Army of Women
Dr. Susan Love Foundation Expands Fight Against Breast Cancer
Services
- System Development
- Design
- Drupal
- Software Development
Industry
- Non-Profit & Advocacy
Key Results
- 29.4% increase in signups on existing studies
- 77.3% increase in new study enrollments
- Dynamic website and mobile app using Drupal and React
- Maintained data integrity and confidentiality
Background
The Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation’s Army of Women (AOW) is a groundbreaking initiative that aims to connect individuals—regardless of age, gender, or health status—with scientific researchers dedicated to understanding and eradicating breast cancer. Historically, breast cancer research has relied heavily on homogenous study groups, often limiting progress and skewing results. The AOW project addresses this gap by encouraging anyone over 18—whether they have personal experience with breast cancer or not—to register, share information, and recruit friends or family for upcoming studies.
From a marketing perspective, Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation needed to communicate the project’s inclusive mission in a more dynamic and user-friendly format that would attract a broader demographic than its initial core base of older white women. This entailed reframing the website’s messaging, content design, and overall user experience to resonate with more diverse age ranges, ethnicities, and social backgrounds.
Meanwhile, engineering teams were confronted with the challenge of preserving data security and confidentiality while integrating modern digital tools to handle large amounts of sensitive health data. Unlike a typical nonprofit campaign page, the AOW site facilitates direct interactions between thousands of potential study participants and various research labs—making data integrity and system reliability essential.
Challenge
Despite the Foundation’s noble mission, the existing system had limitations that stifled growth and compromised efficiency. First, the older platform struggled to maintain user confidentiality at scale; personal data was increasingly vulnerable as more participants registered. Second, its demographic reach had plateaued, failing to draw in younger participants or more diverse communities.
Marketing teams wanted to broaden the community. Their strategy included more inclusive visuals, flexible messaging, and a frictionless sign-up process that could resonate with younger audiences—critical for long-term breast cancer research that relies on data from varied populations.
Engineering leads recognized the importance of robust data architecture and advanced workflows. The new system needed to incorporate flexible Drupal modules for participant eligibility checks, accommodate custom logic for different research protocols, and still keep user data fully secure. Additionally, it had to unify the workflows for the Scientific Advisory Committee, site administrators, and non-technical Foundation users who would manage daily tasks—like approving new studies or screening participants.
Development
STAUFFER’s approach combined marketing insight and technical rigor to craft a next-generation platform for Army of Women.
Marketing-Driven Architecture
Our team started with user journeys, user persona analysis, and content audits. This helped clarify which features would resonate most with younger, more diverse audiences. Marketing specialists recommended more intuitive site layouts, strategically placed calls to action, and integrated social media sharing to encourage word-of-mouth referrals—an essential growth strategy for nonprofits.
Engineering the Backbone
On the engineering side, we chose Drupal as the content management system, thanks to its modular nature, robust security, and ability to handle custom data workflows. We integrated Drupal Workflow for advanced eligibility checks, ensuring that each potential participant’s data was screened according to complex research criteria. Additionally, we used Drupal Webform for conditional fields, letting the system adapt to each user’s specific medical history or risk factors.
To maintain the highest standards of data security, we introduced custom code features like encryption for sensitive fields and set up multi-layered authentication for researchers accessing personal information. STAUFFER’s engineering team also dedicated resources to thoroughly testing concurrency scenarios—ensuring that as membership scaled, the site wouldn’t compromise performance or security.
Bridging to Mobile
Recognizing that many prospective participants primarily browse on smartphones, we developed a mobile application using React, with the Drupal database as its main user data and registration source. This synergy allowed for streamlined native app creation for iOS and Android, meaning potential recruits could sign up, verify eligibility, and receive study notifications no matter their device.
Solution
The final Army of Women website and mobile app deliver a smooth experience for both participants and researchers, illustrating how STAUFFER unites marketing and engineering priorities in one cohesive system. Each new user is greeted by an interface that highlights the personal impact of joining a study, underlining how even those with no personal history of breast cancer can contribute to vital research. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, advanced security and data management features uphold the confidence of participants, researchers, and regulatory observers. Because we built the site on Drupal and extended it with React, in-house teams can swiftly alter sign-up forms, add or remove studies, and fine-tune user journeys without compromising the platform’s reliability.
Marketing, design, and engineering collaborated intensively from discovery to launch, yielding a digital ecosystem that looks approachable and handles large-scale data with minimal risk. The site’s user experience balances the emotional resonance of a mission-driven nonprofit with the efficiency that scientific research demands. By expanding the brand’s appeal to younger and more diverse groups, Army of Women now supports a far broader pool of potential participants who drive meaningful progress in breast cancer studies.
