Breast Cancer Research 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 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 and the community.
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 cofounder 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 University.
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 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
Barbara Brenner
July 1, 1998—June 30, 2001
Ms. Brenner was 41 years old when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She quickly learned how little was known about breast cancer, and how much misinformation was being given to the public about the disease. She joined the board of Breast Cancer Action in September 1994 and became the organization's Executive Director a year later. Breast Cancer Action is a San Francisco-based national grassroots organization that carries the voices of people affected by breast cancer to compel and inspire the changes necessary to end the breast cancer epidemic. As Executive Director, Ms. Brenner is responsible for implementation of the organization's programs designed to dispel the myths about breast cancer, to inform the public about the realities of the disease, and to encourage more people to do something—besides worry—about the breast cancer epidemic. She represents Breast Cancer Action on committees addressing a wide-range of breast cancer issues, writes for Breast Cancer Action's widely-acclaimed bimonthly newsletter, and is a frequent public spokesperson on issues ranging from detection to treatment to prevention.
Floretta Chisom
August 27, 1997—June 30, 2000
Floretta Chisom brings he years of experience in committee work and team building to the BCRC. She is currently the Director of Health and Human Services in 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.
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 Survi-vorship.
Michell Rakoff
July 1, 1998—June 30, 2001
Michell Rakoff is a breast cancer survivor and advocate. Shae is a Board Member of the Los Angeles Breast Alliance (LABCA) and the California Breast Cancer Organization (CABCO). Ms. Rakoff has participated in the Department of Defense (DOD) Breast Cancer Research Program and the California Breast Cancer Research Program (CBCRP) grant review process as a consumer advocate. She continues to work for the passage of legislation to increase research funding and to ensure access of care for all women. Dedicated to patient care and psychosocial programs, she is the Director of Breast Friends, a peer support mentoring program, at Long Beach Memorial Breast Center.
Beverly Rhine
July 1, 1996—May 25, 1998
Beverly Rhine was a breast cancer survivor and vice president of the Women of Color Breast Cancer Survivors Support Project. She was dedicated to providing support, counseling and psycho-social assistance to African American women faced with breast cancer. Beverly was also a member of the Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program Advisory Council. Beverly Rhine passed away on May 25, 1998.
Ex-officio Members
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.
Jacquolyn Duerr
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.
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.
Kevin Scanlon
February 10, 1998—June 30, 2001
Kevin Scanlon, Ph.D., is an Industry Representative. He is Vice President and Head of the Cancer Research Department of Berlex Biosciences in Richmond, CA. Dr. Scanlon did his post-graduate work at the Department of Biochemistry at the University of London in the United Kingdom. He was a postdoctoral associate in the Department of Pharmacology at Yale University, School of Medicine and a scholar in the Leukemia Society of America. Dr. Scanlon was awarded the 1988 Paul Martini Internal Medical Research Prize in Germany. He has published over 85 papers on Cancer research and currently serves as co-editor for Cancer Gene Therapy, and the Internet Book of Gene Therapy. His extensive experience as a member in the National Institutes of Health, Cancer Study Section provides the council with insight into the traditional review process.
Medical Specialist
Bobbie Head
January 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.
Judith Luce
August 12, 1997—June 30, 2000
Judith Luce, M.D., 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.”
Non-Profit Health Organization
Holly Mitchell
July 1, 1998—June 30, 2001
Holly Mitchell is past Executive Director of the California Black Women's Health Project (CBWHP), a women's health advocacy organization that is committed to improving the health of Black women in California. She has recently taken a new position as Legislative Advocate at Western Center of Law and Poverty. She has been actively involved in public policy and service through her former positions as a graduate fellow in the Coro Foundaton; a senior consultant to the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services for State Senator Diane Watson; and as a project director for the California Women's Health Project, a program of the California Elected Women's Association for Education and Research (CEWAER). A local activist and staunch supporter of women's rights, Ms. Mitchell volunteers with numerous community-based organizations and serves on several boards of directors including: Planned Parenthood of Sacramento Valley; The Center for Community Health and Well Being (home of the nationally recognized Birthing Project); Save Ourselves, a breast cancer advocacy, education and peer support organization; and the Dangerfield Institute, a foster care
Carol J. Voelker
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.
Scientist/Clinician
Shelley Adler
July 1, 1996—June 30, 1999
Shelley Adler, Ph.D. 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.
Mary Ann Jordan
July 1, 1998—June 30, 2001
Mary Ann Jordan, Ph.D., earned her B.A. in mathematics, magna cum laude from the University of Minnesota, and her Ph.D. in cell biology from the University of Rochester, Rochester NY. At the University of Rochester she was an NSF and NIH graduate fellow. She has taught and performed research at Washington University, University of Michigan, and Utah State University. For the last 20 years, as a researcher and professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Dr. Jordan has focused on the mechanisms of anti-mitotic, anti-cancer drugs including vinblastine, taxol, and novel drugs such as the cryptophycins and dolastatins in binding to microtu-bules, suppressing microtubule dynamics, and the completion of mitosis and cell proliferation. She is interested in control of growth and proliferation of cancer cells and overcoming the development of resistance to anti-tumor drugs.
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 Cancer 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. She is the author of many books and articles including an Atlas of Techniques in Breast Surgery and Dr. Susan Love's Breast Book (second edition June 1995), which has been termed the ‘bible’ for women with breast cancer. Her second book, Dr. Susan Love's Hormone Book: Making Informed Choices about Menopause, was published by Random House in February of 1997.
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.
