Our Advisors, Advocates And Experts Help Us Inform & Educate.
HIS Male Breast Cancer Medical Advisory Board
Our Advisory Board is made up of professionals who volunteer their time to review, supply and confirm the information available through HIS Breast Cancer Awareness is accurate and up to date. With the assistance of this board, we are able to provide reliable information to assist our readers both through our web site, print and various publications. We welcome and encourage additional volunteers to join our Advisory Board. Please contact us if you would like to learn more.
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Derek Mann, MS, LCGC
Derek Mann, MS, LCGC is a licensed certified genetic counselor within the Cancer Risk Evaluation Program at the University of Pennsylvania. Derek graduated from the University of Western Ontario in 2018 with a Bachelors in Genetics, and started at the Arcadia University Master of Science in Genetic Counseling program (now the University of Pennsylvania program) that same year. He graduated from the Arcadia University program in May 2020, and started his career as a genetic counselor at the University of Pennsylvania in August 2020. As part of the Cancer Risk Evaluation Program, Derek meets with patients who have a personal or family history of breast, ovarian, prostate, gastrointestinal and other cancers. As their genetic counselor, he assists patients facilitate genetic testing, understand their genetic testing results, communicate concerns or questions, and connect with other healthcare providers as well as advocacy and support groups.
Michelle Shayne, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology/Oncology at the University of Rochester Medical Center where she has been an oncologist specializing in breast cancer since 2004. She received her medical degree at the University of Rochester and she did her internship and residency there as well. She subsequently received her training in Hematology and Oncology at Harvard’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, MA. Presently she serves as the Director of Fellowship Training in Hematology/Oncology as well as the Clinical Co-Director of the Survivorship Program at the Rubin Center for Cancer Survivorship of the University of Rochester.
Gordon F. Schwartz, MD, MBA, FACS (Emeritus)
Undergraduate: Princeton University, AB
Graduate: Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania, MBA
Medical School: Harvard Medical School, MD
Internship: The New York Hospital, Cornell Medical Center
Residency: Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, NYC
Fellowship: Cancer Control, University of Pennsylvania
Director, Jefferson Breast Care Center
Professor of Surgery and Medical Oncology
Jefferson Medical College
Christopher B. Caldwell, MD
Dr. Christopher Caldwell is highly regarded throughout Greater Rochester for his extensive surgical expertise and on-going efforts to bring state-of-the-art treatments and techniques to benefit patients with cancer. He is skilled at performing numerous surgical procedures. As a surgical oncologist, he has a particular interest in treatments related to breast cancer, breast disease, melanoma, and other cancers. He was the first surgeon in the area to introduce sentinel node technology, and is the principal investigator in Rochester for the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP), a cooperative research group. A recent study demonstrated the value of using Tamoxifen to prevent breast cancer. Dr. Caldwell received a B.S.in chemistry and biology in 1978 from Bowdoin College, graduating summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. He earned his medical degree in 1982 from the University of Vermont College of Medicine. While completing his surgical residency at the University of Rochester Medical Center he was awarded an outstanding resident award at Highland Hospital, an excellence-in-teaching award at Strong Memorial Hospital, and a resident research award from the Association for Academic Surgery. He later completed a year-long fellowship in surgery at Cornell University Medical Center, and a surgical oncology fellowship at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Dr. Caldwell is certified by the American Board of Surgery and is a Diplomat of the National Board of Medical Examiners. He is a Clinical Assistant Professor of surgery at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. He is a frequent presenter to patient and community organizations on topics related to breast cancer. Dr. Caldwell also has co-authored research papers, and contributed chapters in medical books related to his specialty area.
Dr. Peter Beitsch, MD
Dr. Beitsch studied at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas graduating third in his class. Following an internship and residency in general surgery at UT Southwestern, Dr. Beitsch completed a National Cancer Institute fellowship at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston as well as, a surgical oncology fellowship at the John Wayne Cancer Institute in Santa Monica, California.
Dr. Beitsch has given numerous national and local presentations and is actively involved in research. He has major articles in peer-reviewed medical journals including the New England Journal of Medicine, The Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, and the American Journal of Surgery.
Board certified in general surgery; Dr. Beitsch is in practice at Medical City Dallas Hospital. He has been local chairman of the Breast Cancer Detection Committee of the American Cancer Society and he has received their "Caring Spirit" Award because of his commitment to breast cancer prevention and treatment.
Dr. Tuya Pal, MD
Dr. Pal is a board-certified clinical geneticist based at the Moffitt Cancer Center since 2002. She is a member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Genetic/Familial High-Risk Assessment: Breast and Ovarian Cancers Panel, which develops national practice guidelines for HBOC (hereditary breast and ovarian cancer), and the NCI PDQ® (Physician Data Query) Cancer Genetics Editorial Board, which develops and maintains PDQ cancer information summaries pertaining to the field of cancer genetics. Her research interests have consistently focused on studies to identify genetic risk factors that place individuals at a higher risk for developing cancer, as well as strategies to reduce this risk, including underserved populations. As an offshoot of her research interests, she has also been involved in several educational and outreach activities pertaining to inherited cancer risk at the patient and practitioner level.