At Victoria’s Secret & Co., supporting the health and well-being of women is paramount to our associates, community, and business. One of the greatest threats to women’s health globally is cancer—the most common of which is breast cancer. That’s why every year on September 24, we come together to raise awareness of the importance of cancer research in the areas of equity, collaboration, and scientific advancements.
VS&Co created the VS Global Fund for Women’s Cancers to help accelerate that innovation in cancer research for women, by women, and we’re continuously committed to supporting and funding critical research, providing volunteer opportunities for our associates, and building meaningful partnerships throughout the year.
What the VS Gobal Fund for Women’s Cancers Addresses
As a brand, we aim to use our product and platform to help our strong community of women through every stage of their life. In 2025, the number of women expected to be diagnosed with breast cancer will rise to an all-time high of 10.3M. With that knowledge, we knew this was an initiative the brand needed to be a part of creating the solution.
According to the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) and research conducted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Women scientists receive fewer grants and as much as 38% less in funding than their counterparts.
The AACR Cancer Disparities Progress Report (2022) shared that despite advances in the understanding and treatment of cancer, disparities persist across cancer care and the oncology workforce. This same report outlines that women physician-scientists are 30 percent less likely than male physician-scientists to receive an R01-equivalent grant* within eight years of joining a postdoctoral program.
* An R01 grant is a Research Project Grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that supports a specific research project. R01 grants are the oldest and most traditional grant mechanism used by the NIH. They are awarded to support research projects that are hypothesis-driven and have strong preliminary data.
By funding women researchers who are vastly underrepresented in the cancer research field, the Victoria’s Secret Global Fund for Women’s Cancers will be transformational to the development and retention of women in cancer research and future outcomes for women’s cancers.
Career Development Award
The Victoria’s Secret Global Fund for Women’s Cancers Career Development Award, in Partnership with Pelotonia and the AACR, is intended to fund innovative research projects in breast and gynecologic cancers and to invest in the next generation of early-stage women scientists domestically and globally. The aim of this award is to foster innovation in the understanding, prevention, interception, early detection, diagnosis, and treatment of breast and gynecologic cancers with the goal of eliminating cancer health disparities and improving patient outcomes.
Meet our 2023 Career Development Award Grantees
Sarah E. Johnstone, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor
Harvard Medical School
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Purna Joshi, PhD
Assistant Professor
The University of Texas at Dallas
Richardson, Texas, USA
Mary Mullen, MD
Assistant Professor
Washington University in St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri, USA
Angelina T. Regua, PhD
Assistant Professor
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
Houston, Texas, USA
Ana Ruiz-Saenz, PhD
Assistant Professor
Center for Cooperative Research in Biosciences (CIC bioGUNE)
Biscay, Spain
Martina McDermott, PhD
Adjunct Assistant Professor
The Regents of the University of California, Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Chemtai Mungo, MD, MPH, FACOG
Assistant Professor, Obstetrics and Gynecology University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Mya Roberson, PhD, MSPH
Assistant Professor, Department of Health Policy
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
Nashville, Tennessee
Shuang Zhang, PhD
Assistant Professor
The Third Affiliated Hospital at Guangzhou Medical University
Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China
Rising Innovator Award
Victoria’s Secret Global Fund for Women’s Cancers Rising Innovator Research Grant, in Partnership with Pelotonia & AACR, supports midcareer women scientists conducting innovative research in breast and gynecologic cancers and globally fosters innovation in the understanding, prevention, interception, early detection, diagnosis, and treatment with the goal of eliminating cancer health disparities and improving patient outcomes.
Meet our 2023 Rising Innovator Grantees
Priscilla K. Brastianos, MD
Director, Central Nervous System Metastasis Center
The Mass General Cancer Center
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Kemi M. Doll, MD, MCSR
Associate Professor
University of Washington
Seattle, Washington, USA
Marleen Kok, MD, PhD
Medical Oncologist and Senior Group Leader
The Netherlands Cancer Institute
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Joyce Liu, MD
Associate Chief and Director of Clinical Research, Division of Gynecologic Oncology
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Sandra S. McAllister, PhD
Associate Professor
The Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Boston, Massachusetts, USA