2009 CBCRP Application Evaluation Process & Review Committee Rosters

The CBCRP thanks the participants in our 2009 review committees for their service and dedication to our Program!

In the first phase of the funding process, grant applications were peer reviewed and scored for scientific merit by review committees using a model that follows established practice at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Each committee is composed of scientists and advocates from outside California. The Committee Chair leads the review process and is a senior researcher. Scientific Reviewers have broad expertise in topics associated with individual applications. Breast cancer Advocate Reviewers are women and men active in breast cancer advocacy organizations, and many of them are also living with the disease. Advocates bring their personal knowledge and commitment to the review process. Each committee also includes a California Advocate Observer, who does not review or vote, but represents California’s advocacy community. The observer gains insight into our process and provides feedback to the Program. When additional expertise is needed, an Ad Hoc Member is brought in to the review the particular application.

The CBCRP uses a scientific merit scoring system that separates scientific merit into individual components (e.g., approach, innovativeness, impact). This allows our expert reviewers to better differentiate applications that might otherwise appear identical. Depending on the award type, we use four or five scientific merit components in the peer review process.

In 2009 the CBCRP began triaging Core Funding applications that scored in the lower 50% of a committee’s portfolio using the preliminary scores of the assigned reviewers. Applications in the upper 50% of a committee’s portfolio all received full committee discussion, as did any applications requested by one of the reviewers. The remaining applications were not discussed by the full committee.

SRI applications and Core Funding applications that were not triaged were rated by the CBCRP’s advisory council for programmatic responsiveness. The following criteria were used:

This two-tiered evaluation and funding process ensures both scientific excellence and relevance of the research to the CBCRP’s mission and goals.

Review Committees

SRI Chemicals Policy Review Committee

►Chair:
Suzanne Fenton, Ph.D.
Research Biologist. Developmental Biology Branch
United States Environmental Protection Agency
Reproductive Toxicology Division (MD-67)
Research Triangle Park, NC

►Scientific Reviewers:
Daryl Ditz, Ph.D.
Senior Policy Advisor, Chemicals Program
Center for International Environmental Law
Washington, DC 

Ronald Melnick, Ph.D.
Senior Toxicologist & Director of Special Programs
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
RTP, NC

Ruthann A. Rudel, M.S.
Senior Scientist
Silent Spring Institute
Newton, MA

►Advocate Reviewer:
Anna Cluxton, MBA
Vice President, Young Survival Coalition/
Ohio State Univ. Comprehensive Cancer Center
Columbus, OH

SRI Demographic Questions Review Committee

►Chair:
Charmaine D.M. Royal, Ph.D.
Associate Research Professor
Center for Genome Ethics, Law & Policy
Duke University
Durham, NC

►Scientific Reviewers:
Hector G. Balcazar, Ph.D.
Regional Dean, El Paso Regional Campus
UT School of Public Health at Houston
El Paso, TX

Judy Bradford, Ph.D.
Director, Community Health Research Initiative
Virginia Commonwealth University
Richmond, VA

►Advocate Reviewer:
Vernal H. Branch
Member, Board of Directors
The Virginia Breast Cancer Foundation
Richmond, VA

SRI Survival Review Committee

►Chair:
Blase Polite, MD, MPP      
Associate Professor
University of Chicago
Department of Medicine
Chicago, IL

►Scientific Reviewers:
Dawn L. Hershman, M.D., M.S.       
Assistant Professor
Columbia University Medical Center
Medicine Hematology/Oncology
New York, NY

Stephanie Smith-Warner, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Harvard University
School of Public Health
Boston, MA

►Advocate Reviewer:
Jacquelin Holland
Columbus Black Women's Health Project
Westerville, OH

SRI Biological/Ecological Model Review Committee

►Chair:
Sarah Gehlert, Ph.D.
Director, Center for Interdisciplinary Health Disparities Research
Professor, School of Social Service Administration
University of Chicago
Chicago, IL 

►Scientific Reviewers:
Anthony C. Gatrell, Ph.D.
Dean-Designate of the School of Health
  and Medicine     
Lancaster University
Institute for Health Research
Lancaster, UK

Neil Theise, M.D.
Professor, Depts. of Pathology and Medicine
Beth Israel Medical Center
New York, NY

►Advocate Reviewer:
Vernal Branch
Vice President, Board of Directors
Virginia Breast Cancer Foundation
Richmond, VA 

SRI Statistical Models Review Committee

►Chair:
Julia G. Brody, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Silent Spring Institute
Newton, MA 

►Scientific Reviewers:
Mousumi Banerjee, Ph.D.
Research Associate Professor
Department of Biostatistics
University of Michigan, Cancer Center
Ann Arbor, MI

Aedin Culhane, Ph.D.
Research Associate, Dept of Biostatistics
Harvard School of Public Health
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Boston, MA

Richard D. Day, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Biostatistics
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA

Edwin S. Iversen, Ph.D.
Associate Research Professor
Inst. of Statistics & Decision Sciences
Duke University
Durham, NC

►Advocate Reviewer:
Susan Pelletier
Vermont Breast Cancer Coalition
Stockbridge, VT 

CRC/Sociocultural/Health Policy Review Committee

►Chair:
Shiraz Mishra, M.B.B.S., Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Dept. Epidemiology & Preventive Medicine
University of Maryland, Baltimore - School of Medicine
Baltimore, MD

►Scientific Reviewers:
Deborah Bowen, Ph.D.
Member and Professor
Boston University
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Boston, MA
               
Patricia Carney, Ph.D.
Professor of Family Medicine
Oregon Health and Science University
Portland, OR
               
Lori Crane, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Professor
University of Colorado, Denver Community & Behavioral Health
Denver, CO

Alecia Fair, Dr.PH
Assistant Professor
Meharry Medical College
Nashville, TN
               
Laura Linnan, Sc.D., CHES
Associate Professor
Department of Health Behavior & Health Education
UNC Chapel Hill School of Public Health
Chapel Hill, NC

Armin Weinberg, Ph.D.
Professor
Chronic Disease Prevention and Control Research Ctr.
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, TX

Mayumi Willgerodt, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
University of Washington
Seattle, WA

►Advocate Reviewers:
Christine Carpenter
Iowa Breast Cancer Edu-action
Cedar Falls, IA
               
Maryellen Delapine
Linda Creed Breast Cancer Foundation
Gilbertsville, PA

►California Advocate Observer:
Linda Cady
Between Women Breast Cancer Organization
Brawley, CA

►Ad-Hoc Reviewer:          
Gary Morrow, Ph.D.
Professor
School of Dentistry Medicine and Dentistry
University of Rochester
Rochester, NY

Innovative Treatments/Earlier Detection Review Committee

►Chair:
Patricia LoRusso, D.O.
Professor of Medicine
Karmanos Cancer Institute
Wayne State University
Detroit, MI

►Scientific Reviewers:
Ralph Bernacki, Ph.D.
Professor; Cancer Research Scientist
Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics
Roswell Park Cancer Institute
Buffalo, NY

Ulrich Bierbach, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Wake Forest University
Chemistry Department
Winston-Salem, NC

David Boothman, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Oncology, Pharmacology and Radiation
University of Texas, Southwestern Medical Center
Dallas, TX

Sandra Demaria, M.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Pathology
NYU School of Medicine
New York, NY
                                                                                                                       
Leisha Emens, M.D., Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Oncology
Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine
Baltimore, MD

Silvia Formenti, M.D.
Professor of Medicine
NYU School of Medicine
New York, NY

Andrew Karellas, Ph.D.
Director of Radiologic Physics
University of Massachusetts Medical School
Worcester, MA

Paul Kinahan, Ph.D.
Professor of Radiology
University of Washington
Department of Radiology
Seattle, WA

Keith Knutson, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Immunology
Mayo Clinic College of Medicine
Department of Immunology
Rochester, MN

Mark Pagel, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
University of Arizona
Arizona Cancer Center
Tucson, AZ

Eva Sevick-Muraca, Ph.D.
Professor and Director
The University of Texas
Brown Institute of Molecular Medicine
Houston, TX
  
Nancy Templeton, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Center for Cell and Gene Therapy
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, TX

Lily Yang, M.D., Ph.D.
Nancy Panoz Chair of Surgery in Cancer   Research
Emory University School of Medicine
Department of Surgery and Winship Cancer Institute
Atlanta, GA

►Advocate Reviewers:
David Baker
National Breast Cancer Coalition
Houston, TX

Beverly Canin
Breast Cancer Option, Inc.
Rhinebeck, NY

Marjorie Gallece
Breast Cancer Resource Centers of Texas
Austin, TX

Roberta Gelb
SHARE
New York, NY

►California Advocate Observer:
Diane Heditsian
Breast Cancer Connections
Redwood City, CA

►Ad-Hoc Reviewers:       
Julie Lang, M.D.
Assistant Professor of Surgery
Arizona Health Sciences Center
University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ

Abenaa Brewster, M.D., M.H.S.
Assistant Professor of Medicine
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Department of Clinical Cancer Prevention
Houston, TX

Pathogenesis Review Committee

►Chair:
Danny Welch, Ph.D.
Leonard H. Robinson Professor of Pathology
Department of Pathology
University of Alabama - Birmingham
Birmingham, AL

►Scientific Reviewers:
Hava Avraham, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Medicine
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Harvard Medical School
Boston, MA

Geoffrey Clark, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
University of Louisville
J.G. Brown Cancer Center, Molecular Targets Group
Louisville, KY

Qihong Huang, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Molecular and Cellular Oncogenesis Program
The Wistar Institute
Philadelphia, PA

Cheryl Jorcyk, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Biology
Boise State University
Boise, ID

James McCarthy, Ph.D.
Professor
Lab Medicine and Pathology
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, MN

Harikrishna Nakshatri, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Walther Oncology Center
Indiana University School of Medicine
Indianapolis, IN

Susan Pories, M.D., FACS
Assistant Professor of Surgery
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Cambridge, MA

Pranela Rameshwar, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School
Department of Medicine-Hematology/Oncology
Newark, NJ

Jasti Rao, Ph.D.
Director, Program of Cancer Biology
University of Illinois College of Medicine
Dept. of Cancer Biology and Pharmacology
Peoria, IL

Patricia Schoenlein, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Cellular Biology & Anatomy
Medical College of Georgia
Augusta, GA

Joyce Schroeder, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
University of Arizona, Arizona Cancer Center
Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology
Tucson, AZ

►Advocate Reviewers:
Jessica Henderson, Ph.D.
Oregon Breast and Cervical Cancer Coalition
Western Oregon University
Corvallis, OR

Beverly Parker, Ph.D.
Breast Cancer Network of Strength
Naperville, IL

Diane Roth
Breast Cancer Network of Strength
Oak Lawn, IL

Sandra Stanford
Alamo Breast Cancer Foundation
San Antonio, TX  

►California Advocate Observer:
Karen Huyser, Ph.D.
Breast Cancer Connections
Sunnyvale, CA

Etiology, Prevention & Progression Review Committee

►Chair:
Peggy Porter, M.D.
Head, Breast Cancer Research Program
Divisions of Human Biology and Public Health Sciences
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Seattle, WA

►Scientific Reviewers:
Rajesh Agarwal, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences
University of Colorado Health Sciences Center
Denver, CO

Stephen Barnes, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology
University of Alabama, School of Medicine
Birmingham, AL

Abenaa Brewster, M.D., M.H.S.
Assistant Professor of Medicine
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Department of Clinical Cancer Prevention
Houston, TX

James DiRenzo, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Pharmacology
Department of Pharmacology
Dartmouth Medical School
Hanover, NH
  
Stephen Grant, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Dept. of Environmental and Occupational Health
University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute
Pittsburgh, PA

Julie Lang, M.D.
Assistant Professor of Surgery
Arizona Health Sciences Center
Cancer Center
Tucson, AZ

Joan Lewis-Wambi, Ph.D.
Assistant Member
Fox Chase Cancer Center
Philadelphia, PA

Thomas Ludwig, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Columbia University, Institute for Cancer Genetics
Department of Pathology
New York, NY

Mark Pegram, M.D.
Professor of Medicine
Division of Hematology/Oncology
Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center
University of Miami
Miami, FL
  
Indira Poola, Ph.D.
Professor
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Howard University College of Medicine
Washington, DC

Weston Porter, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Texas A&M University
Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences
College Station, TX

Carla Van Den Berg, Pharm.D.
Associate Professor
University of Texas, Austin
College of Pharmacy
Austin, TX

►Advocate Reviewers:
Kimberly Newman-McCown
Thomas Jefferson University
Kimmel Cancer Center
Philadelphia, PA

Nancy Singleton
SHARE
Hoboken, NJ

Maria Wetzel
Michigan Breast Cancer Coalition
Baldwin, MI

Kimberly Wright
Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation
Baltimore, MD

►California Advocate Observer
Jeannette Morrow
Breast Cancer Solutions
Huntington Beach, CA