Welcome to BCRP's New Coordinator
Marion H. E. Kavanaugh-Lynch, M.D., M.P.H. ("Mhel" to her friends and associates), was appointed Coordinator of the Breast Cancer Research Program in July, 1995. She brings to the post an invaluable combination of wide-ranging experience in oncology and cancer research and extensive personal involvement in health advocacy and community activism.
Mhel earned her B.A. at Bryn Mawr College, then spent three years in basic science research at New York University, where she was awarded an M.D. and an M.S. in pharmacology. Her next stop was University Hospitals of Cleveland for a residency in internal medicine, followed by a fellowship in Oncology at the University of Washington and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, which included two years of research into bone marrow transplantation for the treatment of breast cancer.
"At this point, I was becoming increasingly aware of the politics of cancer research," says Dr. Kavanaugh-Lynch, "and I felt the need to have my work be more congruent with my social/political interests and convictions. Biomedical research had long been dominated by men, and I strongly believed that having more women enter the field would bring unlimited benefits. These factors led me to change direction and pursue training in public health."
For the past two years, Mhel has been a Senior Fellow in Cancer Prevention and Control at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Division of Public Health Sciences. At the same time, she earned an M.P.H. in Epidemiology at the University of Washington School of Public Health.
Dr. Kavanaugh-Lynch served on the Scientific Committee for the Women's Health Initiative, and as deputy principal investigator of the Women's Intervention Nutrition Study (WINS). She was instrumental in developing a lesbian health research agenda, which was launched with a five-state conference in which community leaders and scientists met to examine the issues and develop strategies and partnerships for research.
One of the most exciting aspects of BCRP for Mhel is its emphasis on patient/advocate representation in all phases of grant funding. "The initiative and the funding for this program come from the people of California; they must have a major role in deciding research priorities," she says.
"It's healthy for scientists to become more aware of survivor/advocates' needs from their own perspective & 151 and just as important for advocates to understand the challenges that scientists face.
"Clearly, we all have the same goal &151 learning how to prevent and cure breast cancer. We may not always agree on how to reach that goal, but it is to everyone's benefit that we continue to work together."
