In Stony Brook, Baldwin cancer research fund creates $5.5M endowment

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The Carol M. Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Fund has established a $5.5 million endowment that will be used in perpetuity to fund breast cancer research at Stony Brook Medicine.

The Baldwin research fun has supported research grants at the Stony Brook Cancer Center for the last 25 years.

Baldwin dedicated her life to helping other women overcome the struggles associated with breast cancer after her own diagnosis in 1990 and enduring a double mastectomy. After raising six children on Long Island, including Hollywood actor Alec Baldwin, she formed the fund in 1996 with her family, friends and health professionals with a mission to fight and ultimately win the battle against breast cancer.

It was that same year, 1996, that Stony Brook dedicated the Carol M. Baldwin Breast Care Center, recognizing her efforts to raise funds for cancer research. The care center continues to operate at Stony Brook Cancer Center. The center provides cancer care and treats patients with benign conditions of the breast and offers community education on overall breast health and cancer prevention.

“Carol was very supportive of local women who were newly diagnosed and would become their advocate to make sure they received the right treatment,” Dr. Brian O’Hea, director of the Carol M. Baldwin Breast Care Center, said in a news release about the endowment’s establishment. “This newly endowed fund will allow the expert care and research to continue and will ensure Carol’s legacy will always live on here at Stony Brook.”

The fund has provided seed grants to more than 100 researchers at Stony Brook Medicine as they investigate the causes, prevention and treatment of breast cancer. In memory of Baldwin, who died in 2022, the new endowed fund is designed to ensure that breast cancer research at Stony Brook will continue well into the future. With a New York State endowment challenge and the Simons Infinity Investment challenge, this gift will have an impact of $16.5 million, according to Stony Brook Medicine.

“Through the support of the Carol M. Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Fund, our researchers will learn more about breast cancer, providing us better methods of detection and treatment,” Dr. William Wertheim, interim executive vice president of Stony Brook Medicine, said in the news release. “This endowed gift will allow that important work to continue in perpetuity as our researchers search for advances in technology and medicine.”

In May, the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC) awarded the center a three-year reaccreditation. According to O’Hea, NAPBC-accredited programs have demonstrated excellence in organizing and managing a breast care center to facilitate multidisciplinary, integrated and comprehensive breast cancer services.