Jay K. Harness, MD, is the Medical Director of the St. Joseph Hospital Comprehensive Breast Center in the city of Orange in Orange County California. Dr. Harness received both his medical degree and training in general surgery at the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor. He then remained on the faculty at the University of Michigan and developed the second U.S. multidisciplinary breast center in 1985. Dr. Harness left the University of Michigan in 1989 and spent two years at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston where he also established a multidisciplinary breast center at St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center. Subsequently, he came to Oakland, California in 1991 to join the University of California-East Bay Department of Surgery where he was a Professor and Chief of Surgical Oncology at Highland General Hospital. The opportunity to direct his third multidisciplinary breast center in Southern California came in the summer of 2003.

Over the years, Dr. Harness has been known for his work in the fields of endocrine and breast surgery as well as the use of ultrasound in surgical practice. He is a member of several national and international surgical societies and associations. He has served as Secretary-Treasurer, and President of the American Association of Endocrine Surgeons and Chair, Board of Directors, of The American Society of Breast Surgeons. He has authored nearly 80 scientific articles and book chapters and has been the lead editor of 2 textbooks.

Dr. Harness lives with his wife, Cherrie Olson-Harness, in Newport Beach, California. His 3 children and 3 grandchildren live in Michigan and the state of Washington. His hobbies include photography, sailing and horseback riding.

top of page

Dr. Shawna Willey is the Director of the Betty Lou Ourisman Breast Health Center at Georgetown University Hospital. A native of Iowa, she received her MD from the University of Iowa and completed her residency in surgery at the George Washington University Medical Center. Before joining Lombardi, Dr. Willey directed the breast program at George Washington University Medical Center. Dr. Willey has been an investigator on several clinical trials. She is interested in international health and education, having lectured in the Breast Cancer Program for Poland, and consulted the King Faisal Specialists Hospital and Research Center in Saudi Arabia. Dr. Willey currently serves on the Board of Directors of The American Society of Breast Surgeons and acts as Chairman of the Education Committee.

top of page

Dr. Eric Whitacre, a board-certified surgeon who practices in Tucson, Arizona, is director of The Breast Center of Southern Arizona. He is also certified in breast ultrasound by the American Society of Breast Surgeons and has served as a lecturer and instructor for many of the Society’s breast ultrasound courses. Dr. Whitacre chaired the Society’s 2006 Annual Meeting Committee, the Committee on Breast Ultrasound Certification and is a member of the American College of Surgeons Coding and Reimbursement Committee. Dr. Whitacre received his medical degree from Cornell University and completed his surgical training and served as chief surgical resident at The New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center.

top of page

Pat W. Whitworth, MD, developed a passion for breast cancer research and education after completing the fellowship in surgical oncology at the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. During residency at the University of Louisville, Dr. Hiram Polk, chair of the department of surgery, inspired his lifelong interest in surgical oncology. He is now Director of the Nashville Breast Center.

A dedicated researcher and educator, Dr. Whitworth holds numerous academic and medical appointments: Associate Clinical Professor of Surgery at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee; longstanding membership on the American College of Surgeons ultrasound faculty; Vice-Chair of the Breast Organ Site Committee for the American College of Surgeons Oncology Group (ACOSOG); and Chairman of the Board of Directors for the American Society of Breast Surgeons.

Dr. Whitworth has compiled a long list of achievements in breast cancer research and education. He was one of 11 surgeons participating in the first national multi-institutional study to validate sentinel lymph node staging for breast cancer. Having authored or co-authored numerous publications, reviews and editorials on sentinel node staging, in April 2002, he directed the ASBS sentinel lymph node staging course in Boston. Most recently he has authored and co-authored a number of publications on state of the art image guided percutaneous breast biopsy with various technologies.

In 2003, Dr. Whitworth’s Nashville Breast Center received the Contributions to Clinical Research Award from the American Society of Clinical Oncology for its work in ASOCOG clinical trials. Finally, as co-chair of the American Society of Breast Surgeons course in Oncoplastic Surgery, he is dedicated to helping the patients of all Society members secure access to state-of-the-art oncoplastic surgical therapies.

top of page

Helen Pass, M.D., is certified by the American Board of Surgery and limits her practice to surgical diseases of the breast.

Peter D. Beitsch, MD FACS is in private practice in Dallas where he is on the clinical faculty of the University Of Texas Southwestern Medical School. His practice is a general surgical oncology practice with an emphasis on breast problems (cancer and benign diseases) and melanoma. He is well published in numerous peer reviewed journals including landmark articles on breast cancer sentinel lymph node biopsy published in the New England Journal of Medicine and American Journal of Surgery. In addition, he is interested in circulating cancer cells and cancer dormancy with articles in Nature Medicine and Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. He is a leading researcher in breast cancer and melanoma and is the highest accruing surgeon in the American College of Surgeons Oncology Group Z11 study. He has placed over 500 pts on trials in the last 6 years. Lastly, he is co-Principle Investigator on the nationwide Mammosite Registry for Accelerated Partial Breast Irradiation.

Dr. Edward J. Donahue is a native of Philadelphia, PA. After graduating from Villanova University he spent five years on active duty in the U.S. Navy. He was a Navigator on a guided missile destroyer serving in the Viet Nam war. After completing military service he attended Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia.

He spent his five year surgical residency at Rush Presbyterian St Luke’s Medical Center in Chicago. During his residency he also earned a Master of Science Degree in Surgery at the University of Illinois, Chicago.

Dr. Donahue has spent his surgical career in private practice in Phoenix, Arizona. His surgical practice focuses on Breast and Thyroid surgery. He serves as the Chief of Surgery at St Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center, as well as a Clinical Associate Professor of Surgery at the University of Arizona School of Medicine.

Dr. Donahue is the Co-Founder and Director of a non-profit multi-disciplinary Breast Cancer Center at St Joseph’s Hospital that provides cancer care to undocumented residents in the Phoenix area.

top of page

Kambiz Dowlatshahi, MD, FACS

Kambiz Dowlatshahi, MD is Professor of Surgery at Rush University, Chicago, Illinois. He was born in Iran, received his medical training at St. Mary's Hospital Medical School, University of London, and then immigrated to the United States. Dr. Dowlat(shahi) introduced the first stereotactic unit for needle biopsy of mammographically detected breast lesions in the United States; validating its equivalency to open biopsy at University of Chicago and Rush. At Rush University, Dr. Dowlat began to test the concept of interstitial laser therapy, first in animal tumors, then in patients with liver tumors, and finally in mammographically detected breast cancers. In May 2007, the technique was approved by FDA for treatment of benign breast tumors. Dr. Dowlat was a member of the NCI directed group investigating the value of sentinel node in breast cancer using radio-isotope technique. In related research, he showed the significance of complete nodal sectioning to detect occult metastases. In 2004 Dr. Dowlat reported on the experience of three institutions on partial breast irradiation. He is currently spearheading a thermal therapy technique as a sole method of treating the post-lumpectomy cavity in breast cancer.

top of page

Alison L. Laidley, MD practices surgical oncology of the breast in Dallas, TX. She completed her medical school at the University of Alberta, Canada in 1984, a general surgery residency at the University of Western Ontario, Canada in 1992. She moved to Dallas in 1993 and has been in private practice devoted to the care of the breast.

Dr. Laidley is chairman of the Membership Committee of The American Society of Breast Surgeons, a clinical instructor for the American College of Surgeons in breast ultrasound and is certified in breast ultrasound by The American Society of Breast Surgeons. Dr. Laidley participates in breast cancer clinical research through NSABP trials, American College of Surgeons Clinical Oncology Group and The American Society of Breast Surgeons. She is devoted to the care of her patients and sponsors her annual award winning team “Laidley’s Ladies” for the Susan G. Komen Foundation Dallas Race for the Cure.

top of page

Dr. Silverstein is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University and the Albany Medical College. Following his surgical residency at the Boston City Hospital, he completed a three-year fellowship in surgical oncology and served as Assistant Professor of Surgery and Oncology at UCLA School of Medicine, as well as Senior Researcher at the UCLA School of Public Health. Dr. Silverstein founded The Breast Center in Van Nuys, California in 1979 and served as its Medical Director and Senior Surgical Oncologist until 1998. The Van Nuys Breast Center was the first free-standing breast center in the United States and it served as a model for breast center development and operation, having been visited by physicians from all over the United States and from more than 20 foreign countries. Currently, Dr. Silverstein is Professor of Surgery with Tenure at The Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California, Director of the Harold E. and Henrietta C. Lee Breast Center at the USC/Norris Cancer Center, Chief of the Breast Service at the Los Angeles County USC Medical Center, Director of the Breast Fellowship Program, and holds the Henrietta C. Lee Chair in Breast Cancer Research.

Dr. Silverstein is the author of more than 250 scientific papers, book chapters and abstracts. In addition, he has written four books dealing with breast cancer, including the first major textbook on ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) of the breast. He developed the Van Nuys Classification for Ductal Carcinoma in Situ of the Breast as well as the USC Van Nuys Prognostic Index. Both of these tools are used all over the world for DCIS prognosis and treatment. Dr. Silverstein has spoken throughout the world on breast cancer related subjects and has received numerous honors including the Impact Award for Lifetime Achievement in Breast Cancer from the National Consortium of Breast Centers, the Miami Breast Cancer Conference Lifetime Achievement Award, the Lifetime Achievement Award form the Lynne Cohen Foundation, and a lifetime achievement award from the Mexican Senologic Society. Dr. Silverstein is a past-president of The American Society of Breast Disease and is currently listed in “Best Doctors in America”.

Dr. Silverstein served for two years in the United States Army as a major in the medical corps. He is currently on the staffs of the Norris Cancer Hospital, USC/University Hospital, and the LAC-USC Medical Center.

top of page

Victor J. Zannis, MD was born in Phoenix, Arizona. Dr. Zannis attended Stanford University and UCLA Medical School. After residency training in Phoenix, he became board certified in General Surgery through the American Board of Surgery and is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He has performed breast surgery for over 20 years and now sub specializes full-time in breast care. He is a member of The American Society of Breast Surgeons, and has recently been published in the American Journal of Surgery on the changing surgical technique in breast care.

top of page