Seno

Seno Medical’s Scientific Advisory Committee will be comprised of experts in the field of breast cancer and will be actively involved in such aspects as the needs that drive the market for change; input into the formation of focus groups for product analysis and commentary; site participation with the approval of the product applications; and input into the protocol design for the clinical test sites.

To date, we are pleased to include the following on this important committee:

Robert Kramer, M.D., Chairman
Thomas Budinger, M.D.,Ph.D.
Charles Coltman, M.D., President Emeritus of the Cancer Therapy & Research Center (CTRC)
Lester Crawford, DVM. Ph.D.
John Holaday, Ph.D
William F. Keane, M.D.
Walter Robb, Ph.D.
Patricia Sacks, M.D.

Biographies

Robert Kramer, M.D., Chairman
Dr. Kramer is a retired professor of pediatrics and pulmonology from UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas. He was the founding medical director of the Division of Pulmonology and Cystic Fibrosis Research Center at the Children’s Medical Center in Dallas. Following his retirement he became Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at Baylor University Medical Center. His involvement in breast cancer research and treatment began with his participation as a founding member of the Susan G. Komen Advisory Board and through close personal and professional relationships with Nancy Brinker (Susan Komen’s sister and founder of the Komen Foundation), Dr. Phil Evans and Dr. George Peters.

Dr. Kramer has extensive experience and knowledge in biotechnology and medical device commercialization. He was the national medical director of the healthcare consulting division of Coopers & Lybrand and in this capacity had his initial introduction to the business of the life science industry. Dr. Kramer is a member of the Board of Directors and Advisory Boards of several early-stage life science companies, and is a member of the External Advisory Committee of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Texas, Austin.

Thomas Budinger, M.D., Ph.D.
Dr. Budinger is the past president of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, past president of the Society for Molecular Imaging where he is currently an executive officer and a trustee for the Society of Nuclear Medicine.

Dr. Budinger holds concurrent positions at the University of California, Berkeley (UCB), the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). At UCSF, he has been professor of radiology since 1984, and served as director of the Magnetic Resonance Science Center (1993-97). At UCB, he has held the Henry Miller Research Medicine Chair (1974-present) and he has been professor of bioinstrumentation, electrical engineering, and computer sciences since 1976. In 2004 he completed a six-year appointment as founding chair of the department of bioengineering at Berkeley. Dr. Budinger holds leadership positions at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory including: Head, Research Medicine Group (1976-1986): LBNL Medical Research Division Director (1986-1992), Head, Center for Functional Imaging (1992-2007), and Faculty Senior Staff Scientist (1986-present).

Dr. Budinger has authored over 370 research papers and book chapters and is the recipient of many awards including The Berkeley Citation National Institute of Health’s Merit Award-Alzheimer’s Research; Distinguished Scientist Silver Medal Award from the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine; George Charles de Hevesy Nuclear Pioneer Award and Paul C. Aebersold Basic Science Award from the Society of Nuclear Medicine, and the Ernst Jung Preis fur Medizin, Jung-Stiftung fur Wissenschaft und Forschung, Germany.

Charles Coltman, M.D., President Emeritus of the Cancer Therapy & Research Center (CTRC)
Dr. Coltman was awarded the first Outstanding Service Award from the American Association for Cancer Research on April 18, 2005, at the AACR’s annual meeting in Anaheim, California. This award was established to recognize an individual's significant and sustained contributions to the fight against cancer.

Coltman has a long history in cancer research and began his tenure at the University of Texas, San Antonio, Cancer Therapy Research Center (CTRC) in 1974, and ultimately became President/CEO. In 1978, while at CTRC, Coltman became one of two co-founders of the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, which has grown exponentially to become the world's leading symposium devoted to breast cancer. Under Coltman's leadership, the CTRC, which began as a regional radiotherapy center, developed into a nationally-recognized research and therapy center and now includes the Institute for Drug Development, an organization which conducts more Phase I clinical trials for cancer than any other location in the world.

Lester Crawford, DVM. Ph.D.
Lester Crawford has served as both Deputy Commissioner and as Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration and has played major roles in mandatory nutrition labeling, the formation of the World Trade Organization and the control of chemical and microbiological contaminants of food. He has been an advisor to the World Health Organization of the United Nations for much of his career.

Previously Chair of Department of Physiology-Pharmacology at the University of Georgia, Dr. Crawford has also been Administrator of the Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA) and Director of the Center for Food and Nutrition Policy from 1997 to 2002, first at Georgetown University and at Virginia Tech, where it moved in 2001.  He is a Member of the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine (UK) and a Fellow of the International Society of Food Science and Technology.  In 1984, he was inducted into the French Academy of Veterinary Medicine and in 1991 he received the Wooldridge Award, the British Veterinary Association’s highest award.

Dr. Crawford received his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from Auburn University, his PhD in Pharmacology from the University of Georgia and his Honorary Doctorate (MDV) from Budapest University. 

John Holaday, Ph.D.
Dr. Holaday, formerly listed among the 500 most cited scientists in the world by the Science Citation Index, is the founder of public and private companies in the life sciences. Dr. Holaday was the Chairman and Chief Scientific Officer of EntreMed, Inc. where he established financial relationships with private and institutional investors raising over $300 million in public and private placements. He recently co-founded HarVest Bank of Maryland and is the Chairman of the Board. He was Chairman of the Maryland Bioscience Alliance (2000-2004), the largest membership driven organization representing biotechnology companies in Maryland. He was the co-founder, director, Scientific Director and SVP of Medicis Pharmaceutical Corporation. Dr. Holaday was the founder and Chief Neuropharmacology Branch for Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. Holaday is a graduate of the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine with a Ph.D. in neuropharmacology.

William F. Keane, M.D.
Dr. Keane is the former head of Merck & Company’s clinical development. His most recent professional experience is as Chief Medical Officer at Reliant Pharmaceuticals where he directed all scientific and medical activities for the company. Keane provided guidance for Reliant Pharmaceuticals after it was acquired by GlaxoSmithKline Inc., overseeing the integration of the two organization’s scientific and medical endeavors.

Prior to joining Reliant Pharmaceuticals, Dr. Keane worked with Merck & Co., Inc., as Vice President, Clinical Development and served as Vice President, U.S. Medical & Scientific Affairs from 2004 until his retirement in 2007. Dr. Keane’s responsibilities in the U.S. included post-registration clinical studies, data base analysis studies, external scientific collaborations and medical affairs. Dr. Keane, has had a distinguished medical career, serving as Chairman of the Department of Medicine at Hennepin Medical Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and as the Vice Chair and Professor of Medicine and Pharmacy at the University of Minnesota Medical School. William Keane received his medical degree from Yale University School of Medicine.

Walter Robb, Ph.D.
Dr. Robb headed GE Medical Systems (headquartered in Milwaukee) from 1973 to 1986, building it into the world's leading producer of medical diagnostic equipment. In 1993, Dr. Robb received the National Medal of Technology-the nation's highest technology honor-from President Clinton for "his leadership in the development of medical diagnostic systems that have improved people's health and maintained U.S. global competitiveness." He holds 12 patents and authored more than a score of articles in professional journals. He is presently a mentor, director and angel investor to many Tech Valley start-ups. He is a member of the National Acadamy of Engineering.

Patricia Sacks, M.D.
Patricia E. Sacks, M.D., is a breast imaging radiologist and has been in practice for more than 30 years. She is the Medical Director of the Vasek and Anna Maria Polak Breast Center at Torrance Memorial Medical Center, one of the largest and most successful breast cancer care centers in Southern California, screening more than 50,000 patients a year. Dr. Sacks is a Board Member of the Polak Research Foundation and the Wellness Community. In 1987, she founded the first dedicated breast center in the southern region of Los Angeles. She has been a speaker for the programs. Her video on breast cancer care as a team approach won a National Communicator Award. She received her Bachelors Degree from Skidmore College and her M.D. from Tufts University in Boston, MA. Her radiology residency was completed at USC Medical Center in Los Angeles.