The George Washington University (GW) Cancer Center is pleased to announce that Eduardo M. Sotomayor, M.D., inaugural director of the GW Cancer Center, was elected to serve on the Board of Directors of the Association of American Cancer Institutes (AACI). Sotomayor will start a three-year term on October 23 during the AACI Annual Meeting in Chicago.
“It is a true honor to have been elected as a new member of the AACI’s board of directors," said Sotomayor. “Being part of this prestigious group of cancer leaders gives me the opportunity to represent GW’s cancer efforts on national level, with regard to research, clinical care, prevention, and policy."
The AACI comprises 95 leading cancer research centers in North America - including National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Cancer Centers and academic-based cancer research programs that receive NCI support. The mission of the AACI is to reduce the burden of cancer by enhancing North America’s leading academic centers.
A key element of AACI's mission is to assist centers in keeping pace with the changing landscape in science, technology and health care. AACI does this by gathering and sharing best practices among cancer centers, providing a forum for its members to address common challenges and explore new opportunities, supporting initiatives that engage the membership in developing specific recommendations to the NCI, and educating policy makers about the important role cancer centers play in advancing cancer discovery.
Sotomayor was elected to this prestigious group along with Karen Knudsen, B.S. ’91, Ph.D., who is the third director of the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University, in Philadelphia, an NCI-designated cancer center since 1995; and Norman Sharpless, M.D., who became director of University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center in January 2014.
