Basser Center for BRCA Awards 2026 Global Prize to Judy Garber

Judy E. Garber, MD, MPH, of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute is the recipient of the 2026 Basser Global Prize. Awarded by the Basser Center for BRCA at the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania, the Basser Global Prize recognizes a leading scientist who has advanced BRCA1 and BRCA2-related research. Individuals with mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes are at an increased risk of breast, ovarian, pancreatic, and prostate cancers.

Garber is a pioneering cancer geneticist and medical oncologist whose work has transformed the care of people with inherited BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations. She has helped establish cancer genetics as a core part of breast cancer care, leading efforts to identify people at high genetic risk, improve prevention strategies, and develop more effective treatments. Through her research and clinical leadership at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Garber has helped translate discoveries about BRCA-related cancers into treatments and care guidelines that are now used around the world.

“The Basser Global Prize honors leaders whose discoveries have changed the course of BRCA-related cancer research, and Dr. Judy Garber's contributions have been instrumental in that progress,” said Susan M. Domchek, MD, executive director of the Basser Center for BRCA. “For decades, Dr. Garber has combined scientific insight, clinical innovation, and unwavering dedication to patients to advance our understanding of inherited cancer risk and improve care for people with BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations. Her leadership has shaped the field of cancer genetics and helped bring life-changing therapies to patients.”

Influencing New Standards of Care for BRCA Cancers

One of Garber's most important contributions was recognizing how the biology of BRCA-associated cancers could be used to guide treatment. She led the first neoadjuvant clinical trial using the chemotherapy medicine cisplatin for patients with basal-like breast cancer, an aggressive subtype that is common among women with BRCA1 mutations. The trial showed promising rates of complete tumor response and helped lay the foundation for a new approach to treating these cancers. Her research program subsequently expanded into larger national and international studies evaluating therapies that target DNA repair weaknesses in BRCA-associated tumors.

Garber also played a key role in advancing PARP inhibitors, a class of drugs designed to exploit DNA repair defects in cancer cells. Her translational research focuses on the evaluation of novel agents targeting DNA repair defects in breast cancer, including PARP inhibitors for treatment and prevention of breast cancer and other BRCA-associated cancers. Published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2021, the study demonstrated significant clinical benefit and led to olaparib becoming a standard treatment for many patients with inherited BRCA mutations.

Garber is the Susan F. Smith Chair and Chief of the Division of Cancer Genetics and Prevention at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and founder of the Dana-Farber Cancer Risk and Prevention Clinic. She received her MD and MPH from Yale University School of Medicine and completed medical residency and fellowship training in hematology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and in medical oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

“I am tremendously honored to be recognized by the Basser Center, whose leadership in accelerating effective options for BRCA1 and BRCA2 carriers has also raised the profile of inherited cancer internationally, ensuring progress in early detection, interception and treatment for this growing community,” said Garber.

Garber will give the keynote address at the 15th annual Basser Center Scientific Symposium, taking place April 13-14, 2027.

The Basser Global Prize provides $100,000 in unrestricted support of the winner's BRCA1 and BRCA2-related research efforts, a Basser sculpture, and a $10,000 personal prize, which will be awarded at the symposium.

The Basser Global Prize was established and endowed by Shari Potter and Leonard Potter, following the establishment of the Basser Center in 2012 by University of Pennsylvania alumni Mindy and Jon Gray in memory of Mindy and Shari’s sister Faith Basser, who died of ovarian cancer at age 44.