Board of Directors – Designated Surgical Oncologist
Dr. Katz is a professor of surgical oncology and the department chair of the Department of Surgical Oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. He is a member of the Journal of Clinical Oncology Editorial Board and a past track leader for ASCO’s Annual Meeting Scientific Program Committee. Dr. Katz was a 2017-2018 Leadership Development Program participant and has also served on the Clinical Practice Guidelines Committee and as an Annual Meeting Education Committee track leader.
Why do you want to serve on the ASCO Board of Directors?
Over the past decade, I have invested significant effort into serving ASCO in diverse capacities – both as team member and team leader. In return, ASCO has directly influenced my growth as a cancer surgeon, researcher, and institutional and international leader. I now see an incredible opportunity for me to put the skills that ASCO has helped me to develop to noble use – specifically, to further increase my impact on the quality of care provided to people with cancer worldwide by helping to define the future of the foremost cancer-oriented society in the world.
With respect to this specific position, I also see significant opportunity to enhance the surgical perspective within ASCO. Surgeons are among the strongest leaders in cancer care and research and are critical to the diagnosis, staging, and treatment of patients with cancer. I am excited by the possibility of representing my specialty and surgical colleagues and amplifying their voices within the Society. I would also like to continue to promote the benefits of ASCO to the surgical community, promote membership to the Society among individual surgeons, and work toward enhanced collaboration and alignment between national organizations.