George J. Bosl, MD, FASCO, MACP
In July, George J. Bosl, MD, FASCO, MACP, became Memorial Sloan Kettering’s (MSK) first ombudsperson, working closely with staff to provide confidential, independent guidance on complex and evolving issues, particularly related to conflicts of interest.
The role of ombudsperson is a result of the work of MSK’s Conflict of Interest Task Force, created to assess MSK policies and processes for reporting and managing outside activities and industry-supported clinical trials. The creation of the new position is one of many steps MSK will take in the coming months to better guide conflict of interest management.
Experiences at MSK
As Chair of Memorial Sloan Kettering’s Department of Medicine, Dr. Bosl guided the medical staff during a period of substantial growth in the development and testing of better therapy for all cancers. In his own research, he led numerous studies of treatments for testicular cancer and why some patients fail to respond to therapy.
During his nearly 4 decades at MSK, Dr. Bosl cared for people with testicular and other genitourinary cancers, as well as those with head and neck cancers. In his role in the Department of Medicine, he oversaw 33 services—including General Internal Medicine, Urgent Care, and Supportive Care—5 divisions, and more than 350 doctors. Among the new services developed during his tenure as Chair, he led the effort to expand services for older patients at MSK, helping to establish a Geriatrics Service to address the specific challenges of caring for older people with the disease. In his role as Associate Cancer Center Director for Clinical and Translational Research, Dr. Bosl was responsible for programs that evaluated the scientific merit, priority, and progress of MSK’s clinical research. ■
