At the NRG Oncology Summer Meeting on July 21, 2022, The GOG Foundation, Inc. (GOG-F) Board of Directors elected Thomas J. Herzog, MD as its next President, succeeding Larry J. Copeland, MD who has served in this role since 2017. Under Dr. Copeland’s leadership, the GOG-F has experienced unprecedented growth in its clinical trials program, particularly in GOG-Partners (GOG-P), including a greatly expanded clinical trials portfolio, further expansion and engagement of its investigator base, development of a clinical trial mentorship program, and multiple educational initiatives focused on novel agents, clinical trial design and clinical trial execution. Dr. Herzog will serve as the President-Elect of the GOG-F for one-year, assuming the role as President after the July 2023 meeting. Dr. Copeland will remain in office until July 2023 and continue to be involved in the day-to-day activity as Immediate Past President of the organization.
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At the NRG Oncology Summer Meeting on July 21, 2022, The GOG Foundation, Inc. (GOG-F) Board of Directors elected Thomas J. Herzog, MD as its next President, succeeding Larry J. Copeland, MD who has served in this role since 2017. Under Dr. Copeland’s leadership, the GOG-F has experienced unprecedented growth in its clinical trials program, particularly in GOG-Partners (GOG-P), including a greatly expanded clinical trials portfolio, further expansion and engagement of its investigator base, development of a clinical trial mentorship program, and multiple educational initiatives focused on novel agents, clinical trial design and clinical trial execution. Dr. Herzog will serve as the President-Elect of the GOG-F for one-year, assuming the role as President after the July 2023 meeting. Dr. Copeland will remain in office until July 2023 and continue to be involved in the day-to-day activity as Immediate Past President of the organization.
Dr. Herzog shares, “I am incredibly humbled and deeply honored to be elected as the President-Elect of the GOG-F. I want to thank the Nominating Committee and Foundation Board for their support. I am so excited to work with such an outstanding and dedicated team. I especially want to thank Dr. Copeland for his mentorship throughout my career as well as his outstanding vision and leadership of our organization during his tenure. He has created a culture that places the best interests of our patients as the central focus in the mission to deliver tomorrow’s care today through innovative practice changing clinical trials. Operationalizing this mission has required an enormous effort by our leaders, our staff, and our enrolling sites. As President, I am committed to continue to foster this outstanding culture in supporting our mission and to build upon our success, while conquering new challenges ahead for GOG-F and for our patients that we are so honored to serve.”
Dr. Copeland shares, “It was the right time to ‘pass the torch’ and it was important to find the optimal candidate to lead GOG-F.” Per GOG-F bylaws, election governance was facilitated by a Nominating Committee following a groupwide request for applicants. Interested individuals were asked to submit an application regarding their intent, qualifications, and vision as the potential future leader of the GOG-F. Interviews and deliberations led to a nominee who was subsequently presented to GOG-F Board of Directors, which unanimously elected Dr. Herzog as President of the GOG-F.
Dr. Herzog brings to this position a comprehensive background in clinical trials and the related business aspects. A gynecologic oncologist and member of the Board of Directors of GOG-F, he has served as the Treasurer of GOG-F for the past 8 years and is currently an Associate Director of the GOG-P program. He is currently Deputy Director of the University of Cincinnati Cancer Center and Paul & Carolyn Flory Professor in the department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Cincinnati. Dr. Herzog has authored/co-authored over 320 peer-reviewed articles and lectures extensively nationally and internationally. He serves or has served on the editorial boards of Gynecologic Oncology, Obstetrics and Gynecology International, Hematology Oncology Times, and others. He served as Editor–In-Chief of Women’s Oncology Review and Gynecologic Oncology Research to Practice. Dr. Herzog has served on the board of directors or leadership council of the Society of Gynecologic Oncology, the Foundation for Women’s Cancer, Board of Governors for the American College of Surgeons, American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology-Gynecologic Oncology Division, and the International Gynecologic Cancer Society.
Dr. Copeland shared, “Serving as the President of GOG-F has been one of the greatest privileges of my career, and I am so pleased that the next President will be Dr. Thomas Herzog. Over the past many years, he has worked tirelessly on many fronts to advance our mission. He has demonstrated the vision and passion for clinical trials to transform the standard of care for women with gynecologic cancers. On completion of successful trials, he also exhibited a strong commitment to “getting the information out there.” through organizing and participating in informative educational programs. While serving as the Immediate Past-President, I pledge my full support to Tom in leading the GOG-F to continued success.”
When Dr. Herzog takes office, he will be responsible for GOG-F Inc., which includes the GOG Foundation corporate membership in NRG Oncology and GOG-P program. The GOG-F, formerly known as the Gynecologic Oncology Group, in collaboration with the NSABP and the RTOG, formed a new 501(C)(3), in 2013, NRG Oncology Foundation, Inc. In addition to the NRG responsibilities, Dr. Herzog will also oversee the GOG Partners program, also founded in 2013.
About The GOG Foundation, Inc. (www.gog.org)
The GOG Foundation, Inc. is a not-for-profit organization with the purpose of promoting excellence in the quality and integrity of clinical and translational scientific research in the field of gynecologic malignancies. The GOG Foundation is committed to maintaining the highest standards in clinical trials development, execution, analysis, and distribution of results. The GOG Foundation is the only clinical trialist group in the United States that focuses its research on patients with pelvic malignancies, such as cancer of the ovary (including surface peritoneal malignancies), uterus (including endometrium, soft tissue sarcoma, and gestational trophoblastic neoplasia), cervix, and vulva. The GOG Foundation is multi-disciplinary in its approach to clinical trials, and includes gynecologic oncologists, medical oncologists, pathologists, radiation oncologists, oncology nurses, biostatisticians (including those with expertise in bioinformatics), basic scientists, quality of life experts, data managers, and administrative personnel.
About NRG Oncology (www.nrgoncology.org)
NRG Oncology conducts practice-changing, multi-institutional clinical and translational research to improve the lives of patients with cancer. Founded in 2012, NRG Oncology is a Pennsylvania-based nonprofit corporation that integrates the research of the legacy National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP), Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG), and legacy Gynecologic Oncology Group, now The GOG Foundation, Inc. (GOG) programs. The research network seeks to conduct clinical trials with emphases on gender-specific malignancies, including gynecologic, breast, and prostate cancers, and on localized or locally advanced cancers of all types. NRG Oncology’s extensive research organization comprises multidisciplinary investigators, including medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, surgeons, physicists, pathologists, and statisticians, and encompasses more than 1,300 research sites located world-wide with predominance in the United States and Canada. NRG Oncology is supported primarily through grants from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and is one of five research groups in the NCI’s National Clinical Trials Network.
About GOG Partners
Supported by industry, GOG Partners is structured to work directly with pharmaceutical organizations and operate clinical trials outside the National Cancer Institute (NCI) framework. The GOG Partners shares the same mission of the GOG Foundation dedicated to transforming the care in Gynecologic Oncology. By providing an alternative venue for patient accrual and site infrastructure support, GOG Partners has helped provide additional trials and opportunities for patients outside the national gynecologic clinical trials network.
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