In the West of Ireland, we know Sharon Stack as an advocate and cofounder of Biseach, a cancer research collaboration project that builds on the complementary strengths of Galway and Notre Dame cancer research. In August 2023, Sharon Stack (director of the Harper Cancer Research Institute, University of Notre Dame) and Michael Kerins (director of the Saolta-University of Galway Cancer Centre) signed a memorandum of understanding creating a solid basis for growth. This collaboration was facilitated by the Kylemore Global Centre based in Connemara under the umbrella of Notre Dame International.

“The Biseach Initiative is one of the most important projects that have come out of the University of Notre Dame's presence in the west of Ireland which would not have been possible without Dr. Sharon Stack's vision and openness to venture into new lands. Her unwavering commitment to finding cancer solutions is simply inspirational. She is innovative and open to new cutting-edge technologies while understanding the sensitivity and empathy required when working with cancer survivors. This research partnership with Galway surgeon and professor Michael Kerin is a formidable match sharing equal passions for ways to cure cancer from both a practical clinical perspective and the cutting edge of research. This is a collaboration that positively impacts cancer research and treatment. Everything we can accomplish will have huge impact to all, especially to those west of the Shannon.” 

—Lisa Caulfield, Carmel & Martin Naughton Director of the Global Centre at Kylemore

Dr. Stack’s fight against cancer is a lifelong one. “I lost my dad to cancer when I was in grad school”, she recalls in an interview for the Heroes Foundation. The loss compelled Dr. Stack, then a student in biochemistry, to shift her research focus toward cancer. Since then, the same blend of humanity and science has fuelled her endeavors to bring about real progress in the field.

Dr. Stack has been the director of the Harper Cancer Research Institute (HCRI) at Notre Dame since its inception over a decade ago. Her secret weapon is taking the big-picture view in the fight against cancer.

“We really need to get everyone involved, not just one discipline,” she explains. Using the analogy of a jellybean box, where each color is a discipline—chemistry, engineering, medicine—she says: “You really have to shake up that whole jellybean box” and get disciplines to collaborate to match the complexity of the disease.

When asked about the challenges of being a woman in STEM, Dr. Stack says, “I think the biggest challenge of being a woman in STEM (or any professional career) is the family part. I don't like to say 'balance' because I think that term is over-used these days. When our kids came along, it was essential for me to have an involved partner (my husband Matt Ravosa) who understood that parenting is 50:50, which sometimes means 80:20, or even 100:0, but it all balances out eventually to 50:50. Also deciding that I can sleep when I'm 80!”

She pays tribute to the women who have blazed the trail saying, “The women in the generation just before mine were the ones who faced the tougher challenges. All my mentors and grad student cohort were men. We all worked hard, enjoyed the highs and lows of research, and tried to have fun doing it.” Now, Dr. Stack herself is instrumental in growing the "STEM pipeline" with Harper running graduate and undergraduate training, and a recently-launched high school programme, all giving special attention to diversity. According to Dr. Stack, "Cancer is not the same for everyone, so we all need to have a seat at the table."

A connection with the West of Ireland

How did Sharon Stack’s connection with the West of Ireland come about? She recalls her first trip to Galway in 2018 with fondness saying, “We met with high-level people at the University who told us about the exciting research being conducted there. With the help of Lisa Caulfield and also Dr. Andrew Flaus, we were able to readily expand the opportunities for Notre Dame undergrads to do research while abroad at Galway. We also began what turned out to be a lot of long discussions about research collaborations.”

She was struck by the possible synergies between investigators at ND/HCRI and the University of Galway in the areas of basic and translational cancer research. In addition, she says, “We also learned from Dr. Michael Kerin about the cancer health disparities in the catchment area served by the University of Galway hospital system. This resonated with us strongly, as a goal of HCRI research is to elucidate the molecular basis of cancer health disparities, with a long-term goal of helping to eradicate these through better point-of-care detection systems and new therapeutics.” Dr. Stack and the team in Galway and Kylemore then began working on a partnership called Biseach.

The next step was to coordinate a meeting. “We spent a year or so planning a scientific retreat at Kylemore to be held in summer 2020, then...COVID. This put us off for 2 years, but we were eventually able to have the retreat in 2022. Ironically, after surviving the pandemic COVID-free, I came down with it the day I was to leave for Ireland, so couldn't even attend the retreat. To say I was disappointed is a massive understatement. I cried like a baby!” 

What does "Biseach" stand for?

Dr. Stack explains, “We wanted to find an appropriate Irish word to describe our collaborative effort and an Irish colleague gave us the word Biseach. We are now working in a focused way to operationalize some key collaborations in the areas of basic and translational cancer research including early detection of breast cancer, devices to evaluate cardiotoxicity of chemotherapy, new drugs for brain cancers, and others. All projects are in early stages at the moment, but we anticipate some exciting results soon.”

Learn more about Dr. Stack's work at The Harper Cancer Research Institute and Notre Dame Kylemore.

Originally published by Claire Kieffer at international.nd.edu on March 08, 2024.