Nadeem R. Abu- Rustum, MD, led a team of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) surgeons that have pioneered a way to eliminate the need for extensive pelvic lymph node removal in most patients undergoing surgery to treat some early-stage gynecologic cancers. The approach employs sentinel lymph node mapping.  
     
Carlos L. Arteaga, MD, of Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC), joined the Scientific Advisory Board of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure® Breast Cancer Research Foundation.  
     
ASCO Connection Editorial Board member Joseph S. Bailes, MD, was named Chair of the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas Foundation Board of Directors  
     
José Baselga, MD, PhD, was named Physician-in-Chief of MSKCC Memorial Hospital. He will begin on January 1, 2013. Currently, Dr. Baselga is Chief of the Division of Hematology/Oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Associate Director of the MGH Cancer Center.  
     
Joseph O. Jacobson, MD, took on the position of Journal of Oncology Practice (JOP) Associate Editor for a second term. Read more about his role here.  
     
A team of investigators from MSKCC has shown for the first time that tumor growth, metastasis, and chemotherapy resistance are connected to the same molecular changes inside breast cancer cells. ASCO Past President Larry Norton, MD, served as a co-author of the study, which was published July 6, 2012, in Cell.  
     
ASCO Past President Richard L. Schilsky, MD, was presented with the 2012 Bob Pinedo Cancer Care Prize at the Third Annual Society for Translational Oncology Annual Meeting. The award recognizes Dr. Schilsky’s clinical and research leadership in the areas of gastrointestinal cancers and cancer pharmacology coupled with his compassionate care of patients with cancer.  
     
To determine the impact of EPHA3 mutations on human lung cancer cases, biostatisticians Yu Shyr, PhD, and Fei Ye, PhD, of VICC, helped identify a mutational signature from existing patient data that strongly correlated with poor patient survival. The team also found that both gene and protein levels of EPHA3 were decreased in patient lung tumors. These findings were published in the July 24, 2012, issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.  
     
“Using Social Media in Oncology for Education and Patient Engagement,” by ASCOconnection.org columnists Michael A. Thompson, MD, PhD, and Robert S. Miller, MD, FACP, and memberAnas Younes, MD (left to right), was published in the September 2012 issue of Oncology.      
     
Zeljko Vujaskovic, MD, PhD, was named Professor and Director of the new Division of Translational Radiation Sciences in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.  
     
“Profiles in Oncology Social Media,” by Robert A. Wascher, MD, FACS, of Cancer Treatment Centers of America, was published in the August 25, 2012, issue of Oncology Times.  
     
Wendell G. Yarbrough, MD, MMHC, was named Section Chief of Otolaryngology at Yale-New Haven Hospital and Yale School of Medicine. He also became Director of the Head and Neck Cancer Program in Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale-New Haven and Co-Director of the Molecular Virology Research Program for Yale Cancer Center.  

Please send your submissions for Member News & Networking to ascoconnection@asco.org.

Merit Award Recipients

The following researchers are ASCO members who received 2012 Conquer Cancer Foundation of ASCO Merit Awards for submitting high-quality abstracts.*:

2012 Breast Cancer Symposium

Amanda Arrington, MD
City of Hope

Farrah Datko, MD
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

Jiali Li, MD, PhD
University of California, San Francisco, Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center

John Wilkinson, MD
Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine

2012 Markers in Cancer Meeting

Mona Lisa Alattar, MD
University of Texas at Houston Health Science Center

Aseem Bhatnagar, MBBS
S.M.S. Medical College & Attached Hospitals

Heather Cheng, MD, PhD
University of Washington

Jennifer Kanakry, MD
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine

Aaron Mansfield, MD
Mayo Clinic

Joaquin Mateo, MD
The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust and The Institute of Cancer Research

Ab Mir, MD
Maulana Azad Medical College

Andrea Necchi, MD
Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori

Gerald Prager, MD
Medical University of Vienna

Andrew Trister, MD, PhD
University of Washington

Susannah Yovino, MD
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

*For the complete list of recipients, visit markersincancer.org and breastcasym.org and select “Abstracts,” then “Merit Awards.”

In Memoriam

Chu Huai Chang, MD
David S. Fischer, MD
William E. Delaney, MD

Eligible Members— Vote Today in the 2013 ASCO Election

Voting for new ASCO leaders closes on November 20. Open positions include President-Elect, three seats on the Board of Directors, and three seats on the Nominating Committee. Information on each candidate is available at asco.org/election.

Eligible voting members are Full Members and Emeritus Members who used to be Full Members. In order to vote, you will need your ASCO.org username and password to log in to the voting site. Results will be announced by January 2013. Questions should be directed to ascoelection@asco.org or 571-483-1316.