Leading Pancreatic Cancer Advocacy Organization’s Scientific and Clinical Board Guides Planning of Research Initiatives and Services for Patients, Caregivers and Healthcare Professionals

MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif. — (July 2, 2019) The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN), the largest organization tackling the world’s toughest cancer, today announced new leadership for its Scientific and Medical Advisory Board (SMAB). Andrew M. Lowy, MD, FACS, Professor of Surgery and Chief of the Division of Surgical Oncology at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, will take the helm as its new chair, effective immediately. Margaret A. Tempero, MD, Director of the UCSF Pancreas Center and Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, is the new chair-elect.

PanCAN’s SMAB is composed of leading cancer scientists, clinicians and healthcare professionals who specialize in pancreatic cancer from institutions across the United States. The SMAB provides scientific and clinical expertise to guide PanCAN in planning and implementing its research initiatives, as well as its in-depth information, resources and services for patients, caregivers and healthcare professionals.

“Our SMAB is made up of some of the most accomplished scientists and medical professionals in the field, representing the nation’s leading institutions and high-volume centers for pancreatic cancer,” said Julie Fleshman, JD, MBA, president and CEO of PanCAN. “Through Dr. Lowy’s leadership, our goal is to improve patient outcomes through advanced research, better early detection strategies, improved treatment options and ensuring patients receive the best support and care.”

Lowy joined the board in 2016 and served as chair-elect for the past two years. Tempero has been with the board since PanCAN’s founding in 1999.

“It’s an honor to serve in this distinguished chair position and to work with this team – one that is on the leading edge of pancreatic cancer research and treatment,” said Lowy, a physician-researcher with Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health. “Our goal is to help PanCAN accelerate progress that will lead to better patient outcomes for this deadly disease.”

In addition to Lowy and Tempero, the following are members of the PanCAN SMAB:

  • Dafna Bar-Sagi, PhD, Perlmutter Cancer Center/ NYU Langone Health
  • Gregory Beatty, MD, PhD, University of Pennsylvania
  • Jordan Berlin, MD, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center
  • Suresh Chari, MD, Mayo Clinic
  • Eric A. Collisson, MD, University of California, San Francisco
  • Howard Crawford, PhD, University of Michigan
  • Channing Der, PhD, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • George A. Fisher, Jr., MD, PhD, Stanford University
  • Jason Fleming, MD, Moffitt Cancer Center
  • Joseph M. Herman, MD, MSc, MD Anderson Cancer Center
  • Manuel Hidalgo, MD, PhD, Weill Cornell Medicine
  • Sunil Hingorani, MD, PhD, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
  • Michael Hollingsworth, PhD, University of Nebraska Medical Center
  • Hedy Kindler, MD, University of Chicago
  • Alison Klein, MHS, PhD, Johns Hopkins University
  • Steven Leach, MD, Dartmouth
  • Anirban Maitra, MBBS, MD Anderson Cancer Center
  • Nipun Merchant, MD, University of Miami
  • Jeannine Mills, MS, RD, CSO, LD, Dartmouth
  • Nicholas Nissen, MD, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
  • Eileen O’Reilly, MD, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
  • Gloria Petersen, PhD, Mayo Clinic
  • Philip Agop Philip, MD, PhD, Karmanos Cancer Center
  • Vincent Picozzi, MD, Virginia Mason Medical Center
  • Rosalie C. Sears, PhD, Oregon Health & Science University
  • Diane Simeone, MD, Perlmutter Cancer Center/ NYU Langone Health
  • Hilary Turnberg, BSN, RN, Virginia Mason Medical Center

All SMAB members contribute their expertise on a pro bono basis with no conflict of interest between their professional work and the volunteer work they do for PanCAN.

To learn more about PanCAN and its programs and services, visit pancan.org and follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.