To the AHNS Cutaneous Section members,
The July AHNS meeting marks the term end for the current Cutaneous Section officers. For the next two-year term beginning 2021, we have the following slate of candidates:
Running for Section Chair – Steven Wang, MD
Running for Vice Chair – Kevin Emerick, MD & Thomas J. Ow, MD
Please review the statements from the candidates below and cast your vote at the bottom of this page.
Voting will close on Friday, May 14th at 5:00pm Eastern. Thank you for your participation!
For Section Chair
Steven J. Wang, MD |
| I am a head and neck oncologic surgeon at the University of Arizona, Tucson where I also serve as Chair, Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery. Our tertiary head and neck surgery practice in Southern Arizona includes a high volume of melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer patients. I have had a clinical interest and maintained a busy practice in the care of cutaneous malignancies of the head and neck for more than 15 years. I collaborate with other clinicians and scientists in the Cutaneous Oncology Program at the University of Arizona Cancer Center, the only Arizona-based NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center.
The mission of the AHNS Cutaneous Cancer Section is to advance the research, education and evidence-based, quality care for cutaneous head and neck cancer patients. It has been rewarding for me to have served as the inaugural Vice-Chair of the AHNS Cutaneous Cancer Section and to have participated in the establishment of the organizational structure of the section and the incredible number of mission-related activities already done or underway. It is my intent as Cutaneous Cancer Section Chair to build on this strong foundation. Specifically, here are a few of the goals that I would like to accomplish. 1) Increase member participation in the Cutaneous Cancer section, with a focus on younger AHNS fellows. 2) Cultivate new international network opportunities, especially outreach to head and neck surgeon colleagues in countries with a high prevalence of cutaneous malignancies. 3) Offer a robust line up of skin cancer educational programs across a variety of platforms, including review manuscripts, social media, expert panels in both traditional and ‘virtual’ meeting formats, blogs, etc. 4) Promote collaborative multi-institutional clinical research studies such as a sentinel node biopsy trial for cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma. I believe the AHNS Cutaneous Cancer Section has a bright and exciting future, and I look forward to working with all of you. |
For Section Vice-Chair
Kevin S. Emerick, MD |
Thomas J. Ow, MD, MS, FACS |
| Head and Neck surgeons are uniquely skilled to provide the best of care for patients with cutaneous malignancies. All the diseases we treat require a surgical oncologist perspective and an understanding of the roles for surgery, radiation, and systemic treatments for curing cancers. Advanced and high-risk skin cancers are no different. The importance of this understanding is greater now more than ever as the roles of surgery, radiation and systemic treatments are rapidly evolving. This has become the focus for my career. I am part of the MGH Melanoma Group, but we have also built a Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer Program at MGH and MEEI. This includes a dedicated skin cancer multidisciplinary clinic, basic science research lab, registry and translational research lab, as well as multiple educational endeavors. These diseases need surgeon leaders to help guide the path forward through these treatment paradigm shifts. I believe our AHNS Cutaneous Cancer Section is a group of surgeons that can help shape this. As a leader of this section I would focus on three goals for the next few years. First, I would aim to further our research collaborations to help our group develop and acquire data to better understand these cancers and refine treatments. This would also include a group of investigators leading prospective surgically focused studies. Secondly, as data, literature, and practice patterns are rapidly changing we would build additional forums to help keep clinicians up to date and informed. The last initiative would be encouraging and helping to build dedicated multidisciplinary skin cancer teams. It has been a privilege to be a part of the leadership team thus far and I am excited for the future of the Cutaneous Cancer Section. |
I am a head and neck surgeon and investigator at Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, serving the diverse patient-population in the Bronx, New York. My expertise in head and neck cutaneous malignancies was developed while I trained as a head and neck surgical oncology fellow at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in 2011. The management of head and neck cutaneous malignancies has been a focus of my practice for the last 10 years. I have authored several publications focused on malignant melanoma and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma. I am an active member of the Cutaneous Cancer Section of the AHNS, contributing as the Chair of the section’s Education Committee for the last 3 years. In this role I have spearheaded the development of the Cutaneous Section’s website and coordinated the section’s involvement in several robust educational activities directed toward members and trainees, including the Virtual Tumor Board, and the AHNS Journal Club. If elected as Vice Chair for the Cutaneous Cancer Section, I will serve to promote the mission and goals of the society, the section, and acting section Chair. Specifically, I will focus on increasing and endorsing section activities that: (1) promote head and neck surgeons as critical experts that are central to the care of head and neck cutaneous malignancies, (2) update and educate AHNS members to promote evidence-based and high-quality care for patients with cutaneous malignancies (3) increase opportunities for engagement of all AHNS Cutaneous Cancer Section members in section activities and initiatives.
|