November 10, 2004

Moores UCSD Cancer Center Recruits
Deputy Director For Clinical Oncology

By Nancy Stringer

A respected clinical oncologist who specializes in breast cancer has been recruited to a key position at the Rebecca and John Moores UCSD Cancer Center. Joanne (pronounced Joan) Mortimer, M.D., is the new Deputy Director for Clinical Oncology. Her faculty appointment at UCSD School of Medicine is pending.

As Deputy Director, she directs the Center’s oncology service line operations, coordinates the clinical care of patients and oversees clinical research operations.

“Joanne is an outstanding physician and we’re delighted that she has joined our Cancer Center family,” said Cancer Center Director Dennis Carson, M.D. “Her considerable clinical and administrative talents and experience make her ideally suited to this leadership position.”

Mortimer has been listed among America’s best doctors in several national publications. She was honored as teacher of the year at University of Washington in Seattle (1983-89) and Washington University in St. Louis (1990-91), where she also received a leadership award for outstanding clinical care in 2000.

She received her medical training at Loyola University in Illinois, and served as an intern and resident in medicine at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, where she remained for fellowship training in medical oncology. She spent the next seven years in Seattle as an instructor and assistant professor in oncology at the University of Washington, and as a research associate at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. In 1989 she joined the faculty of Washington University in St. Louis as associate professor of medicine in oncology and clinical director. In that capacity she served as director of the fellowship program in hematology/oncology. She left Washington University as a full professor and moved to Eastern Virginia Medical School as professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Medical Oncology and Hematology, and as medical director of the Sentara Cancer Institute.

Mortimer’s research interests focus on hormone-related quality-of-life issues in breast cancer survivors, and she will be developing clinical trials in that area. She has also studied the use of PET imaging to determine efficacy of hormonal therapy and toxicity of that therapy. She has served on key committees of a national collaborative clinical trials group, has held numerous leadership posts on the American Society for Clinical Oncology’s education and scientific committees, and has published over 60 papers on the clinical care of cancer patients.

Now celebrating its 25th anniversary, the Rebecca and John Moores UCSD Cancer Center is one of just 38 centers in the United States to hold a National Cancer Institute (NCI) designation as a Comprehensive Cancer Center. As such, it ranks among the top centers in the nation conducting basic and clinical cancer research, providing advanced patient care and serving the community through outreach and education programs.

Media Contact: Nancy Stringer (619) 543-6163