The Mary Kay Foundation has announced grants of $100,000 to thirteen doctors and medical scientists working to study cancers that affect women.

According to the American Cancer Society, one in three women will develop some kind of cancer in their lifetime. An estimated 227,000 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to occur among women in the United States in 2012.

Based on recommendations by a research review committee comprised of respected physicians, the Dallas-based foundation awards grants annually to fund research on breast, uterine, cervical, and ovarian cancers. This year's grantees include the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, where doctors are researching breast cancer metastasis; the University of Kansas Medical Center, where researchers plan to take a closer look at the early detection of ovarian cancer; and Yale University, where medical scientists are exploring breast tumor treatments.

"It is important in science to push the boundaries and take risks," said grantee Andrew Godwin, director of molecular oncology at the KU Medical Center. "The Mary Kay Foundation grant will allow us to explore and develop new technologies that could lead to better ways of testing, treating and ultimately curing ovarian cancer while in its early stage."

For more information and a complete list of grantees, visit the Mary Kay Foundation Web site.