Charles D. Blanke, MD, Chair-elect of SWOG, is moving in February to the Knight Cancer Institute at Oregon Health & Science University, which will then become SWOG's official headquarters.
"I was drawn to the Knight Cancer Institute because of its leadership in molecularly driven, personalized cancer medicine, as well as its willingness to make significant investments in research to advance that field," he said in an OHSU news release.
He is currently Vice-President of Systemic Therapy for the British Columbia Cancer Agency, Chief of Medical Oncology at the University of British Columbia and Chair of the Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor Task Force for the NCI's Gastrointestinal Steering Committee.
"Realizing the full promise of personalized cancer medicine will require that the best and brightest researchers and clinicians collaborate to move science forward," said Institute Director Brian J. Druker, MD, JELD-WEN Chair of Leukemia Research and Howard Hughes Medical Investigator. "Dr. Blanke's role with SWOG directly links Oregon to SWOG's network of world-class scientists, which will strengthen the Knight Cancer Institute's ongoing efforts to forge partnerships to speed progress on behalf of cancer patients and leverage research in new ways."
The news release notes that in his new role, Blanke will establish a team at OHSU to support SWOG's work and that he expects to find ways to leverage the research strengths of the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute by engaging more Knight investigators in SWOG's broad network of clinical trials.
Other recent recruits to the Institute are Lisa Coussens, PhD; and Joe Gray, PhD.
Clinton H. Joiner, MD, PhD, has been appointed Director of Hematology at the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, where he will also serve as Professor in the Emory University Department of Pediatrics. He was most recently Director of the Division of Hematology and Co-Director of the Cancer and Blood Diseases Institute at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Director of the NIH-funded Cincinnati Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center, and Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.
Michael A. Caligiuri, MD, Director of Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center and an OT Editorial Board member, has been elected Vice President of the Society for Natural Immunity. He will serve in the position for three years, and then become President for the following three years.
Also at Ohio State, Arnab Chakravarti, MD, Chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology and Co-Director of the Brain Tumor Program, has been inducted as a 2012 Fellow in the American College of Radiation Oncology.
His clinical research has led to the incorporation of novel molecular, genetic, and epigenetic biomarkers into clinical trials and clinical practice for brain tumors, prostate cancer, and bladder cancer. He also helped secure funding for the radiation oncology and associated cancer services as part of the $1.1 billion expansion project at OSU's Wexner Medical Center, which will include the new James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute and Critical Care Center.
David Finley, MD, a thoracic surgeon, and Elizabeth Jewell, MD, a gynecologic oncologist, have joined the staff of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center's suburban outpatient treatment center in Commack, NY. "While surgery is performed at Memorial Sloan-Kettering in Manhattan, there are many appointments before surgery, and follow-up care after, that are now available in Commack, and we are very pleased that with the addition of these highly skilled surgeons, our patients will have improved access to the best possible cancer care in the local community," said Maureen Killackey, MD, Deputy Physician-in-Chief and Medical Director of Sloan-Kettering's Regional Care Network.
Finley has been at MSKCC since 2006 and currently serves as Co-Director of Sloan-Kettering's airway program and researches new technologies to improve thoracic disease treatment. Jewell has been there since 2009, and specializes in cancers of the ovary, uterus, cervix, vagina, and vulva.
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has launched the Institute for Cancer Outcomes Research and Evaluation to improve the efficacy and effectiveness of cancer prevention, early detection, and treatment to reduce the economic and human burdens of cancer. Scott Ramsey, MD, PhD, Member of the Public Health Sciences Division, will serve as the Institute's new Director.
"While our primary mission is to prevent and cure cancers, it is also necessary to ensure that the therapies we offer patients are well-selected both clinically and economically," Lawrence Corey, MD, President and Director of the Hutchinson Center, said in a statement. The Institute is scheduled to begin programs early next year.
Emilie E. Voest, MD, PhD, Head of the Department of Medical Oncology at University Medical Center Utrecht in the Netherlands, and Rene Bernards, PhD, Head of the Division of Molecular Carcinogenesis at the Netherlands Cancer Institute, have been announced as the recipients of the Sta Op Tegen Kanker International Translational Cancer Research Grant, awarded by Stand Up To Cancer and the Dutch Cancer Society, along with the American Association for Cancer Research.
Together the doctors will lead the research project, "Prospective Use of DNA-guided Personalized Cancer Treatment" on behalf of the Dutch Center for Personalized Cancer Treatment-a collaborative effort of the Netherlands Cancer Institute, Erasmus MC and UMC Utrecht. The goal of the project is to identify new ways in which DNA analysis can be used to guide the selection of the most appropriate personalized cancer treatment for patients.
Two scientists from the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University have been awarded the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers by the U.S. government: C. Shad Thaxton, MD, Assistant Professor of Urology at the Feinberg School at Northwestern has been recognized for developing next-generation therapeutic nanoparticles for cancer and heart disease; and Steven Kosak, PhD, Assistant Professor in Cell and Molecular Biology, has been recognized for his research on how an organism's genome is nonrandomly packaged within the nucleus.
"Discoveries in science and technology not only strengthen our economy, they inspire us as a people," President Barack Obama said in a statement. "The impressive accomplishments of today's awardees so early in their careers promise even greater advances in the years ahead."
Vivekanand Gupta, DVM, PhD, Postdoctoral Associate at the Institute for Cancer Research of Fox Chase Cancer Center, has been named the 2012 Outstanding Graduate Scholar by the American Urological Association for his research, "The Role of Activated Tumor-associated Stroma in Supporting Renal Cell Carcinoma Progression."
Terese Cuddahy, RN, OCN, an infusion room nurse at Fox Chase Cancer Center, has been awarded the DAISY Award by Fox Chase to recognize her clinical skill and compassionate care as a nurse.
Shelly Hayes, MD, Director of Fox Chase Cancer Center Buckingham, has been selected as the 2011-12 Association of Residents in Radiation Oncology Educator of the Year. The ARRA award nationally recognizes an educator from each radiation oncology residency training program for excellence in teaching, as well as enthusiastic support of resident education in radiation oncology.
New ASTRO Fellows
The American Society for Radiation Oncology has named the following individuals to the 2012 class of Fellows.
"Being chosen as an ASTRO Fellow is one of the most distinguished honors that the Society awards. This year's class clearly stood out because of their distinct contributions to ASTRO and to the field of radiation oncology as a whole," said Michael L. Steinberg, MD, FASTRO, ASTRO President and Professor and Chairman of the Department of Radiation Oncology at UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine. The new fellows are the following:
* Thomas A. Buchholtz, MD, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
* Beth A. Erickson, MD, Medical College of Wisconsin
* Francine Halberg, MD, Marin Cancer Institute at Marin General Hospital, Greenbrae, Calif.
* A. Robert Kagan, MD, Southern California Kaiser Permanente Medical Group
* Maria D. Kelly MB, BCh, Veterans Administration New Jersey Healthcare System, East Orange, NJ.
* Eric E. Klein, PhD, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis
* Benjamin Movsas, MD, Henry Ford Health System, Detroit
* Arno J. Mundt, MD, Moores Cancer Center at the University of California San Diego
* Subir Nag, MD, Northern California Kaiser Permanente Medical Group
* Jatinder R. Palta, PhD, University of Florida College of Medicine
* Timothy Whelan, MSc, BM, BCh, Juravinski Cancer Centre at McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario
* Joachim Yahalom, MD, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
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