The AACR-Lobular Breast Cancer Alliance Invasive Lobular Carcinoma Research Fellowship is a joint effort to support and encourage innovative research projects with direct applicability and relevance to ILC and to help establish a successful career path in the field.

2023 grantee

Research

Invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) is the second most common histological subtype of breast cancer. ILC is relatively resistant to tamoxifen suggesting that ILC may have a distinct estrogen receptor axis compared to invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC). To shed light on this, Dr. Heraud will conduct single-cell ATACseq and single-cell RNAseq on tumor samples from the PELOPS clinical trial obtained before and after treatment with tamoxifen and an aromatase inhibitor. In addition to potentially revealing epigenetic differences, these single cell analyses will enable her to identify the cellular populations in ILC and IDC, and the key transcription factors and regulatory circuits that are altered in response to tamoxifen and aromatase inhibitors.

Biography

Originally from France, Dr. Héraud completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Nantes, and her master’s degree and doctorate at the University of Bordeaux. The focus of her doctoral studies was endometrial cancer. She is currently a research fellow at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, MA, focusing on fundamental  and translational research of breast cancer. She aims to better understand the causes and mechanisms of cancer as well as to find new biomarkers and effective cancer therapies.

Acknowledgement of Support

“I am extremely honored and grateful to be a recipient of this AACR-LBCA Invasive Lobular Carcinoma Research Fellowship. With this support, I am excited to be able to advance our research into epigenetic changes in ILC versus IDC by using single-cell analysis.”