LaSalle D. Leffall, Jr., M.D., F.A.C.S.

Dr. LaSalle Leffall is the Charles R. Drew Professor of Surgery, Howard University College of Medicine in Washington, DC, and Chairman of the Board of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. He is a surgeon, oncologist, medical educator, and leader in professional and civic organizations. In May 2002, he was appointed by President George W. Bush as a member and Chair of the President’s Cancer Panel.

Dr. Leffall was born in Tallahassee, Florida, and grew up in nearby Quincy, Florida. He earned a B.S. degree, summa cum laude, from Florida A&M College and an M.D. degree from Howard University College of Medicine, ranking first in his class. He continued his medical training as an intern at Homer G. Phillips Hospital, St. Louis, Missouri; Assistant Resident in Surgery at Freedmen’s Hospital; Assistant Resident in Surgery at D.C. General Hospital; Chief Resident in Surgery at Freedmen’s Hospital; and Senior Fellow in Cancer Surgery, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Dr. Leffall served as Chief of General Surgery, U.S. Army Hospital, Munich, Germany, before joining the Howard University faculty in 1962. In 1970, he became Chairman of the Department of Surgery, a position he held for 25 years.

His professional life has been devoted to the study of cancer, especially as it relates to African Americans. In 1979, as National President of the American Cancer Society, he launched a program to study increases in cancer incidence and mortality among African Americans and their implications for similar studies in other racial and ethnic minorities. In 1987, an award—the Biennial LaSalle D. Leffall, Jr. Award—was established by the M.D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute and Intercultural Cancer Council, Houston, Texas, in recognition of his contributions to cancer prevention, treatment, and education in minority and economically disadvantaged communities.

A Diplomate of the American Board of Surgery and Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and American College of Gastroenterology, Dr. Leffall has been Visiting Professor and Guest Lecturer at more than 200 medical institutions in the United States and around the world. He has authored or coauthored more than 130 articles and chapters. He served as the principal Civilian Consultant to the General Surgery Service and the Department of Surgery for 25 years (1970-1995) and received the Commander’s Award for Public Service from Walter Reed Army Medical Center in 1995. In 1998, he became Chair of the Steering Committee of the National Dialogue on Cancer. In 2001, he received the first Heritage Award given by the Society of Surgical Oncology to a past president for significant contributions to oncology.

Lance Armstrong

Lance Armstrong was appointed to the President’s Cancer Panel (the Panel) by President George W. Bush in May 2002. Armstrong, a champion cyclist, three-time Olympian, and seven-time winner of the Tour de France, is a cancer survivor and the founder of the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF), an organization dedicated to inspiring and empowering people affected by cancer.

Born in Plano, Texas, Armstrong won the Iron Kids Triathlon at 13 and became a professional triathlete when he was 16. By 1991, Armstrong was the U.S. National Amateur Champion. In 1993, he won the U.S. Pro Championship and became the youngest road racing World Champion in history.

Armstrong was ranked as the number one cyclist in the world in 1996 when he was forced off his bike in excruciating pain. Armstrong was 25 years-old. On October 2, 1996, he was diagnosed with late-stage testicular cancer that had spread to his abdomen, lungs and brain. Armstrong’s prognosis was grim and his doctors believed he had a 40 percent chance of survival. Armstrong was treated at Indian University Medical Center. His treatment included two surgeries – one to remove his cancerous testicle and one to remove two cancerous lesions on his brain – and four rounds of chemotherapy.

Armstrong began riding and training nine months after his diagnosis. Armstrong has since won a record-breaking seven Tours de France from 1999-2005.

Armstrong founded the LAF in Austin, Texas in 1997. The LAF helps people with cancer focus on living and believes that in the battle with cancer, unity is strength, knowledge is power and attitude is everything. From the moment of diagnosis, the LAF provides the practical information and tools people with cancer need to live life on their own terms.

The LAF serves its mission through advocacy, public health and research. Since its inception, the LAF has provided more than $9.6 million grants for cancer survivorship and testicular cancer research, invested more than $1.7 million invested in the development of 5 comprehensive cancer survivorship centers across the country and funded $1.6 million in survivorship education and outreach initiatives with 60+ national and regional community partners including Fertile Hope, CancerCare, the Office of Native Cancer Survivorship, and the National Coalition of Cancer Survivorship. The LAF’s LIVESTRONG™ SurvivorCare Program provides direct support and referrals from social workers and case managers to 500 cancer survivors and caregivers per month. More than 60 million people across the globe wear a yellow LIVESTRONG™ wristband in support of people living with cancer.

In 2005, Armstrong was reappointed to the Panel to serve a second term.

Margaret L. Kripke, Ph.D.

Margaret L. Kripke, Ph.D., is Professor of Immunology and Executive Vice President and Chief Academic Officer of The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Kripke earned her Ph.D. in Immunology at the University of California, Berkeley in 1970. After she completed her postdoctoral work at Ohio State University, her first faculty appointment was as an Assistant Professor in the University of Utah School of Medicine, Department of Pathology. She held progressively higher administrative appointments, reaching the rank of Director of the Cancer Biology Program at the National Cancer Institute’s Frederick Cancer Research Center in Maryland. She assumed the position as Chair, Department of Immunology in Houston in 1983 and became Vice President for Academic Programs in 1997. She was appointed Chief Academic Officer in 1998 and Executive Vice President in 2001. In her current role, Dr. Kripke oversees the allocation of research resources, the direction of research programs, and the infrastructure supporting research. Her office is also responsible for development and oversight of professional educational programs and faculty academic affairs.

Dr. Kripke's achievements as a scientist, administrator, mentor, and advisor make her a positive role model for women scientists. She is an authority in the fields of photoimmunology and skin carcinogenesis. Her research interests center on the immunology of the skin and skin cancer, how skin immune function is modified by exposure to ultraviolet light, and how the immune system influences the development of skin cancers.

Dr. Kripke is a member of many professional organizations and has delivered guest lectures before many international assemblies. She has authored more than 200 scientific publications and served on several-peer review panels determining research funding. In 1984, she received the Lila Gruber Honor Award for Cancer Research, given by the American Academy of Dermatology and in 1999, the Research Award from the American Society for Photobiology. In 1987, she served as Chair of the Environmental Protection Agency Science Advisory Board Subcommittee on Causes and Effects of Stratospheric Ozone Depletion. From 1989 to 1993, she was a member of the Board of Scientific Counselors for the NCI Division of Cancer Biology, Diagnosis, and Centers. In 1993, Dr. Kripke served on a National Cancer Advisory Board Subcommittee to review the National Cancer Program. She served as President of the American Association for Cancer Research from 1993 to 1994 and President of the American Society for Photobiology from 1996 to 1997. She was a member of the Executive Committee of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Science Advisory Board, chaired the EPA Science Advisory Board Research Strategies Advisory Committee, and served on the United Nations Environment Program Subcommittee on Stratospheric Ozone Depletion. In 2003, she was appointed by President Bush as a member of the 3-person President’s Cancer Panel, a group that advises the President on the status and needs of the cancer problem in America, and she received the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center LeMaistre Outstanding Achievement Award in 2003. In 2004, she received The American Society for Photobiology Life Time Achievement Award. In 2006, she was reappointed by President Bush as a member of the 3-person President’s Cancer Panel.

Abby B. Sandler, Ph.D.

Abby B. Sandler, Ph.D., Chief, Institute Review Office (IRO), National Cancer Institute (NCI), became Executive Secretary of the President’s Cancer Panel in January of 2005. From 1999 through 2004, Dr. Sandler served as the Executive Secretary of the NCI Board of Scientific Counselors, Subcommittee 1 – Clinical Sciences and Epidemiology. She became Acting Chief of the NCI IRO in May of 2004 and was named Chief of the IRO in June of 2006.

Before coming to NCI in 1999, Dr. Sandler was a Program Director for the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Research Service in Washington, DC. In this position, she was responsible for overseeing a portfolio of oncology and hematology research. Before that, Dr. Sandler was a scientist for Pro-Virus, Inc. (now called Wellstat Biologics) in Gaithersburg, MD from 1995 until 1998. Her research background is in the areas of molecular tumor virology and gene therapy.

Dr. Sandler received her B.S. in biology from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1984 and her Ph.D. in biology from The Johns Hopkins University in 1990.