Ruthann Rudel

Silent Spring Institute

About The only scientific research organization specifically dedicated to breast cancer prevention. Company Overview Silent Spring is a nonprofit research organization working to identify and break the links between chemicals in our everyday environments and women's health, especially breast cancer. Our groundbreaking studies have opened new doors to the health risks associated with toxics where we live and work – areas that have largely been ignored in cancer research. The only scientific research organization dedicated to breast cancer prevention, Silent Spring Institute is staffed and led by researchers dedicated to science that serves the public interest. We partner with physicians, public health and community advocates, and other scientists to propel progress in breast cancer prevention. Description The Institute's research agenda is defined by these priorities: * Focus on the environment, an under-studied area that can lead to the discovery of preventable causes of cancer, particularly in communities with higher risk; * Make women's health, especially breast cancer, a central rather than peripheral research priority; * Support innovation, including new research methods and pilot studies to test new hypotheses; * Foster multidisciplinary teams of researchers to integrate their strengths; * Foster true collaboration among scientists, physicians, and community members. Silent Spring Institute began in 1994, after members of the Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition called for a scientifically sound investigation into elevated breast cancer rates on Cape Cod. They founded "a laboratory of their own" and named it Silent Spring Institute in tribute to Rachel Carson, whose landmark book, Silent Spring, launched the modern environmental movement. Carson died of breast cancer just two years after the book was published. Be part of the movement http://silentspring.org/.