Sandra M. Swain

Sandra M. Swain
Swain at ASCO 2013 Annual Meeting in Chicago, IL
Born1954 (age 69–70)
EducationUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (B.A.)
University of Florida (M.D.)
Occupation(s)Oncologist, clinical breast cancer researcher
Years active1980–present

Sandra M. Swain (born 1954) is an American oncologist, breast cancer specialist and clinical translational researcher.[1] She is currently a professor of Medicine at the Georgetown University School of Medicine and the Associate Dean for Research Development at Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) and MedStar Health[2] as well as an adjunct professor of Medicine at the F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine of the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences.[3] She is also a past President of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), serving from 2012 through 2013.[1][2][3][4]

The focus of Sandra's research includes clinical trials and translational research in metastatic and inflammatory breast cancer, adjuvant treatment of breast cancer, the treatments of metastatic HER2+ breast cancer, cardiotoxicity, as well as health care disparities.[1],[2],[3] She has authored more than 275 articles on her research in multiple medical journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) and the Journal of Clinical Oncology (JCO).[5] In addition, she has been interviewed in The New York Times[6] and The Wall Street Journal,[7] as well as on NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday[8] and the PBS NewsHour.[9]

Career

After completing her fellowship at the NCI and running clinical trials for two years under Dr. Marc Lippman and alongside Dr. Robert Dickson, Swain founded the breast cancer program at Georgetown University's Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center (LCCC) in 1988.[10] This program is now known as the Betty Lou Ourisman Breast Health Center. She returned to the NCI in 1995 and, by 1999, became a Tenured Principal Investigator and the Deputy Chief of the Medicine Branch within the Division of Clinical Sciences, ultimately becoming Chief of the Cancer Therapeutics Branch at the Center for Cancer Research.

In 2007, after a 12-year stint at the NCI, Swain accepted the position of Medical Director at the Washington Cancer Institute (WCI) at the MedStar Washington Hospital Center (MWHC).[1],[11] At this time, Swain had a growing interest in healthcare inequality and a desire to dedicate her efforts to the underserved African American community in Washington, D.C. During her time as medical director at the WCI, she studied the causes of increased breast cancer mortality observed in African American women.[12][13] In 2016, after almost a decade at the WCI, Swain was appointed as the Associate Dean for Research Development to pursue research collaborations, business development, and funding opportunities between Georgetown University and industry, medical/scientific associations, governmental agencies, and other entities at all levels.[2]

Over the past 35 years, Swain has held advisory and leadership positions with professional oncology societies and organizations. These include Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the Conquer Cancer Foundation, the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP), and the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers.[14] Swain is a national past-President of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) serving from 2012 through 2013.[1],[2],[3],[4] She currently serves as the Secretary for ASCO's Conquer Cancer Foundation.[15]

Bibliography

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Breast Cancer Research Foundation (2014-06-23). "Meet Our Researchers: Sandra Swain". Retrieved October 1, 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e Healton, Edward B. (April 11, 2016). "Sandra Swain, MD appointed Associate Dean for Research Development" (Press release). Georgetown University. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
  3. ^ a b c d Mallet, Karen (June 18, 2012). "Georgetown Lombardi Breast Cancer Expert to Lead ASCO" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
  4. ^ a b American Society of Clinical Oncology (2016-02-09). "Past Presidents". Retrieved October 1, 2016.
  5. ^ National Center for Biotechnology Information. "PubMed Author Search". Retrieved October 2, 2016.
  6. ^ Andrew Pollack (September 28, 2014). "Roche Breast Cancer Drug Perjeta Appears to Greatly Extend Patients' Lives". The New York Times. Retrieved October 2, 2016.
  7. ^ Ron Winslow (March 26, 2013). "'Big Data' for Cancer Care: Vast Storehouse of Patient Records Will Let Doctors Search for Effective Treatment". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 2, 2016.
  8. ^ "Sunday, March 13, 2013". Weekend Edition Sunday. March 31, 2013. NPR. Harnessing Big Data to Combat Cancer.
  9. ^ Kane, Jason (December 25, 2012). "Commentary: Why Mammograms Are So Crucial". PBS NewsHour. Washington, D.C. Retrieved October 2, 2016.
  10. ^ Tina Reed (September 9, 2016). "Women Who Mean Business: Sandra Swain". Washington Business Journal. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
  11. ^ Ronald Piana (June 15, 2012). "New ASCO President Reflect on Value of Mentorship and Addressing Health-care Disparities". The ASCO Post. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
  12. ^ Banda, Deliya R; Libin, Alexander V; Wang, Hong; Swain, Sandra M (2012). "A Pilot Study of a Culturally Targeted Video Intervention to Increase Participation of African American Patients in Cancer Clinical Trials". The Oncologist. 17 (5): 708–714. doi:10.1634/theoncologist.2012-0454. PMC 3360910. PMID 22639112.
  13. ^ Robinson, Brandi N; Newman, Antoinette F; Tefera, Eshetu; Herbolsheimer, Pia; Nunes, Raquel; Gallagher, Chris; Randolph-Jackson, Pamela; Omogbehin, Adedamola; Dilawari, Asma; Pohlmann, Paula R; Mohebtash, Mahsa; Lee, Young; Ottaviano, Yvonne; Mohapatra, Avani; Lynce, Filipa; Brown, Richard; Mete, Mihriye; Swain, Sandra M (2017). "Video intervention increases participation of black breast cancer patients in therapeutic trials". npj Breast Cancer. 3: Article 36. doi:10.1038/s41523-017-0039-1. PMC 5603544. PMID 28944289.
  14. ^ MedStar Health Research Institute. "Principal Investigators". Retrieved October 2, 2016.
  15. ^ Conquer Cancer Foundation. "Board of Directors". Retrieved October 3, 2016.