Apr 20 2007
Internationally renowned cancer researcher Steven Piantadosi, M.D., Ph.D, has been named director of the Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
Piantadosi will lead the medical center's programs in cancer research, treatment and education, as well as new initiatives that bring together Cedars-Sinai's physicians and researchers from different areas for innovative clinical and scientific collaborations.
Piantadosi is currently professor of oncology at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and director of biostatistics at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins. He is also professor of biostatistics and professor of epidemiology at the university's Bloomberg School of Public Health. Piantadosi earned his medical degree from the University of North Carolina and Ph.D. in Biomathematics from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Piantadosi is one of the world's leading experts in the design of clinical trials for cancer research, and has been a member of several FDA committees. He has also served on external advisory boards for other prominent cancer centers, including the M.D. Anderson Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Yale Comprehensive Cancer Center. He is the author of the textbook Clinical Trials: A Methodologic Perspective, which is widely considered a classic text for designing cancer clinical trials.
“Innovative cancer research with a focus on getting treatments to our patients has been a primary strength at Cedars-Sinai for many years, and Dr. Piantadosi's international leadership in cancer research and patient care is a perfect match for our Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute,” said Thomas M. Priselac, Cedars-Sinai president and CEO.
The author of more than 230 peer-reviewed scientific articles, Piantadosi is currently a senior editor of the journal Clinical Cancer Research , and previously served on the advisory board for the International Journal of Clinical Oncology. He also holds leadership positions in several prominent multi-center cancer clinical trials, including vice-chairman for the National Emphysema Treatment Trial.
“One of the things that attracted me to Cedars-Sinai is its national reputation for high-quality patient care and its strengths in translational research, bringing the latest research from the laboratory to the patient's bedside quickly,” Piantadosi said. “Cedars-Sinai is a unique institution among American academic medical centers, and I am deeply honored and excited by this opportunity.”
“Dr. Piantadosi's appointment as director is an important milestone for the Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute, and signals the start of a new phase of development for our excellent cancer research and patient-care programs,” said Shlomo Melmed, M.D., Cedars-Sinai's senior vice president for academic affairs and chief academic officer. “His international stature and leadership skills will be a huge asset to Cedars-Sinai and cancer patients everywhere.”
About the Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute
The Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center focuses on combining compassionate, high-quality patient-centered care with pioneering cancer research.
The institute recently opened a Gamma Knife Center, which offers a non-invasive alternative for many brain cancer patients for whom traditional brain surgery is not an option.
Among the centers that are part of the Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute are the Cedars-Sinai Outpatient Cancer Center, Women's Cancer Research Institute, Saul & Joyce Brandman Breast Center and Louis Warschaw Prostate Cancer Center.
The first hospital in Southern California and one of only 10 in the state whose nurses have been honored with the prestigious Magnet designation, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is one of the largest nonprofit academic medical centers in the Western United States. For 19 consecutive years, it has been named Los Angeles' most preferred hospital for all health needs in an independent survey of area residents. Cedars-Sinai is internationally renowned for its diagnostic and treatment capabilities and its broad spectrum of programs and services, as well as breakthroughs in biomedical research and superlative medical education. It ranks among the top 10 non-university hospitals in the nation for its research activities and is fully accredited by the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs, Inc. (AAHRPP). Additional information is available at
www.csmc.edu/
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