The Hirshberg Foundation is pleased to have Dr. Hines and Dr. Donahue joining us at the 14th Annual Symposium on Pancreatic Cancer to discuss the benefits of having an experienced medical team or an IPU (Integrated Practice Unit), like UCLA, to guide and treat pancreatic cancer patients.
O. Joe Hines, MD, is UCLA’s Professor and Chief of the Division of General Surgery, Robert and Kelly Day Chair in General Surgery, Vice Chair for Clinical Practice and Strategic Planning and the Director of the UCLA Agi Hirshberg Center for Pancreatic Diseases. He attended the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine and was inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society in 1989. He trained in general surgery at UCLA, including two years of research in gastrointestinal physiology, and was then recruited to the UCLA faculty in 1997. While at UCLA he has received the Department Golden Scalpel Award for teaching excellence 10 times and the UCLA School of Medicine Award for Excellence in Education.
His research has focused on angiogenesis, cytokines, and pancreatic carcinogenesis, including the role of diet in modulating these processes. Dr. Hines’ research has been consistently funded by NIH, and he has served in the NIH Scientific Review Committee Tumor Progression and Metastasis. Dr. Hines is past-President of the Society of University Surgeons and has served as the Vice-President of the Pacific Coast Surgical Association, President of the Southern California Chapter of the American College of Surgeons, and now on the Board of Governors of the American College of Surgeons and as a Director of the American Board of Surgery. Dr. Hines was awarded the American College of Surgeons Traveling Fellowship to Germany in 2005, and was a James IV Traveling Fellow in 2011. He serves on the editorial boards of Annals of Surgery, Surgery, Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery, JAMA Surgery, and is an associate editor of the Yearbook of Surgery and Maignot’s Abdominal Operations.
Timothy Donahue, MD, is the Associate Professor of Surgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the Chief of the Division of Surgical Oncology and Vice Chair for Cancer Surgery in the Department of Surgery. Dr. Donahue attended Northwestern University where he received both his Bachelor’s degree and Medical degree. Upon completion, he continued his surgical and research training at UCLA. In 2009, he was appointed faculty and has made strides at UCLA ever since.
Dr. Donahue oversees all of cancer surgery including the pancreatic cancer program, which is one of the largest in the nation. In addition, Dr. Donahue is also the Program Director of the General Surgery Residency Program at UCLA. He is a very diverse pancreatic surgeon who works diligently performing up to four pancreatic surgeries per week. He is genuinely interested in caring for patients with pancreatic cancer. His clinical research is focused on improving the care of patients with borderline resectable or locally advanced disease. Dr. Donahue is a strong advocate of prolonged preoperative chemo or radiation therapy for this group of patients to optimally select those who will benefit from a surgical resection. As a result of this approach, Dr. Donahue and his team have among the best survival rates in this specialty.
Dr. Hines and Dr. Donahue will present on Team Approach for the Management of Pancreatic Cancer at the 14th Annual Symposum.