Barbara F. Rabinowitz, PhD, Director of Oncology Services, Meridian Health, and immediate Past President of the American Society of Breast Disease announced today that seven outstanding leaders in the field of breast cancer had been elected to positions on the Society's Board of Directors.
Incoming President Julio A. Ibarra, MD, medical director of pathology services, Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center, Fountain Valley, California, will be joined by oncoplastic breast surgeon Gail Lebovic, MD, director of women's services at the Cooper Clinic, Dallas, Texas, as President-Elect and radiologist Stephen A. Feig, MD, director of breast imaging, University of California, Irvine, as Secretary-Treasurer, as Officers of the Society.
Newly elected members at large are: Robert W. Carlson, professor of medicine, division of medical oncology, Stanford University, California; Krystyna Kiel, MD, assistant professor of radiation oncology, Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois; Olufunmilayo Olopade, MD, Walter L. Palmer distinguished service professor; director, hematology/oncology fellowship program; director, Center for Clinical Cancer Genetics, University, Chicago, Illinois; and Sandhya Pruthi, MD, section head, breast clinic, division of general medicine, department of internal medicine, assistant professor of medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. Ann D. Thor MD, Todd Professorship, chair, pathology department, University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center.
Dr. Rabinowitz noted that the Nominating Committee had identified a slate of exceptional candidates, who, while representing individual specialties, have a genuine interdisciplinary understanding of the needs and priorities of breast cancer and breast disease patients. All individuals take office at the end of the Society's 31st Annual Symposium, April 12-14, 2007, at the Hotel Nikko, San Francisco.
About the American Society of Breast Disease
The American Society of Breast Disease is the leading professional medical society in the United States to bring together physicians and allied professionals committed to an interdisciplinary team approach to breast disease management, prevention, early detection, treatment, and research. The Society advocates for improvements in breast healthcare.
For information about the ASBD, visit the Society at asbd.
Profiles of the Newly Elected Board Members
Robert W. Carlson, MD, is Professor of Medicine, Division of Medical Oncology at Stanford University. Dr. Carlson received undergraduate and medical degrees from Stanford University, and did house staff training in internal medicine at Washington University, St. Louis, and Stanford. He returned to Stanford for his post-doctoral fellowship and joined the Stanford faculty in 1983. He has also served on a number of NCCN and ASCO committees and task forces. Dr. Carlson chairs the NCCN Breast Cancer Guidelines Panel, is an active clinical/translational investigator, and maintains a busy academic breast cancer practice. He has served on ASBD Program Committee for the 2007 Symposium and as session chair for systemic treatment discussion at the 2006 ASBD colloquium on Ensuring Optimal Interdisciplinary Breast Care in the United States.
Krystyna Kiel, MD, is assistant professor of radiation oncology, Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, specializing in breast cancer. She received her medical education at University of Massachusetts Medical School and completed her residency at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Kiel currently she sits on the breast cancer guidelines committee for the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, and served as chair of the 2007 Breast Track Committee for the ASCO annual meeting. She has served on the board of the Y-ME National Breast Cancer Organization, published numerous articles, and served on many national committees. She has been a frequent faculty member on many national medical education programs. She believes that identifying and manipulating basic cancer biology in breast cancer, and identifying responsible genes and turning them off and on will no doubt revolutionize breast cancer therapy. Dr. Kiel currently serves on the ASBD's Board of Directors; this election will be to her first full-term on the Board.
Olufunmilayo Olopade, MD, is Walter L. Palmer Distinguished Service Professor; Director, Hematology/Oncology Fellowship Program; Director, Center for Clinical Cancer Genetics, University of Chicago, which she founded in 1992. Dr. Olopade takes an interdisciplinary approach to breast cancer care with treatment plans tailored to each person's risk factors. She also focuses on quality of life concerns for young breast cancer patients, specifically addressing topics related to pregnancy, fertility, and employment. As an international leader in breast cancer research, Dr Olopade's research interests are diverse and include: treatment of breast cancer, especially in young or pregnant women; familial cancers; molecular genetics of cancer; cancer risk assessment and chemoprevention; breast cancer and minority populations and disparities in health outcomes. She has a special interest in women of African descent, who are at higher risk for the more aggressive breast cancer and more likely to be diagnosed at a younger age. In 2005, Dr. Olopade was named a MacArthur Fellow for her work in "translating findings on the molecular genetics of breast cancer in African and African-American women into innovative clinical practices in the United States and abroad." Dr. Olopade serves on the Medical Advisory Board of the Young Survival Coalition, and has served on the faculty of the ASBD's annual symposium. In 2005, she served on the Steering Committee for the Society's Clearinghouse on Breast Disease, and co-chaired its working group on Prevention and Risk.
Sandhya Pruthi, MD, is Section Head, Breast Clinic, Division of General Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic, and Assistant Professor of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. She received her undergraduate and medical degrees at the University of Manitoba, Canada, and completed her residency in family medicine at the Mayo Clinic. She is board certified in Family Practice by the American Board of Family Medicine and a fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians. Dr. Pruthi has served as a reviewer for American Family Physician and American Journal of Surgery. She has served as a principal investigator in the STAR trial and other NIH trials. As a family practice specialist, Dr. Pruthi mentors residents and fellows, and presents frequently on issues surrounding breast healthcare, with an emphasis on the multidisciplinary care of breast disease patients. Her research interests include factors influencing breast self-examination, menopause, breast density, and hormonal therapies for breast cancer. Dr. Pruthi has served on numerous Society Committees and currently serves on the Editorial Board for the ASBD Advisor.
Ann D. Thor MD, holds the Todd Professorship and chairs the Pathology Department at the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center. She oversees a large pathology department which serves 4 major and 4 minor hospitals, including: the University of Colorado Hospital, The Children's Hospital of Denver, the Denver Veterans Affairs Hospital and Denver Health Hospital. Dr. Thor is board certified in anatomic and clinical pathology as well as cytopathology. She completed fellowships in Clinical Oncology/Tumor Immunology and Biology at the National Cancer Institute and an American Cancer Society Career Development Fellowship in Gynecologic Pathology at the Massachusetts General Hospital. She currently chairs the Pathology Committee and is the Breast Pathology Cadre Leader of the Cancer and Leukemia Group B Cooperative Oncology Group, is on the Board of Scientific Counselors of the National Cancer Institute, NIH, chairs the Research Committee and is a Council Member of the Association of Pathology Chairs. Dr. Thor directs an active laboratory effort in breast cancer research, focusing on receptor tyrosine kinase and steroid hormone signaling pathways. She has published over 145 peer reviewed, over 100 non-reviewed articles and 30 book chapters and mentored over 28 graduate and medical students in her laboratory. She has been generously supported by the National Cancer Institute, the Department of Defense, the Department of Public Health of the State of Illinois, the American Cancer Society, the American Association of Cancer Research, the Komen Foundation, the Avon Foundation and the Mary Kay Ash Foundation. She has been a frequent faculty member at ASBD education programs. She currently serves on the ASBD's Board of Directors and chairs the Society's Communications Committee.
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