I-SCORE: Investigators' and Site Coordinators' Opportunity for Research Excellence Meeting (Speaker Bios)

Dr. Leslie Ford built clinical cancer prevention research as a scientific field when few people were considering the possibility of prevention, and is recognized as a national and international leader in cancer prevention research. She has a passion for prevention and strong belief that all clinical science must, to the fullest extent possible, derive as a translation of basic science. The European Institute of Oncology recognized her in 2007 for her "outstanding passion and pivotal role in creating, sustaining, and confirming the value of cancer prevention in modern oncology."

The creation and success of the NCI’s Community Clinical Oncology Program is largely due to her efforts and guidance. In 2007, this network of community-based cancer clinics continued to enroll fully one-third of all participants on NCI-sponsored prevention, treatment, and cancer control studies. The CCOPs are a major phase III trials network that reaches across the United States. Their existence contributes to the diffusion and adoption of new therapies more quickly than any other mechanism. The CCOP system has served as a model for clinical research in AIDS and other diseases. The CCOPs are also the focal point for well-designed trials of symptom management in cancer care.

Eva Szabo, MD is the Chief of the Lung and Upper Aerodigestive Cancer Research Group in the Division of the Cancer Prevention. She graduated from Yale University with a B.S. in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, received her M.D. from Duke University, and completed her internal medicine residency at Bellevue-NYU Medical Center. After completing her medical oncology fellowship at the National Cancer Institute, Dr. Szabo led a laboratory effort studying lung cancer biology.
Dr. Szabo joined the NCI Division of Cancer Prevention to oversee lung and head and neck cancer prevention trials. She is the Director of the Cancer Prevention Clinical Trials Network (CP-CTNet), through which she designs and oversees early phase cancer prevention clinical trials funded by the NCI. A board-certified physician in oncology and internal medicine, she continues to see patients with lung cancer and thymic epithelial tumors and participates in multiple phase I and phase II cancer treatment trials in the NCI Intramural Thoracic Malignancies Clinic. She is a Senior Deputy Editor for Cancer Prevention Research, has participated in multiple committees and working groups for ASCO and AACR, has participated in FDA Oncologic Drug Review Committees, recently served as the Chairperson of the US Department of Defense Lung Cancer Research Program Integration Panel, and is a member of the Cancer Research UK Prevention and Population Research Committee.