Leading UPMC Hillman and University of Pittsburgh Scientist Receives Prestigious Award for Breast Cancer Research

PITTSBURGH – Steffi Oesterreich, Ph.D., a leading breast cancer researcher at UPMC Hillman Cancer Center and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, will be honored by the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) at The San Antonio Breast Cancer SymposiumAnnual Meeting on Dec. 12, 2024.

Oesterreich, who also serves as the codirector of the Women's Cancer Research Center, a collaboration between UPMC Hillman Cancer Center and the Magee-Women’s Research Institute, is the recipient of the 2024 AACR Distinguished Lectureship in Breast Cancer Research, established to recognize outstanding science that inspires new perspectives on the etiology, diagnosis, treatment or prevention of breast cancer. 

Oesterreich has made groundbreaking contributions in translational breast cancer research that have advanced the scientific understanding of invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) of the breast. Her work has led to an international paradigm shift within the research, clinical and patient advocacy communities to recognize ILC as a distinct biological entity among breast cancers.

“I am deeply honored to receive this award,” said Oesterreich. “Throughout my career, I have been privileged to have incredible mentors who instilled in me the importance of multidisciplinary collaborations in achieving meaningful progress in breast cancer research. Together, our studies have allowed us to advance the field, particularly in ILC, which is now increasingly recognized as a unique subtype of breast cancer that warrants further investigation.” 

ILC is the most common special histological subtype of breast cancer, following invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) (or breast cancer of no special subtype NST) and is the sixth most common cancer type in women, making up 10-15% of all breast cancer diagnoses. The incidence of ILC has significantly increased over the past few years, resulting in worse long-term outcomes compared to patients with IDC. While patients with these two different subtypes of breast cancer are typically treated similarly, Oesterreich and her team are working to profile tumors from patients with ILC with the goal of creating new therapies to specifically targeting the pathways activated in ILC.

“I am a basic/translational scientist who has built a career dedicated to breast cancer research — defining mechanisms of oncogenesis, disease progression and resistance to therapy,” said Dr. Oesterreich. “Working across disciplinary boundaries, we are poised to gain new knowledge to better treat breast cancers.”  

Oesterreich is The Shear Family Foundation Professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology at the University of Pittsburgh and coleader of the Cancer Biology Program at UPMC Hillman Cancer Center. She has authored more than 200 scientific articles on breast cancer, and her research has been funded by the National Cancer Institute, The Breast Cancer Research Foundation, Susan G. Komen and other sources.