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An internationally-renowned breast cancer researcher told Chicago GSB students she sees a need for more public/private partnerships in the search for preventative measures and cures.
Fumni Olopade, professor of medicine and genetics at the University of Chicago and director of the Center for Clinical Cancer Genetics at the University of Chicago Hospitals, said, gone are “the days of your mom-and-pop laboratory where you just sort of single-handedly try to answer questions yourself.” Olopade, a 2005 recipient of the MacArthur Foundation’s “genius” grant, spoke with associate dean Stacey Kole in a fireside chat May 18 at Hyde Park Center. It was the inaugural event for the student-led Chicago African Business Group.
While researchers need financial partners to invest in ideas, tension remains between business and academia, she said. Questions often revolve around intellectual property rights as well as how funding affects research topics. Clinical trials are expensive, so questions are raised, Olopade said.
“Is this a study that I want to do, or is this a study that’s of interest to industry? If an idea isn’t going to be profitable for industry, will they invest in doing it? And if they don’t want to invest in it, is this still a good question to answer?” Olopade said.
Some companies, such as Estee Lauder, Revlon, and Avon are learning that it is in their best interests to fund breast cancer research since their customers are women.
Olopade grew up in Nigeria, and her research has taken her back to Africa. She found that certain young women, particularly African or African American women, are genetically predisposed to a faster, more aggressive type of cancer than is typical of Caucasian women’s late onset breast cancer. Researchers have developed a pill that targets the responsible genetic abnormality. Now cancer treatments can be tailored to fit individual patients’ needs, Olopade said.
—Mary Sue Penn