Howard Bailey, MD, Professor of Medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, has been named Director of the UW Carbone Cancer Center. A medical oncologist who specializes in gynecologic and soft-tissue cancers and cancer prevention, he has been Interim Director since September 2013.

Figure. No caption available.

"[The Carbone Cancer Center] researchers make important discoveries that lead to better treatments; its clinicians deliver those treatments to patients; and both educate a wide range of health professionals and scientists who will move the field forward in the future," UW School of Medicine and Public Health Robert Golden, MD, said in a news release. "Howard has excelled in all those roles and it is my great privilege to have him move into the top leadership role."

HOWARD BAILEY, MD. HOWARD BAILEY, MD

Bailey has been on the faculty of UW-Madison since 1994, and has led the development of three different state- and nationwide clinical research networks to expand access to cutting-edge research for patients. He is also Chair of American Society of Clinical Oncology's Cancer Prevention Committee.

Silvia C. Formenti, MD, has been appointed Chair of the newly established Department of Radiation Oncology at Weill Cornell Medical College and Radiation Oncologist-in-Chief at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, as well as Associate Director of Radiation Oncology at the Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center at Weill Cornell. In the new roles, she will expand and enhance the existing radiation oncology program, overseeing faculty in the department who will investigate precision medicine approaches to radiation oncology, focusing on combining radiotherapy with immunotherapy and other modifiers of the tumor microenvironment to design advanced treatments and therapies that are tailored to each patient's individual tumor.

"Dr. Formenti is on the forefront of [the] personalized approach to cancer, devoting her career to investigating immune responses to radiotherapy and designing therapies that are tailored to each patient's specific tumor," Laurie H. Glimcher, MD, the Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean of Weill Cornell Medical College, said in a news release.

Formenti's work has focused on demonstrating the efficacy of combining radiotherapy with immunotherapy to control cancer cell growth in solid tumors. She has translated preclinical work into clinical trials in metastatic breast cancer, lung cancer, and melanoma. Formenti most recently served as Chair of Radiation Oncology at New York University Langone Medical Center. She was also Associate Director of the NYU Cancer Institute and Co-leader of its Breast Cancer Research Program, as well as the Sandra and Edward H. Meyer Professor of Radiation Oncology at NYU Langone.

Jeff Sperring, MD, has been named Chief Executive Officer of Seattle Children's Hospital, effective earlier this month. He had been serving as President and CEO of Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health-where he had been since 2002-providing pediatric strategic and policy oversight within the 18-hospital Indiana University Health System. There he developed the framework to transform Riley from a children's hospital to a statewide children's health system.

"We are thrilled that Dr. Sperring is assuming the role of CEO," Board of Trustees Chair Judy Holder, said in a news release. "He brings tremendous experience leading a highly ranked, complex health care organization, and exudes a clear passion and dedication to our mission at Seattle Children's. It's also evident that he leads from the heart and will be effective in helping Seattle Children's reach an even higher level of achievement in further improving the health of the communities we serve."

JEFF SPERRING, MD. JEFF SPERRING, MD

Sperring replaces CEO Thomas N. Hansen, MD, who retired this month after 10 years in the role. He grew Seattle Children's Research Institute, opened a major outpatient and ambulatory surgery center in Bellevue, and oversaw the completion of the Building Hope expansion at the hospital. He plans to remain an investigator at Seattle Children's Research Institute, focusing on the development of low-cost ventilators for premature infants born in low- and middle-income countries.

Jacqueline C. Barrientos, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine at Hofstra North Shore-Long Island Jewish School of Medicine, and Johnnie J. Orozco, MD, PhD, Research Associate at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, have been selected to participate in the 2015 American Society of Hematology-Harold Amos Medical Faculty Development Program, which is designed to increase the number of under-represented minority scholars in the field of hematology with academic and research appointments. The program provides four years of support, including an annual stipend of up to $75,000 and an annual research grant of $30,000.

Barrientos will focus on increasing general understanding of Richter's Syndrome, including predictors to response to treatment with targeted therapies such as ibrutinib and obinutuzumab. Orozco, who began his work in January, aims to overcome the limitations of stem cell transplantation using a novel radioimmunotherapy strategy for bone marrow transplantations that employs partially matched, or haploidentical, donors. Barrientos and Orozco will spend at least 70 percent of their time on their ASH-AMFDP-funded research under the mentorship of senior faculty at their respective institutions.

JACQUELINE C. BARRIENTOS, MD. JACQUELINE C. BARRIENTOS, MD

JOHNNIE J. OROZCO, MD, PHD. JOHNNIE J. OROZCO, MD, PHD

In other ASH news, five medical students were selected by the Society to receive its 2015 Physician-Scientist Career-Development Award. The new award program is designed to help first-, second-, or third-year medical students in the U.S. and Canada gain critical early exposure to hematology research and learn more about the specialty. From July 2015 through June 2016, the students will receive $42,000 to cover supplies, educational expenses, health insurance, ASH annual meeting attendance, and financial support while they pursue a yearlong laboratory, translational, or clinical hematology research project alongside an ASH member mentor.

The recipients are:

* Deborah Ahove, of Yale Medical School;

* Saurav D. Haldar, of Harvard Medical School;

* John L. Mariano, of University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry;

* Itamar Niesvizky-Kogan, of SUNY Upstate Medical University; and

* Emily A. Rosen, of Harvard Medical School.

In addition, ASH and the European Hematology Association have named 20 early-career hematologists selected to participate in the 2015 Translational Research Training in Hematology joint program. The program is intended to help junior scientists build successful careers in hematologic translational research through a rigorous year-long training and mentoring experience.

Participants attended a week-long course in March on translational research methodology; will convene for small-group mentoring sessions at the 2015 EHA Annual Congress in June; and will present the status of their projects at the conclusion of the program at the ASH's next Annual meeting in December. Participants have completed their fellowship training within the past three years.

The recipients are:

* Ileana Antony-Debre, PhD, of Albert Einstein College of Medicine;

* Pavan Bachireddy, MD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute;

* Lucile Couronne, MD, PhD, of Necker Hospital, Paris;

* Moniek DeWitte, MD, PhD, of University Medical Center Utrecht, Netherlands;

* Ammon Fager, MD, PhD, of Duke University Medical Center;

* Emir Hadzijusufovic, DVM, of Medical University of Austria;

* Gillian Horne, MD, of University of Glasgow, Scotland;

* Moonjung Jung, MD, of National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health;

* Jonas Samuel Jutzi, MD, of University Medical Center Freiburg, Center for Clinical Research, Germany;

* Milka Koupenova-Zamor, PhD, University of Massachusetts Medical School;

* Marwan Kwok, MD, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom;

* Patricia Maiso, PhD, of Clincia Universidad de Navarra, Spain;

* Jean-Baptiste Micol, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center;

* Christopher Ott, PhD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute;

* Carsten Riether, PhD, of University of Bern/Inselspital, Switzerland;

* Anindita Roy, PhD, of Imperial College London;

* Melody Smith, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center;

* Zuzana Tothova, MD, PhD, of Brigham and Women's Hospital;

* Marin Wlodarski, MD, PhD, of University of Freiburg, Germany; and

* Yuh-Ying Yeh, PhD, of the Ohio State University.

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