Laura Esserman, MD, MBA
Professor of Surgery & Radiology/Director
University of California, San Francisco/UCSF Carol Franc Buck Breast Cancer Center
Agenda Sessions:
Sep 15,
11:00 AM
Keynote: Turning Clinical Environments into Learning Health Systems to Bridge the Gap Between Care and Research
Laura Esserman, MD, MBA is the director of the UCSF Breast Care Center, and is recognized as a
thought leader in cancer screening and over-diagnosis, as well as innovative clinical trial design. She led
the creation of the University of California-wide Athena Breast Health Network, a learning system
designed to integrate clinical care and research as it follows 150,000 women from screening through
treatment and outcomes. The Athena Network launched the PCORI-funded WISDOM Study, which tests
a personalized approach to breast cancer screening in 100,000 women. She is also a leader of the
innovative I-SPY TRIAL model, designed to accelerate the identification and approval of effective new
agents for women with high risk breast cancers.