Survivorship Programs Advisory Committee
The Survivorship Programs Advisory Committee provides counsel to the LAF in our programmatic efforts to impact the unmet needs of cancer survivors.
Katie Clarke Adamson
Ms. Adamson is the Director of Health Partnerships and Policy for the YMCA of the USA. In this position she works to expand YMCAs’ relationships with leading health groups and federal agencies, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She also provides background and experience to health and wellness policy areas for YMCA of the USA.
As part of her efforts, Katie provides consultation and direction on many of the core components of YMCA Activate America and serves as a health policy advisor to Activate America assisting in the design of successful strategies for Y’s in disease prevention and health promotion projects in the community. Katie also advises Government Relations and Policy Staff and YMCA of the USA regarding legislative and advocacy in the health field at the state and federal level, including the drafting and implementation of legislation and appropriations initiatives and accompanying policy documents; and, assisting with congressional, corporate and health partnerships and relations.
Prior to working at YMCA of the USA, Katie spent several years working at law firms in DC (Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal, LLP and Arent Fox, LLP) as a managing director of public law and policy strategies groups. In that capacity, she worked with dozens of not-for-profits on policy and partnership development with Capitol Hill and with the Executive Branch. She drafted legislation, lobbied for and secured millions of dollars through the health appropriations process for these not-for-profits working to assist individuals living with AD/HD, epilepsy, blindness and vision loss, paralysis, cancer, and other chronic diseases and disabilities associated with those diseases and injuries from war. She has written and secured cooperative agreements with key agencies involved in health and disabilities; established substantial health partnerships for clients with agencies addresses health research, prevention, rehabilitation and access to care; planned and orchestrated collaborative consensus building meetings that led to the drafting of national action plans in the areas of cancer survivorship, vision health and paralysis. She has worked with high profile clients including Lance Armstrong, Christopher and Dana Reeve and Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan, advancing the work of their foundations.
Katie also spent four years at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta where she developed and maintained Congressional and partner relations for the agency; responded to Congressional inquiries on budgetary and programmatic issues for the budget and policy offices of the agency; drafted Congressional testimony and prepared information to educate the public, media, professional organizations and policy makers about CDC; met with Members of Congress and their staff; assisted in the development and implementation of strategic plans for the agency; cultivated, strengthened and maintained partnerships for the agency with more than 30 national voluntary health associations and numerous federal and state agencies; helped manage a staff of health and policy specialists; and provided advise and technical assistance with the New York State affiliate of the American Cancer Society and the New York State Health Department during a several month detail to the state. In the earlier part of her career, Katie served in several legislative roles in Congress, including Legislative Director for a Congressman from New England. She developed short and long-term strategic plans on appropriations and authorizing legislation and advised the Congressman on a wide variety of health, education and welfare issues. Drafted and helped secure passage of amendments and public laws, including a bill to establish a national program of cancer registries.
Katie is a graduate of the University of Virginia.
[Return to top]
Pamela Bennett, BSN, RN
Ms. Bennett is Executive Director of Healthcare Alliance Development for Purdue Pharma L.P., where she develops and manages relationships with patient advocacy and professional associations. In this role, Ms. Bennett is responsible for a number of
educational initiatives addressing proper pain management and the public health issue of prescription drug abuse. She develops and maintains alliances with national thought and key opinion leaders and she serves as a spokesperson for Purdue on pain management to healthcare providers, advocacy groups, and the media.
Ms. Bennett’s educational efforts include speaking at medical conferences and teaching workshops on local, state, regional, and national levels on pain management and advocacy. With more than fifteen years of experience in pain management systems, Ms. Bennett was an independent pain management consultant and educator prior to joining Purdue Pharma in 2001. She served as President of the American
Society for Pain Management Nursing from 1998 to 1999 and Managing Director, Pain Management Services, at St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Boston.
Ms. Bennett is on the Governing Board of Directors of the Intercultural Cancer Council. She is also a member of the International Association of the Study of Pain, the American Pain Society, American Society for Pain Management Nursing, American Academy of Pain Management, Hospice and Palliative Care Nurses Association and the Oncology Nursing Society. In 2006, Ms. Bennett was awarded the American Society for Pain Management Nursing’s first annual Advocacy Award for her visionary leadership in pain management advocacy.
Ms. Bennett earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Grand Canyon University and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Texas Women’s University. She is currently attending Tufts Medical School to obtain a Masters of Science degree in pain research, education and policy.
[Return to top]
Ethan Dmitrovsky, M.D.
Dr. Dmitrovsky is the Chairman of the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology and the Andrew G. Wallace Professor of Medicine and Pharmacology in the Department of Medicine at the Norris Cotton Cancer Center in the Dartmoth – Hancock Medical Center in New Hampshire. He also has a lung cancer clinic in the Section of Hematology/Oncology. He has authored numerous peer-reviewed articles and his laboratory pursues mechanisms responsible for differentiation and chemoprevention in human tumors by the retinoids, derivitives of Vitamin A. He has built a translational research program focusing on the molecular pharmacological role of retinoids in germ cell tumors, leukemias, lung cancers, and other tumors.
Dr. Dmitrovsky's laboratory pursues mechanisms responsible for differentiation and chemoprevention in human tumors by the retinoids, derivitives of Vitamin A. He has built a translational research program focusing on the molecular pharmacological role of retinoids in germ cell tumors, leukemias, lung cancers, and other tumors.
Dr. Dmitrovsky was previously at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center as a Clinical Assistant Physician in 1987 and in 1989 became an Assistant Professor. In 1992 he became an Associate Professor of Medicine at Cornell and Head of the Laboratory of Molecular Medicine at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. In 1994, Dr. Dmitrovsky became an Associate Member of the Sloan-Kettering in the Institute's Molecular Pharmacology and Therapeutics Program. Dr. Dmitrovsky received his BS in 1976 from Harvard University and his MD from Cornell University in 1980. He completed an Internal Medicine residency in 1983 from New York Hospital - Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. He did three years of fellowship at the NCI and in 1987 he completed a one year biotechnology fellowship at the NCI Molecular Genetics Section.
[Return to top]
Kathy Giusti
Ms. Giusti is the founder and chief executive officer of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) and the Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium (MMRC). Following her diagnosis with multiple myeloma, Ms. Giusti founded the MMRF in 1998 to fund innovative myeloma research and drug discovery. She then founded the MMRC was in 2004 to enable leading research institutions to work with industry to speed the discovery and development of effective new treatments for myeloma.
A graduate of Harvard Business School with an MBA in general management, Ms. Giusti began her career in 1980 with Merck & Co., and later joined the Gillette Company. In 1993, she joined G.D. Searle & Co., where she last served as Executive Director of Searle's worldwide arthritis franchise.
Ms. Giusti received the 1998 Healthcare Businesswomen's Association's Woman of the Year Award, the 2001 Harvard Business School Entrepreneurial Award, the 2002 McCarty Cancer Foundation Humanitarian Award, the 2002 Joseph Michaeli Award from the Weill Medical College of Cornell University, the 2005 Harvard Business School Award for Courage and Valor, and the 2006 Partners in Progress Award from the American Society of Clinical Oncology. She has served on the Institute of Medicine's National Cancer Policy Board, and the Cancer Leadership Council. She currently serves on the National Cancer Advisory Board, having been appointed to the position by President Bush, and is a member of the Board of Directors for IMS Health.
[Return to top]
Paula Kim
Ms. Kim is the founder and president of Translating Research Across Communities (TRAC) and principal of Paula Kim Consulting. She is recognized locally and internationally for her work in advocacy and bridging the gap between the research community and those with whom they must collaborate to accelerate research that benefits patients.
Ms. Kim’s father died from pancreatic cancer in 1998, just 75 days after his diagnosis. Throughout her dad’s illness and afterwards, she used the internet to connect with researchers, patients, and families affected by pancreatic cancer. The tremendous need for improvement in patient services, early detection, treatments, awareness, and research funding for the disease was evident. Her lack of knowledge and experience in advocacy, public policy, and research did not diminish her determination to make a difference. In 1999, she co-founded the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN), the disease’s first and only national patient advocacy organization, serving as Chair and CEO between 1999 and 2004. During her tenure, PanCAN developed the first national programs for pancreatic cancer in patient services, national grassroots volunteer awareness, and privately funded career-development grants.
Ms. Kim’s involvement with the patient, research, agency, and industrial communities is an important focus of her efforts and she was recently honored with the 2006 Society of Surgical Oncology James Ewing Layman Award, the 2004 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Public Service Award and the 2004 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Partners in Progress Award.
In addition to her professional work, Ms. Kim maintains longstanding commitments to volunteer service that preceded PanCAN and continues with service to the National Cancer Institute, the Food and Drug Administration, as well as with many researchers, cancer centers, and organizations around the world.
[Return to top]
Nancy C. Lee, M.D.
Dr. Lee works as a consultant for the US centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the areas of public health, epidemiology, and cancer control. She has 24 years of experience with the CD, and from 1999-2004 served as the Director of CDC’s Division of Cancer Prevention and Control. Her efforts there focused on cancer surveillance, prevention, screening and early detection, and development of the US’s public health efforts in cancer control. While at the CDC , she served as Associate Director of Science for the Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, Chief of the Epidemiology and Statistics Branch, and Deputy Chief of the Women’s Health and Fertility Branch in the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP). Recently, Dr. Lee served as one of the primary authors of The Cancer Atlas, published by the American Cancer Society, which documented the cancer burden for the entire world.
Dr. Lee received her BA from the University of Texas in Austin, and her MD from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX. She completed post-graduate training in public health, internal medicine and obstetrics and gynecology. She also served in the Epidemic Intelligence Service at the CDC.
Dr. Lee has received numerous honors and been recognized for her outstanding work in cancer control. Most recently, she received a Unit Commendation and Outstanding Service Medal from the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and was nominated by the NCCDPHP for the CDC’s Shephard Award for Lifetime Scientific Achievement.
Dr. Lee authored numerous peer-reviewed articles on cancer prevention and screening, reproductive systems cancer and contraception, HIV, and other women’s health topics.
[Return to top]
Mary S. McCabe, RN, MA
Ms. McCabe is Director of the Cancer Survivorship Program at Memorial Sloan Kettering Center, where she is responsible for developing and implementing center-wide comprehensive programs for adult cancer survivors. A graduate of Trinity College, Emory University and Catholic University, she held several positions at the National Cancer Institute before joining Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, including Assistant Director of the Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis, Director of The Office of Clinical Research Promotion, and Faculty in the Department of Bioethics at the National Institute of Health.
Ms. McCabe has served as a member of numerous committees, including Co-Chair of the Clinical Research Networks Working Group at the National Institute of Health, Chair of the Clinical Trials Integration Committee at the National Cancer Institute, the Scientific Advisory Board of the Lance Armstrong Foundation, and a faculty member of the NCI Progress Review Group - Adolescents and Young Adults with Cancer. She is a member of the Oncology Nursing Society, American Society of Clinical Oncology, American Nurses Association, Women in Cancer Research, and American Society for Bioethics and Humanities.
Ms. McCabe has published numerous peer-reviewed articles and serves on the editorial boards for Seminars in Oncology
Nursing, Oncology, and Oncology News International. She has received numerous awards, including the American
Cancer Society Merit Award, Oncology Nursing Society Leadership Award, NIH Outstanding Performance Award, NIH
Director’s Award and the Outstanding Alumnae Award, Emory University.
[Return to top]
Craig R. Nichols, M.D.
Dr. Nichols is Professor of Medicine for the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology and Associate Director for Clinical Research at Oregon Health and Science University Cancer Institute. Dr. Nichols’ primary clinical interests and research experiences are management of patients with testicular cancer, Hodgkin's disease and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma as well as long term impact of treatments on young adults with cancer. He has authored numerous peer-reviewed articles and has more than 20 years of national and international experience in the design and execution of cancer clinical investigations as well as long-standing experience in regulatory oversight of cancer clinical trials.
Dr. Nichols serves as on the Board of Directors for the LAF and the Oregon Chapter of the Leukemia Lymphoma Society.
Dr. Nichols received a BS from the University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon and his MD from Oregon Health Sciences Center, Portland, Oregon. He completed an Internal Medicine internship residency at Alton Ochsner Medical Foundation in New Orleans, Louisiana, a Hematology fellowship at University of Miami in Florida, and a Hematology/Oncology fellowship at Indiana University in Indianapolis, Indiana.
[Return to top]
Amelie G. Ramirez, DrPH
Dr. Ramirez is the Director of the Institute for Health Promotion Research in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. Over the past 25 years, Dr. Ramirez has directed numerous state-, federal-, and privately funded research programs focusing on human and organizational communication to reduce chronic disease and cancer health disparities affecting Hispanics/Latinos and other populations. She has authored numerous peer-reviewed articles and is the recipient of state and national awards in the area of health disparities research and the advancement of Hispanics/Latinos in the medical, public health, and behavioral sciences professions across the United States.
Dr. Ramirez is a member of various national and regional advisory groups and coalitions. Her most recent appointments include membership on the National Cancer Advisory Board of the National Cancer Institute; the National Advisory Council of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute; the National Health Advisory Council of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation; Board of Directors of the Lance Armstrong Foundation; and the Media and Counter Marketing Panel of the American Legacy Foundation.
Dr. Ramirez received a BS from the University of Houston and MPH and DrPH degrees from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Public Health.
[Return to top]
|
