Safeway gives $200,000 to UW Medicine for breast cancer research

A $200,000 gift from the Seattle Division of Safeway Inc. will help fund breast cancer research at UW Medicine.

Julie Gralow, associate professor of medicine in the Division of Oncology, and Constance Lehman, associate professor of radiology and director of breast imaging at UW Medical Center, accepted the gift on behalf of UW Medicine.

The gift will fund research aimed at translating basic science discoveries into clinical therapies. Gralow and Lehman's research involves using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to monitor how well chemotherapy treatments are working for a particular patient. Preliminary research suggests that MRI may better predict a patient's response to chemotherapy than conventional methods.

Funds for the gift were raised from Safeway customers at store checkouts, employee contributions, and in-store fundraisers in Safeway's Seattle Division, which includes stores in Washington, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho. The company raised more than $800,000 in October to benefit breast cancer research or other breast cancer programs.