Join us for the Ginny L. Clements Breast Cancer Research Institute Symposium April 8

Lisa Newman, MD, a surgical breast oncologist and the chief of the section of breast surgery at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, is the keynote speaker for the upcoming Ginny L. Clements Breast Cancer Research Institute Symposium, on April 8, at the U of A Health Sciences Innovation Building.

“Dr. Newman is a prominent authority on triple negative breast cancer, especially as it relates to ethnicity-related variation in breast cancer risk and treatment,” said Juanita Merchant, MD, PhD, interim director of the U of A Cancer Center and associate director of the center's basic sciences, chief of the U of A College of Medicine Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, and Regents Professor of medicine in the U of A College of Medicine. “We are thrilled to have her at the symposium and look forward to learning more from her about the connection between breast cancer and genetics.”

Newman also leads the multidisciplinary breast oncology programs at New York-Presbyterian David H. Koch Center. She is also the founding medical director for the International Center for the Study of Breast Cancer Subtypes at Cornell University. This October, she appeared on ABC News to discuss breast cancer prevention, early cancer screenings and diagnosis discrepancies.
In her keynote address, Newman will discuss the correlation between African ancestry and triple negative breast cancer. Her talk will center on oncologic anthropology, which describes the influence of genetic ancestry and population migration patterns in the context of environment and social determinants of health on cancer risk. 

“Breast cancer mortality rates are 40% higher for African American compared to white American women, and we need to address socioeconomic barriers to cancer health equity as well as tumor biology and genetics in our efforts to eliminate these disparities,” Newman said. “For breast cancer, our research team has characterized aspects of western sub-Saharan African ancestry as being associated with risk of triple negative breast cancer.” 

At Cornell University’s International Center for the Study of Breast Cancer Subtypes, researchers have been compiling a robust tissue biobank suitable for tumor tissue and germline genetic cancer research under Newman’s direction. They also conduct breast cancer educational exchange programs that have increased services in Africa.

“Our international program has been an exciting and very rewarding breast cancer outreach and research program over the past 20 years,” Newman said.
About the symposium

The symposium and reception are open to the public and will feature discussions on new breast cancer research, innovative clinical trials and tested prevention methods. The reception will feature a poster presentation where U of A postdoctoral and graduate students will discuss their research projects.

The symposium will also feature Komal Jhaveri, MD, FACP, a breast oncologist and early drug development specialist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, who will discuss her work on metastatic breast cancer.

Other topics on the symposium agenda include the role of dietary botanicals and breast cancer and advancements in breast imaging technology and procedures radiologists use to discover breast abnormalities.

About the Ginny L. Clements Breast Cancer Research Institute

In 2020, Ginny L. Clements gave $8.5 million to the Cancer Center to establish the breast cancer research institute in celebration of 65 years breast cancer free. The gift is funding a new endowed director’s chair, two professorships, startup packages for those professors, and lab renovation.

Clements said that it was important to her to establish an annual symposium to assist researchers in exploring emerging ideas and discoveries that are leading the way to tomorrow’s treatments.
For more information or to register, visit the symposium event page.