AACR Congratulates Monica Bertagnolli, MD, on Nomination as NCI Director
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) applauds President Biden's nomination of Monica M. Bertagnolli, MD, as Director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI).
"Dr. Bertagnolli brings impressive qualifications to this vital position, including her background as a top-tier physician-scientist and much admired professor," said Margaret Foti, PhD, MD (hc), Chief Executive Officer of the AACR. "Her appreciation for the value and importance of basic research to advancing translational discoveries, as well as her commitment to ensuring that such treatment innovations reach patients in all populations across the United States, will ensure that the NCI continues to lead the way in programs aimed at improving health, preventing cancer, and reducing the incidence and mortality from this devastating disease."
Bertagnolli is the Richard E. Wilson Professor of Surgery in the field of surgical oncology at Harvard Medical School, and Professor and member of the Gastrointestinal Cancer and Sarcoma Disease Centers at Dana-Farber/Brigham & Women's Cancer Center. She is a renowned surgical oncologist who specializes in the research and treatment of gastrointestinal malignancies. An AACR member since 1996, Bertagnolli is currently a member of the AACR's Tumor Microenvironment Working Group and Women in Cancer Research membership group. She has also served as chairperson and committee member on numerous award and grant review committees for the AACR.
"I offer my heartfelt congratulations to Dr. Bertagnolli on her appointment as the next NCI Director," said AACR President Lisa M. Coussens, PhD, FAACR. "The AACR looks forward to collaborating with her in support of the NCI's many initiatives, including increasing diversity in cancer research, furthering education and training of the cancer research workforce, improving funding across the cancer continuum, and working together with NCI-designated cancer centers to solve the biggest problems in cancer."
New Members Elected to American Society for Radiation Oncology Board
The members of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) elected seven new officers to ASTRO's Board of Directors, including Howard Sandler, MD, FASTRO, as President-Elect; Michael Kuettel, MD, PhD, MBA, FASTRO, as Secretary/Treasurer-Elect; Iris C. Gibbs, MD, FASTRO, and Curtiland Deville Jr., MD, as Chair and Vice Chair, respectively, of ASTRO's newly formed Health Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (HEDI) Council; Douglas Martin, MD, FASTRO, as Clinical Affairs and Quality Council Vice Chair; Chelsea Pinnix, MD, PhD, as Education Council Vice Chair; and Casey Chollet-Lipscomb, MD, as Government Relations Council Vice Chair.
Howard Sandler, MD, Chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology at Cedars-Sinai Cancer, will begin his term as President-Elect in October, followed by single-year terms as President, Chair, and then immediate Past Chair of the ASTRO Board.
"Leading the American Society for Radiation Oncology is an honor and an opportunity to help shape the agenda for our specialty over the next several years," said Sandler, the Ronald H. Bloom Family Chair in Cancer Therapeutics at Cedars-Sinai. "My focus will be on five priority areas, all of which align with the work being done at Cedars-Sinai Cancer and the broader field of radiation oncology." His priority areas in this new role will include:
1. increasing the role of radiation oncologists in the delivery of highly precise, novel radiation approaches like MRI-guided treatments;
2. expanding the role of radiation oncologists in the delivery and supervision of therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals;
3. working with the radiation oncology community to recruit a diverse and talented group of medical students into radiation oncology training programs;
4. collaborating with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to develop a value-based payment model for radiation oncology services; and
5. helping ASTRO work collaboratively with other oncology organizations.
"Howard is a nationally recognized radiation oncologist and expert in genitourinary cancer, a combination ideal for serving in this prestigious position," said Dan Theodorescu, MD, PhD, Director of Cedars-Sinai Cancer, the PHASE ONE Foundation Distinguished Chair, and Professor of Surgery and Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. "Being elected by his peers speaks to his contributions, leadership, and impact on patient care."
A prolific researcher, Sandler had a practice-changing study published recently in The Lancet, which showed that a combination of androgen deprivation therapy-a commonly used hormone injection-plus pelvic lymph node radiation, kept nearly 90 percent of clinical trial patients' prostate cancer at bay for 5 years. Sandler's research interests also include evaluating the quality of life of prostate cancer patients following surgery and radiation therapy.
Sandler also has an extensive record of service to ASTRO and the oncology field. He currently serves on the Board of Directors as Chair of ASTRO's Government Relations Council and is a long-term member of ASTRO's Prostate/GU Resource Panel. He has been instrumental in leading the development of clinical guidelines and multidisciplinary scientific meetings focused on prostate cancer, and he recently served as faculty advisor to the Association of Residents in Radiation Oncology.
Michael Kuettel, MD, PhD, MBA, the new Secretary/Treasurer-elect, is Professor and Chair of the Department of Radiation Medicine at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center. He has served in multiple leadership roles for ASTRO, including a previous tenure on the Board of Directors as Chair of the Health Policy Council and a current role as ASTRO's advisor to the American Medical Association/Specialty Society RVS Update Committee, which advises Medicare on reimbursement rates. In his tenure as ASTRO's Secretary/Treasurer, Kuettel will oversee the budget for the society and work to keep members informed of financial activities. He also plans to continue his work to develop volunteers who are interested in health policy advocacy for the benefit of radiation oncology patients and providers.
Iris C. Gibbs, MD, FACR, FASTRO, the new Health Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (HEDI) Council Chair, is Professor of Radiation Oncology and Associate Dean of Medical Student Admissions for Stanford Medicine. A nationally recognized expert in radiation neuro-oncology and stereotactic radiosurgery, she also is Senior Radiation Oncologist on the Stanford Cancer Institute and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Pediatric Brain Tumor team. Gibbs has contributed to ASTRO in a variety of roles, including as an advisor to the HEDI Committee. In her role as the first HEDI Council Chair, Gibbs will work with other ASTRO leaders toward key goals, such as improved radiation oncology workforce diversity, better access and equity in patient care, more visibility for people from historically marginalized groups, and reduced health disparities.
Curtiland Deville, MD, the new HEDI Council Vice Chair, is Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology and Molecular Radiation Sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, as well as Clinical Director of Sibley Radiation Oncology and Medical Director of the Johns Hopkins Proton Therapy Center. A leading advocate for health equity, diversity, and inclusion in radiation oncology, Deville previously chaired ASTRO's HEDI Committee and was appointed ex-officio to the ASTRO Board in 2020. In this new role, he will continue to spearhead programs and initiatives that prioritize, strengthen, and harmonize diversity efforts across ASTRO.
Douglas Martin, MD, the new Clinical Affairs and Quality Council Vice Chair, is Professor and Vice Chair of Clinical Operations for the Department of Radiation Oncology at The Ohio State University. He also is a military veteran with 20 years of active duty and reserve service in the Navy. The current Chair of ASTRO's Clinical Affairs and Quality Committee, Martin has a long-term track record of promoting radiation safety and high-quality patient care in radiation oncology, including nearly a decade of service as a surveyor for ASTRO's APEx - Accreditation Program for Excellence. He will continue to focus on these areas in his new Board role, where he will help guide ASTRO's quality and safety initiatives.
Chelsea Pinnix, MD, PhD, the new Education Council Vice Chair, is Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. She also directs MD Anderson's radiation oncology residency program and is Vice Chair for the national Association of Directors of Radiation Oncology Programs. In addition to her service in early-career education, she has extensive experience volunteering for ASTRO education efforts and was a hematology section editor for The Red Journal, ASTRO's flagship research journal. In her new board role, Pinnix will focus on ASTRO's mission to cultivate and educate a diverse workforce through efforts such as its annual meeting and the ASTRO Academy.
Casey Chollet-Lipscomb, MD, the new Government Relations Council Vice Chair, is a radiation oncologist and managing partner with Tennessee Oncology. As the current Chair of ASTRO's Government Relations Committee and Co-Chair of the ASTRO Political Action Committee, she already is a key figure advocating for radiation oncology in Washington. In her new board role, Chollet-Lipscomb will continue to work with government agencies and policy stakeholders on key issues including stable, value-based payment.
Breast Cancer Coalition Awards $25,000 to Support Regional Research
A research proposal that examines new strategies to improve cancer immunotherapy has been awarded funding by the Breast Cancer Coalition.
Since 2003, the coalition has annually awarded grants to fund innovative projects with the potential to yield significant medical breakthroughs in the cause and prevention of breast cancer, prevention of metastasis, and cure. With this latest award, the coalition has provided more than $1,000,000 in funding to researchers in Upstate and Western New York. Recipients are selected through a competitive review process.
"We are proud to support innovative research happening right here in our own region," said Holly Anderson, Executive Director of the Breast Cancer Coalition. "This particular project is exciting to us precisely because it focuses on immobilizing our body's own immune capabilities to destroy cancer cells."
This year, the coalition is supporting a young researcher with the newly established Pamela Delp Polashenski M.D. Breast Cancer Research Trainee Grant. Sangwoo Park, a PhD candidate/student at Cornell University, will receive a grant of $25,000 to support his project, "Overcoming the Glycocalyx Barrier to Engineered Cellular Therapeutics."
Cancer cells construct a thin barrier around them called glycocalyx, which protects them from detection and destruction by the body's immune cells. Muc 1, a major component of the glycocalyx, is overexpressed in most breast cancers. Through his research, Park found that changes in the cancer cells' glycocalyx thickness, even as small as 10 nanometers, could significantly affect how natural killer (NK) cells of the immune system attack cancer cells.
The objective of his proposal is to develop engineering strategies to equip NK cells with glycocalyx-editing enzymes that can remove the glycocalyx from cancer cells, while providing these NK cells with structurally engineered chimeric antigen receptors (CAR) that can better penetrate the glycocalyx barrier and destroy cancer cells.
Park was serving in the Korean military as a firefighter when he witnessed the devastation of Stage IV lung cancer while transporting a patient to the hospital. He felt powerless; there was nothing he could do for the patient besides providing comfort. That day, he decided to contribute to society through cancer research. After his military service, Park studied physical science under Professor Tae-Young Yoon, where he worked on breast cancer and lung cancer research. He graduated with a BS in Physics from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology in Daejeon, South Korea.
After his graduation, Sangwoo joined Professor Matthew Paszek's group at the Robert Frederick School of Chemical and Biomechanical Engineering at Cornell University to pursue a degree in Biophysics, while continuing his breast cancer research. He expects to receive a PhD in Biophysics in Fall 2023.
The Pamela Delp Polashenski M.D. Breast Cancer Research Trainee Grant is newly established and will be offered annually to pre- and postdoctoral trainees/fellows this year and beyond. Serving as past Eastern Region Chief Medical Officer of Rochester Regional Health and an internal medicine physician, Polashenski, was first diagnosed with breast cancer at age 47 and quickly became involved with the Breast Cancer Coalition. A beloved wife, mother, and physician, she served on our Board of Directors and Research Advisory Board, and was committed to all efforts of our Advocacy Committee. Upon learning that her breast cancer had metastasized, Polashenski joined Common Ground, a networking group for those living with metastatic breast and/or gynecologic cancer. She leaves a lasting legacy in every aspect of our mission.
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