Society for Translational Oncology Names Executive Director

Online, August 3, 2010 (Newswire.com) - DURHAM, NC (August 3, 2010)  The Board of Directors of the Society for Translational Oncology (STO), after an extensive search, is pleased to name Ms Gabriella (Gabby) Cruze, CCMEP, as its inaugural Executive Director.

"Ms. Cruze is an experienced CME professional and will focus on the growth of STO's physician education programs. Gabby's appointment reflects well on her leadership skills and her mission-oriented accomplishments. The continuing education of physicians entrusted with cancer patient care is a formidable responsibility, especially when the pressures of healthcare reform are accompanied by ever-increasing numbers of cancer patients. Continuing Medical Education (CME) is a core function of STO and that is one of Gabby's strengths," said Dr. Richard Goldberg, Co-Chairman of the STO Board of Directors and Physician-in-Chief, North Carolina Cancer Hospital, UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Ms Cruze reports to Dr. Goldberg and Dr. Patrick Johnston, Co-Chairmen of the Board of Directors. "Gabby will help further STO's mission to broaden its international outreach," said Dr. Johnston, Dean, School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences and Director, Queen's University Belfast.

Ms Cruze will lead efforts to establish productive alliances with other providers of quality healthcare education and will seek the needed funding for evidenced-based educational programs that support STO's mission of translating superb cancer care to patients in the community setting. She will coordinate STO's first annual meeting chaired by Dr. Bruce Chabner, "Collaboration in Cancer Drug Trials: Targets, Biomarkers, and Drugs," November 1-2, in partnership with the Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School. The 2010 winner of the Pinedo Prize will be announced during STO's annual meeting. The $50,000 Pinedo Prize, administered by STO, is annually awarded to a physician who has made seminal scientific advances in the understanding of cancer and who has practiced compassionate care of cancer patients.

"I am thrilled to serve as STO's Executive Director and I look forward to working with its board and the other distinguished members of the oncology community to further its vital educational mission," said Ms Cruze.

Ms Cruze brings over 17 years of experience in planning and implementing live and enduring medical education interventions, most recently at Scienta Healthcare Education in Durham, NC where she was Director of Medical Education responsible for grant procurement and alliance development, as well as management of staff and corporate initiatives.
"We congratulate Gabby on her appointment," said Ann Murphy, PhD, President of AlphaMed Press and principal advisor to the STO since its inception in 2000. "THE ONCOLOGIST is proud to be the official medical journal of the Society, and we look forward to Gabby's leadership, as together we address the educational needs of physicians who care for cancer patients."
Ms Cruze was certified as a CME Professional (CCMEP) in 2008 by the National Commission for certification of CME professionals. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Literature and Communications from Pace University in Pleasantville, New York.
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STO is a non-profit, tax exempt association whose mission is to speed the discovery and translation of important new treatments in the field of cancer medicine to the practice of global oncology. STO brings knowledge and strategies for critical new developments in cancer treatment to the practice of the community oncologist. For more information, visit the website at www.sto-online.org.

Recognized in the field as the premier medical journal for oncology, AlphaMed Press publishes THE ONCOLOGIST, the 15-year-old, peer-reviewed journal devoted to physicians entrusted with the care of cancer patients. THE ONCOLOGIST is the official publication of the Society for Translational Oncology. For more information, visit the website at www.theoncologist.com