The AACR-Lobular Breast Cancer Alliance Invasive Lobular Carcinoma Innovation and Discovery Grants is a joint effort to stimulate and develop creative, paradigm-shifting ideas in ILC research to ultimately contribute to development of new treatment options that may not be funded through conventional channels.

2026 Grantees

Scientific Statement of Research

This project investigates how signals from the adipocyte-rich tumor microenvironment establish persistent epigenetic states that promote recurrence and therapeutic resistance in invasive lobular breast cancer (ILC). By combining genomic profiling, synthetic biology, and engineered fluorescent reporter systems, Dr. Haynes and her team will identify adipocyte-derived signals that induce durable changes in cancer cell state and distinguish these from transient cellular responses. RNA sequencing, chromatin accessibility analysis, and single-cell imaging will be integrated to define how these persistent states arise, persist after signal withdrawal, and influence sensitivity to targeted therapies. Through functional studies, they will determine whether disrupting key signaling and chromatin regulatory pathways can reverse these states. The findings will provide new insight into mechanisms underlying ILC recurrence and support the development of therapeutic strategies that target persistent, microenvironment-induced cancer cell states.

Biography

Dr. Haynes earned an undergraduate degree in Biology from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University and a doctoral degree in Molecular Genetics from Washington University in St. Louis. She completed postdoctoral training in synthetic biology at Davidson College and Harvard Medical School. She is currently an Assistant Professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Emory University and the Georgia Institute of Technology. Her research integrates synthetic biology, epigenetics, and cancer biology to develop engineered systems that detect, interpret, and control epigenetic states in cancer cells, with a particular focus on tumor microenvironment signaling and therapeutic resistance.

Statement of Support

“I am deeply grateful for this support, which will allow me to pursue new research sparked by an unexpected observation, that adipocyte signals trigger an epigenetic response in tumor cells. This work will advance innovative approaches to decipher the epigenetics of invasive lobular carcinoma recurrence and inform new therapeutic strategies.”

Scientific Statement of Research

Invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) is difficult to detect and stage accurately because of its infiltrative growth pattern, frequent multifocality and multicentricity, and tendency to be underestimated on conventional imaging. Dr. Zeballos Torrez and her team will develop and evaluate a multimodal artificial intelligence (AI) approach that integrates mammography, breast MRI, radiology and pathology report features, and clinical characteristics to improve ILC detection and assessment of disease extent. They will also evaluate AI-derived imaging biomarkers associated with axillary lymph node involvement. Using a cohort of patients with pathology-confirmed ILC and matched controls, the investigators will determine whether multimodal integration improves performance beyond imaging alone and identify interpretable features associated with malignancy and nodal disease. This work aims to advance clinically interpretable AI tools for ILC detection and staging and support future multi-institutional validation.

Biography

Dr. Zeballos Torrez earned her MD from Drexel University College of Medicine and her PhD in Cancer Biology from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. After completing residency training in Diagnostic Radiology and fellowship training in Breast Imaging at the University of Pennsylvania, she joined the faculty, where she is currently an Assistant Professor of Radiology in the Division of Breast Imaging. Her research integrates breast imaging, artificial intelligence, quantitative imaging, and cancer biology to improve breast cancer detection, diagnosis, and staging. She also investigates imaging approaches that promote more equitable breast cancer care and outcomes.

Statement of Support

“I am extremely honored to receive the 2026 AACR-Lobular Breast Cancer Alliance Invasive Lobular Carcinoma Innovation and Discovery Grant. This support will enable my team to develop interpretable imaging biomarkers using multimodal AI to improve ILC detection and staging, strengthening our research program and laying the foundation for future studies.”