s Department of Cancer Biology.
Dr. Stephanie Schmit is targeting colorectal cancer.
“We're trying to understand, in large populations of people, what are the factors that increase risk for colon cancer and modify outcomes of colorectal cancer after diagnosis,” said Dr. Stephanie Schmit, of the Genomic Medicine Institute at the Cleveland Clinic.
ResercHERS is drawing attention for the need of more women in the STEM fields. And making sure women’s voices are heard.
“Women's cancers were understudied for many years because there just wasn't that a push from individuals to do that kind of research,” pointed out Dr. Keir.
That’s where the SHE or Summer Healthcare Experience comes in. It allows underrepresented female high school students to spend 2 weeks together learn about the cancer research field.
“They're really digging in and having an experiential journey through all of the different opportunities and careers in STEM and oncology,” said Senior Development Manager for the American Cancer Society, Isabelle Castillo-Anderson.
CASE Western Reserve University and Ohio State participate. Ensuring that the next generation is actively involved in the fight against cancer. Dr. Schmit and Dr. Keir agree, everyone needs to help.
“It brings more diversity to our teams, to our research, to have more impactful research, including in the field of cancer,” said Dr. Schmit.
“I think it's really important to show various individuals that there is a path in science and that science is right for everyone,” said Dr. Keir.
Another element of the ResearcHERS movement is supporting paid parental leave for women researchers. The Ohio ResearcHERS fundraising goal is 125 thousand dollars. The American Cancer Society is the largest non-profit funder of cancer research.