NEW YORK, Nov. 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Breast Cancer Research Foundation today announced plans for the first grant made from the newly established Evelyn H. Lauder Founder's Fund, created in memory of its late chairman who died on November 12, 2011. More than $8 million will support a large multi-institutional, international research project, to be carried out over two to three years, that will have implications for the management of not only breast cancer, but other types of cancer as well. The funding of this ground-breaking initiative represents an expansion of Evelyn Lauder's original vision for BCRF, which focused solely on breast cancer.

The newest BCRF grant will build on the recently published findings of The Cancer Genome Atlas, a National Cancer Institute initiative that is led in its breast cancer studies by BCRF-supported investigators. The BCRF Founder's Fund project will address how to thwart breast cancer mortality, which is not caused by the cancer in the breast, but rather from cancer cells that spread to vital organs. The project will take advantage of new genetic sequencing technologies and sophisticated procedures for collecting and analyzing tissue samples from biopsies, many of which have been developed by BCRF investigators.

The initiative broadens the Foundation's support for research that may well have implications for the management of cancers other than breast cancer, as the molecular abnormalities found in breast cancers are often found in cancer originating from other organs as well. "With the dollars available in the Founder's Fund, and with BCRF's global roster of research experts who will be playing leading roles, the Foundation is uniquely positioned to carry out this important and far-reaching initiative," said Myra J. Biblowit, President of BCRF.

"The grant from the Evelyn H. Lauder Founder's Fund will support a project that focuses on important new horizons in cancer research," said Leonard A. Lauder, Acting Chairman of BCRF. "Our support of this expansive type of research underscores the fact that while The Breast Cancer Research Foundation is continuing to blaze new trails in identifying the causes of breast cancer, it is now taking a broader approach that goes far beyond one type of cancer."

The Founder's Fund will receive an additional infusion of capital from the "Magnificent Jewels" auction at Sotheby's on December 5. The event is expected to raise over $13 million from more than 35 pieces of jewelry from the Estee Lauder and Evelyn Lauder collection. All proceeds will benefit the Founder's Fund and enable it to continue funding broader research projects that expand BCRF's original mission.

About The Breast Cancer Research Foundation®
The Breast Cancer Research Foundation, founded by Evelyn H. Lauder in 1993, is an independent not-for-profit organization committed to funding scientific research to achieve prevention and a cure for breast cancer in our lifetime.  In October 2012, BCRF awarded $40 million to 197 scientists across the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Australia, and China. With 91 cents of every dollar spent by BCRF directed towards breast cancer research and awareness programs, BCRF remains one of the most fiscally responsible charities in the country. For the tenth time since 2002, it has earned 4 stars from Charity Navigator.  Additionally, BCRF is the only cancer organization rated an "A+" by CharityWatch.  For more information about BCRF, visit www.bcrfcure.org.

SOURCE The Breast Cancer Research Foundation