Breast Cancer Research Council
The overall objectives, strategies, and priorities of the 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, the CBCRP awards grants based on the Council's recommendations, which are based on peer reviewers' evaluations, Council members' assessment of responsiveness to program priorities, and available funds.
The council consists of 16 members: five representatives of breast cancer survivor/advocacy groups, five scientists/ clinicians, two members from nonprofit 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.
Council Members
 |
Industry
Teresa Burgess (07/01/99—06/30/02)
Research Scientist, Amgen, Inc.
Teresa L. Burgess, Ph.D., earned her BA in Biochemistry with highest honors from the Univrsity of California, Berkeley, after receiving a solid educational foundation from California public schools, including Diablo Valley Community College. Following a move across the San Francisco bay, she received her Ph.D. for original research on peptide hormone secretion from UC San Francisco.
As a Helen Hay Whitney Fellow, Dr. Burgess continued to investigate the basic cellular mechanisms of membrane trafficking at UC Santa Barbara. In 1992 she accepted a position as Research Scientist at the successful biotechnology company Amgen Inc., where she has continued both basic and applied cell biological research. Her investigations have led to numerous peer reviewed research publications relevant to diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer's, and most recently osteoporosis and other metabolic bone diseases. Dr. Burgess brings to the Council not only her scientific expertise, but also an enthusiastic desire to contribute to a healthier future for all women.
 |
Advocate
Lauren John (07/01/01—06/30/02)
Breast Cancer Action
Lauren John, 44, was diagnosed with breast cancer 7 years ago, while in the last semester of a graduate journalism program at boston University. Six months after completing chemotherapy and getting her diploma, she moved west to Silicon Valley when her husband George was recruited to join an Internet startup company.
Lauren is now a freelance science and technology writer based in a home office in Menlo Park, California. She also works part time as a reference librarian at the Menlo Park Public Library. In February 2001, Lauren was named to the board of Breast Cancer Action in San Francisco. She continues her membership in three other outstanding breast cancer organizations: the Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition, the Community Breast Health Project in Palo Alto, and the National Breast Cancer Coalition. In July 2001, she was apporinted as a consumer reviewer to the federal Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program.
In addition to her journalism degree, Lauren holds an undergraduate degree in English from the State University of New York at Binghamton and a graduate degree in library science (MLS) from St. John's University in Jamaica, New York.
 |
Advocate
Akua Jitahadi (07/01/01—06/30/02)
Founder, Black Women for Wellness
Akua Jitahadi is a longtime community activist who has organized around such issues as homelessness, human rights, and women imprisonment.
She is a co-founder of Black Women for Wellness, a community-based organization that focuses on health issues impacting black women.
Ms. Jitahadi coordinates the organization's “Keep in Touch...Do BSEs,” an outreach and education program. She is also a member of the Los Angeles County Partnered for Progress African American Breast Cancer Taskforce.
 |
Advocate
Florita Maiki (07/01/01—06/30/02)
Program Manager, Breast Health Access for Women With Disabilities
Florita Maiki, presently the Manager of Breast Health Access for Women with Disabilities (BHAWD) a program of the Rehabilitation Services of Alta Bates Summit Medical Center. Her many grant supported projects include further developing and implementing the BHAWD program to ensure and increase access to breast screening services to women with disabilities within the program and the community through extensive collaborative efforts.
Prior to BHAWD, she had worked over ten years in community and hospital based agencies and organizations in program planning/development and evaluation capacities, serving people with disabilities.
Throughout her tenure, she has had extensive experience and responsibility in developing and monitoring grant proposals and other development efforts.
 |
Scientist/Clinician
Susan Blalock (07/01/99—06/30/02)
School of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
University of the Pacific
Susan Blalock, Ph.D., M.P.H., is an Associate Professor in the School of Pharmacy and Health Sciences at the University of the Pacific. Dr. Blalock is a behavioral scientist with expertise in health behavior and health education.
She holds graduate degrees from the Schools of Public Health at the University of Michigan (M.P.H.) and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Ph.D.). Dr. Blalock has served as a principal investigator on numerous studies investigating behavioral factors associated with illness prevention and disease management. Her current interests include quality of care issues, including economic and ethical issues that influence the delivery of health care services in the United States.
 |
Medical Specialist
Robert W. Carlson (07/01/00—06/30/02)
Professor of Medicine/Oncology—Stanford University
Robert W. Carlson received his M.D. degree from Stanford University School of Medicine and did his internship and junior residency in internal medicine at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri. He returned to Stanford for his senior residency and postdoctoral fellowship in medical oncology.
He joined the faculty at Stanford after his fellowship and is Professor of Medicine at Stanford University. His primary areas of investigation include breast cancer clinical trials and the use of computer-based systems to assist health care providers in the delivery of patient care.
Dr. Carlson serves as Chair of the Breast Cancer Guidelines Committee and the Breast Cancer Risk Reduction Guidelines Committee for the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN).
 |
Scientist/Clinician
Hoda Anton-Culver (07/01/99—06/30/02)
College of Medicine—University of California, Irvine
Hoda Anton-Culver, Ph.D., is Professor and Chief of the Epidemiology Division in the Department of Medicine at the University of California, Irvine. She received her baccalaureate degree in pharmaceutical chemistry from the University of Alexandria in Egypt in 1964 followed by a Ph.D. in Epidemiology and Biochemistry at St. Andrews University, Scotland in 1968.
Following her doctoral degree, she began her academic career as a Lecturer at McGill University Medical School, Canada. From 1971 to 1978, she joined Dr. Henry Lynch as an Assistant and then as Associate Professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health at Creighton University School of Medicine, Nebraska.
Since 1978, she has been at the University of California, Irvine, as an Associate Professor and then as Professor and Chief of the Epidemiology Division in the Department of Medicine. She also holds a joint appointment with the School of Social Ecology at UC Irvine, and an adjunct appointment with the San Diego State University Graduate School of Public Health.
Council Members (ONGOING)
 |
Vice Chair
Sandra Walsh (07/01/00—06/30/03)
A seventeen-year survivor of breast cancer, Sandy was not involved in any breast cancer activities until 1996 when she received a request to be treasurer of Save Ourselves of Sacramento. After serving in this position for 4 years, she co-founded Y-ME of Davis, a breast cancer education, support, and advocacy organization serving Davis, Yolo County, and rural areas west of Sacramento. Y-ME of Davis is a member organization of California Breast Cancer Organizations and Sandy is vice president of CABCO. With CABCO and the National Breast Cancer Coalition (NBCC), she works to promote legislation that will provide funding for research and provide other health care needs for persons with breast cancer. She has served on review panels for the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program and currently serves on the Breast Health Initiative Team for the American Cancer Society, on the Project LEAD committee for the NBCC and on the Scientific Advisory Committee California Teacher's Study, under the Department of Health Services Cancer Registry. Sandy is employed at the University of California, Davis, as a research associate in the Center for the Study of Neuromuscular Diseases studying muscular dystrophies.
 |
Council Chair
Anna M. Wu, Ph.D. (07/01/00—06/30/03)
Anna M. Wu, Ph.D., received her A.B. degree in Biochemical Sciences from Harvard University, and a Ph.D. from Yale University in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry. Postdoctoral studies were carried out at Yale University and at the University of California, San Francisco. For many years Dr. Wu was a staff member at the Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope, in Duarte, CA, where she currently retains an appointment as Adjunct Professor of Molecular Biology. In July 2002 Dr. Wu joined the faculty at the UCLA School of Medicine as an Associate Professor. Dr. Wu's research interests have focused on molecular approaches to the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Her laboratory has worked on developing engineered antitumor antibodies for delivery of radioisotopes to tumors for detection and treatment. At the Crump Institute for Molecular Imaging, Dr. Wu heads the Biomolecular Targeting laboratory and continues to develop engineered proteins (including antibodies) for targeting and imaging applications in cancer. Dr. Wu has been active with local cancer support groups, and for several years has taught basic science with Project LEAD of the National Breast Cancer Coalition.
 |
Scientist
A. Elaine Ashby (06/30/01—06/30/04)
A. Elaine Ashby received her Masters degree in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University. She practiced engineering for 2 years before entering medical school at the University of California, San Francisco. She received her MD degree and residency training from UCSF. She has been in private Family Practice in the East Bay, as well as conducting Biomedical Engineering research at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Her research areas have included Biomechanics and Prosthetics, transmission ultrasonography for breast imaging, and new technologies for prostate cancer detection.
 |
Scientist/Clinician
Dorothy Bainton, M.D. (07/01/02—06/30/05)
Dorothy Bainton is Vice Chancellor, Academic Affairs and Professor of Pathology at UCSF. She received the B.S. degree from Millsaps College, Jackson, Mississippi, and the M.D. in 1958 from the Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans, Louisiana. In 1963 she came to the University of California, San Francisco, as a fellow in the Department of Pathology, and received the M.S. degree in Pathology in 1966. She has been a member of the faculty in Pathology since 1972. When she was appointed chair of the department in 1987 she became the first woman ever to serve in that capacity in the School of Medicine at UCSF. Dr. Bainton is a nationally recognized leader in academic pathology. Her research is focused on the structural and functional relationships of hematopoietic cells in bone marrow. She is a member of a number of professional societies and has served on the editorial boards of numerous professional publications. She has received many honors and awards during her career, including a ten-year Merit Award from the National Institutes of Health and the Gold-Headed Cane of the American Society of Investigative Pathology. As Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs she works with the deans of the various schools, and has been responsible for the planning and review of all teaching programs at UCSF. Some of the academic units she currently oversees include the Library and Academic Information Management, Registrar and Student Academic Affairs, Academic Personnel, the Proctor Foundation and Langley Porter Psychiatric Institute.
 |
Advocate
Vicki Boriak (07/01/02—06/30/05)
Vicki Boriak of the Women's Health Alliance, San Jose, is a 16 year veteran of the outdoor industry and an avid mountaineer, kayaker, and backpacker. Vicki was 39 years old when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in October 1993. In February of 1995, Vicki climbed Mt. Aconcagua, the highest mountain in the Western Hemisphere, as a member of Expedition Inspiration. The Expedition, comprised of 17 breast cancer survivors, was created to raise 2.3 million dollars for breast cancer research and to raise awareness of the disease. Vicki has since switched careers, and is now working for Community Health Partnership in San Jose as the manager of the Women's Health Partnership program which helps medically underserved women gain access to health care and education. She is a graduate of the Project LEAD training course sponsored by the NBCC, and has participated as an advocate observer during the BCRP Cycle V grant review process.
 |
Advocate
Diana Chingos (07/01/01—06/30/04)
Diana Chingos serves as Chairman of the Cancer Survivorship Advisory Council at the USC/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center. This group of patients, survivors and caregivers seeks to use their “firsthand experiences and knowledge to generate new attitudes and practices that improve research and treatment, the outcomes of care, and the quality of life for cancer patients and their families.” She represents this patient advisory group on the USC/Norris Executive Committee and serves as a patient advocate on the Cancer Center's Clinical Investigations Committee. Diana graduated from Project LEAD, the National Breast Cancer Coalition's course in the science of breast cancer for advocates and more recently, the Project LEAD Clinical Trials Program. She has served as a consumer reviewer for the FY 2001 DOD Breast Cancer Research Program Scientific Peer Review. She supports the NBCC's legislative and policy agenda and serves as a Team Leader and member of the National Action Network. She also works for MAMM Magazine, the only national consumer magazine devoted to women affected by breast and reproductive cancer. A former New Yorker, Diana was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 34 and is the third woman in her family to face a breast cancer diagnosis. She is a graduate of Bennington College and holds a graduate degree from the University of Southern California School of Cinema-TV. By profession, Diana works as a freelance TV producer.
 |
Medical Specialist
Michael Figueroa, M.D. (07/01/02—06/30/05)
Cancer Care Consultants, Redding
Michael Figueroa is a prominent member of the North State medical community, as the founder of Cancer Care Consultants and as the Director of the Mercy Regional Cancer Center. His colleagues, staff and patients value his gentle good-natured humor, and his deeply spiritual approach to his vocation. Dr. Figueroa's sincerity and respect has set the tone for Cancer Care Consultants. “Patients look to us for answers to their questions regarding cancer. The answers can be very frightening and emotional. Sometimes we just don't have an answer. Nevertheless, we must convey what we know in a kind, compassionate and honest fashion. Although we must never treat our own families, we should treat patients as if they are our families.” Dr. Figueroa is currently the Chairman of the Cancer Committee, the Medical Ethics Committee, and the Ida C. Emmerson Endowment Board. In 2001 he received the Person of Distinction Award from Soroptimist International Redding, and was instrumental in creating the new Morgan Family Cancer Resource Center.
 |
Industry
I. Craig Henderson, M.D. (07/01/00—06/30/03)
I. Craig Henderson, M.D., is Adjunct Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), a member of the staff at the UCSF/Mount Zion Cancer Center, President, Access Oncology, Inc., and a member of the board of ALZA Corporation in Mountain View, California. He was a member of the Harvard faculty for 18 years before moving to UCSF where he was Professor of Medicine, Chief of Hematology/Oncology, and Associate Director of the Cancer Center. In 1995 he became Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of SEQUUS Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Menlo Park, California, and continued there until the merger with ALZA Corporation in 1999. Dr. Henderson founded the multidisciplinary Breast Evaluation Center at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. At UCSF he developed the Bay Area Research Program funded by a Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) grant from the National Cancer Institute. Dr. Henderson has delivered innumerable presentations at medical conferences, and conducted grand rounds at medical schools throughout the United States and Europe. He is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (Edinburgh), and a Member of both the American Association for Cancer Research and the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
 |
Advocate
Janet Howard-Espinoza (07/01/02—06/30/05)
Janet Howard-Espinoza is a member of the Women of Color Breast Cancer Survivors Support Project, Los Angeles, which provides support in a nurturing environment through community outreach, encouragement, and support. She conducts an hundreds of motivational seminars and workshops each year, reaching diverse communities of underserved women. She is a Breast Cancer Educator, and participates in several support groups for breast cancer survivors.
 |
Scientist/Clinician
Robert Kaplan, Ph.D. (07/01/02—06/30/05)
Robert Kaplan, Ph.D., is Professor and Chair of the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, at the University of California, San Diego. He is a past President of several organizations, including the American Psychological Association Division of Health Psychology, Section J of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (Pacific); the International Society for Quality of Life Research; and the Society for Behavioral Medicine. He is currently Chair of the Behavioral Science Council of the American Thoracic Society and President of the Academy of Behavioral Medicine Research. Dr. Kaplan is the Editor-in-Chief of the Annals of Behavioral Medicine, Associate Editor of the American Psychologist, and Consulting Editor of four other academic journals. Selected additional honors include APA Division of Health Psychology Annual Award for Outstanding Scientific Contribution; Distinguished Research Lecturer, 1988; Health Net Distinguished Lecturer in 1991; University of California 125 Anniversary Award for Most Distinguished Alumnus, University of California, Riverside; American Psychological Association Distinguished Lecturer; and the Distinguished Scientific contribution award from the American Association of Medical School Psychologists. His public service contributions include various NIH, AHRQ and VA grant review groups, and service on the local American Lung Association (ALA) Board of Directors and the regional research committee for the American Heart Association. He has served as cochair of the Behavioral Committee for the NIH Women's Health Initiative, and a member of both the NHLBI Behavioral Medicine Task Force and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) National Academy of Sciences Committee on Health and Behavior. Dr. Kaplan is the author or co-author of more than a dozen books and more than 350 articles or chapters.
 |
Nonprofit Organization
Irene Linayao-Putnam (07/01/00—06/30/03)
Irene Linayao-Putnam is Project Director of the Southeast Asian Health Care Access Project and the Asian and Pacific Islander Communities Against Tobacco Project for the Union of Pan Asian Communities in San Diego. In these roles, she has provided significant leadership in addressing cultural and linguistic barriers to health care access for breast, cervical, liver and lung cancers in AAPI communities. She has also directed UPAC's API Breast Health Project, providing breast cancer community education through role modeling to women over age 40, and the Breast Health Outreach and Education project, raising breast health awareness and community capacities for early detection and risk reduction. She is Site Coordinator of the Life Is Precious Project: Addressing Breast Cancer Among Hmong Women & Men. This is a multi-site study being carried out in collaboration with the UCLA School of Public Health to assess breast health knowledge and practices among Hmong women and men, develop effective educational strategies, and provide interpretation and transportation to mammography sites. She is also Site Coordinator of the Pan Asian Language Services (PALS) for Health, Language Access Program, which is a multi-county, multi-agency collaboration to reduce language barriers to health education.
 |
Nonprofit Organization
M. Ellen Mahoney, M.D. (07/01/00—06/30/03)
M. Ellen Mahoney, M.D. is a practicing breast surgeon in Arcata and Clinical Assistant Professor of Surgery at Stanford. She is the co-founder of the Community Breast Health Project in Palo Alto. Her work there resulted in extensive knowledge of current breast cancer literature and of the questions and problems faced by patients and families. She has used this knowledge to support other nonprofit breast cancer organizations, including the Breast Cancer Fund and the Humboldt Community Breast Health Project. She helps Susan Love M.D. in the maintenance of the Personal Guidance service on www.susanlovemd.com. Her goal is that all patients have the latest concepts and knowledge available in language they can understand. She describes herself as “passionate about the need to improve our knowledge about breast cancer and our care of all whose lives are affected by this disease.”
 |
Advocate
Debra Oto-Kent (07/01/02—06/30/05)
Debra Oto-Kent is the Founder and Executive Director of the Health Education Council, a private, nonprofit community agency based in Sacramento that conducts health promotion programs for underserved communities. Regional, state, and national programs focus on tobacco use prevention, nutrition, diabetes, breast cancer, and physical activity. Debra received her M.P.H. from UCLA's School of Public Health in 1980. She has since devoted her career to planning, implementing, and evaluating health promotion programs for low income, underserved communities. She has presented numerous papers and presentations and serves on a variety of committees and as a reviewer of grant applications. Debra climbed to the summit of Mount Fuji, Japan, in 2000 as a member of the Climb Against the Odds Breast Cancer Survivors Team. She lives with her husband and three sons and enjoys spending time with her family.
 |
Industry
Jacqueline Papkoff, Ph.D. (07/01/02—06/30/05)
Jacqueline Papkoff, Ph.D. was appointed Vice President of Discovery at diaDexus in January 2002. Jackie joined diaDexus from the Aventis Cambridge Genomics Center (previously Hoechst-Ariad Genomics Center), where she served as Vice President of Cell Biology and Genetics and Head of Genomics Platform Technologies. Prior to her tenure with Aventis, Jackie served as Director of Molecular Oncology for Megabios Corporation and before that served as Senior Scientist in Sugen Inc.'s Department of Cellular Biochemistry. She also held several research scientist positions at Syntex Research. Jackie has been a Consulting Professor of Cancer Biology with Stanford University for over 10 years. She received her B.A. in Biology from the University of California, Santa Cruz, a Ph.D. in Biology at the Salk Institute from the University of California, San Diego, and completed postdoctoral research at Stanford University and the University of California, San Francisco.
 |
Ex-Officio
Georjean Stoodt (10/25/00—Ongoing)
As Chief of the Cancer Detection Section for the California Department of Health Services, Dr. Stoodt implements public health programs that save lives by detecting cancer early so people with cancer can receive timely treatment. The Breast Cancer Early Detection Program, established by the same statute that created the Breast Cancer Research Program, is one of the important public health programs of the Cancer Detection Section. Dr. Stoodt has worked in a variety of human service, public health, and medical settings throughout her public service career. She has been a social worker in Ohio and Indiana, medical director of family planning and maternity services in South Carolina's Trident Health District, and in North Carolina served as Director of the Division of Adult Health, Chief of Chronic Disease, and Director of the Office of Resource Development and Clinical Support. At local, state and national levels, she has been instrumental in shaping public health initiatives and securing funding to prevent and control chronic diseases as well as to advance women's health. She received her B.S. in music and physical sciences from Indiana University, M.D. from the University of Cincinnati, undertook family medicine training at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, and following training in public health and preventive medicine from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill became certified by the American Board of Preventive Medicine. She has held offices and leadership positions in several medical organizations, the Association of State and Territorial Chronic Disease Program Directors, their Women's Health Council, the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, and the North Carolina Public Health Association. She was elected into the prestigious Women's Forum of North Carolina, and in 1994 was inducted into the YWCA Academy of Women. Her broad interests focus on strengthening organizational capacities, changing public understanding, and advancing public policies that will improve the public's health.
