Apr 18, 2012
Amy Abernethy, MD, and Eric H. Bernicker, MD, joined the Journal of Oncology Practice Editorial Board.
Michael B. Atkins, MD, joined Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center as its Deputy Director. Dr. Atkins was previously a Professor of Medicine and Deputy Chief of the division of Hematology/Oncology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, as well as Associate Director for Clinical Research for the Beth Israel Deaconess Cancer Center.
The first book on melanoma devoted entirely to targeted therapeutics was published and edited by Thomas Gajewski, MD, PhD, of the University of Chicago Medicine. The book describes both established signal transduction inhibitors as well as emerging molecularly guided immunotherapies, and includes up-to-date data from current clinical phase I–III trials.
Michael Maitland, MD, PhD, of the University of Chicago Medicine, has been chosen as the recipient of the Leon I. Goldberg Young Investigator Award from the American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics.
Yusuke Nakamura, MD, PhD, joined the University of Chicago Medicine as Professor of Medicine. Dr. Nakamura plans to apply his expertise in cancer research and personalized medicine to his work on pharmacogenomics.
Stephen D. Nimer, MD, was named the Director of the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Dr. Nimer was previously the Alfred P. Sloan Chair in Cancer Research at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
Mitchell C. Posner, MD, has assumed the role of Medical Director of Clinical Cancer Programs at the University of Chicago Medicine. Dr. Posner, an internationally recognized expert in gastrointestinal cancers, will lead the institution’s efforts to develop a strategic plan for cancer services. He will also help build an implementation plan to increase clinical volume and raise the cancer program’s profile.
Investigators from Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC) and 12 other centers have found that a new drug for patients with metastatic melanoma nearly doubled median overall survival. Results from the phase II trial, led by Co-Principal Investigators Jeffrey Sosman, MD, of VICC, and Antoni Ribas, MD, of the University of California, Los Angeles, were published in the February 23 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Russell Szmulewitz, MD, of the University of Chicago Medicine, was awarded a Young Investigator Award by the Cancer Research Foundation for his work, “Does glucocorticoid receptor (GR) signaling compensate for androgen receptor (AR) function in castration resistant prostate cancer (CRPC)?”
New research published in the February 21, 2012, issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Early Edition suggests why Avastin® and Sutent® have had limited impact on breast cancer. Max S. Wicha, MD, of the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, served as study author.
ASCO Connection Editorial Board Announcements
Susan Lerner Cohn, MD, joined the ASCO Connection Editorial Board. She is Director of Clinical Sciences, Section of Pediatric Oncology/Hematology, at Comer Children’s Hospital at the University of Chicago and a Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Chicago. Dr. Cohn’s research interests include pediatric cancers, particularly neuroblastoma, and blood diseases.
Melissa M. Hudson, MD, transitioned off of the ASCO Connection Editorial Board, on which she served from 2005–2011, to become chair of ASCO’s Cancer Survivorship Committee. She is Director of the Cancer Survivorship Division, Co-leader of the Cancer Prevention and Control Program, and a member of the Department of Oncology at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Hope S. Rugo, MD, joined the ASCO Connection Editorial Board. She is a medical oncologist and hematologist specializing in breast cancer research and treatment at the University of California, San Francisco. She is also a Professor of Medicine, Director of the Breast Oncology and Clinical Trials Education, and the principal investigator of multiple clinical trials focusing on combining novel targeted therapeutics with standard treatment to improve the treatment of both early- and late-stage breast cancer.
Antonio C. Wolff, MD, FACP, was named Associate Editor of the Journal of Clinical Oncology (read more). Dr. Wolff previously served on the ASCO Connection Editorial Board from 2006–2012.
Merit Award Recipients
The following fellows and residents are ASCO members who received Conquer Cancer Foundation Merit Awards for submitting high-quality abstracts.*
2012 Gastrointestinal CancersSymposium Merit Award Recipients
Daniel Abbott, MD
University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
Amanda Arrington, MD
City of Hope National Medical Center
Genevieve Boland, MD, PhD
University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
Sebastian De La Fuente, MD
H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute
Mary Guye, MD
City of Hope National Medical Center
Alex Haynes, MD, MPH
University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
Melissa Labonte, PhD
University of Southern California Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center
Anna Leung, MD
John Wayne Cancer Institute at St. Johns Health Center
Abigail Milby, MD
Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
Manali Patel, MD
Stanford University Medical Center
Jose Pimiento, MD
H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research
Akihiro Suzuki, MD
University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
Takashi Taketa, MD
University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
Ryan Thomas, MD
University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
George Van Buren, MD
University of Pittsburgh
2012 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium Merit Award Recipients
Arjun Balar, MD
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
James Chen, MD
The University of Chicago
Petros Grivas, MD, PhD
University of Michigan
Christopher Hallemeier, MD
Mayo Clinic
Thai Ho, MD, PhD
University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
Mark Jesus Magbanua, PhD
University of California, San Francisco
Kenneth Nepple, MD
Washington University School of Medicine
Phillip Palmbos, MD, PhD
University of Michigan
Nathan Sheets, MD
University of North Carolina
Ben Tran, MBBS
Princess Margaret Hospital
Che-Kai Tsao, MD
Mount Sinai Medical Center
*For the complete list of recipients, visit gicasymposium.org and gucasymposium.org. Recipients from the 2011 Breast Cancer Symposium can be found at breastcasym.org.
In Memoriam
Hui-Yen Chang, MD
Kiyoyuki Furuse, MD
Michael Brian McKenna, MD
Albert F. Muhleman, MD
Please send your submissions for Member News & Networking to ascoconnection@asco.org.