Profiles
A Serendipitous Opportunity Steers a Theater Major Into Oncology
Ronald Piana
Lymphoma expert Jeremy S. Abramson, MD, was born in Westchester County, New York, but soon after, his family relocated to Bergen County, New Jersey, where he spent his formative years. “I attended Tenafly High School and had dual passions: one was the natural sciences and the other on the extracurri...
Alex Herrera, MD, Finds a Path From the Baseball Fields of Miami to a Leadership Role at City of Hope
Ronald Piana
Lymphoma expert Alex Herrera, MD, was born in Miami; his parents were just 19 years old when he was born. Dr. Herrera’s father was born in Puerto Rico to Cuban and Ecuadorian parents. His mother was born in Cuba and came to the United States via Operation Peter Pan, the clandestine program that orch...
V. Craig Jordan, CMG, OBE, PhD, DSc, FMedSci, the ‘Father of Tamoxifen,’ Recounts a Life of Adventure and Science
Ronald Piana
In 2019, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II appointed V. Craig Jordan, CMG, OBE, PhD, DSc, FMedSci, Companion of the Most Distinguished order of St. Michael and St. George (CMG), honoring his extraordinary scientific work in the development of selective estrogen receptor modulators, most notably tamoxif...
Cancer on the Global Stage: Incidence and Cancer-Related Mortality in Chile
AUGUSTO LEÓN, MD, MSCCh, FACS; KLAUS PUSCHEL, MD, MPH, MSc; HOPE CRAIG, MSPH; AUGUSTO LEÓN G-H, MD; and CHANDRAKANTH ARE, MBBS, MBA, FSSO, FRCS, FACS
Chile has a population of approximately 19 million living predominantly in urban areas (87.7%), with a population density of 66 inhabitants per square mile.1 For the year 2020, approximately 12% of its population was older than 65 years.1 Socioeconomic Trends and Cancer The country has experienc...
As a Young Oncologist, Enrique Soto Pérez de Celis, MD, MSc, Met a Career-Changing Mentor at the ASCO Annual Meeting
Ronald Piana
Geriatric oncologist and researcher Enrique Soto Pérez de Celis, MD, MSc, was born in Mexico City and grew up in the nearby city of Puebla. “There were no physicians in the family who might have influenced my decision to become a doctor, but both of my parents were academics; my mother was a mathe...
From Ecuador to Nashville to Dallas: An Early Path to a Career in Medicine for Carlos L. Arteaga, MD
Carlos L. Arteaga, MD, is Director of the Harold C. Simmons Cancer Center and Associate Dean for Oncology Programs, UT Southwestern Medical Center (UTSW), Dallas. He is an expert in breast cancer who has authored more than 350 publications in the areas of oncogenes in breast tumors, targeted thera...
A Long Crusade Against Some of the World’s Most Virulent Diseases for Anthony S. Fauci, MD
The doctor-patient relationship, a time-honored tradition based on trust and cooperation, is critical for vulnerable patients, as they experience a heightened reliance on the physician’s competence, skills, and good will. That same trust is critical on the public health stage, when a nation is relyi...
Education Came First for Breast Cancer Expert Beverly Moy, MD, MPH, Daughter of Chinese Immigrants
Ronald Piana
Beverly Moy, MD, MPH, grew up in Brooklyn, New York, in a modest working-class home. Both her parents were immigrants from China. “Education is highly prized in Chinese culture, and my home life was no exception. I didn’t speak any English when I began kindergarten, so that was a bit challenging, ...
Valued Mentors and a Link Between Science and Medicine Paved the Road to Oncology for Alice Tsang Shaw, MD, PhD
Ronald Piana
Lung cancer expert Alice Tsang Shaw, MD, PhD, was born and reared in Gaithersburg, a small suburb located to the northwest of Washington, DC. Both her parents were chemists, and during high school, Dr. Shaw had a keen interest in science, particularly biology, yet the thought of pursuing a career ...
Noted Oncologist Narayanankutty Warrier, MD, Battles Tobacco Use and Builds a Cancer Center in India
Ronald Piana
India, with the world’s second-largest population and more than 2,000 ethnic groups, is a vastly complex nation, noted for its rich history and boundless intellectual capital, but also for its poverty and inequities in areas such as access to health care. The State of Kerala, situated in the south...
Former Chair of ASCO’s Health Disparities Committee, Karen M. Winkfield, MD, PhD, Faced Her Own Barriers
Ronald Piana
Nationally regarded radiation oncologist Karen M. Winkfield, MD, PhD, was born and reared in Wheatley Heights, a suburban hamlet on Long Island, New York, that shares borders with the prosperous community of Dix Hills and one of the Island’s lowest-income towns, Wyandanch. “I was fortunate to live...
Pioneering Researcher and Oncologist Volker S. Diehl, MD, Helped Unlock the ‘Black Box’ of Hodgkin Lymphoma
Ronald Piana
Volker S. Diehl, MD, the internationally renowned hematologist and researcher, was born in Berlin, Germany, on February 28, 1938—arguably one of the most tumultuous periods in world history. Germany had just invaded Austria, signaling the dark intentions of the Third Reich. In 1943, the air raids ...
International Oncologist Nagi S. El Saghir, MD, FACP, Returned Home to Make a Difference in Lebanon and Worldwide
Ronald Piana
Internationally renowned expert on the early detection, prevention, and treatment of younger women with breast cancer, Nagi S. El Saghir, MD, FACP, FASCO, was born on January 5, 1953, in Bint Jbeil, a village in southern Lebanon. His parents moved to Beirut in 1948, at the height of the Israeli-Pale...
Husband and Wife Leave a Giant Legacy in Oncology
Ronald Piana
The remarkable careers of Jimmie C. Holland, MD, and James F. Holland, MD, spanned collectively for more than a century, leaving an indelible footprint in oncology clinical care and research. Synonymous with cancer care itself, the Hollands were a living documentary of the rich and dramatic history ...
Pioneer in Genitourinary Oncology, José R. Germà-Lluch, MD, PhD, Sheds Light on Treating Rare Tumors
Ronald Piana
“At the age of 6, my mother threw me into the arms of Hippocrates’ discipline, giving me as a special gift a toy suitcase full of medical equipment and a little puppet to train my skills with a stethoscope, syringe, thermometer, small reflex hammer, and torch to explore the oropharyngeal airways. Wi...
A Love of Older Patients With Cancer Drives a Career Path for Arti Hurria, MD, FASCO
Ronald Piana
Arti Hurria, MD, FASCO, who is Director of City of Hope’s Center for Cancer and Aging, is a first generation of immigrant parents from India. “My parents left India and moved from England to Canarsie, Brooklyn, where I was born. When I was 8, my family moved to Southern California, partly due to i...
A Love of Science Leads to an Esteemed Career in Cancer Research for Razelle Kurzrock, MD
Ronald Piana
Razelle Kurzrock, MD, regarded internationally for her work in translational science, was born and reared in Toronto, Canada. “My parents were immigrants from Eastern Europe. My father, who was Jewish, was a Holocaust survivor. My parents put a strong emphasis on education,” she said. ‘The Scien...
