Abstract 4022: Leveraging multidisciplinary partnerships to overcome barriers to advance racial equity in healthcare

Background: Racial disparities in funding continue to be one of the most significant barriers to Black women research scientists progressing; impacting career trajectories and access to research grants. Because of this, there is a dire need to build connections and overcome barriers for funding opportunities for research in underrepresented communities. A multidisciplinary team of fund development professionals, research scientists, and pharmaceutical professionals came together with one intended goal; transition barriers into opportunities by navigating the complexities of a large healthcare organization and successfully build a leadership-driven model that demonstrates when people come together across a variety of entities and disciplines results will follow. Method: Navigated the complexities of a large healthcare organization Successfully built a leadership-driven model to produce results Engaged stakeholders by overcoming obstacles by leveraging educational opportunities to help the community and prospective donors understand the complexities of inequity in healthcare. Created an elevator pitch that we could utilize in various public spaces - meetings, conferences, the community Translated the work into ideas non-scientists could understand Made connections across US and global Biotech, Pharma, and Precision Medicine organizations Results: Over four years we have raised over 3.5 million dollars to support basic, translational, and qualitative research in Detroit and globally. With funding we received at Henry Ford Health, through our partnership, we generated needed preliminary data on the unique aggressive biology of African breast cancers, that was used for a successful NIH grant application. Through our initiative Precision Medicine for Aggressive Breast Cancer PMABC, we have supported research in Ghana, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, Botswana, Nigeria, and South Africa. We have supported researchers in these countries with the training and education needed for cancer research in the country and have helped raise seed funding for local cancer research. We have ongoing community-based research in Detroit and SE Michigan to address barriers to Black/African Americans participating in cancer clinical trials. Conclusion: In this session, we will review a framework that will highlight how to organize stakeholders, develop a plan of engagement, and leverage the necessary resources to execute a leadership-driven model. Citation Format: Regina M. Sharma, Frankie M. Palazzolo, Shelley G. Skinner, Klementina Sula, Evelyn M. Jiagge. Leveraging multidisciplinary partnerships to overcome barriers to advance racial equity in healthcare [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2025; Part 1 (Regular Abstracts); 2025 Apr 25-30; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2025;85(8_Suppl_1):Abstract nr 4022.