“Treatment of Premenopausal Breast Cancer with Ovarian Suppression”
Sandra M. Swain, M.D., FACP, FASCO
Associate Dean for Research Development & Professor of Medicine
Georgetown University Medical Center
Vice President, Genetic Medicine
MedStar Health
Sandra M. Swain, M.D., FACP, FASCO, is the associate dean for research development at the Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) and the vice president of MedStar Genetic Medicine for MedStar Health in Washington, DC. She is also a professor of medicine at the Georgetown University School of Medicine. She is a visiting professor of clinical oncology in the Medical Sciences Division at the University of Oxford, Oxford, UK. In her primary role as associate dean for research development, Swain works closely with industry and community partners to improve patients’ access to cutting-edge treatments and technologies by expanding medical research opportunities both at GUMC and across the MedStar Health system.
Swain graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in chemistry from the University of North Carolina in 1975 and earned a Doctor of Medicine from the University of Florida in 1980. She completed a residency in internal medicine at Vanderbilt University in 1983 followed by a fellowship in medical oncology at the National Cancer Institute in 1986. She served at the NIH as the Deputy Branch Chief for the Medicine Branch of the Center for Cancer Research at the NCI as a tenured Principal Investigator. Ultimately, Swain became the head of the Breast Cancer Section and chief of the Cancer Therapeutics Branch at NIH. Then, from 2007 to 2016, she served as the medical director of the Washington Cancer Institute at MedStar Washington Hospital Center in Washington, DC.
Swain’s research interests include translational research and clinical trials focused on metastatic and inflammatory breast cancer, adjuvant therapy for breast cancer, cardiotoxicity and health care disparities. Her research has received funding from the NIH, Susan G. Komen Foundation, Breast Cancer Research Foundation and the Avon Foundation. She has published over 300 articles and is internationally recognized as a leader in the field breast cancer research and treatment. Moreover, Swain has received numerous awards and recognitions for her work, including the Susan G. Komen Award of Distinction for Community Service in 2012. She is also a recipient of NIH Merit Award, as well as a two-time recipient of the NCI Mentor of Merit Award. In 2012, she received the Claude Jacquillat Award for Clinical Cancer Research and in 2016, the 3rd Aleksandr Savchuk Prize, Aleksandr Savchuk Foundation. The Washington Business Journal honored Swain with its prestigious Women Who Mean Business award in 2016.
Swain was a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Board of directors and served as president from 2012 to 2013 and is currently a member and secretary of the Conquer Cancer Foundation of ASCO Board of Directors and Chairperson of the Women Who Conquer Cancer. She sits on the Executive Committee of the Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at GUMC, actively participates on the NRG Oncology Breast Committee and co-chairs the Early Breast Cancer Trialists’ Collaborative Group Steering Committee, Oxford UK. She has actively contributed to the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) for over 30 years, as vice chair of the Breast Committee and Principal Investigator on numerous adjuvant trials for breast cancer. She is a fellow of the American College of Physicians and ASCO and maintains active membership with both the American Association for Cancer Research and the American Medical Association.
