ASCO Elects Skip Burris as President for 2019-2020

Howard A. Burris III, MD, FACP, FASCO

Howard A. Burris III, MD, FACP, FASCO

Howard A. “Skip” Burris III, MD, FACP, FASCO, has been elected as president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) for the 2019-2020 term, which will begin in June 2019. Burris will take office as president-elect during the 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting to be held in June in Chicago, Illinois.

Burris is president of clinical operations and chief medical officer for the Sarah Cannon Research Institute, and is an associate of Tennessee Oncology, PLLC.

“It is a tremendous honor to be elected ASCO president by my peers and I am grateful for their trust and support,” said Burris in a statement. “ASCO is a vital organization not only for physicians, but also for patients and all of those entities working in the first against cancer. I am hopeful that my unique background will allow me to serve as a bridge between the many stakeholders participating in this important cause of advancing therapies and reducing the burden of cancer in the world.”

A long-time ASCO member and volunteer, Burris has served on multiple boards including the ASCO Board of Directors and Conquer Cancer Foundation of ASCO’s board of directors. He has served as chair of the Cancer Research Committee, the Nominating Committee, the Research Community Forum Council, and has co-chaired the Ethics Committee. Additionally, his committee memberships have included the Cancer Education, Scientific Program, Audit, and Sponsorship Committees. He was named a fellow of ASCO in 2010.

Among many of his notable accomplishments, Burris established the first community-based phase I drug development program in Nashville, which later became the Sarah Cannon Research Institute. He also led more than 130 first-in-human studies for many now-approved drugs, including docetaxel (Taxotere) and ado-trastuzumab emtansine (Kadcyla) in breast cancer and everolimus (Afinitor) in renal cell carcinoma. In 2014, Burris was elected an OncLive® Giant of Cancer Care for drug development.

Burris earned his medical degree from the University of South Alabama and later went on to complete his residency and fellowship in hematology/oncology at Brook Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas. While there, he served as director of clinical research at the Institute of Drug Development of The Cancer Therapy and Research Center and was an associate professor at The University of Texas Health Science Center.

Howard will be joined by 5 oncology leaders elected to open seats on ASCO’s board of directors, including Laurie E. Gasper, MD, MBA, FASTRO, FACR; Tracey Weisberg, MD; Tony S. K. Mok, BMSc, MD, FRCP(C), FRCP (Edin.), FHKCP, FHKAM (Medicine), FASCO; A. William Blackstock, MD; and Lee M. Ellis, MD, FACS, FASCO. Additionally, 2 physicians will be added to the ASCO Nominating Committee, including N. Lynn Henry, MD, PhD, FACP, and W. Kimryn Rathmell, MD, PhD.