SELECTED BIOGRAPHIES

Ellen V. Sigal, PhD - Chairperson [print]
Marlene Malek - President [print]

Ellen V. Sigal, PhD, is Chairperson and Founder of Friends of Cancer Research (“Friends”), a non-profit organization based in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. Friends is dedicated to accelerating the nation's progress toward prevention and treatment of cancer by mobilizing public support for cancer research funding and providing education on key public policy issues. Over the past eleven years, Friends has pioneered innovative public-private partnerships, organized critical policy forums, educated the public and brought together key communities to develop collaborative strategies in the field of cancer research.

Dr. Sigal was recently elected to the inaugural board of directors of the Reagan-Udall Foundation, a partnership designed to modernize medical product development, accelerate innovation, and enhance product safety in collaboration with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. She serves on the National Cancer Institute Board of Scientific Advisors, the National Institutes of Health Foundation Board chairing its Public-Private Partnerships Committee, and the American Association for Cancer Research Foundation Board. Dr. Sigal holds leadership positions with a broad range of cancer advocacy and public policy organizations, and leadership positions with academic health centers including the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center External Advisory Board, the Duke University Cancer Center Board of Overseers, and the Howard University Cancer Center Board of Visitors. She serves on the C-Change (formerly the National Dialogue on Cancer Research) Research Committee, and is a member of the Entertainment Industry Foundation Oversight Committee for the Biomarker Discovery Project.

During her more than twenty year commitment to cancer research, Dr. Sigal has served in a number of critical public positions. She served on the National Institutes of Health prestigious Director’s Council of Public Representatives from 2003-2006. She was a Presidential Appointee to the National Cancer Advisory Board from 1992-1998, where she chaired the Budget and Planning Committee that oversees the federal cancer budget. In 1998, Dr. Sigal was named Vice Chairman of the Board of The March, a national grassroots advocacy group that brought thousands of volunteers to Washington to liaise with Congress and to set a new advocacy agenda for cancer research and treatment. She is a past member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology Foundation Board. Dr. Sigal has also been instrumental in harnessing the energies of Hollywood on behalf of cancer research, serving as President of The Creative Community Task Force for Cancer Research.

Dr. Sigal was the 2008 recipient of the Margaret Foti Award for Leadership and Extraordinary Achievements in Cancer Research and has received the Association of American Cancer Institutes Public Service Award, the American Society of Clinical Oncology Special Recognition Award, the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center National Leadership Award, and the American Association for Cancer Research National Leadership Award. She has been honored by Research!America, George Washington University Cancer Institute, International Spirit of Life Foundation, and Washingtonian magazine as a Washingtonian of the Year.

Dr. Sigal received her PhD from Rutgers University in Russian History.