The Breast Cancer Research Council
The overall objectives, strategies and priorities of the CBCRP are set by the Breast Cancer Research Council, which actively participates in overseeing the program and making final recommendations on the research projects to be funded. In each Grant Cycle, the CBCRP awards grants based on the Council's recommendations, which are based on peer reviewers' evaluations, Council members' assessment of responsiveness to program priorities, and available funds.
The Council consists of 16 members: five representatives of breast cancer survivor/ advocacy groups; five scientists/clinicians; two members from non-profit health organizations, one practicing breast cancer medical specialist, two members from private industry, and one ex-officio member from the DHS Breast Cancer Early Detection Program.
Council members are appointed by the University, drawn from nominations submitted by Council and the community.
Chair
Mary Ann Jordan, Ph.D.
Mary Ann Jordan, Ph.D., earned her BA in mathematics, magna cum laude from the University of Minnesota, and her Ph.D. in cell biology from the University of Rochester, Rochester NY. At the University of Rochester she was an NSF and NIH graduate fellow. She has taught and conducted research at Washington University, University of Michigan, and Utah State University. For the last 20 years, as a researcher and professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Dr. Jordan has focused on the mechanisms of anti-mitotic, anti-cancer drugs including vinblastine, taxol, and novel drugs such as the cryptophycins and dolastatins in binding to microtubules, suppressing microtubule dynamics, and the completion of mitosis and cell proliferation. She is interested in control of growth and proliferation of cancer cells and overcoming the development of resistance to anti-tumor drugs.
Teresa L. Burgess, Ph.D.
Teresa L. Burgess, Ph.D., earned her BA in Biochemistry with highest honors from the University of California, Berkeley, after receiving a solid educational foundation from California public schools, including Diablo Valley Community College. Following a move across the San Francisco bay, she received her Ph.D. for original research on peptide hormone secretion from UC San Francisco. As a Helen Hay Whitney Fellow, Dr. Burgess continued to investigate the basic cellular mechanisms of membrane trafficking at UC Santa Barbara. In 1992 she accepted a position as Research Scientist at the successful biotechnology company, Amgen Inc., where she has continued both basic and applied cell biological research. Her investigations have led to numerous peer reviewed research publications relevant to diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer's, and most recently osteoporosis and other metabolic bone diseases. Dr. Burgess brings to the Council not only her scientific expertise, but also an enthusiastic desire to contribute to a healthier future for all women.
Vice Chair
Sandra Walsh
A seventeen-year survivor of breast cancer, Sandy was not involved in any breast cancer activities until 1996, when she received a request to be treasurer of Save Ourselves of Sacramento. After serving in this position for 4 years, she co-founded Y-ME of Davis, a breast cancer education, support and advocacy organization serving Davis, Yolo County, and rural areas west of Sacramento. Y-ME of Davis is a member organization of California Breast Cancer Organizations and Sandy is vice president of CABCO. With CABCO and the National Breast Cancer Coalition (NBCC), she works to promote legislation that will provide funding for research and provide other health care needs for persons with breast cancer. She has served on review panels for the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program and currently serves on the Breast Health Initiative Team for the American Cancer Society, on the Project LEAD committee for the NBCC and on the Scientific Advisory Committee California Teacher's Study, under the Department of Health Services Cancer Registry. Sandy is employed at the University of California, Davis, as a research associate in the Center for the Study of Neuromuscular Diseases studying muscular dystrophies.
Barbara Brenner
Ms. Brenner was 41 years old when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She quickly learned how little was known about breast cancer and how much misinformation was being given to the public about the disease. She joined the board of Breast Cancer Action in September 1994 and became the organization's Executive Director a year later. Breast Cancer Action is a San Francisco-based national grassroots organization that carries the voices of people affected by breast cancer to compel and inspire the changes necessary to end the breast cancer epidemic. As Executive Director, Ms. Brenner is responsible for implementation of the organization's programs designed to dispel the myths about breast cancer, to inform the public about the realities of the disease, and to encourage more people to do something—besides worry—about the breast cancer epidemic. She represents Breast Cancer Action on committees addressing a wide-range of breast cancer issues, writes for Breast Cancer Action's widely-acclaimed bi-monthly newsletter, and is a frequent public spokesperson on issues ranging from detection to treatment to prevention.
Advocate
Diana Chingos
Diana Chingos serves on the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles Breast Cancer Alliance, a grassroots education and advocacy organization that seeks to empower women to make informed choices about their treatment and health based on medical evidence. She also serves as Chairman of the Cancer Survivorship Advisory Council at the USC/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center. This group of patients, survivors and caregivers seeks to use their “firsthand experiences and knowledge to generate new attitudes and practices that improve research and treatment, the outcomes of care, and the quality of life for cancer patients and their families.” She represents this patient advisory group on the USC/Norris Executive Committee and serves as a patient advocate on the Cancer Center's Clinical Investigations Committee. Diana graduated from Project LEAD, the National Breast Cancer Coalition's course in the science of breast cancer for advocates and more recently, the Project LEAD Clinical Trials Program. She has served as a consumer reviewer for the FY 2000 DOD Breast Cancer Research Program Scientific Peer Review.
She supports the NBCC's legislative and policy agenda and serves as a Team Leader and member of the National Action Network. She also works for MAMM Magazine, the only national consumer magazine devoted to women affected by breast and reproductive cancer. A former New Yorker, Diana was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 34 and is the third woman in her family to face a breast cancer diagnosis. She is a graduate of Bennington College and holds a graduate degree from the University of Southern California School of Cinema-TV. By profession, Diana works as a freelance TV producer.
Florita Maiki
Florita Maiki, presently the Manager of Breast Health Access for Women with Disabiliies (BHAWD) a program of the Rehabilitation Services of Alta Bates Summit Medical Center. Her many grant supported projects include further developing and implementation the BHAWD program to ensure and increase access to breast screening services to women with disabilities within the program and the community through extensive collaborative efforts.
Prior to BHAWD, she has worked over ten years in community and hospital based agencies and organizations in program planning/development and evaluation capacity, serving people with disabilities. Throughout her tenure she has had extensive experience and responsibility in developing and monitoring grant proposals and other developement efforts.
Lauren John
Lauren John, 43, was diagnosed with breast cancer six years ago, while in the last semester of a graduate journalism program at Boston University. Six months after completing chemotheraphy and getting her diploma, she moved west to Silicon Valley when her husband George was recruited to join an Internet startup company.
Lauren is now a freelance science and technology writer based in a home office in Menlo Park, California. She also works part time as a reference librarian at the Menlo Park Public Library. Prior to launching her freelance writing career, Lauren worked for many years in New York City as a corporate librarian for employers, including the accounting/ consulting firm of Price Waterhouse and the FIND/SVP market research firm.
In February 2001, Lauren was named to the board of Breast Cancer Action in San Francisco. She continues her membership in three other outstanding breast cancer organizations: the Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition, which provided her a great deal of information and support when she underwent cancer treatment in Boston; the Community Breast Health Project in Palo Alto, which assists her with research for her articles on breast cancer; and the National Breast Cancer Coalition which provided her with science and advocacy training through Project LEAD. In July 2001, she was appointed as a consumer reviewer to the federal Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program.
In addition to her journalism degree, Lauren holds an undergraduate degree in English from the State University of New York at Binghamton and a graduate degree in library science (MLS) from St. John's University in Jamaica, New York.
Michele Rakoff
Michele Rakoff is a breast cancer survivor and advocate. She is a Board Member of the Los Angeles Breast Cancer Alliance (LABCA) and the California Breast Cancer Organizations (CABCO). Ms. Rakoff has participated in the Department of Defense (DOD) Breast Cancer Research Program and the California Breast Cancer Research Program (CBCRP) grant review process as a consumer advocate. She continues to work for the passage of legislation to increase research funding and to ensure access of care for all women dedicated to patient care and psychosocial programs. She is the Director of Breast Friends, a peer support mentoring program, at Long Beach Memorial Breast Center.
Akua Jitahadi
Akua Jitahadi is a longtime community activist who has organized around such issues as homelessness, human rights, and women imprisonment. She is a cofounder of Black Women for Wellness, a community-based organization that focuses on health issues impacting black women. Ms. Jitahadi coordinates the organization's ‘Keep in Touch...Do BSEs,’ an outreach and education program. She is also a member of the Los Angeles County Partnered for Progress African American Breast Cancer Taskforce.
Sandra Walsh
A seventeen-year survivor of breast cancer, Sandy was not involved in any breast cancer activities until 1996, when she received a request to be treasurer of Save Ourselves of Sacramento. After serving in this position for 4 years, she co-founded Y-ME of Davis, a breast cancer education, support and advocacy organization serving Davis, Yolo County, and rural areas west of Sacramento. Y-ME of Davis is a member organization of California Breast Cancer Organizations and Sandy is vice president of CABCO. With CABCO and the National Breast Cancer Coalition (NBCC), she works to promote legislation that will provide funding for research and provide other health care needs for persons with breast cancer. She has served on review panels for the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program and currently serves on the Breast Health Initiative Team for the American Cancer Society, on the Project LEAD committee for the NBCC and on the Scientific Advisory Committee California Teacher's Study, under the Department of Health Services Cancer Registry. Sandy is employed at the University of California, Davis, as a research associate in the Center for the Study of Neuromuscular Diseases studying muscular dystrophies.
Ex-Officio
Georjean Stoodt
As Chief of the Cancer Detection Section for the California Department of Health Services, Dr. Stoodt implements public health programs that save lives by detecting cancer early, so people with cancer can receive timely treatment. The Breast Cancer Early Detection Program, established by the same statute that created the California Breast Cancer Research Program, is one of the important public health programs of the Cancer Detection Section. Dr. Stoodt has worked in a variety of human service, public health, and medical settings throughout her public service career. She has been a social worker in Ohio and Indiana, medical director of family planning and maternity services in South Carolina's Trident Health District, and in North Carolina served as Director of the Division of Adult Health, Chief of Chronic Disease, and Director of the Office of Resource Development and Clinical Support. At local, state, and national levels, she has been instrumental in shaping public health initiatives and securing funding to prevent and control chronic diseases as well as to advance women's health. She received her B.S. in music and physical sciences from Indiana University, M.D. from the University of Cincinnati, undertook family medicine training at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, and following training in public health and preventive medicine from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill became certified by the American Board of Preventive Medicine. She has held offices and leadership positions in several medical organizations, the Association of State and Territorial Chronic Disease Program Directors, their Women's Health Council, the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, and the North Carolina Public Health Association. She was elected into the prestigious Women's Forum of North Carolina, and in 1994 was inducted into the YWCA Academy of Women. Her broad interests focus on strengthening organizational capacities, changing public understanding, and advancing public policies that will improve the public's health.
Industry
I. Craig Henderson, M.D.
I. Craig Henderson, M.D., is Adjunct Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF); a member of the staff at the UCSF/Mount Zion Cancer Center; President, Access Oncology, Inc.; and a member of the board of ALZA Corporation in Mountain View, California.
He was a member of the Harvard faculty for 18 years before moving to UCSF where he was Professor of Medicine, Chief of Hematology/Oncology, and Associate Director of the Cancer Center. In 1995 he became Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of SEQUUS Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Menlo Park, California, and continued there until the merger with ALZA Corporation in 1999.
Dr. Henderson founded the multidisciplinary Breast Evaluation Center at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. At UCSF he developed the Bay Area Research Program funded by a Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) grant from the National Cancer Institute. He has served as chairman of the FDA's Oncological Drug Advisory Board and is a member of the National Blue Cross/Blue Shield Association technology assessment panel.
Dr. Henderson has delivered innumerable presentations at medical conferences, and conducted grand rounds at medical schools throughout the United States and Europe. He is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (Edinburgh), and a Member of both the American Association for Cancer Research and the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
Teresa L. Burgess, Ph.D.
Teresa L. Burgess, Ph.D., earned her BA in Biochemistry with highest honors from the University of California, Berkeley, after receiving a solid educational foundation from California public schools, including Diablo Valley Community College. Following a move across the San Francisco bay, she received her Ph.D. for original research on peptide hormone secretion from UC San Francisco. As a Helen Hay Whitney Fellow, Dr. Burgess continued to investigate the basic cellular mechanisms of membrane trafficking at UC Santa Barbara. In 1992 she accepted a position as Research Scientist at the successful biotechnology company, Amgen Inc., where she has continued both basic and applied cell biological research. Her investigations have led to numerous peer reviewed research publications relevant to diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer's, and most recently osteoporosis and other metabolic bone diseases. Dr. Burgess brings to the Council not only her scientific expertise, but also an enthusiastic desire to contribute to a healthier future for all women.
Medical Specialist
Robert W. Carlson, M.D.
Robert W. Carlson received his M.D. degree from Stanford University School of Medicine and did his internship and junior residency in internal medicine at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri. He returned to Stanford for his senior residency and postdoctoral fellowship in medical oncology. He joined the faculty at Stanford after his fellowship and is Professor of Medicine at Stanford University. His primary areas of investigation include breast cancer clinical trials and the use of computerbased systems to assist health care providers in the delivery of patient care. Dr. Carlson serves as Chair of the Breast Cancer Guidelines Committee and the Breast Cancer Risk Reduction Guidelines Committee for the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN).
Non-Profit Organization
Irene Linayao-Putnam
Irene Linayao-Putnam is Project Director of the Southeast Asian Health Care Access Project and the Asian and Pacific Islander Communities Against Tobacco Project for the Union of Pan Asian Communities in San Diego. In these roles, she has provided significant leadership in addressing cultural and linguistic barriers to health care access for breast, cervical, liver, and lung cancers in AAPI communities. She has also directed UPAC's API Breast Health Project, providing breast cancer community education through role modeling to women over age 40, and the Breast Health Outreach and Education project, raising breast health awareness and community capacities for early detection and risk reduction. She is Site Coordinator of the Life Is Precious Project: Addressing Breast Cancer Among Hmong Women & Men. This is a multi-site study being carried out in collaboration with the UCLA School of Public Health to assess breast health knowledge and practices among Hmong women and men, develop effective educational strategies, and provide interpretation and transportation to mammography sites. She is also Site Coordinator of the Pan Asian Language Services (PALS) for Health, Language Access Program, which is a multi-county, multi-agency collaboration to reduce language barriers to health education.
Ellen Mahoney, M.D.
Ellen Mahoney, M.D., is a practicing breast surgeon in Arcata and Clinical Assistant Professor of Surgery at Stanford. She is the co-founder of the Community Breast Health Project in Palo Alto. Her work there resulted in extensive knowledge of current breast cancer literature and of the questions and problems faced by patients and families. She has used this knowledge to support other nonprofit breast cancer organizations, including the Breast Cancer Fund and the Humboldt Community Breast Health Project. She helps Susan Love M.D. in the maintenance of the Personal Guidance service on www.susanlovemd.com. Her goal is that all patients have the latest concepts and knowledge available in language they can understand. She describes herself as “passionate about the need to improve our knowledge about breast cancer and our care of all whose lives are affected by this disease.”
Scientist
Hoda Anton-Culver, Ph.D.
Hoda Anton-Culver, Ph.D., is Professor and Chief of the Epidemiology Division in the Department of Medicine at the University of California, Irvine. She received her baccalaureate degree in pharmaceutical chemistry from the University of Alexandria in Egypt in 1964 followed by a Ph.D. in Epidemiology and Biochemistry at St. Andrews University, Scotland in 1968. Following her doctoral degree, she began her academic career as a Lecturer at McGill University Medical School, Canada. From 1971 to 1978, she joined Dr. Henry Lynch as an Assistant and then as Associate Professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health at Creighton University School of Medicine, Nebraska. Since 1978, she has been at the University of California, Irvine, as an Associate Professor and then as Professor and Chief of the Epidemiology Division in the Department of Medicine. She also holds a joint appointment with the School of Social Ecology at UC Irvine, and an adjunct appointment with the San Diego State University Graduate School of Public Health.
Susan Blalock, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Susan Blalock, Ph.D., M.P.H., is an Associate Professor in the School of Pharmacy and Health Sciences at the University of the Pacific. Dr. Blalock is a behavioral scientist with expertise in health behavior and health education. She holds graduate degrees from the Schools of Public Health at the University of Michigan (M.P.H.) and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Ph.D.). Dr. Blalock has served as a principal investigator on numerous studies investigating behavioral factors associated with illness prevention and disease management. Her current interests include quality of care issues, including economic and ethical issues that influence the delivery of health care services in the United States.
Mary Ann Jordan, Ph.D.
Mary Ann Jordan, Ph.D., earned her BA in mathematics, magna cum laude from the University of Minnesota, and her Ph.D. in cell biology from the University of Rochester, Rochester NY. At the University of Rochester she was an NSF and NIH graduate fellow. She has taught and conducted research at Washington University, University of Michigan, and Utah State University. For the last 20 years, as a researcher and professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Dr. Jordan has focused on the mechanisms of anti-mitotic, anti-cancer drugs including vinblastine, taxol, and novel drugs such as the cryptophycins and dolastatins in binding to microtubules, suppressing microtubule dynamics, and the completion of mitosis and cell proliferation. She is interested in control of growth and proliferation of cancer cells and overcoming the development of resistance to anti-tumor drugs.
Tammy Tengs
Tammy O. Tengs, Sc.D., is the Director of the Health Priorities Research Group and an Assistant Professor in the School of Social Ecology at the University of California, Irvine. Previously she was a member of the research faculty in the Center for Health Policy Research and Education at Duke University. She completed her doctorate in Health Policy and Management at the Harvard School of Public Health in 1994. Before coming to Harvard, she earned a master's degree in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and studied in the Engineering-Economic Systems Department at Stanford. Dr. Tengs directed the 1990-1994 Lifesaving Priorities Project at the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis, supervising a team of 20 that amassed cost-effectiveness data for hundreds of public health and medical interventions. She is the principal author of the papers “Fivehundred life-saving interventions and their cost-effectiveness” and “The opportunity costs of haphazard societal investments in life saving.” Following considerable media coverage, she has received approximately 1,500 requests for these publications. Dr. Tengs is a “decision scientist.” Broadly, her research interests include the economic efficiency of societal investments in health and science. With $2.7 million in grants, she is collecting information on the cost-effectiveness of different interventions aimed at cancer and developing a computer simulation model to predict the long-term economic and public health consequences of any change in federal tobacco policy.
Anna M. Wu, Ph.D.
Anna M. Wu, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Molecular Biology at the Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope, in Duarte, CA, and an adjunct Associate Professor in the Dept. of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, UCLA School of Medicine. She graduated from Radcliffe College, Harvard University, with an A.B. in Biochemistry, and obtained her Ph.D. in the Dept. of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University. Postdoctoral studies were conducted at Yale University and at the University of California, San Francisco. In 1984 Dr. Wu joined the research staff at the City of Hope, where her work has focused on applications of molecular biology to the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Current research interests include development of genetically engineered antibodies for imaging, radioimmunotherapy, and biological approaches to cancer therapy. Dr. Wu has been active with local cancer support groups, and for several years has taught basic science with Project LEAD of the National Breast Cancer Coalition.
Elaine Ashby, M.D.
Elaine Ashby received her Masters degree in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University. She practiced engineering for two years before entering medical school at the University of California, San Francisco. She received her MD degree and residency training from University of California, San Francisco. She has been in private Family Practice in the East Bay, as well as conducting Biomedical Engineering research at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Her research areas have included Biomechanics and Prosthetics, transmission ultrasonography for breast imaging, and new technologies for prostate cancer detection.
