Lymphoma Research Foundation Announces Scientific Advisory Board Chair Thomas M. Habermann for FY 2018-2019

The Nation’s Premier Lymphoma-Specific Research Organization Also Adds Four Experts to Industry Leading SAB

Thomas M. Habermann, Lymphoma Research Foundation Scientific Advisory Board Chair

New York, NY (July 1, 2017) – The Lymphoma Research Foundation (LRF) – the nation’s largest non-profit organization devoted exclusively to funding innovative lymphoma research and serving the lymphoma community through a comprehensive series of education programs, outreach initiatives and patient services – is proud to welcome Thomas M. Habermann, MD (Mayo Clinic, Rochester) as Chair of its industry leading Scientific Advisory Board (SAB). Comprised of 45 world-renowned lymphoma experts, LRF’s Scientific Advisory Board guides the Foundation’s research activities, seeking out the most innovative and promising lymphoma research projects for support.

Dr. Habermann received his MD from Creighton University before completing his residency and fellowship at Mayo Clinic’s Rochester campus. After joining the Mayo faculty in 1985, Dr. Habermann began building the Mayo Clinic’s lymphoma program with fellow SAB members Dr. Thomas Witzig and Dr. Stephen Ansell. He has been involved in clinical trials and was an author on studies of 21 different drugs in lymphoproliferative disorders. His epidemiology work includes establishing the infrastructure for databases and tissue banks such as the Mayo Clinic Lymphoma database (with records of over 27,000 patients) which led to the database that integrates the Lymphoma SPORE data. This database has gone on to allow Dr. Habermann and his collaborators to make observations based on the blood, tissue, and clinical information of groups of patients that far exceed the enrollment of most clinical trials with contributions from national and international collaborations in clinical correlates and genomic observations.

“For years, I have been proud to serve as a member of LRF’s prestigious Scientific Advisory Board, and I now look forward to the opportunity to lead this extraordinary group of individuals in our shared pursuit of a cure,” said Dr. Habermann. “I’d like to thank Dr. Gordon for his visionary leadership in setting LRF on the forward edge of research, and hope to continue this momentum as we accelerate our pursuit of new evidence-based approaches.”

Dr. Habermann assumes leadership of the Foundation’s SAB from Leo I. Gordon, MD, FACP, Abby and John Friend Professor of Cancer Research and Director, Lymphoma Program, Feinberg School of Medicine and the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, whose term ended on July 1, 2017 in accordance with the SAB’s governing principles and standards.

Additionally, LRF is proud to announce its four newest members of its SAB for FY 2018: Catherine Bollard, MD, MBChB (Children’s National Medical Center, George Washington University), Steven M. Horwitz, MD (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center), Kerry Savage, MD, MS (British Columbia Cancer Agency), and H. Guido Wendel, MD (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center). In addition to their charter of reviewing grant proposals and making recommendations regarding research priorities and funding to the Foundation Board of Directors, the SAB also evaluates the progress of on-going research projects and guides the strategic direction of the Foundation’s research programs and consortia.

Andrew D. Zelenetz, MD, PhD (Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center) was elected as LRF’s Chair Elect following the conclusion of Dr. Habermann’s term. The Lymphoma Research Foundation would also like to thank outgoing SAB members John Chan, MD (City of Hope Medical Center), Nathan Fowler, MD (The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center) Neil Kay, MD (Mayo Clinic, Rochester) and Louis Staudt, MD, PhD (National Cancer Institute, Center for Cancer Research) for their tireless efforts in the field of blood cancer research during their term.

“We thank all members of our Scientific Advisory Board, both incoming and outgoing, for their enduring commitment to our mission of eradicating lymphoma and serving those impacted by this blood cancer,” said Meghan Gutierrez, LRF Chief Executive Officer. “We are confident that Dr. Habermann’s guidance will help to usher in a new era in innovative research supported by LRF, as we look forward to a future without lymphoma.”

Additional information regarding the newly-elected Scientific Advisory Board members can be found below:

Catherine Bollard, MD, MBChB (Children’s National Medical Center, George Washington University)
Dr. Bollard is Director of the Immunology Initiative – Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation and Director for the Program for Cell Enhancement and Technologies for Immunotherapy at Children’s National Medical Center; she also holds appointments as Professor of Immunology and Pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine and Adjunct Professor of Pediatrics at George Washington University. Her research interests include developing cell and gene therapies for patients with cancer and underlying immune deficiencies (including a specific interest in cell therapies for EBV-associated lymphomas), stem cell and cord blood transplantation, and improving outcomes by decreasing infectious complications and preventing relapse. She is head of the NHL committee of the Children’s Oncology Group (COG). She is a member of LRF’s AYA Lymphoma Advisory Committee and was visiting faculty at the 2017 LCRMP Workshop.

Steven M. Horwitz, MD (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center)
Dr. Horwitz is a medical oncologist who focuses on the care of patients with lymphoma. He has clinical expertise in all types of lymphomas and his research is aimed at developing an improved understanding of new therapies for patients with several less-common types of lymphoma, including T-cell lymphomas, cutaneous (skin) lymphomas, Hodgkin lymphoma, and lymphomas in immunosuppressed patients after organ transplant (post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorders or PTLD). He received his medical degree from Case Western Reserve University, completed his residency at the University of Rochester Medical School, and completed his fellowship at Stanford University Medical Center. He received an LRF
Fellowship Award in 1999. Dr. Horwitz has participated in LRF T-Cell seminars, Ed Forums, and several Lymphoma Workshops.

Kerry Savage, MD, MS (British Columbia Cancer Agency)
Dr. Savage is an Assistant Professor at the University of British Columbia and a Medical Oncologist and Clinical Scientist in the Lymphoma Tumor Group at the BC Cancer Agency. Her research interests include all of the lymphoid cancers, with recent publications on PTCL and Hodgkin lymphoma; she is also interested in the training of new clinical fellows. Dr. Savage received her MD from the University of British Columbia and completed a fellowship at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; she also holds an MS in Epidemiology from Harvard School of Public Health. She was a presenter at the 2013 Ed Forum and served as faculty for the 2016 LCRMP Workshop.

H. Guido Wendel, MD (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center)
Dr. Wendel is Member of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center’s Biology and Genetics Department. His research focuses on translational and basic discovery research in the genetic pathogenesis of B cell malignancies and aberrant mRNA translation programs across cancers. Dr. Wendel received his MD from the Technical University of Aachen, Germany where he also completed his residency, before postdoctoral work at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. He has received two LRF FL Pathways Grants, and has served on LRF grant review committees.

About the Lymphoma Research Foundation
The Lymphoma Research Foundation (LRF) is the nation’s largest non-profit organization devoted to funding innovative research and serving the lymphoma community through a comprehensive series of education programs, outreach initiatives and patient services. To date, LRF has awarded nearly $60 million in lymphoma-specific research. For additional information on LRF’s research, education and services, visit lymphoma.org.

Contact:
Jake DiGregorio
508-414-8853
jdigregorio@lymphoma.org