John A. "Drew" Ridge, MD, PhD, FACS, Chief of Head and Neck Surgery and Louis Della Penna Family Chair in Head and Neck Oncology at Fox Chase Cancer Center - Temple Health, has been elected President of the Medical Staff there. In his new role, Ridge will work with President and CEO, Richard Fisher, MD, and hospital administration to improve physician credentialing and privileging processes, and select physician representatives to committees that oversee patient safety and quality control.

"Drew has a longstanding interest in quality of care and he has an excellent reputation among his peers, which makes him uniquely qualified to be Medical Staff President," James Helstrom, MD, MBA, Chief Medical Officer of Fox Chase, said in a news release. "I'm confident he'll be very successful in taking on these responsibilities."

Figure. No caption available.

JOHN A. "DREW" RIDGE, MD, PHD, FACS. JOHN A. "DREW" RIDGE, MD, PHD, FACS

Ridge has been co-chair of the National Cancer Institute Head and Neck Steering Committee, as well as president of the American Head and Neck Society and of the American Radium Society. He has also held leadership positions in the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) and NRG cooperative groups.

Matthew A. Powell, MD, Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Washington University School of Medicine, has been named Director of the Division of Gynecologic Oncology in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology there. He succeeds David G. Mutch, MD, the Ira C. and Judith Gall Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, who served as Director of the division for the past 20 years. Mutch will continue as Vice Chair of the department.

"Dr. Powell is an outstanding scientist and educator and one of the finest gynecologic surgeons in the country," George Macones, MD, the Mitchell and Elaine Yanow Professor and head of Obstetrics and Gynecology, said in a news release. "I am confident that he will build on the tremendous division that Dr. Mutch has developed over the past 20 years."

MATTHEW A. POWELL, MD. MATTHEW A. POWELL, MD

Powell is also Director of the Gynecologic Oncology Fellowship and a staff member at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. He studies ovarian, uterine, cervical, and other gynecologic cancers; he is involved in clinical and molecular research in gynecologic cancers, and he leads a national uterine sarcoma study. Powell has been a member of the faculty of the School of Medicine since 1999. He previously served on the faculty at The Ohio State University.

The Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, University of Illinois at Chicago, and Northeastern Illinois University have received a $17.4 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to work together to help the city's underserved communities foster cancer research, education, training, and outreach. The five-year grant will support the creation of the Chicago Cancer Heath Equity Collaborative (ChicagoCHEC), which will be led by researchers from all three institutions. The Collaborative held a joint community kick-off event in October.

"Despite the existence of five academic medical centers and millions of dollars spent on cancer research and treatment of Chicago residents, we are still only in our infancy in responding to cancer health disparities," Collaborative leader Melissa Simon, MD, the George H. Gardner, MD, Professor of Clinical Gynecology in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, said in a news release. "We have been working on setting the groundwork and assembling this grant over the last five years as a way to move forward and foster the wonderful work of communities and organizations already working towards improving cancer equity."

In addition to Simon, the effort is also being led by: Robert Winn, MD, Associate Vice President for Community-Based Practice and Professor of Medicine at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine, and Director of the Lung Cancer Program at University of Illinois Hospital & Health System; Christina Ciecierski, PhD, Associate Professor of Economics at Northeastern Illinois University; and Moira Stuart, PhD, Associate Professor of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Athletics at Northeastern.

MELISSA SIMON, MD. MELISSA SIMON, MD

The Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation and the Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Foundation have partnered to fund a two-year, $400,000 grant for scientists collaborating on research to produce less-toxic treatments that target cancer stem cells to minimize the recurrence of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and identify early detection and treatment of pregnancy-associated TNBC. Each organization will contribute $100,000 per year for two years.

ROBERT WINN, MD. ROBERT WINN, MD

CHRISTINA CIECIERSKI, PHD. CHRISTINA CIECIERSKI, PHD

MOIRA STUART, PHD. MOIRA STUART, PHD

The new grant will fund the following researchers:

* Garry Nolan, PhD, of Stanford University; and Ming-Ming Zhou, PhD, and Samuel Waxman, MD, both of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, who are collaborating on research applying a combination of a minimally toxic derivative of Vitamin A with specific molecular inhibitors to reprogram TNBC cells in mice with the goal of testing the therapy in clinical trials; and

* Doris Germain, PhD, of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, whose work aims to enhance early detection and treatment of TNBC tumors that emerge among women more often within one to six years of giving birth-the research being focused on targeting a plasma protein that promotes the growth of TNBC cells upon being activated during the shrinkage of women's mammary glands after they stop breast feeding.

Stephen S. Chung, MD, instructor and medical oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, has received the inaugural Jake Wetchler Foundation American Society of Hematology Scholar Award for Pediatric Innovation for his research on the mechanisms of bone marrow failure syndromes. The award is the result of a new partnership between ASH and The Jake Wetchler Foundation for Innovative Pediatric Cancer Research to cooperatively fund novel pediatric cancer research that challenges existing paradigms. Chung will receive $100,000 for the award over a two-year period.

GARRY NOLAN, PHD. GARRY NOLAN, PHD

MING-MING ZHOU, PHD. MING-MING ZHOU, PHD

SAMUEL WAXMAN, MD. SAMUEL WAXMAN, MD

DORIS GERMAIN, PHD. DORIS GERMAIN, PHD

Chung's current research focuses on the role of CD99, a cell surface protein expressed at increased levels on malignant stem cells.

STEPHEN S. CHUNG, MD. STEPHEN S. CHUNG, MD

ASCO Elects Bruce E. Johnson, MD, as President for 2017-2018 and New Board Members

Bruce E. Johnson, MD, Chief Clinical Research Officer and Institute Physician at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and the Director of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center Lung Cancer Program, has been elected President of the American Society of Clinical Oncology for the term beginning in June 2017. He will take office as President-Elect during the ASCO Annual Meeting in June 2016.

Figure. No caption available.

"I am honored and proud to serve as [ASCO's] volunteer leader; in fact, I consider it a fulfillment of my most significant professional and academic career goals," said Dr. Johnson. "My goals include anticipating and responding to evolving health care policies, using big data to guide the treatment of our patients, and helping to provide the necessary tools for our members to adapt to the changing professional and financial aspects of oncology practice. I'm looking forward to continuing to have an impact on the future direction of clinical oncology professionals and our patients by serving in this very important role."

BRUCE E. JOHNSON, MD. BRUCE E. JOHNSON, MD

Johnson has been a member of ASCO since 1986. He is currently a member of the Bylaws Committee and has served in numerous volunteer and leadership roles, including having served on the Board of Directors and the Audit, Cancer Education, and Cancer Communications Committees.

The following physicians have also been elected to each serve four-year terms as members of ASCO's Board of Directors starting in June 2016:

* Peter C. Adamson, MD, Chair of the Children's Oncology Group, President of the Children's Oncology Group Foundation, and a Professor of Pediatrics and Pharmacology at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, has been elected to a Pediatric Oncologist seat;

* Arti Hurria, MD, Director of the Cancer and Aging Research Program, Co-Leader of the Cancer Control and Population Sciences Program, and Associate Professor of Medical Oncology and Therapeutics Research at City of Hope, has been elected to an Undesignated Specialty seat;

* Maha H. A. Hussain, MD, FACP, the Cis-Maisel Professor of Oncology, and Professor of Medicine and Urology at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, has been elected to an Undesignated Specialty seat; and

* Jaap Verweij, MD, PhD, a medical oncologist and currently Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at Erasmus University and Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors at Erasmus Medical Center, has been elected to an International Oncologist seat.

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