SALT LAKE CITY—Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah announces the appointment of two new members to its External Advisory Board (EAB)—Sandra M. Swain, M.D., and Brian Druker, M.D.
Sandra M. Swain, M.D., a medical oncologist and clinical researcher, and current president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), is a leading authority in the causes and treatment of advanced inflammatory breast cancer and has served as principal investigator for several Phase III adjuvant breast cancer trials in the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP), a clinical trial cooperative. She is a leader in national clinical trials design in early breast cancer and is an advocate for enhancing oncology treatment education programs among underserved populations.
Dr. Swain has served as the deputy director of the Medicine Branch and chief of the Cancer Therapeutics Branch at the National Cancer Institute (NCI). She also led the intramural breast cancer clinical research effort at NCI's Center for Cancer Research. She currently serves as medical director of the Washington Cancer Institute at MedStar Washington Hospital Center and as professor of medicine at Georgetown University.
Brian Druker, M.D., is an internationally known researcher and the recipient of the 2009 Lasker-DeBakey Award for Clinical Medical Research. He currently serves as director of the Oregon Health Sciences University (OHSU) Knight Cancer Institute.
Among his achievements is his revolutionary work to develop the drug Gleevec, which counters the genetic abnormality that causes chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) while leaving normal, healthy cells alone. Dr. Druker obtained his medical degree from the University of California School of Medicine in San Diego, completed his residency in internal medicine at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, and did an oncology fellowship at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute at Harvard Medical School. He was named a Howard Hughes Medical Investigator in 2002, became a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 2007, won the Japan Award in 2011 and was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2012.
The EAB is a consultative board charged with providing planning and oversight guidance to HCI with the goal of strengthening its cancer research programs. The board evaluates the scientific merit of HCI's cancer research programs, the quality of clinical and translational programs, and the overall direction of HCI research.