Robert F. Ozols, M.D., Ph.D., an internationally recognized ovarian
cancer researcher, will be the featured speaker at the Fourth Annual Carol
Bell Memorial Lectureship on Tuesday, Oct. 23, at the UNMC Eppley Cancer
Center.
Dr. Ozols serves as senior vice president in the medical science division
at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia. He is internationally recognized
for his research to improve the treatment of ovarian cancer with more effective
approaches to chemotherapy. Specifically, Dr. Ozols research focuses on
how ovarian cancer cells develop resistance to anti-cancer drugs, as well
as developing strategies for overcoming drug resistance.
“We are very honored to have Dr. Ozols present the fourth annual Carol
Bell Lecture, said Ken Cowan, M.D., Ph.D., director of the UNMC Eppley
Cancer Center. He is recognized as one of the leading ovarian cancer experts
around the globe and has developed new clinical approaches for treating
women with ovarian cancer. His research is both innovative and fundamental
in the battle against ovarian cancer.
Dr. Ozols has published nearly 200 laboratory and clinical research
papers in peer-reviewed journals, as well as more than 100 book chapters,
symposia and editorials. He is on the board of directors for the American
Society of Clinical Oncology and the Association of American Cancer Institutes.
He is the principal investigator for the Fox Chase Cancer Center SPORE
(Specialized Program of Research Excellence) Grant in Ovarian Cancer. He
is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and the Subspecialty
of Medical Oncology.
Ovarian cancer is the fifth most common cancer among women and it is
predicted that approximately 23,100 new cases will be diagnosed in 2001.
About 14,000 women will die of this disease this year alone. If the cancer
is found and treated before it has spread outside the ovary, 95 percent
of women will survive at least 5 years, but only 25 percent of ovarian
cancers are found at this early stage.
The lectureship was initiated with gifts to the University of Nebraska
Foundation honoring Carol Bell, who died of cancer in August 1997. She
was the wife of Bob Bell, former president of the Greater Omaha Chamber
of Commerce.
This years lecture will be held at noon at the Wittson Hall Amphitheater
on the UNMC campus. That lecture is intended for the scientific community.
Dr. Ozols also will speak at a dinner at the Joslyn Museum the evening
prior to the lecture. The dinner will be attended by about 200 community
leaders and will be hosted by Michael and Gail Yanney, M.D. Michael Yanney
is chief executive officer of America First Companies in Omaha. Dr. Gail
Yanney is the immediate past president of the UNMC College of Medicine
Alumni Association. The dinner will showcase the outstanding cancer research
and treatment programs at the UNMC Eppley Cancer Center.
We really appreciate the support of Carol Bells friends who helped
create this lectureship, Dr. Cowan said. This group has rallied so much
community support for our cancer program.
Beginning this year, the Carol Bell Lectureship will become a bi-annual
event. It will bring a nationally recognized cancer authority to UNMC with
each lecture focusing on a different area of cancer and cancer research.
Past lecturers include Donald Coffey, Ph.D., a Johns Hopkins University
prostate cancer expert and past president of the American Association for
Cancer Research; Lawrence Einhorn, M.D., a renowned testicular cancer expert
who successfully treated world-champion cyclist Lance Armstrong; and Bruce
Chabner, M.D., director of the Clinical Cancer Center at Massachusetts
General Hospital, the teaching hospital for Harvard Medical School.
The Carol Bell Lectureship will rotate each year with the Ambassador
of Hope Award as a premier fund-raising event for the UNMC Eppley Cancer
Center. The Ambassador of Hope Award recognizes individuals who have made
a significant contribution in the fight against cancer through their research
or patient care activities or by raising the publics awareness of cancer.
That award has been presented to retired Army Gen. H. Norman Schwartzkopf,
a prostate cancer survivor, and ABC news veteran Sam Donaldson, a melanoma
cancer survivor.