2016 Symposium: Meet the Panelists

This year, BCRF’s Annual Symposium and Awards Luncheon will be held at The Waldorf Astoria on Thursday, October 27. The topic for the symposium is “Breast Cancer: Where Are We Now? Where Are We Going?” The panel will discuss and field questions from guests on the progress we’ve made in research over the last twenty years and what’s on the horizon for breast cancer research, including interesting new areas of study and some of the latest options available to patients today. This year’s panelists include:

Larry Norton, MD. Dr. Norton is medical oncologist and the Medical Director of the Evelyn H. Lauder Breast Center at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY. He is co-founder of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and has served as its Scientific Director since the Foundation's inception in 1993. Dr. Norton has dedicated his life to the eradication of cancer by activities in medical care, laboratory and clinical research, advocacy, and government. His research has focused on improving the treatments of cancer, particularly the application of mathematical methods to optimizing dose and schedule.

Judy E. Garber, MD, MPH. Dr. Garber is a medical oncologist and Director of the Center for Cancer Genetics and Prevention at the Susan Smith Center for Women's Cancers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Director of the Cancer Risk and Prevention Clinic at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. Dr. Garber is the Chair of BCRF’s Scientific Advisory Board. Her research focuses on breast cancer genetics, risk reduction and pharmacogenetics. Using epidemiology, biostatistics and molecular biology, she leads risk reduction studies that aid in the development of interventions for individuals identified with a hereditary predisposition to breast cancer.

Charles M. Perou, PhD. Dr. Perou will be honored at this year’s Luncheon with the 2016 Jill Rose Award. He is the May Goldman Shaw Distinguished Professor of Molecular Oncology Research Professor of Genetics & Pathology and Scientific Director of the UNC Bioinformatics Core at the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.  Dr. Perou's research laboratory is focused on using genomics, genetics, and laboratory models to decipher the underlying biology of the molecular subtypes of breast cancer. He then uses this biological information to develop novel therapeutic strategies that are specifically targeted against each of these distinct subtypes of breast cancer.

Silvia Formenti, MD. Dr. Formenti is a radiation oncologist, Professor and Chairman of the Department of Radiation Oncology at Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY. She pioneered the use of concurrent chemo-radiation in locally advanced breast cancer (LABC). Her current BCRF research is focused on combining immune-modulatory agents with radiotherapy to unleash powerful anti-tumor responses and improve the outcome of metastatic breast cancer. Her laboratory is testing different combination approached to optimize the ability of radiotherapy to immunize patients against their own breast cancer and overcome resistance.

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