Ronald D. Alvarez, M.D., professor and director of the Division of Gynecologic Oncology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, has been elected the 44th president of the Society of Gynecologic Oncology at its annual meeting on women’s cancer this week in Austin, Texas.
SGO is a national medical specialty organization of physicians and allied healthcare professionals with more than 1,600 members trained in the comprehensive management of women with reproductive tract cancers.
“I’m excited at the prospect of leading this group of oncologists,” Alvarez said. “We are in the midst of evolutionary times and we need to be prepared for the changes coming with healthcare reform.”
Alvarez, also a senior scientist in the experimental therapeutics program at the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center, is “hoping to empower SGO members to be the best providers of high-quality, cost-effective prevention and treatment to women at risk for or diagnosed with gynecologic cancer.”
Alvarez received his medical degree from Louisiana State University Medical Center. His postgraduate training included a residency in obstetrics and gynecology and fellowship in gynecologic oncology, both at UAB.
After completing his training, he remained on the faculty of the UAB Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, where he currently serves as vice-chairman of the department and holds the Ellen Gregg Shook Culverhouse Chair.
His long-term research interests include the development of novel therapeutics for ovarian cancer and new screening and prevention strategies for cervical cancer. He has received several National Cancer Institute and grants in support of his research in gene therapeutics for ovarian cancer and he currently is a co-principal investigator in cervical neoplasm vaccine projects included in the Johns Hopkins/UAB Cervical Specialized Program of Research Excellence grant.
Alvarez has published more than 200 articles in various peer-reviewed journals and is on the editorial board of Gynecologic Oncology. He currently serves as a board member of the Gynecologic Oncology Group and is co-chair of its protocol development committee. He is on the Gynecologic Oncology Division of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology and has served on study sections for the NCI and the Department of Defense Ovarian Cancer Research Program. He has also served on the executive committee of the Foundation for Women’s Cancer.