The following individuals — respected leaders in their fields — are involved with ITA Partners because, having helped to set the standards, they’re committed to ensuring that all patients, physicians and insurers
have access to high-quality, evidence-based care.
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Chairwoman, Arlene A. Forastiere, MD
Dr. Forastiere is an internationally recognized expert in the treatment of cancers of the head, neck, larynx and esophagus. A professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, she chairs the national committee setting care guidelines for head and neck cancers. Her leadership roles include directing a clinical trials research office for the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group, one of the largest clinical trial research organizations in the United States.
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Joanne L. Blum, MD, PhD, FACP, board member
Dr. Blum is an expert in breast cancer and issues of heredity and cancer. She directs the Hereditary Cancer Risk Program at the Baylor-Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center in Dallas. She is a member of the Breast Cancer Committee for US Oncology Research and a member of a consortium of investigators researching issues in genetic counselling for women at high risk for inherited forms of breast and other cancers. Her research has led to development of novel therapeutics for breast cancer.
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Joseph R. Carver, MD, senior medical advisor
Dr. Carver is a cardiologist with expertise in
cardiotoxicities of cancer treatments. The founding editor of the American Journal of Managed Care, he is senior administrative officer of the Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute at the University of Pennsylvania. He was the cardiology section chief for 10 years at Philadelphia’s Fox Chase Cancer Center. Prior to that, he was a senior corporate medical director at Aetna U.S. Healthcare.
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Gary I. Cohen, MD, FACP, board member
Dr. Cohen is a national leader in community-based cancer clinical trials. He is recognized for his work in hematologic malignancies, stem cell transplants, breast cancer and melanoma. He is medical director of the Cancer Center at Greater Baltimore Medical Center, the only community hospital in Maryland recognized for its cancer services in U.S. News & World Report’s ranking of America’s Best Hospitals.
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Walter J. Curran, Jr., MD, board member
Dr. Curran has been rated the nation's No. 1 radiation oncologist/cancer researcher. He is the Lawrence W. Davis Professor and Chair of Radiation Oncology at the Emory School of Medicine in Atlanta and Chief Medical Officer at the Winship Cancer Institute at Emory. Recognized throughout the world, he chairs the world's largest radiation treatment study group and is a principal investigator of several national clinical protocols for both brain and lung tumors. |
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William Thomas Purcell, III, MD, MBA, board member
Dr. Purcell leads the cancer center at Billings Clinic in Billings, Montana and chairs its department of oncology/hematology. The growing clinic is highly regarded for its multidisciplinary approach that provides comprehensive patient care as well as access to clinical research and trials. He directs the largest tri-state referral center in the northwest — one known for its ability to address complicated cases.
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Witold Rybka, MD, board member
Dr. Rybka is an expert in bone marrow transplantation and transplant immunosuppression. He leads the division of hematology/oncology at the Penn State Cancer Institute and directs the bone marrow transplantation program there. Dr. Rybka also is a board member with the Pennsylvania Cancer Control Consortium.
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Howard Sandler, MD, board member
Dr. Sandler is professor and senior associate chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology and Professor of Urology at the University of Michigan Medical School. He is the principal investigator of a national Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) protocol studying radiotherapy and chemotherapy for prostate cancer and is the principal investigator of a National Institutes of Health-funded clinical trial grant investigating novel technological aspects of prostate cancer irradiation.
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Elin R. Sigurdson, MD, Ph.D., board member
Dr. Sigurdson is an internationally recognized surgeon in colorectal and breast cancers, working at the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia. She is a researcher on the center’s cancer prevention team and a leader in several national clinical trial study groups. Through the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, an alliance of 20 of the world’s top cancer centers, Dr. Sigurdson helps to set care guidelines for cancers in the liver and bile ducts.
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Frederick P. Smith, MD, board member
Dr. Smith is widely recognized for his research and expertise in the areas of breast, colorectal and lung cancers. He is a practicing oncologist in Washington D.C. and a clinical associate professor at Georgetown University. He is active in cancer clinical trials and is a prolific author of articles and abstracts in the field of chemotherapy.
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Michael J. Warhol, MD, senior medical advisor
Dr. Warhol previously served as chairman of pathology and director of laboratories at Pennsylvania Hospital and was a professor at the University of Pennsylvania. He is board certified in anatomic and clinical pathology and cytopathology, and is a past president of the Pennsylvania Association of Pathologists. |
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James A. Whitlock, MD, board member
Dr. Whitlock, a pediatric oncologist, is a national leader in childhood leukemia and the development of new therapies for childhood cancers. He is the Craig-Weaver Professor of Pediatrics and director of the division of pediatric hematology-oncology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Vanderbilt Children's Hospital in Nashville. He also serves as the vice chair for new agents and relapse studies of the Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Committee of the Children’s Oncology Group.
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“America must have better standardization and delivery of cancer care. New, costly therapies emerge constantly, and patients deserve to receive the treatments that are proven to increase their cure rate. I want to help patients, insurers and physicians know which treatments meet national standards, and ITA Partners has the reputation to cross the divide.”
-- Arlene A. Forastiere, MD
Chair, ITA Partners Medical Advisory Board
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