WILMINGTON - Through the generosity of the Lisa Dean Moseley Foundation of Wilmington, the American Cancer Society received a $792,000 grant to fund Dr. Weibo Luo’s groundbreaking breast cancer research at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. The research seeks to better understand breast cancer stem cells at the molecular level using a combination of biochemical and genetic approaches in regulating the HIF oxygen pathway. The project has the potential to provide new strategies for preventing cell growth and metastasis in all types of cancer by better understanding the role of the ZMYMD8 protein and its effect on stem cell survival. This study could uncover a novel approach for preventing the devastation and certain death of breast cancer metastasis. COVID-19 has posed a serious challenge to the American Cancer Society’s ability to fund research.  Due to the pandemic, the Society, the largest nonprofit funder of cancer research outside the federal government, is facing a reduction to cancer research funding by 50 percent this year “It is an honor for me and my laboratory to receive the research grant award from the American Cancer Society,” said Dr. Weibo Luo, Assistant Professor in the Departments of Pathology and Pharmacology at UT Southwestern Medical Center in a statement. “I am grateful to the Lisa Dean Moseley Foundation for selecting this project to fund.  The Foundation’s support will help us expand our breast cancer research program at the University of Texas Southwestern. This award will greatly aid our ongoing breast cancer research and facilitate discoveries in breast cancer etiology and treatment. With the generous support from the American Cancer Society and the Lisa Dean Moseley Foundation, we hope that our research can discover a therapeutic target to better treat breast cancer in patients.” “Dr. Luo’s research will focus on the origins and treatment of breast cancer and its metastasis by studying stem cells in targeted environments. This basic and important research is closely aligned with the mission of the Lisa Dean Moseley Foundation,” said William J. Martin, Secretary-Treasurer of the Moseley Foundation in a statement. “Mrs. Moseley established the Foundation with the principal goal of funding crucial scientific research that will make a difference in people’s lives. Partnering with the American Cancer Society to support its 2020 Cancer Research Funding Challenge reflects the Lisa Dean Moseley Foundation’s ongoing commitment to funding innovative stem cell research, particularly during a time when laboratories nationwide have been forced to adapt to the challenges posed by the pandemic.” "Even as we face a global pandemic, it is critically important not to let our momentum slow as we pursue promising answers that have enormous potential to save lives from cancer," said Bill Phelps PhD, Sr. Vice President, Extramural Discovery Science. “We are grateful for our partnership with the Lisa Dean Moseley Foundation and for their continued dedication to help change the lives of cancer patients now and for generations to come.” This gift is in support of the Society’s 2020 Cancer Research Funding Challenge, which was launched this summer to steward and protect our cancer research program. This initiative and the leadership gift from the Lisa Dean Moseley Foundation will help fill the gap in our revenue and allow us to continue to invest in research that is so critical to future advances in understanding and reducing the devastating impact of cancer.