Obama nominates two California doctors to cancer advisory board

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Two California doctors, including one from Los Angeles, have been nominated to President Obama’s National Cancer Advisory Board, a committee that advises the U.S. National Cancer Institute.

Dr. Beth Y. Karlan, director of the Women’s Cancer Program at the Cedars-Sinai Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute in Los Angeles, and UC San Francisco’s Dr. Mack Roach III were among the six appointees, the White House announced last week.

The board counsels high-ranking officials, reviews applications for grants and makes other recommendations related to cancer and the National Cancer Institute, according to the board’s charter. Members are appointed for six-year terms.

In a statement released by Cedars-Sinai, one of Karlan’s colleagues called her “a leader in the charge to defeat women’s cancers.”

“This is an exciting opportunity that comes at a challenging time for medicine and science,” Karlan said. “I’m looking forward to lending my insight and energy to helping carve the best path forward.”

Roach has been a professor of radiation oncology and urology at UC San Francisco since 2000, according to a statement from the university.

‘I am truly honored to be asked to serve and will do my best to make a difference,’ Roach said.

Of the six appointees President Obama said: “I am grateful these accomplished men and women have agreed to join this Administration, and I’m confident they will serve ably in these important roles. I look forward to working with them in the coming months and years.”

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