Breast Cancer Reserch Council
The overall objectives, strategies and priorities of CBCRP are set by the Breast Cancer Research Council, which actively participates in overseeing the program and making final recommendations on the research projects to be funded. In each Grant Cycle, CBCRP awards grants based on the Council's recommendations, which are based on peer reviewers' evaluations, program priorities and available funds.
The council currently consists of 16 members: five representatives of breast cancer survivor/advocacy groups; five scientist/clinicians; two members from non-profit health organizations, one practicing breast cancer medical specialist, two members from private industry, and one ex-officio member from the DHS Breast Cancer Early Detection Program.
Council members are appointed by the University, drawn from nominations submitted by Council members, individuals, institutions and agencies throughout the state.
About the Council
1996 — 1997 Chair and Vice Chair
Carol J. Voelker, Chair
July 1, 1995 — June 30, 1998
Carol J. Voelker, Ph.D., was appointed to the BCRC in July, 1995, as a representative of a non-profit health organization. A sixteen year member of Soroptimist International of the Americas, whose focus in the health area is breast cancer awareness, Dr. Voelker is also a member of the National Breast Cancer Coalition and the Orange County Chapter of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. She also works as a legislative advocate to obtain funding at both the state and national levels for breast cancer research.
Carol L. MacLeod, Vice Chair
July 1, 1995 — Nov. 7, 1997
Carol MacLeod, Ph.D. (Scientist/Clinician Representative), is a Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Diego, Associate Director of the UCSD Cancer Center. She serves as Leader of the Cancer Genetics Program, and she co-directs a National Institutes of Health Cancer Training Grant. She has served on National Institutes of Health Scientific Review Panels for Cancer Centers and Research Grants. She is currently a member of a Scientific Advisory Panel for the American Cancer Society. She holds research grants from the National Institutes of Health, the Susan Komen Foundation, the Clayton Foundation and the California Research Coordinating Committee to support her active research program. Her research focuses on the regulation of gene expression in tumor cells and the induction of tumor cell differentiation. Using both cell and molecular biology, her laboratory examines the mechanisms regulating gene expression. Several unique genes identified in a search for tumor related genes are now being assessed for their possible role in tumor formation and dissemination using gene targeting and transgenic approaches.
1997 — 1998 Chair and Vice Chair
Robert Erwin, Chair
July 1, 1996 — June 30, 1999
Mr. Erwin (Industry Representative), is a founder and serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of Biosource Technologies, Inc., founded in 1987. As a co-founder of Sungene Technologies Corporation, he served as Vice President of Research and Product Development from 1981 through 1986. Mr. Erwin has served on the Biotechnology Industry Advisory Board for Iowa State University and the Executive Committee of the California Tissue Culture Association. He is currently a Director of the Independent Institute, the Marti Nelson Cancer Research Foundation and Large Scale Biology Corporation. Mr. Erwin's biotechnology experience includes research in molecular biology at Abbott Laboratories and at the University of Alabama Medical School. He received his M.S. degree in genetics from Louisiana State Universit
Suzette Wright, Vice Chair
July 1, 1996 — June 30, 1999
Suzette Wright, M.S.P.H., is a five year survivor and advocate of breast cancer. As a member and current vice president of Save Ourselves/Y-ME Breast Cancer Organization in Sacramento, she was active in lobbying and testifying for the Breast Cancer Act of 1993. Suzette balances her advocacy work with teaching mathematics at the Learning Skills Center at UC Davis and spending time with her family. She strongly hopes that her twenty one year old daughter will never personally experience breast cancer.
Advocates
Floretta Chisom
August 27, 1997 —June 30, 2000
Floretta Chisom brings her many years of experience in committee work and team building to the BCRC. She is currently the Director of Health and Human Services for Oakland CA. She also serves on a variety of health and social service committees such as the Healthy Start Advisory Board; the City of Oakland Commission on Homelessness; the City of Oakland Health Commission; the Community action agency advisory board; and the Ann Martin Children's Center. She became active in the fight against breast cancer as a member of the Breast Cancer Fund Board. The welfare of her daughter provides Ms. Chisom with her strong motivation for eradicating breast cancer.
Arlyne Draper
July 1, 1996 — June 30, 1999
Breast cancer has been a part of Arlyne and her family's lives for the past 20 years. Arlyne Draper has survived two breast cancers and, for the past five years, has dedicated herself to fighting this disease by promoting education, increasing awareness, and encouraging others to speak up and demand attention. She is founder of the Women's Cancer Task Force (WCTF), a grassroots organization and a chapter of Y-ME, which works for changes in breast cancer education, research, diagnosis and treatment. She also co-founded the California Breast Cancer Organizations (CABCO) where she serves as president and representative to the National Breast Cancer Coalition (NBCC) working board. She has participated in numerous breast cancer conferences and committees at the state and federal levels.
Andrea Martin
Feb. 15, 1994 — June 30, 1997
Andrea Martin is a breast cancer survivor and advocate who, in 1993, founded The Breast Cancer Fund, a national nonprofit organization that raises awareness and funding for innovative research, education, patient support and advocacy projects. Ms. Martin participated in the drafting and passage of the Breast Cancer Act of 1993 and was appointed to the BCRC. She also serves on the Advisory Council to the Department of Health Services, which oversees the Breast Cancer Early Detection Program.
Carol Pulskamp
July 1, 1995 — June 30, 1998
Carol Pulskamp is a life-long activist and (since 1990) breast cancer survivor/advocate. She is a former educator of the deaf, and a staunch and outspoken advocate for health care reform, rights of disabled persons, etc. She is a founding member and the executive director of the Northern California Coalition for Cancer Survivorship, an association member of the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship.
Beverly Rhine
July 1, 1996 — June 30, 1999
Beverly Rhine is a breast cancer survivor and vice president of the Women of Color Breast Cancer Survivors Support Project. She is dedicated to providing support, counseling and psycho-social assistance to African American women faced with breast cancer. Beverly is also a member of the Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program Advisory Council.
Ex-Officio Members
Jacquolyn Duerr, Alternate Member
Feb. 15, 1994 — Ongoing
Jacquolyn Duerr, M.P.H. is Chief of the Breast Cancer Early Detection Program in the Cancer Control Branch of the California Department of Health Services. In this position, she is responsible for the design and development of a statewide program for the expansion of breast cancer screening services to low-income, underserved, older women. She has overseen the creation of local partnerships comprised of providers and consumers to create a network for case management, and to monitor and improve the quality of these services. She has extensive training and experience in community health education and outreach.
Liana Lianov
Feb. 15, 1994 — Ongoing
Liana Lianov, M.D., M.P.H. is currently medical advisor to the Cancer Detection Section at the California Department of Health Services. Over the past seven years, she has developed and implemented the Breast and Cervical Cancer Control Program, which is federally funded, and the Breast Cancer Early Detection Program, which is funded by 50% of the tobacco tax raised by the Breast Cancer Act. These programs offer screening, diagnostic and educational services to low income women. Dr. Lianov is a physician board certified in both Internal Medicine and Preventive Medicine and Public Health and was trained at Good Samaritan Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona and Baylor Medical Center in Dallas, Texas. She received her Masters Degree in Public Health from the University of California, Berkeley in 1990 and her medical degree from the University of Nevada in 1985.
Industry
Marco M. Gottardis
March 3, 1996 — June 30, 1999
Marco M. Gottardis Ph.D. is a Research Investigator in the Dept. of Endocrine Research at LIGAND Pharmaceuticals in San Diego, California. His research group is currently developing new classes of breast cancer hormonal therapies (which include novel retinoid and anti-hormonal agents) that have greater target selectivity and less side-effects than current days. Dr. Gottardis has studied the molecular and biological mechanisms of resistance to breast cancer hormone therapies for the last 15 years. He has trained in several of the preeminent breast cancer research laboratories. He serves on several standing and ad hoc research grant study sections for the American Cancer Society, U.S. Army Breast Cancer Research Program and National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences.
Medical Specialist
Bobbie Head
Jan. 15, 1997 — June 30, 2000
Bobbie Head, M.D., Ph.D. specializes in caring for women with breast cancer in her private practice in Marin County, California providing education and information to women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer. Her practice caters to the emotional, physical and spiritual needs of women and provides access to complimentary care modalities to assist women with making informed decisions about treatment options. Dr. Head chairs the Breast Health Committee at Marin General Hospital and the California Healthcare Systems Science Committee, which evaluates new trials for 3 Bay Area Hospitals. She also serves on the Board of Directors of the Hospice of Marin. Bobbie Head is active in clinical research and teaching and she participates in national and pharmaceutical company trials that utilize new cancer therapies.
Non-Profit Health Organizations
Lisa Bailey
Feb. 15, 1994 — June 30, 1997
Lisa Bailey, M.D. is a breast cancer surgeon on the staff of Summit Medical Center, Alta Bates Medical Center, and The Surgery Center, and is an Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of California, Davis. She is president-elect of the American Cancer Society, California Division and past president of the Alameda County Unit. A nationally recognized leader in surgical oncology, she has served as an advisor for the Institute of Medicine and for Donna Shalala's National Breast Cancer Summit (1993), and locally serves on the Alta Bates Medical Center Comprehensive Breast Center Professional Advisory Committee, the Northern California Cancer Center Advisory Board and Breast Cancer Committee, and co-founded the Bay Area Tumor Institute tumor board.
Judith Luce
August 12, 1997 — June 30, 2000
Judith Luce has demonstrated her dedication to the fight against breast cancer in her volunteer and her professional work. She has been an active member of American Cancer Society for over 15 years. She has served as president of the San Francisco Unit of the ACS, as well as both member and Chairperson of the California Division Breast Health Task Force. Dr. Luce is a faculty member at UCSF and the director of Oncology Services at San Francisco General Hospital. She is also the principal investigator on several clinical trials including a study on breast and cervical cancer intervention, and a multi-center breast cancer prevention trial. Her proudest achievement of her volunteer/research life has been her work with others in the Department of Public Health to offer breast and cervical cancer screening to underserved women in San Francisco. “We started this work in 1988, and today have highly successful programs in BCCCP (we were one of the first in the state) and BCEDP, as well as a new program to do targeted outreach to every woman in our patient population who has not been screened. We have worked with a variety of others to accomplish this, and I am certain that we are seeing the results of these efforts in better health for women in our city.”
Scientist/Clinician
Shelley Adler
July 1, 1996 — June 30, 1999
Shelley Adler is a medical anthropologist specializing in sociocultural gerontology at the University of California, San Francisco. Some of her current research includes "Women's Breast Cancer Treatment Choices by Cohort and Ethnicity;" "Older Women's Interactions with Their Physicians Regarding Breast Cancer;" and "Alternative Breast Cancer Treatments." She is a member of the American Anthropological Association, the Society for Medical Anthropology and the American Society on Aging.
J. Patrick Fitch
May 1, 1995 — June 30, 1997
J. Patrick Fitch, Ph.D. is Director of the Center for Health Care Technologies in the Biology and Biotechnology Research Program at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. He currently oversees the development and management of all health care-related projects at LLNL, which include over 40 projects in diagnostics, treatment and information systems. His own research includes the development of new surgical tools and catheter-based systems. These projects involve close collaboration with clinicians, industry and researchers in the breast cancer field, as well as other fields.
Susan M. Love
July 1, 1996 — June 30, 1999
Susan M. Love, M.D. is an author, teacher, surgeon, researcher and activist. She is an Adjunct Professor of Surgery at UCLA and former Director of the Revlon/UCLA Breast Center. She is one of the co-founders of the National Breast Coalition and serves on their Board of Directors. She also serves as a co-chair of the Biological Resources Task Force of the National Action Plan on Breast Cancer.
Maria Pellegrini
July 1, 1996 — June 30, 1999
Maria Pellegrini, Ph.D., is currently Dean of Research in the College of Letters Arts and Sciences at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Dr. Pellegrini's research interests have included studies of the structure-function relationships within proteins and the regulation of gene expression. She is the recipient of an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellowship and a Dreyfus Foundation Teacher-Scholar Award and has received several research and training grants from the National Institutes of Health. Since 1977, Dr. Pellegrini has been Professor of Biological Sciences at USC. Dr. Pellegrini has served on a number of National Institutes of Health grant review panels, including a current assignment on the NIH Training Grant Study Section. She is a breast cancer survivor and a co-founder of Reprogen, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on developing new products relating to women's reproductive health.
Anne Wallace
August 27, 1997 — June 30, 2000
Anne Wallace, M.D., has substantial experience with breast cancer patients, basic research, and clinical research. She is a surgeon at the University of California, San Diego whose practice consists primarily of breast cancer patients. Dr. Wallace has experience in research at many levels. She heads the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) for UCSD, a large scale clinical study that has increased in efficiency and in the patient participation under her direction. She is a member of the UCSD Cancer Center Protocol Review Committee, which is a body that evaluates the protocols for grant applications from the entire Cancer Center. She also collaborates on research projects that investigate the basic biology of breast cancer. She has a profound interest in funding forward thinking research that is maximally beneficial to breast cancer patients.
