Weill Cornell Medical College receives grant to support research efforts designed to end women's cancers

MasterCard today announced a $500,000 grant to Weill Cornell Medical College to support research efforts designed to end women's cancers.

The researcher‐in‐residence position created by this grant will work closely with other investigators under the close direction of Dr. Lewis C. Cantley, director of the Weill Cornell Cancer Center.

"We are humbled by MasterCard's extraordinary generosity in support of our efforts to make treatment of female cancers more precise and effective," Dr. Cantley said. "This grant ensures that Weill Cornell can continue the critical scientific investigation that leads to breakthrough therapies."

"We support communities, programs and causes that impact our employees, cardholders and customers," said Ajay Banga, president and CEO, MasterCard. "Through our relationship with Weill Cornell, we hope to spark the research that will deliver treatments that will turn cancer patients into cancer survivors, providing them bright futures."

Cantley also leads Stand Up to Cancer's Dream Team targeting PI 3‐kinases (PI3K) -- enzymes that are linked to a wide variety of cellular functions, including cell growth and proliferation -- in women's cancers. This team is focused on developing protocols, procedures and cutting‐edge clinical trials that will deliver personalized care to address a variety of women's cancers, including breast, ovarian and uterine cancer.

In 2014, Weill Cornell will open the MasterCard Principal Investigator Office Suite, in recognition of the company's commitment to cancer research. Housed in the state-of-the-art Belfer Research Building, this office will help maximize collaboration between teams focused on critical cancer research.

In addition to support of Weill Cornell Medical College, MasterCard has helped raise more than $17 million over the past four years for Stand Up to Cancer's efforts to fund research that can help make everyone diagnosed with cancer a survivor.

This grant also extends MasterCard's commitment to the greater New York area, as seen in programs like Priceless New York, CitiBike and the Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City, which helped small businesses recover and rebuild from Hurricane Sandy.