Sir Murray F. Brennan, MD, FACS, the Benno C. Schmidt Chair in Clinical Oncology, Vice-President for International Programs, and Director of The Bobst International Center, all at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and Professor of Surgery at Cornell University, was named a Knight Grand Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his service to medicine.
Brennan, a native New Zealander, moved to the U.S. after medical school and served at the National Cancer Institute before joining MSKCC in 1981. His clinical and research interests have focused on surgical oncology, endocrinology, metabolism, and nutrition. He has designed and conducted numerous clinical trials that have produced significant findings in the management of patients with soft tissue sarcomas and pancreatic cancer, and he played a leading role in creating the world's largest database of some 10,000 sarcoma patients.
Brennan is also a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and has served as ACoS Second Vice-President (2004-2005) and as former Chair of the Commission on Cancer, the Surgical Forum Committee, and the International Relations Committee. He received the College's Distinguished Service Award in 2000, the organization's highest honor.
Also in 2012, the Murray F. Brennan International Scholarship was endowed through the ACS Foundation with the support of more than 100 donors. He is an Honorary Fellow of: the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Edinburgh, England, and Australasia; the Brazilian and Chilean Surgical colleges; the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow and Canada; several international surgical societies; and the Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland.
James P. Allison, PhD, Chair of Immunology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, and Carl June, MD, the Richard W. Vague Professor in Immunotherapy at the Perelman School of Medicine and Director of the Center for Cellular Immunotherapies at the University of Pennsylvania, have received the 2015 Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize to recognize their work in immunotherapies.
"In immunotherapy, it's not the tumor but the immune system that is targeted. This marks a new therapeutic principle in oncology," the Scientific Council of the Paul Ehrlich Foundation wrote in explaining its decision to honor Allison and June with the prestigious international prize, according to a news release.
Five members of the oncology community have received 2015 Canada Gairdner Awards, which recognize medical discoveries from around the world. The awards include a $100,000 (CDN) prize. Among this year's winners are:
* Lewis C. Cantley, PhD, Director of the Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center at Weill Cornell Medical College and New York-Presbyterian Hospital, the Margaret and Herman Sokol Professor in Oncology Research, and Professor of Cancer Biology in Medicine at Weill Cornell, who was recognized for his discovery of the key factor in tumor growth PI3-Kinase;
* Michael N. Hall, PhD, Professor at the Biozentrum at the University of Basel in Switzerland, who was recognized for his discovery of the nutrient activated protein kinase TOR and elucidation of its central control of cell growth, critical to development and aging and widely implicated in cancers, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and immune disorders;
* Lynne E. Maquat, PhD, Director of the Center for RNA Biology: From Genome to Therapeutics, and Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, and the J. Lowell Orbison Endowed Chair, who was recognized for the discovery of the mechanism that destroys mutant messenger RNAs in human cells, nonsense0mediated mRNA decay, which is critically important in both normal and disease states;
* Yoshinori Ohsumi, MSc, DSc, Honorary Professor at the Frontier Research Center at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, who was recognized for pioneering the molecular elucidation of autophagy, an essential intracellular, degradation system and when disordered is linked to many diseases including neurodegeneration, cancer, and infection; and
* Shimon Sakaguchi, PhD, Distinguished Professor and Vice Director of the Laboratory of Experimental Immunology at the WPI Immunology Frontier Research Center at Osaka University in Japan, who was recognized for his discovery of regulatory T cells, characterizations of their role in immunity and application to the treatment of autoimmune diseases and cancer.
Michael H. Levy, MD, PhD, Director of the Pain and Palliative Care Program at Fox Chase Cancer Center, has received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. The award recognizes outstanding contributions and significant publications that have helped shape the direction of the field of hospice and palliative medicine.
Levy became interested in end-of-life care as a medical student in 1972, serving as Jefferson Medical College's representative to a death and dying sensitivity and education group called Ars Moriendi, whose members helped import hospice care into North America and pioneer the hospice movement. In the absence of established hospice medical training programs in the U.S., Levy sought training at St. Christopher's Hospice in London and the Palliative Care Service at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal.
"I've dedicated 35 years to integrating hospice and palliative medicine into comprehensive cancer care, so this recognition is a great honor," Levy, said in a news release. "My goal has been, and still is, to carry the message that hospice and palliative care are the completion, not the antithesis, of state-of-the-art cancer care."
Levy has been at Fox Chase since 1981, where he developed the Pain and Palliative Care Program he still directs. He has served on the Board of Directors of the National Hospice Organization and has also served as its Treasurer and then as Vice Chairman. He was an 11-year member of the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, and also served as its President (1999). He is also a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology's Supportive Care Guideline Advisory Group and is currently co-chairing its Chronic Pain in Cancer Survivors guideline panel.
Levy was awarded the National Hospice Organization's Person of the Year Award in 1992 and its Heart of Hospice Clinician Award in 2003. He also received AAHPM's Distinguished Service Award in 2001 and ASCO's inaugural Excellence in Teaching Award in 2014.
Fadlo R. Khuri, MD, Deputy Director of Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, Chair of the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, and Executive Associate Dean for Research at Emory University School of Medicine, has been named President of American University of Beirut in Lebanon. He will begin his tenure there in September.
"Fadlo Khuri has been a driving force behind Winship Cancer Institute's positive trajectory since he first joined Emory in 2002," S. Wright Caughman, MD, CEO of Emory's Woodruff Health Sciences Center and Executive Vice President for Health Affairs at Emory, said in a news release. "His influence can be seen in many areas, including his pivotal role in earning National Cancer Institute Cancer Center Designation for Winship in 2009. We will miss Fadlo greatly but look forward to the many new exciting relationships that Emory will now forge with AUB."
Khuri also holds the Roberto C. Goizueta Distinguished Chair for Cancer Research; and before joining Emory he also previously served on the faculty of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Khuri grew up in Beirut. His maternal great grandfathers, paternal grandfather, father, and mother were graduates of AUB; and his father served as Chair of the school's Department of Physiology and Dean of the AUB Medical School.
Thomas E. Merchant, DO, PhD, has been named Chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. In the position, he now oversees the programs at St. Jude that use radiation therapy to treat childhood cancer. Merchant now also holds the Baddia J. Rashid Endowed Chair in Radiation Oncology.
Merchant has been at St. Jude since 1996. His work with conformal radiation therapy for central nervous system tumors is the basis for guidelines used in most of the national cooperative group pediatric brain tumor trials, and he has led the development of treatment guidelines for intensity-modulated radiation therapy and proton therapy in all types of pediatric brain and solid tumors. Merchant also played a key role in creating the St. Jude Red Frog Events Proton Therapy Center, which is the first proton therapy center designed for and dedicated solely to the treatment of children.
William Breitbart, MD, has been appointed Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and has been named the new incumbent of the Jimmie C. Holland Chair. Breitbart has been on the faculty at MSKCC since 1986, and he has served as Interim Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences since 2012. His work has focused on the psychiatric aspects of cancer and palliative care. He studies interventions for anxiety, depression, desire for death, loss of meaning, and delirium in patients with cancer or AIDS. He also researches neuropsychiatric problems such as pain and fatigue in this group.
Also at MSKCC, Nadeem Abu-Rustum, MD, has been appointed Chief of the Gynecology Service. He joined the MSKCC faculty in 2001 and has directed the minimal access surgery program since 2002; and he serves as Co-leader of the Gynecology Disease Management Team, as well as Vice Chair for Technology Development. He specializes in minimally invasive surgery for the treatment of cancerous and noncancerous diseases of the female reproductive system.
The following three individuals have joined Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Roman Skoracki, MD, FRCSC, FACS, is now Professor in the College of Medicine in the Department of Plastic Surgery, where he directs the Division of Reconstructive Oncological Plastic Surgery. He has clinical expertise in lymphedema surgery; reconstructive microsurgery of the head, neck, and breast; sarcoma reconstruction, and abdominal wall reconstruction; and previously served at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
James Rocco, MD, PhD, is now Professor in the College of Medicine in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Cancer Surgery, where he directs the Division of Head and Neck Oncology. His work has included translating investigations on mechanisms of cell death after therapy into clinical practice by identifying novel biomarkers that predict survival in patients with head and neck cancer. Rocco previously served at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and Massachusetts General Hospital.
Michelle Naughton, PhD, MPH, is now Professor in the College of Medicine in the Department of Internal Medicine in the Division of Cancer Prevention and Control. Her research focuses on the impact of cancer and its treatments on the health-related quality of life and daily functioning of patients and long-term survivors.
Steven L. D'Amato, BSPham, BCOP, Executive Director of New England Cancer Specialists in Scarborough, Maine, and Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Tufts College of Medicine, was elected President of the Association of Community Cancer Centers. In a news release, D'Amato noted: "Each ACCC President selects a theme issue. I'm looking forward to a focus on the oncology medical home-an issue which resonates with the themes of quality and value, and the multidisciplinary nature of cancer care delivery" (OT 5/25/15 issue).
Within the ACCC, D'Amato has previously served on the Program Committee, as an advisory board member for the ACCC's Oncology Pharmacy Education Network, and on the ACCC's Board of Trustees as Secretary. D'Amato also serves as a member of the Maine Medical Center Institutional Review Board; and he has had experience in clinical oncology for 30 years in both the hospital and private practice settings. D'Amato has lectured extensively on pain management, end-of-life care, and oncology practice. And he is also a board member of the Community Cancer Center in South Portland, Maine, a nonprofit organization that provides education and support to patients with cancer.
The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute has awarded $14.1 million to a team of University of California San Francisco researchers to investigate whether a personalized approach to cancer screening is as safe and effective as annual mammograms. The project, the WISDOM study, will be led by breast cancer researcher Laura Esserman, MD, MBA, Professor of Surgery and Director of the Carol Franc Buck Breast Care Center at the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center.
"This is a significant rethinking of breast cancer risk assessment and is a great example of how the UCSF cancer center is working to fully integrate cancer care with research for patient benefit," Alan Ashworth, PhD, FRS, President of the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center and Senior Vice President for Cancer Services of UCSF Health, said in a news release.
The five-year study will involve approximately 100,000 women age 40 to 80, and will test a more targeted approach to breast cancer screening: those at higher risk are screened more often and those at lower risk are screened less often. Annual screening will be weighed against a personalized schedule of screening based on each woman's individual risk. Women will be invited to be randomized to either the personalized or the annual screening arm. The two strategies will be compared to determine whether personalized screening is as safe as annual screening and whether it will reduce false-positive results and over-diagnosis.
The following researchers from OSUCCC - Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute have received grants from the National Cancer Institute:
* Kalpana Ghoshal, PhD, Associate Professor in the Department of Pathology at Ohio State and Member of the Translational Therapeutics Program at OSUCCC - James, has received a $1.74 million, five-year grant to study the role of microRNA-122 in a mouse model of liver cancer;
* Zui Pan, PhD, Research Associate Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at Ohio State and Member of the Molecular Carcinogenesis and Chemoprevention Program at OSUCCC - James, and Tong Chen, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine and Member of the MCC Program, have received a $1.63 million, five-year grant to be co-Principal Investigators to lead a team to examine how a certain protein contributes to esophageal tumor initiation and progression, and whether it can be used as a biomarker for detection and prognosis; and
* Michael A. Caligiuri, MD, Director of the OSUCC and CEO of The James and Member of the Leukemia Research Program, and Jianhua Yu, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Division of Hematology and Member of the MCC Program, have received a $1.59 million, five-year grant to be co-principal investigators to study how a dietary component from edible plants enhances the immune system's ability to prevent AML or its recurrence.
Joan Massague, PhD, Director of the Sloan Kettering Institute at MSKCC, received the 2015 Charles Rodolphe Brupbacher Prize for Cancer Research at the international "Breakthroughs in Cancer Research and Therapy" symposium earlier this year. The prize recognizes Massague's research in on the metastatic spread of cancer-for example, successfully demonstrating that genes are involved that may not have been particularly significant in the development of the primary tumor. His work has identified evidence of a series of genes that cause metastases in the lung and, at the same time, encourage the growth of primary breast cancer, which enables the development of strategies to reduce or suppress the capacity of the cancer cells circulating in the body to form metastases in remote organs.
Beth Y. Karlan, MD, Director of the Cedars-Sinai Women's Cancer Program at the Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute and Director of the Division of Gynecologic Oncology in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Cedars-Sinai Medical School, has been selected to receive the 2015 Claudia Cohen Research Foundation Prize for an Outstanding Gynecologic Researcher, a $50,000 prize that was presented at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology Annual Meeting on Women's Cancer. Karlan is also Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles.
"Caring for women with gynecologic cancers inspires me to work tirelessly for clinical excellence and arouses my ever-present curiosity to unravel tumor biology in the laboratory," Karlan said in a news release.
Karlan's work in early detection of ovarian cancer led to the discovery of the novel biomarker HE4, which is now FDA-approved and in wide clinical use to help triage women a pelvic mass and to help monitor women with ovarian cancer for recurrence.
Two researchers have received the Association of Community Cancer Centers' David King Community Clinical Scientist Award at the organization's Annual Meeting earlier this year:
Stuart L. Goldberg, MD, Chief of the Division of Leukemia at the John Theurer Cancer Center of Hackensack Medical Center in New Jersey and Associate Clinical Professor at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, received the award to recognize his dedication to cancer research and his efforts to promote the goals of advancing treatment and quality care in oncology. He oversees John Theurer Center's Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS) Program, including the clinical trials and programs for geriatric patients with marrow failure disorders.
His research has focused on clinical care issues for patients with leukemia and bone marrow failure disorders; it has included redefining the incidence and epidemiology of MDS based on analysis of Medicare databases and a food-interaction safety study for chelation therapy in transfusional iron overload.
Eric Lee Raefsky, MD, posthumously received the award to recognize his 25 years of service at Tennessee Oncology, PLLC, which included serving on the Board of Directors and as Medical Director. Raefsky was an advocate for clinical trials through the Sarah Cannon Research Institute, where he helped enroll more than 1,000 patients during his career. Raefsky established a full-time clinic at Summit Medical Center and served as a charter staff member, Chairman of the Department of Medicine, Oncology Committee Chairman, and on multiple committees there. He also served as the Co-Medical Director and board member of a local hospice, and Chairman of Centennial Medical Center's Oncology Committee. Raefsky died in 2014; his daughter Stacy Maciuk accepted the award on his behalf.
"It is our privilege to recognize Dr. Raefsky's exceptional contribution to the oncology community with the presentation of this award," ACCC 2014-2015 President Becky DeKay, MBA, said in a news release.
The National Institutes of Health has formed a working group of the Advisory Committee to the Director, comprised of experts in precision medicine and large clinical research studies. The working group will seek public input from the large and diverse stakeholder community interested in the development of the President's Precision Medicine initiative and articulate the vision for building the national participant group for the initiative.
"I'm confident that we've pulled together the best of the best in this working group to put us on the right path forward. And we look forward to broad input from a wide cross-section of stakeholders as this process moves forward," NIH Director Francis S. Collins, MD, PhD, said in a news release.
The Working Group will help define what can be learned from a study of this scale and scope, what issues will need to be addressed and considered as part of the study design, and what success would look like five and 10 years out. They are expected to deliver a preliminary report in September. The group is chaired by: Richard Lifton, MD, PhD, Chair of the Department of Genetics, Sterling Professor of Genetics and Professor of Medicine, and Founder and Executive Director of the Yale Center for Genomic Analysis, all at Yale University School of Medicine, and Investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Bray Patrick-Lake, MFS, Director of Stakeholder Engagement for the Clinical Trial Transformation at Duke University; and Kathy Hudson, PhD, Deputy Director of Science, Outreach, and Policy at the National Institutes of Health.
Moffitt Cancer Center has earned the Magnet designation in recognition of its nursing excellence, granted by the American Nurses Credentialing Center, the credentialing body of the American Nurses Association. The designation honors outstanding health care organizations for nursing professionalism, teamwork, quality patient care, and innovations in nursing practices.
"Being a Magnet-recognized organization is a testament to the relentless pursuit of excellence in nursing within all areas of Moffitt," Jane Fusilero, RN, MSN, MBA, NEA-BC, Chief Nursing Officer and Vice President of Patient Care Services at Moffitt, said in a news release. "It also speaks to the power of collaborative teamwork. It truly takes the dedication of everyone within our organization to achieve this level of recognition."
Two members of the oncology community have been chosen to be inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame based on the value of their contributions to the development of the United States, the significant national or global impact of their achievements, and the enduring value of their achievements. Both women will be inducted at a ceremony in October. They are:
* Nancy Brinker, Founder and Chair of Global Strategy of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, who has led the organization to raise more than $2 billion for research, education, and health services; and
* Philippa Marrack, PhD, a Senior Faculty Member in the Integrated Department of Immunology at National Jewish Health, Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Immunology, and Medicine at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, who has focused her work on investigating the role of T-cells in the immune system.
The Philadelphia Flyers Wives have made a $400,000 donation to Fox Chase Cancer Center's Women's Cancer Center. The Flyers Wives, a subsidiary of Comcast-Spectacor Charities, raise money through fundraising events to support non-profits throughout the Greater Philadelphia Region and also volunteer in the community to support worthy causes.
"Fox Chase is extremely grateful to the Flyers Wives for this generous donation, which will allow us to expand our reach into the community and accelerate groundbreaking discoveries in women's cancer prevention and treatment," Richard I. Fisher, MD, President and CEO of Fox Chase Cancer Center, said in a news release. "Funding from long-standing local and national charities, such as the Flyers Wives, is critical to supporting philanthropic opportunities at Fox Chase that help advance cancer research and medicine."
Immediate priorities supported by the donation include: a mobile mammography screening unit (the only one in the region); wider deployment of Breast Specific Gamma Imaging (BSGI); new research investigating the use of hormones to prevent breast cancer, which is being led by Jose Russo, MD, Director of the Fox Chase Breast Cancer Research Laboratory; and research investigating how to control the invasion and metastasis of breast cancer, also led by Russo and his colleagues.
American Academy of Dermatology Awards
The following awards and honors were presented by The Skin Cancer Foundation at the American Academy of Dermatology's Annual Meeting in March.
Three new members were inducted into the Foundation's Amonette Circle to signify each individual's dedication to fighting skin cancer and outstanding leadership in the field of dermatology. The new members are Gina Ang, MD, of The Skin Revitalizing Center in Grandville, Michigan; John Buker, MD, of Bluegrass Dermatology in Lexington, Kentucky; and Anne Marie McNeill, MD, of Newport Beach Dermatology and Plastic Surgery in Newport Beach, California.
Four new members were inducted into The Robins Fund for the Advancement of Mohs Surgery, which works to ensure the perpetuity of Mohs surgery. The new members are: David Adams, MD, of Coastal Skin Surgery and Dermatology in Miramar Beach, Florida; Andrew Herbst, MD, of The Skin Cancer Center of Fairfield County in Norwalk, Connecticut; Ali Hendi, MD, in private practice in Chevy Chase, Maryland; and Gerald Peters, MD, of Bend Memorial Clinic in Bend, Oregon.
Additionally, several members were inducted into the Funds for the Advancement of Mohs Surgery, which include charitable funds started by Roy Geronemus, MD, of Laser & Skin Surgery Center of New York; David Goldberg, MD, of Skin Laser & Surgery Specialists of New York/New Jersey; and Skin Cancer Foundation Senior Vice President Ronald Moy, MD, of Moy Fincher Chipps Facial Plastic/Dermatology in Beverly Hills, California. Those new inductees include:
* For the Geronemus Fund, Bradley Bloom, MD, of Laser & Skin Surgery Center of New York;
* For the Goldberg Fund, Snehal Amin, MD, of Manhattan Dermatology and Cosmetic Surgery in New York, and Ellen Marmur, MD, of Marmur Medical in New York, New York;
* For the Moy Fund, Brian Bucalo, MD, of Skin Cancer Treatment Center in Hollywood, Florida; Mary Christian Reed, MD, of Dermatology and Laser Center of Oklahoma in Tulsa; K. Wade Foster, MD, of Central Florida Dermatology and Skin Center in Winter Haven, Florida; Hayes B. Gladstone, MD, of The California Skin Institute in Mountain View, California; David Kouba, MD, of Toledo Clinic Facial Plastics & Dermatology; Walter K. Nahm, MD, of University Dermatology Group in San Diego, California; Victor A. Neel, MD, of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts; and Ariel Ostad, MD, in private practice in New York City.
Also, the following Research Grants were awarded:
* Yuhang Zhang, PhD, Assistant Professor at the University of Cincinnati, received the Dr. Marcia Robbins-Wilf Research Society Award of $25,000;
* Neil J. Ganem, MD, Assistant Professor of Pharmacology and Medicine, received the Todd Nagel Memorial Award of $25,000;
* Bichchau Michelle Nguyen, MD, Assistant Professor at Tufts Medical Center, received the Skin Cancer Foundation Research Award of $25,000;
* Erica Lee, MD, Assisting Attending Physician at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, received the Skin Cancer Foundation Award of $15,000; and
* Linda Heffernan-Stroud, MD, PhD, a Dermatology Resident at Eastern Virginia Medical School, received the Ashley Trenner Research Grant Award of $10,000.
SU2C and Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies PBS Creative Team Launch Science Award Program for High School Students
Stand Up To Cancer and members of the PBS LearningMedia team behind the recent documentary "Ken Burns Presents CANCER: THE EMPEROR OF ALL MALADIES a Film by Barak Goodman" have launched The EMPEROR Science Awards Program, an education initiative to encourage students from disadvantaged high schools to pursue careers in science, with a particular emphasis on cancer research through a year of mentorship with a scientist from a leading research institution or industry.
"When we launched this documentary effort in 2013, Siddhartha Mukherjee told us that even with all the exciting developments in cancer research, we will not beat cancer in the long run if we don't engage new generations of young people to enter the field of science, particularly cancer research," SU2C Co-Founder Sherry Lansing, who lead the committee which conceived and implemented this plan, said in a news release. "No doubt, the documentary will spark an interest in science among some of the young people who watch it and this science award was designed to nurture that interest."
Awardees accepted to the program will receive one-on-one science mentoring over the course of a year or an intensive summer schedule and a $1,500 grant. The students will also be provided with electronic tablets to enhance their studies and to extend the reach of mentors of major research institutions for students in rural and suburban communities.
"Our most effective weapons in the war against cancer are bright minds and people who are passionately committed to finding a cure," Alicia Levi, VP of Education at PBS, said in a news release. "To find the next Sidney Farber or Mary-Claire King, we need to make sure that all students have an opportunity to pursue their scientific ambitions."
The first 300 awards have been fully funded over three years by Genentech, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation.
Siddhartha Mukherjee, MD, PhD, author of the book on which the film was based; Otis W. Brawley, MD, FACP, Chief Medical Officer of the American Cancer Society; Joseph Leveque, MD, Vice President of Bristol-Myers Squibb Vice President, US Medical-Oncology, are among those who have already committed to serving as mentors.
Applications for the program will be available in August online at http://pbslearningmedia.org; any high school students may apply or can be nominated by teachers.