Advisory Council
Our advisory council experts acts as a resource for the Cancer: It's Personal program,
providing guidance and input for informed communications about personalized medicine,
biomarkers, and biomarker testing.*
Charles M. Balch, M.D. FACS, PhD (h.c.)
Professor of Surgery, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Deputy Director for Clinical Trials and Outcomes Research
Director, Johns Hopkins Clinical Research Network
Past-President, Society of Surgical Oncology
Dr. Charles M. Balch has led a distinguished career as a clinical and academic surgical
oncologist for the past 35 years, as a leading authority in both melanoma and breast
cancer. Dr. Balch is Professor of Surgery at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and was recently Professor of Surgery, Oncology and Dermatology at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. His leadership roles have included the Society of Surgical Oncology
(as President in 1992), where he currently serves as Editor-in-Chief for the society's
peer-reviewed journal, the Annals of Surgical Oncology, the American Society
of Clinical Oncology (as Executive Vice-President and CEO), the American Board of Surgery (Board of Directors), the Association of Academic Surgeons (President), the Commission on Cancer (Chair, Board of Directors), and the American Joint Committee on Cancer (Executive Committee).
Diane S. Blum, MSW
Chief Executive Officer, Lymphoma Research Foundation
Editor-in-Chief, Cancer.net
Diane S. Blum is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for the Lymphoma Research Foundation
(LRF), the nation's largest non-profit organization devoted exclusively to funding
lymphoma research and providing patients and healthcare professionals with critical
information on the disease. Co-founder of the National Alliance of Breast Cancer
Organizations, Ms. Blum is a founder of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month,
and serves as Editor-in-Chief of cancer.net, the American Society for Clinical Oncology
(ASCO) website for patients and the public. Ms. Blum received a Bachelor's degree
from the University of Rochester and a Master's degree from the School of Social
Welfare at the State University of New York at Buffalo.
Stephen E. Jones, M.D.
Medical Director US Oncology Research, Texas
Stephen E. Jones, M.D., is the Medical Director of US Oncology Research in Houston,
Texas, and is also Co-Chair of its Breast Cancer Research Committee, as well as
emeritus partner in Texas Oncology. Dr. Jones' professional focus for 35 years has
been breast cancer and the development of new treatments for breast cancer. Through
the course of his career, Dr. Jones has been author or coauthor of over 300 peer-reviewed
papers, a contributing editor of five books, and author of over 184 research abstracts.
Dr. Jones' papers have been published in a number of journals, including the Journal
of Clinical Oncology, Journal of the American Medical Association,
The New England Journal of Medicine, and Lancet.
* Disclosure: Advisory Council members have received fair market value compensation from Pfizer for their services in support of this website.