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Two Distinguished Physicians Join ESUN's Medical Editorial Board
by Bruce Shriver
We are pleased to announce that two distinguished physicians have joined our Medical Editorial Advisory Board. Dr. Murray F. Brennan and Dr. Laurence H. Baker are both internationally recognized for their contributions to the sarcoma community. Dr. Brennan was awarded the "Nobility in Science" award by the Sarcoma Foundation of America in June 2005 and Dr. Baker was given the same award in May 2006.
Dr. Murray F. Brennan Born in Auckland, New Zealand, Dr. Murray Brennan received a degree in mathematics from the University of New Zealand and a medical degree from the University of Otago in 1964. After residency at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, Dr. Brennan joined the National Cancer Institute as head of the surgical metabolism section. In 1981, he became Chief of Gastric and Mixed Tumor Service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center; and in 1985, was named Chairman of the Department of Surgery and holds the Benno C. Schmidt Chair in Clinical Oncology.
Dr. Brennan is an internationally recognized surgeon who has developed many new procedures for the treatment of soft-tissue sarcomas, carcinomas of the gastrointestinal tract, and endocrine tumors. He has been a leader in promoting approaches to cancer treatment that maximize survival while minimizing side effects and, particularly in the case of patients with sarcoma, preserving the limb. Dr. Brennan's extensive laboratory and clinical research efforts focus on issues of multimodality treatment, nutritional support, and metabolism of the patient with cancer. He is currently considered a leader in the analysis of outcome for patients with sarcoma, endocrine tumors, pancreatic cancer, and gastric cancer.
He is the recipient of honorary fellowships from all the Royal Colleges of Surgery and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science from the University of Edinburgh, the Imperial College of London, the University of Goteborg, and the University of Otago. In 1995 he was honored with membership in the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences and in 2000 with the American College of Surgeons' highest award, The Distinguished Service Award. He has authored or co-authored more than 800 scientific papers and book chapters, many focusing on sarcoma, and is the author of a book on soft tissue sarcoma. He has designed and conducted prospective clinical trials that have produced significant findings for the management of soft tissue sarcoma and other cancers. He has received honorary degrees or fellowships in over 20 medical associations or universities. Among other things, he is a avid cyclist.
Dr. Laurence H. Baker Dr. Larry Baker is a graduate of Brooklyn College in New York City. He received his osteopathy degree from the University of Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery in Des Moines, Iowa. Upon completion of his oncology fellowship at Wayne State University in 1972, he joined the oncology faculty there. He became the Director of the Division of Hematology and Oncology at Wayne State from 1982-1992 and in 1987 he accepted the directorship of the Meyer L. Prentis Comprehensive Cancer Center of Metropolitan Detroit. In 1994, Dr. Baker joined the University of Michigan as a professor of medicine and associate chief of the Division of Hematology/Oncology in the Department of Internal Medicine. He also served as deputy director and director for clinical research for the University of Michigan Cancer Center.
In April of 2005 Dr. Baker became chairman of the Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG), one of the nation’s largest NCI funded clinical trials groups. He has been an active member of SWOG since 1972 and has served in several capacities over the years including chair-elect, associate chair and chair of the sarcoma committee.
He has been instrumental in the development of a consortium for sarcoma experts to collaborate on clinical trials. SARC (Sarcoma Alliance for Research through Collaboration), a non-for-profit consortium, was established under Dr. Baker’s leadership with the goal of bringing together the intellectual resources of experts in sarcoma across North America. Given the relative rarity of sarcoma, Dr. Baker strongly believes that patients who participate in clinical trials deserve carefully planned studies that will improve treatment options. SARC currently has participating physicians from 20 centers across the country and has just begun plans for the first SARC-European collaboration. Dr. Baker has authored more that 200 publications for peer-reviewed journals, 47 books or book chapters, and 139 abstracts. Dr. Baker is professor of Internal Medicine and Pharmacology at the University of Michigan, Chairman of the Southwest Oncology Group and Executive Director of SARC.
With these appointments, ESUN's Medical Editorial Board now consists of
V3N3 ESUN Copyright © 2006 Liddy Shriver Sarcoma Initiative.
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