Medical Advisors
John A. Glaspy, M.D., M. P.H, is a researcher and oncologist who has gained a national reputation in clinical medicine as an acute diagnostician and outstanding clinician. His research areas include: studies to test the ability to successfully treat breast cancer with stem cell transplantation; understanding the role of gene therapy in cancer; showing that a specific, low-fat diet can alter the composition of human breast tissue in a way that could make it resistant to breast cancer.
Dr. Glaspy also has played in major role along with Dr. Dennis Slamon in developing the community-based UCLA Oncology Research Network, a community outreach program aimed at bringing UCLA expertise and clinical research programs to patients well beyond the immediate vicinity of UCLA.
Dr. Glaspy is the inaugural recipient of the Sanders Endowed Chair in Cancer Research at UCLA in recognition of his eminence as a faculty member at the UCLA School of Medicine and his distinguished contributions in the area of cancer research.
Dennis J. Slamon, M.D., Ph.D., is a highly respected physician/scientist whose work resulted in the first molecularly targeted treatment for breast cancer, a drug that attacks the disease by targeting defective genes. For 12 years, Slamon and his colleagues conducted the laboratory and clinical research that led to the development of Herceptin, which targets a specific genetic alteration found in about 25 percent of breast cancer patients.
Herceptin, approved by the FDA for patients with metastic disease in September 1998, was the first in a wave of new treatments that attempt to fix what is broken in a cancer cell – finding the genetic defects that cause a cell to become malignant and targeting those alterations. Because it targets only malignant cells, Herceptin does not cause side effects such as hair loss and nausea that often are attributed to conventional therapies. Later international clinical trials conducted under Dr. Slamon’s leadership demonstrated a 51% reduction in risk of recurrence for newly diagnosed breast cancer patients treated with Herceptin and chemotherapy compared to patients treated with chemotherapy alone. These data, combined with parallel trials conducted by the National Cancer Institute, represented the single greatest advance in breast cancer therapy in more than six decades.
For his groundbreaking work, Dr. Slamon has been the recipient of numerous prizes and awards, including the Dorothy P. Landon-AACR Prize for Translational Cancer Research from the American Association for Cancer Research, the 2007 Gairdner International Award, and the American Cancer Society’s Medal of Honor, the top award bestowed by the organization.
Olufunmilayo I. Olopade, MD
Walter L. Palmer Distinguished Service Professor of Medicine and Human Genetics
Associate Dean for Global Health
Director, Center for Clinical Cancer Genetics and Global Health
As a physician and scientist, Dr. Olufunmilayo Olopade epitomizes the “bench to bedside” philosophy in her application of scientific discoveries to clinical medicine. As an internationally recognized hematologist/oncologist, Dr. Olopade specializes in cancer risk assessment, prevention, early detection, and treatment of aggressive breast cancer that disproportionately affects young women.
Dr. Olopade received her medical degree with distinction from the University of Ibadan in Nigeria. She came to the United States as a resident in internal medicine at Cook County Hospital, Chicago, where she was named chief medical resident. She then completed her postdoctoral fellowship training in the Section of Hematology/Oncology at the University of Chicago and became founding director of the Center for Clinical Cancer Genetics and Global Health in 1992. In addition, Dr. Olopade collaborates with clinicians and scientists around the world to reduce the global burden of cancer and improve health in resource-poor nations. For her efforts, she was recently named Associate Dean for Global Health at the University of Chicago.
As a mentor to many young students and medical fellows, Dr. Olopade effectively disseminates the benefits of her work, inspires students and colleagues, and is a role model for women scientists worldwide. She is also the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including the James S. McDonnell Foundation Scholar Award, the Doris Duke Distinguished Clinical Scientist Award, and a 2005 MacArthur Fellowship “Genius” Grant. In 2008, Dr. Olopade was inducted into the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies.
David H. Song, MD, MBA, FACS is an internationally recognized expert in plastic surgery with additional training in reconstructive microsurgery. He is a Professor of Surgery, Vice-Chairman of the Department of Surgery, Chief of Plastic Surgery and Residency program director at The University of Chicago Medical Center. At the age of 34, he was the youngest appointed Chief and Program Director of a major academic Plastic Surgery program in the country. He specializes in breast reconstruction, and oncoplastic surgery.
Dr. Song is well recognized for his extensive experience with perforator breast reconstruction procedures, including deep inferior epigastric perforator flap (DIEP), superior gluteal artery perforator flap (SGAP), superficial inferior epigastric artery flap (SIEA), thoracodorsal artery perforator flap (TAP) and the uses of Acellular Dermal Matrix (Alloderm) to enhance implant breast reconstruction and reconstruct abdominal wall defects. Additionally, he has pioneered several techniques for the repair and reconstruction of chest wall defects. Dr. Song’s research interests focus on outcome improvement in lumpectomy and mastectomy reconstruction. He is involved in several clinical trials exploring advancements in these procedures. For his work, he received the prestigious, Arthur G. Michel award given annually by the Breast Cancer Network of Strength (formerly Y-Me) for the clinician of the year.
Dr. Song is also immediate past-president of the Chicago Society of Plastic Surgeons, and a board member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) and the Association of Academic Chairmen of Plastic Surgery (AACPS). Dr Song recently received his M.B.A. from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, which he plans to utilize for the advancement of healthcare delivery with an emphasis on breast cancer awareness, treatment and prevention.
