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Elizabeth A. Mittendorf, MD, PhD, Awarded a $748K Grant from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center

Elizabeth A. Mittendorf, MD, PhD, has been awarded a $748K grant from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center for the study, “Leveraging digital pathology to identify and cure high risk breast cancer.”

We have reached the limits of how standard pathologic evaluation of breast biopsy or surgical specimens can inform the care of breast cancer patients. While routine hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stained slides, as well as additional staining to assess expression of the estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and HER2 are used to define the subtype of breast cancer a patient has and dictates their initial therapy, it is unable to predict who is going to respond to that treatment or provide significant prognostic information. Therefore, there is a critical unmet need to develop novel technologies that will enable improved prediction and prognostication in order to inform personalized treatment recommendations for breast cancer patients. Digital pathology has the potential to address that need, revolutionizing the way that breast cancer patients are cared for. Specifically, by employing machine learning to the evaluation of pathologic specimens, we anticipate more rapid, accurate and refined diagnoses that will inform treatment recommendations that are personalized to the individual patient.

Elizabeth A. Mittendorf, MD, PhD
Rob and Karen Hale Distinguished Chair in Surgical Oncology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Vice Chair for Research, Department of Surgery, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Director of Surgical Research, Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center (DF/BWCC) Breast Program
Director, Breast Immuno-Oncology Program, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Co­-Director, Breast Cancer Clinical Research Program, Breast Oncology Program, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Professor of Surgery, Harvard Medical School

Dr. Mittendorf is a graduate of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, where she also completed a residency in general surgery.  After completing her residency, she served on active duty in the United States military before completing a fellowship in surgical oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Mittendorf also holds a PhD in immunology from the University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Houston.

Prior to joining Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Dr. Mittendorf was a professor in the Department of Breast Surgical Oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Mittendorf is board certified by the America Board of Surgery. She maintains a busy clinical practice and oversees a portfolio of clinical trials, as well as a basic laboratory effort.

She is principal investigator on a number of clinical protocols, including the phase III PRESENT (Prevention of Recurrence in Early-Stage, Node-Positive Breast Cancer with Low to Intermediate HER2 Expression with NeuVax Treatment) study, and a multicenter phase II trial investigating the efficacy of a CD8+ T cell eliciting vaccine in combination with trastuzumab, which is based on preclinical data generated in her laboratory and follows a phase I trial she conducted demonstrating the combination to be safe. This trial is supported by a Breakthrough Award from the Department of Defense (DoD).

Dr. Mittendorf is also the principal investigator on a multi-center trial supported by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) evaluating the impact of vaccination in patients with ductal carcinoma in situ, a trial evaluating the impact of preoperative radiation therapy on the immune response in breast tumors, as well as two investigator initiated studies evaluating immune checkpoint blockade administered to breast cancer patients in the presurgical setting.

Her laboratory work is focused on identifying novel tumor antigens and investigating aspects of the tumor microenvironment that impact the response to immunotherapy. Specifically, she is investigating mutations in the ESR1 gene as targets for vaccination, as well as the impact of standard therapies on the immune microenvironment with the goal of informing rational clinical trials evaluating the addition of immunotherapy to treatment regimens for breast cancer patients. This work is supported by the Komen for the Cure Foundation and the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy.

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Welcoming New Faculty – Timothy Clinton, MD, MPH

Please join us in welcoming Timothy Clinton, MD, MPH, as a new faculty member in the Department of Surgery.

Timothy Clinton, MD, MPH
Associate Surgeon, Division of Urology

Dr. Clinton received a Bachelor of Arts in cell and molecular biology and music from Tulane University and his medical degree from the University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio. He also holds a Master of Public Health from the University of Texas School of Public Health. Dr. Clinton completed a residency in urology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Following residency, he was a urologic oncology fellow at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

Before coming to the Brigham, Dr. Clinton was a clinical instructor of urologic oncology in the Department of Surgery at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

Dr. Clinton’s clinical interests are in the treatment of all genitourinary malignancies, with a focus on urothelial carcinoma and testicular cancer, utilizing both open and robotic approaches. His research interests are defining the genomic determinants of urothelial carcinoma and germ cell tumors.

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Welcoming New Faculty – George Tolis, Jr., MD

Please join us in welcoming George Tolis, Jr., MD, as a new faculty member in the Department of Surgery.

George Tolis, Jr., MD
Associate Surgeon, Division of Thoracic and Cardiac Surgery
Section Chief, Coronary Surgery and General Cardiac Surgery
Network Director, Cardiac Surgery
Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School

Dr. Tolis received a Bachelor of Science in molecular biophysics and biochemistry from Yale College and a Master of Science in the same focus from Yale University. He received his medical degree from Harvard Medical School. He completed general surgery training at Massachusetts General Hospital, a fellowship in cardiothoracic surgery at the Yale/New Haven Hospital and a fellowship in aortic surgery at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. He is board certified in general and thoracic surgery.

Dr. Tolis is a member of various professional organizations, including the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS), the American College of Surgeons (ACS), the European Association of Cardiothoracic Surgery (EACTS) and the American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS).

Before coming to the Brigham, Dr. Tolis was a visiting surgeon and the quality director for the Division of Cardiac Surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital. He has worked as a surgeon in other medical institutions, including Lenox Hill Hospital and St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center, where he served as the chief of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery. At the Brigham, Dr. Tolis is being recruited as the section chief for Coronary Surgery and General Cardiac Surgery, as well as the network director for Cardiac Surgery. In this role, he will work on maintaining and enhancing the cardiac surgery operations at Cape Cod Hospital, as well as developing new relationships with regional institutions under the direction of Dr. Raphael Bueno, the chief of Thoracic and Cardiac Surgery.

Dr. Tolis’ clinical interests include liberal use of multiple arterial grafting  in coronary bypass surgery, use of extensive coronary endarterectomy to provide operative solutions for patients who have been previously deemed inoperable, surgery for native and prosthetic valve bacterial endocarditis and open surgery to address failure of percutaneous devices. His research interests include investigation of factors affecting quality reporting of various cardiac surgical programs, which are not captured through standard risk adjustment models, and identification of optimal ways to enhance the operative surgical education of cardiothoracic surgery trainees.