California Breast Cancer Research Program Staff and Advisory Council
CBCRP Staff in 2006
Marion Kavanaugh-Lynch, M.D., M.P.H. Roslyn Roberts Joyce Price Maurice Matthews Core Funding Sharon Cooper, M.A. Mary Daughtry |
Community Research Natalie Collins, M.S.W. Janna Cordeiro, M.P.H. Catherine Thomsen, M.P.H. External Relations DeShawn Boyd Brenda Dixon-Coby Lyn Dunagan Eric Noguchi |
Advisory Breast Cancer Research Council
| Chairs Christine White (2005-2006) Lisa Wanzor (2006-2007) |
Vice-Chairs Lisa Wanzor (2005-2006) Amy Kyle (2006-2007) |
Advocates
- Crystal D. Crawford, Esq., serves as CEO of the California Black Women's Health Project, where she performs legislative, educational and policy advocacy to improve the health status of Black women and girls. Throughout her career, she has combined legal and policy approaches to civil rights and social justice issues. Crawford was born in Harlem, New York and graduated from Dartmouth College with a B.A. in history and sociology. She earned her J.D. from New York University Law School where she served as an editor of the Journal of International Law & Politics, a Hays-Weber Civil Rights Fellow and Chairperson of the Black Law Students Association. Crystal gained litigation experience as an associate with premier corporate law firms in Los Angeles, Boston and New York. After spending a few years in the private for-profit sector, she turned her attention to the non-profit sector, serving as Legal Director of the Alliance for Children’s Rights. Crawford serves on a variety of boards and councils including Health Access, VIP Mentors and the Women’s Health Council for the state of California. She is admitted to the bar in California, New York & New Jersey and serves as an officer of her church in Inglewood, California. (9/1/06 - 7/1/09)
- Diane Griffiths currently serves as Chief Counsel to the California State Assembly Rules Committee. In 1995-96, Griffiths served as Chief of Staff to Assemblywoman Barbara Friedman, the author of the legislation that created the California Breast Cancer Research Program. In 2002, she was herself diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy to treat the disease. She also has served from 2002-2006 as a Commissioner of the California Medical Assistance Commission, which administers California’s selective provider contracting program for hospitals serving Medi-Cal patients. She also previously served in a number of legislative positions affecting a broad range of health policy decisions, including efforts to expand access to health care and to secure funding for California’s trauma network. She represented the Assembly on the Managed Health Care Advisory Committee and on the Managed Health Care Improvement Task Force. (9/1/06 - 7/1/09)
- Angela Lucia Padilla is the co-founder and leader of Bay Area Young Survivors (BAYS), the only support and activist group for women under 45 affected by breast cancer in the Bay Area. She is currently forming Mighty Moms, a support group for
women with young children who are affected by cancer. Last year Angela was nominated by Lifetime Television as a breast cancer hero. (09/01/05 - 08/30/08)
- As Executive Administrator for the University of California, Los Angeles, Kim Pierce is responsible for all the administrative functions of six campus departments, including four departments within the School of Medicine. In addition, she is the Executive Director for the Academy of Molecular Imaging, a 1500-member nonprofit international professional society for physicians, scientists, technologists, and professionals in the field of molecular medicine; the Chair of the Imaging for Hope Patient Advocacy Committee; and a member of both the National Breast Cancer Coalition and the Los Angeles Breast Cancer Alliance. She has a solid, extensive management experience in research and clinical administration, and her range of accomplishments include developing long range plans for patient care and developing strategies for maintaining high-quality patient care in the UCLA Hospital System. (07/01/03 - 06/30/06)
- Kathy Walters, J.D., has served as Program Manager and Director of Volunteer Services in The Community Breast Health Project, an information and support organization in Palo Alto for people touched by breast cancer. A breast cancer survivor, she is a member of their writing group whose work is recently published in A Healing Journey, Writing Together through Breast Cancer. She also serves as the advocate member of a medical research team investigating breast cancer cells circulating in the blood, and as an advocate on an NCI steering committee. (07/01/03 - 06/30/06)
- Lisa Wanzor is the Associate Director of Breast Cancer Action, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to carry the voices of people affected by breast cancer to inspire and compel the changes necessary to end the epidemic. Lisa has worked for various nonprofit organizations since graduating from Princeton University in 1985. Social justice issues have always been Lisa’s passion, and she has worked for immigrant rights, economic justice, racial equality as well as women’s health. Lisa was a participant on the steering committee for the International Summit on Breast Cancer and the Environment held in 2002, is on the planning consortium for the California Environmental Health Tracking Program, and is a graduate of NBCC’s Project Lead. (07/01/04 - 06/30/07)
- Maria Wetzel is an eight-year survivor of breast cancer. She has been active on BCList.org—an internet support list—since her diagnosis, a member of NBCC for the past six years, and is a volunteer with the Mendocino Cancer Resource Center, where she serves as a patient navigator, a consultation planner, and an information specialist to women newly diagnosed with breast cancer. (09/01/05 - 08/30/08)
Ex-officio
- Kurt Snipes, M.S., Ph.D., Acting Chief, Cancer Control Branch California Department of Health Services. Dr. Snipes currently serves as the Acting Chief of the Cancer Control Branch (CCB) of the California Department of Health Services. Dr. Snipes has been with CCB for the past 13 years, as a Research Scientist with the California Cancer Registry, as Chief of the California Cancer Research Program (a state-funded cancer research program that administered over $100 million in applied, biomedical, and clinical cancer research over 5 years), as Chief of Comprehensive Cancer Control, and as Acting Chief of the Cancer Detection Section. In addition to his duties described above, Dr. Snipes also serves on the California Committee for the Protection for Human Subjects, as Principal Investigator for the Sacramento Region of the Asian American Network for Cancer Awareness, Research, and Training, as Community Advisory Board Member for both the UC Davis and UCSF Cancer Centers, as Vice-Chair of the California Dialogue on Cancer, and is a faculty member with the UC Davis Cancer Center. (03/2005 - Ongoing)
Industry
- Gordon Parry, Ph.D., is currently Head of the Cancer Research Department at Berlex Biosciences in Richmond, California. He has focused his research on utilizing genomics technologies to find new targets for drug development and in discovering small molecule and antibody-based drugs. Prior to joining Berlex, Dr. Parry was head of cancer gene therapy efforts at Somatix Gene Therapy, (now Cell Genesys), where he developed some of the first cytokine based (GM-CSF) tumor cell vaccines. Prior to his work in the biotechnology sector Dr. Parry spent 12 years in academic research, mostly as a Staff Scientist at the University of California’s Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (LBL). At LBL he made significant contributions to research on the regulation of mammary epithelial cell differentiation and to the discovery of antibodies targeting breast tumor cells. Dr. Parry obtained his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of London, and carried out post-doctoral work at the University of California Berkeley. (07/01/05-06/30/08)
- Christine White, M.D., is Sr. Vice President, Global Medical Affairs at Biogen Idec, where she has been employed since 1996. Dr. White is a medical oncologist and hematologist who completed medical school and Internal Medicine residency at the University of Chicago, and Hematology and Oncology fellowship at University of California, San Diego, and the Salk Institute. She served as Director, Clinical Oncology Research 1994-1996 at the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center in San Diego. From 1984-1994, she cared for cancer patients at Scripps Memorial Hospitals, La Jolla and Encinitas, where she served as Medical Director, Oncology Research from 1989-1994, and Dept of Medicine Chair, in 1994. She was an Assistant Professor at UCSD/VA Hospital from 1983-1984 and a research associate at the Salk Institute from 1982-1992. She has been a member of the Board of Directors of the San Diego Regional Cancer Center (1990-1991) and the Hospice of North Coast, (1984-1988) serving one term as Vice President at the latter; She also served on the North Coast Regional Advisory Board at American Cancer Society in San Diego (1986-1989), the Scientific Advisory Committee to San Diego-Imperial Counties Organization for Cancer Control (1989-1991), was a member of the Medical Ethics Committee at Scripps Member Hospital, Encinitas, (1985-1990) and chaired the Investigational Review Board at San Diego Regional Cancer Center (1990-1996). She serves on numerous medical journal editorial boards. (07/01/03 - 06/30/06)
Nonprofit health organizations
- Anuja Mendiratta is a Senior Program Officer with the Women's Foundation of California. Prior to joining the Foundation, she managed the San Francisco Foundation’s Environmental Health and Justice Initiative for four years and worked as a Program Officer at the Marin Community Foundation. Ms. Mendiratta currently serves on the boards of the La Peña Cultural Center in Berkeley, the Center for Environmental Health, and the Community Toolbox for Children’s Environmental Health, and the advisory board of the California Breast Cancer Research Program. She holds an undergraduate degree from Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, and a Masters in Environmental Studies from York University in Toronto, Canada. (09/01/05 - 08/30/08)
- John W. Morgan, Dr.P.H., is a Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Loma Linda University and the Cancer Epidemiologist for Region 5 of the California Cancer Registry. Dr. Morgan is a member of the Board of Professional/Scientific Advisors for the American Council on Science and Health and is a member of the board of directors for the California Division of the American Cancer Society. His interests include epidemiologic research that identifies control and prevention strategies for cancer. (07/01/03 - 06/30/06)
- Catherine Quinn is the Executive Director of the California Health Collaborative. She has provided steadfast leadership to community health efforts in the Central Valley and throughout the state for more than 20 years. She directed health services for the Fresno County Economic Opportunities Commission and for Urban Indian Health Services, Inc. She is recognized for her program development skills and credited with the collaborative’s transition from a three-program, non-profit affiliate of the Hospital Council with an operating budget of less than $500,000 to an independent, Fresno-based, non-profit public benefit corporation with more than 20 local, regional and statewide programs and an annual operating budget of more than $15 million. (9/1/06 - 7/1/09)
Medical specialist
- Klaus Porzig, M.D., received both his undergraduate and Doctor of Medicine degrees at Stanford University, then completed his internship at University of California, San Francisco. He completed his residency in internal medicine and clinical fellowship in medical oncology at Stanford University. He was also a research fellow in the Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Biology at the National Cancer Institute. For twenty-seven years he was a partner in Southbay Oncology Hematology Partners in Campbell, CA. During the past ten years he has concentrated on the care of patients with breast cancer. He retired from private practice in September 2006 and continues to practice at the Stanford University cancer center in the Breast Oncology Program. He is an active participant in the teaching program of the Department of Medicine and has received the Russell Lee Teaching Award for Excellence in Clinical Teaching several times. (9/1/06 - 7/1/09)
Scientists/clinicians
- Moon S. Chen, Jr., Ph.D., M.P.H., is professor and Associate Director for Cancer Prevention and Control (Population Sciences) at University of California Davis Cancer Center in Sacramento, which is the scientific headquarters for the NCI-funded Asian American Network for Cancer Awareness Research and Training (AANCART). AANCART links eight universities and NCI-designated cancer centers from the East Coast (Harvard, Columbia) with those of the South (University of Texas MD Anderson) and the West (University of Washington; University of California, San Francisco; University of California, Los Angeles; University of Hawaii) to reach approximately 50% of Asian Americans residing in the US. He previously served as Chair, Division of Health Behavior and Health Promotion, School of Public Health at The Ohio State University’s College of Medicine and Public Health. He is known as a pre-eminent scholar/researcher in public health issues affecting Asian Americans. He has authored or co-authored over 90 refereed articles or abstracts that have appeared in top journals such as the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, American Journal of Public Health, Cancer, Ethnicity & Health, Health Education Quarterly, and Preventive Medicine. Dr. Chen’s public health expertise has led to several consultancies, including the Ministry of Public Health of the People’s Republic of China, the US Centers for Disease Control, the National Institutes of Health, and several universities and state public health departments throughout the country. In 2002 he joined the National Cancer Advisory Board, and in 2003 became one of two non-federal co-chairs of the Trans-HHS (US Health and Human Services) Cancer Health Disparities Progress Review Group, charged with overseeing and leading a national effort to reduce cancer health disparities. Dr. Chen received the 2003 American Cancer Society’s Humanitarian Award for his “unfailing commitment and considerable contributions to the field of public health…,” his “dedication to addressing and improving the health of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders…,” and his “leadership in investigating and securing funds for continued research on the health disparities within minority populations.” (07/01/04 - 06/30/07)
- James Ford, M.D., is Assistant Professor of Medicine (Oncology Division), Genetics, and Pediatrics (Medical Genetics Division) at Stanford University School of Medicine; Director of the Stanford Program for Applied Cancer Genetics and the Breast Cancer Genetics Clinic; and Director of Stanford's Oncology Fellowship Training Program. He graduated in 1984 magna cum laude from Yale University where he later received his M.D. from the School of Medicine. He performed a residency in Internal Medicine and clinical fellowships in Medical Oncology at Stanford University Medical Center, and was a research fellow in Biological Sciences at Stanford from 1993-1997. Dr. Ford is an internationally recognized expert in the fields of DNA repair and the genetics of solid tumors. His laboratory and clinical research programs focus on the genetics and genomics of familial breast and GI cancers, and the use of new technologies for cancer diagnosis, prevention, and treatment. He is a member of numerous professional societies, is currently the chairman of the Human Genetics and Tumor Biology section of the American Society of Clinical Oncology and is an associate editor for Cancer Research. (07/01/03 - 06/30/06)
- Felicia S. Hodge is a professor of Primary Care Nursing and director of the Center for American Indian Research and Education at the University of California, Los Angeles. She is a health policy researcher and a Native American who has been involved in a large number of research projects on breast cancer and other health issues among ethnic populations. Her current research focuses on chronic health conditions and health beliefs and behaviors among American Indians and Alaska Natives. (07/01/05 - 11/30/06)
- Amy Kyle, Ph.D., M.P.H., works on issues at the intersection of science and public policy and to further the links between the realms of "environment" and those of "health." Her goal is to move the practice of policy for health and environment further toward the current state of knowledge about how health is affected by the environment. She holds research and teaching appointments at the School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley. There, her work focuses on children's environmental health, policy for persistent pollutants, methods to measure net population burdens of pollution and to address cumulative risk and environmental justice, and environmental public health tracking. She is a co-investigator at the Berkeley Center for Environmental Public Health Tracking. She an author of the first national assessment that integrates environmental and health data and presents measures relevant to children's environmental health. She has a background in public policy and public service at the state level, having served for five years as deputy commissioner for the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation and in a variety of other positions. She is currently serving on the Committee on Emerging Contaminants of the National Academy of Sciences. She works with a variety of governmental and non-governmental agencies on science translation and policy issues. Recently, she worked with state health and environment agencies to develop a national strategy to address environmental factors that contribute to asthma in children, a ground-breaking project sponsored by the Environmental Council of the States and the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, and with the National Drinking Water Advisory Committee to identify better means to identify "new" contaminants of concern in drinking water. (07/01/04 - 06/30/07)
- Mark Pegram is an oncologist and researcher at the University of California, Los Angeles's Jonsson Cancer Center, assistant professor at the UCLA School of Medicine, and Director of the Women’s Cancer Program. He was a co-investigator on Dennis Slamon’s research that led to the development of Herceptin. His career is devoted to clinical translational research with a strong focus on breast and ovarian cancer. He has worked extensively with advocates and has been a contributor to the Susan Love MD website. (09/01/05 - 08/30/08)
