The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center will co-present the Jill Bennett Academic Community Lecture "Closing the Cancer Divide: The Global Challenge" Wednesday, June 19, noon-1 p.m. in Pelton Auditorium.
This lectureship pays tribute to Jill Bennett, who died at age 48 from breast cancer. Its purpose is to bring distinguished scholars to Seattle in the field of breast cancer care, research and training. The inaugural lecture will take place at University of Washington's Kane Hall Wednesday evening (June 19), but this preview is open to the academic cancer community comprised of faculty and staff of Fred Hutch, UW Medicine and the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance.
Clinical Research Division's Dr. Julie Gralow, also a Jill Bennett endowed professor of medical oncology at UW Medicine, will host the preview, which will feature:
- HRH Princess Dina Mired of Jordan
As the mother of a cancer survivor, Princess Dina Mired knows firsthand the challenges cancer brings to patients and their families. She is one of Jordan's leading advocates for early detection and screening of breast cancer.
In her capacity as director general for the King Hussein Cancer Foundation (KHCF) since 2002, Mired:
- Founded and developed the foundation's Fundraising and Development Department, making it the largest source of nonprofit funds dedicated to fighting cancer in Jordan
- Restructured and expanded KHCF's Cancer Care Program, which has become Jordan's the largest nonprofit of cancer coverage
Mired also holds a number of high-profile international positions, including honorary co-president of Harvard University Global Task Force for Expanded Access to Cancer Control and Care in the Developing World, member of the Presidential Advisory Panel of the Union for International Cancer Control, and member of the Clinton Global Initiative.
- Dr. Julio Frenk is the dean of the faculty at the Harvard School of Public Health and the T&G Angelopoulos professor of Public Health and International Development, a joint appointment with the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Frenk served as the minister of health of Mexico from 2000 to 2006, where he introduced universal health coverage. He was also the founding director of the National Institute of Public Health of Mexico and has held leadership positions at the Mexican Health Foundation, the World Health Organization, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Carso Health Institute. Frenk is the author of numerous publications, including 33 books; two are best-selling novels for children that explain functions of the human body.
- Dr. Felicia Knaul is associate professor at Harvard Medical School and director of the Harvard Global Equity Initiative, where she serves as co-founder and co-director of the Global Task Force on Expanded Access to Cancer Care and Control in Developing Countries. She is also senior economist at the Mexican Health Foundation.
Knaul is a breast cancer survivor and the founder of the Mexican nonprofit organization, Cáncer de Mama: Tómatelo a Pecho, to promote research, advocacy, awareness and early detection initiatives for breast cancer in Latin America. In October of 2009 she released a book by the same name recounting her personal experiences. In 2012 Harvard University Press published an expanded version in English titled "Beauty Without the Breast." Knaul has published several academic articles on breast cancer in low- and middle-income countries, and lectures extensively on the topic as both a patient advocate and health systems researcher.
- Dr. Howard Frumkin, dean and professor of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences at the University of Washington School of Public Health, will also speak briefly at the event. Frumkin is an internist, environmental and occupational medicine specialist, and an epidemiologist, who has worked in academia and public service. Prior to coming to the UW, Frumkin spent five years in leadership roles at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
About Jill Bennett
Jill Bennett survived 13 years after her breast cancer diagnosis at age 35. As an advocate for breast cancer research, she served on the board of directors of Cancer Lifeline and founded and directed Northwest Cancer Partners, a nonprofit whose mission was to help accelerate promising discoveries into clinical trials. She also initiated the Mary Gates Lectures Series, an annual event that ended after Bennett's death.
UW Medicine, the Global Task Force on Expanded Access to Cancer Care and Control in Developing Countries, and Seattle Cancer Care Alliance are co-presenters of the Jill Bennett Academic Community Lecture.
Please RSVP to attend
For more information about the lecture and to RSVP, email Katie Fitzmaurice at kfitzmau@seattlecca.org.
