The Society of Surgical Oncologists recently presented its first $100,000 Clinical Investigator Award in Breast Cancer Research, funded by Susan G. Komen for the Cure, to Dr. Tari A. King, of New York, N.Y.

King, a 1988 Moffat County High School graduate, is the daughter of Craig residents David and Vicki Burns.

The award is the Society's first CIA designated specifically for breast cancer research.

King's research, "A Genetic Analysis of the Invasive Breast Cancer Risk Associated with Lobular Carcinoma in Situ," addresses an important clinical problem, she said.

"Our goal is to elucidate the molecular genetic basis of cancer susceptibility in patients with LCIS," she said in a news release. "This project presents an innovative approach to a significant problem in the clinical management of women at high risk for breast cancer."

King will conduct research at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, where she is Assistant Attending Surgeon with the institution's Breast Service.

She will submit a one-year progress report in late 2009, a final written report before Nov. 1, 2010, and make a brief presentation at the Society's 2011 annual meeting in San Antonio.