In 2012, longtime Cosmopolitan magazine editor-in-chief Helen Gurley Brown created the Helen Gurley Brown Foundation — formerly known as the Pussycat Foundation — to further her support for the educational and professional advancement of young women and girls, among other initiatives.
The Helen Gurley Brown Foundation established the Helen Gurley Brown (HGB) Presidential Initiative at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in 2016, in recognition of the fact that women with established scientific careers can be uniquely sensitive to the challenges facing their younger female colleagues in academic medicine — and that junior women researchers benefit by having women scientists as mentors and role models.
The Initiative initially funded five pairs of senior women faculty and women fellows for two years, and expanded to include 10 pairs for 2018–2020. The Helen Gurley Brown Foundation grant provides two years of funding for Helen Fellows' salary, research, and professional development.
The Initiative also includes:
- The Helen Gurley Brown Leadership Development Program, which organizes semiannual meetings for Helen Mentors and Helen Fellows to update each other on their work.
- The Helen Gurley Brown Presidential Summit on Women and Science, an annual lecture focused on the career paths of women in science.
- Support for Helen Fellows to attend scientific conferences.
Helen Mentors and Helen Fellows 2022-2024
Pediatric Oncology
Helen Mentor: Pratiti Bandopadhayay, PhD
Helen Fellow: Anna Borgenvik, PhD
Oncologic Pathology
Helen Mentor: Kathleen Burns, MD, PhD
Helen Fellow: Tatiana Cajuso Pons, PhD
Pediatric Oncology
Helen Mentor: Sharon Bober, PhD
Helen Fellow: Lydia Chevalier, PhD
Medical Oncology
Helen Mentor: Catherine Wu, MD
Helen Fellow: Nicoletta Cieri, MD, PhD
Medical Oncology
Helen Mentor: Ann Partridge, MD
Helen Fellow: Kate Dibble, PhD
Medical Oncology
Helen Mentor: Zuzana Tothova, MD, PhD
Helen Fellow: Lin Han, PhD
Pediatric Oncology
Helen Mentor: Birgit Knoechl, MD, PhD
Helen Fellow: Tayla Heavican (Foral), PhD
Medical Oncology
Helen Mentor: Sarah Hill, MD, PhD
Helen Fellow: Saie Mogre, PhD
Cancer Immunology and Virology
Helen Mentor: Amy Lee, PhD
Helen Fellow: Shaoni Mukhopadhyay, PhD
Pediatric Oncology
Helen Mentor: Kimberly Stegmaier, MD
Helen Fellow: Constanze Schneider, PhD