Program Administrator

Charlotte Abrecht

Charlotte Abrecht holds a BA in Biology from the College of the Holy Cross. She has previous experience in Immuno-oncology research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute doing human immune monitoring for clinical trials and work establishing mechanistic and biomarker endpoints for clinical studies.

Chief Science Officer

Jesse Boehm, PhD

Jesse Boehm is the Chief Science Officer of Break Through Cancer and maintains a research lab focused on bringing the power of functional genomics to bear on living samples from cancer patients with particular emphasis on rare and underrepresented tumors.

Before joining Break Through Cancer, Jesse spent 14 years in the Broad Institute’s Cancer Program, most recently as an Institute Scientist and Scientific Director of the Cancer Dependency Map project. As the Director of the Broad’s Cancer Model Development Center (part of the National Cancer Institute’s Human Cancer Models Initiative), he led his laboratory in developing a scalable capacity to convert patient tumors into organoids and other cell models. Prior, he was the recipient of a Broad Institute Merkin Fellowship and the Associate Director of the Broad’s Cancer Program. In these leadership roles, he drove the scientific planning and strategic execution of a diverse set of program projects, collaborations, and activities for over a decade.

Propelling the “cancer research ecosystem of the future” to benefit patients as rapidly as possible is his ultimate professional passion and ambition.

Jesse received his BS in biology from MIT and his PhD from Harvard University, Division of Medical Sciences at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Data Science Engineer

Nicole Buechler

Nicole Buechler is a Data Science Engineer at Break Through Cancer. She studied Biology and Public Health, launching her career as a Harvard Research Assistant for a longitudinal woman and child health study. She gravitated towards data management and taught herself programming, transitioning into Data Engineering at a number of health technology startups. At Break Through Cancer, she builds out the Data Science Hub infrastructure and supports researchers in their data efforts.

Project Coordinator

Ineke Ceder

Ineke Ceder has extensive experience in project coordination, honed over two decades at the Wellesley Centers for Women at Wellesley College managing a variety of social science research projects, and later at MIT as Senior Program Administrator focusing on the internal programs of the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research. She serves on the advisory board of Parent Artist Advocacy League, supporting work focused on employment equity in the arts world. Ineke holds a BA in English and Dutch from the University of Leuven, Belgium.

Principal Data Science Engineer

Henry Dewhurst

Together with the rest of the BTC Data Science Team and broader Data Science Hub, Henry engineers solutions for data sharing, analysis, and discovery across BTC TeamLabs.

Senior Development and Events Associate

Michaela Forand

Michaela Forand holds a BA in Communication and a BS in Human Development & Family Studies from the University of New Hampshire. She has previous experience in non-profit development and events. She has been a dedicated lifelong volunteer to many non-profits, including St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the Make a Wish Foundation.

Director, Strategic Alliances

Jon Grabenstatter, PhD

Jon Grabenstatter is the Director of Strategic Alliances at Break Through Cancer. He has more than a decade of experience across the biotechnology, consulting and banking industries. He most recently served as an external innovation lead at BioNTech. Previously, he built startups with Flagship Pioneering, working in discovery sciences, alliance management, and business development. He holds a PhD in biochemistry from MIT.

Chief Financial Officer

Bill Hulme

Bill Hulme has extensive finance and accounting experience having worked for 25 years for Procter and Gamble in a multitude of roles in both the US and Costa Rica. Most recently he served as a consultant for Deloitte and as a controller for Winter Wyman. Bill has a BS in Accounting from Southern New Hampshire University.

President

Tyler Jacks, PhD

Dr. Tyler Jacks, the President of Break Through Cancer, has dedicated his life to cancer research. He is the Founding Director of the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the David H. Koch Professor of Biology, and Co-director of the Ludwig Center for Molecular Oncology. From 2001 – 2007, he served as director of the Koch Institute’s predecessor, the MIT Center for Cancer Research, and was a long-standing Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (1994-2021). Dr. Jacks received his bachelor’s degree in Biology from Harvard College, and his doctorate from the University of California, San Francisco, where he trained with Nobel Laureate Harold Varmus. He was a postdoctoral fellow with Robert Weinberg at the Whitehead Institute before joining the MIT faculty in 1992.

The Jacks Laboratory at MIT’s Koch Institute studies the genetic events underlying the development of cancer. Dr. Jacks has pioneered the use of gene targeting technology in mice to study cancer-associated genes and to construct mouse models of many human cancer types, including cancers of the lung, pancreas, colon, thyroid, and soft tissue. These powerful, sophisticated models closely recapitulate human disease, and have led to novel insights into tumor development, as well as new strategies for cancer detection and treatment.

In recognition of his contributions to the study of cancer genetics, Dr. Jacks has received numerous awards, including the AACR Outstanding Achievement Award, the Amgen Award from the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, the Paul Marks Prize for Cancer Research, the Sergio Lombroso Award in Cancer Research, and the AACR Princess Takamatsu Memorial Lectureship. He was a member of the Board of Directors of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), and served as the organization’s President in 2009.

Dr. Jacks is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and was a member of the inaugural class of Fellows of the AACR Academy. In 2015, Dr. Jacks received the Killian Faculty Achievement Award, the highest honor the MIT faculty can bestow upon one of its members. In 2016, Dr. Jacks co-chaired the Blue-Ribbon Panel for (then) Vice President Joe Biden’s Cancer Moonshot Initiative. He was also chair of the National Cancer Advisory Board of the National Cancer Institute during the Obama administration.

Dr. Jacks serves on the Board of Directors of Amgen and Thermo Fisher Scientific. He co-founded T2 Biosystems and Dragonfly Therapeutics, where he also serves as chair of the Scientific Advisory Board. He also is a member of the scientific advisory boards of Skyhawk Therapeutics, SQZ Biotech, the Lustgarten Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research, and the Francis Crick Institute. Dr. Jacks is a member of the Harvard University Board of Overseers.

Managing Director of Development

Terry McGowan

Terry McGowan has over 20 years of senior development experience at leading academic medical centers and foundations, including Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women’s Hospital – Mass General Brigham. Terry’s philanthropic expertise focuses on supporting medical research program start-ups and multi-institutional research collaborations. He holds a BA in Healthcare Administration from the University of Massachusetts – Amherst.

Chief Communications Officer

Kari McHugh

Kari McHugh has spent more than 20 years working in Communications and Strategic Philanthropy. Most recently she held dual roles at Dunkin’ Brands, home of Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins. At Dunkin’ Brands, Kari was the Executive Director of the Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation and leader of the Consumer and Community Relations Team. Kari brings a unique talent for solving problems and finding innovative solutions to engage key stakeholders in both the corporate and non-profit sectors.

Kari has created more than a dozen public and private charities, including several award-winning corporate philanthropy programs. In addition, Kari is the Board Chair for Rett’s Roost, is on the corporate council for Perkins School for the Blind and is the President of both the Nurses Fund and the Michael C. McHugh Memorial Foundation. Kari graduated with a Joint Honors Masters in Philosophy and International Relations from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.

Chief Data Officer

Michael Noble

With more than two decades expertise as a creator and operational leader of high-throughput, interdisciplinary data analysis, and engineering systems in multiple domains (cancer genomics, astrophysics, and immunology), Michael has been on the front line of some of the most impactful scientific projects of the 20th century, including the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Genotype and Tissue Expression (GTEx).  Holding a BS degree in pure mathematics and an MS in computer science, Michael has been lead- or co-author on more than a dozen grants at MIT, The Broad Institute, and Harvard Center for Astrophysics, which have collectively generated tens of millions in funding, hundreds of publications, many petabytes of data accessed across the world, and 105K citations.

Scientific Portfolio Manager

John BA Okello, PhD, MBA

John B. A. Okello, PhD, MBA, serves as a Scientific Portfolio Manager at Break Through Cancer, bringing extensive expertise in scientific research, strategic management, and healthcare leadership. Rooted in molecular biology, genetics, and rare inherited diseases research, John earned his Ph.D. in Molecular Genetics from Makerere University. He furthered his expertise with a postdoc at McMaster University and, more recently, earned an MBA through the MIT Sloan Fellows Program at the Sloan School of Management, with an MIT Healthcare Certificate.

Before joining Break Through Cancer, John played pivotal roles in leading academic medical research institutions, including SickKids Hospital and Queen’s University Cancer Research Institute in Canada. His background involved benchwork, bioinformatics, and research management, including fostering complex biomedical research collaborations and translation.

Committed to scientific program management, strategic vision, and transformative healthcare initiatives, John is passionate about contributing to Break Through Cancer’s mission and its dedication to facilitating impactful advancements in the fight against cancer through radical research collaboration.

Strategic Operations and Events Manager

Meredith Sandiford

Meredith Sandiford has spent much of her career in operations and event planning for various organizations including Golden Seeds, The Capital Network, and MassChallenge. She holds a BS in Animal Science from Texas A&M University and a Master’s of International Business from Northeastern University.

Senior Director of Science Programs

Christy Schultz, MBA

Christy Schultz is the Senior Director of Science Programs at Break Through Cancer. Christy has over sixteen years of experience working with mission-driven organizations in healthcare, higher education, and philanthropy. Christy has extensive expertise in project management and is passionate about leading strategic initiatives through collaboration. Previously, she was at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI), where she spearheaded complex, department-wide programs as the Director of Pharmacy Operations and Planning. Prior to joining DFCI, Christy was with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute where she managed science education grant-making activities. This included the oversight of a program that placed exemplary students into research laboratories for summer research experiences overseen by prominent scientists.

She holds a BA in art history from Hood College and an MBA from the University of Maryland, Robert H. Smith School of Business.

Chief Operating Officer and Chief Philanthropy Officer

Lisa Schwarz

Over the last thirty years, Lisa Schwarz has raised philanthropic support for numerous institutions including MIT’s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Harvard University, Massachusetts General Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Johns Hopkins University. She holds a BA in art history and communications from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College and an MPA from New York University.

Bioinformatics Data Engineer

Dylan Tamayo

A new addition to the Break Through Cancer team, Dylan has several years of wet and dry lab experience investigating illnesses such as pancreatic cancer, lung disease, and epilepsy.

As a Bioinformatics Data Engineer of the Data Science TeamLab, Dylan supports research through the implementation of data pipelines and infrastructure.

Bioinformatics Data Engineer

Leigh Tanji

Leigh holds a BA in Chemistry from Smith College and an MS in Data Science from Tufts University.

Scientific Portfolio Manager

Lucian de Waal, PhD

Lucian brings over a decade of small molecule oncology research experience to BTC. During his stay at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, C4 Therapeutics, and The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, he has focused on large scale viability screens, target identification and chemical biology approaches. During his last role at The Broad Institute, Lucian was leading multiple drug discovery and technology development eKorts, working across disciplines and research institutes. He joins BTC as a Scientific Portfolio Manager to instill the values and benefits of scientific collaboration and interdisciplinary research teams and help guide the scientific process. Lucian was born and raised in the Netherlands but has called the Boston area his home since 2011. He has enjoyed his education at Utrecht University for his B.S., M.S., and PhD.

Assistant Director, Contracts and Administration

Julia Walter, JD

Julia has over 10 years’ experience in contract administration from her time at institutions such as the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology, Boston University, and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. She holds a BA in literature from Thomas More College of Liberal Arts and a JD from New England Law.

Communications Manager

Soracha Ward, PhD

Soracha is the Communications Manager for Break Through Cancer. She holds a PhD in Haematology from Trinity College Dublin.

Scientific Portfolio Manager

Emily LaPlante, PhD

Emily received her doctoral degree from Baylor College of Medicine in Molecular and Human Genetics where she focused on genomics and disease detection via liquid biopsy. After her degree, she moved to the Broad Institute where she worked as a Senior Project Manager to support federally funded cloud genomics projects such as All of Us. She recently joined Break Through Cancer as a portfolio manager.