Garcia-Gonzalez, Hagopian will present global oncology lectures March 25

The MAX Foundation's Pat Garcia-Gonzalez and University of Washington's Dr. Amy Hagopian will speak at the next Global Oncology Lecture Series Monday, March 25, noon-1 p.m. in the Arnold Building, M1-A303.

Garcia-Gonzalez, executive director of The MAX Foundation, will present "Access to Treatment and Support for Cancer in Low and Middle Income Countries: A Patient Perspective Through Art."

Hagopian, assistant professor in Global Health and adjunct professor of Health Services in University of Washington's School of Public Health, will present "Tracking Leukemia Rates in Basrah, Iraq: A Partnership Between Universities Whose Countries Are at War."

About the Speakers

Pat Garcia-Gonzalez is committed to improving the lives of blood-cancer survivors. A native of Argentina, Garcia-Gonzalez has a master's from the University of Washington and a technical degree in nursing. She co-founded The MAX Foundation in 1997 in honor of her stepson Maximiliano Rivarola, who lost his three-year battle with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) 22 years ago this March at age 17.

Under Garcia-Gonzalez direction since 2005, The MAX Foundation is improving the lives of people with blood and rare cancer worldwide. The foundation facilitates access to treatment, supports patients, partners with healthcare providers and works to build advocacy efforts. It provides free services to more than 23,000 patients in more than 100 countries annually, and has successfully started and supported local patient organizations in 30 countries.

In 2008 United States Senator, Patty Murray awarded Garcia-Gonzalez the distinguished honor of the Golden Tennis Shoe Award for her service and dedication to her community. Currently, Garcia-Gonzalez is a member of the CML Advocates Network steering committee and the advisory board for the International CML Foundation.

Amy Hagopian teaches community development, evaluation, policy and international health at the UW. She also conducts research on international health workforce issues, especially the area of health worker migration from low-income countries to wealthy countries. Hagopian serves on the Department of Global Health's MPH curriculum and admissions committees, and on the admissions committee of the Community Oriented Public Health Practice. She is also the organizer of the University of Basrah sister university project.

Before entering the global-health arena, Hagopian worked for 15 years in the area of rural health and community development, traveling the five-state region served by the UW School of Medicine.

Hagopian is active in the American Public Health Association and in her local community, where she serves as a board member of the Garfield High School PTSA and College Access Now, and works to eliminate military recruitment in high schools.

General lecture series information

The Global Oncology Lectures Series is a joint presentation by the Hutchinson Center and UW. Its purpose is to highlight different global oncology projects (studies, advocacy initiatives, partnerships, etc.) in our region, both past and present, and to educate, raise awareness and share experiences within the field of global oncology. Registration is not required.

All lectures take place the fourth Monday of each month. For more information, please contact Olivia Dooley at odooley@uw.edu or (206) 288-7291.