New York, NY, August 9, 2018 – The Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation (SWCRF), an international nonprofit organization that identifies and corrects abnormal gene function through cutting-edge research, today announced the appointment of five new members to its Board of Directors. Ethan Dmitrovsky, M.D., director of the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research and president of Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc.; Mrs. Jody Gorin, member of the parent leadership board at Emory University and retired banking executive; Mr. Joseph Steffa, managing director in the Global Markets division at Credit Suisse Securities; Mr. Marc D. Taub, president and CEO of Palm Bay International and Esprit Du Vin; and Mr. Scott Waxman, founder and CEO of Diversion Books and Waxman Literary Agency were elected to the board at the SWCRF Annual Meeting.

“We are pleased to welcome Ethan, Jody, Joseph, Marc, and Scott as our new directors. Each of them have been connected to the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation’s mission in some way and their understanding of our work will be critical as we expand our Partnership for Aging and Cancer Research and Institute Without Walls programs,” said board chairman, Michael Nierenberg. “I am confident that their diverse professional backgrounds and deep, personal commitment to eradicating cancer will help us achieve our ambitious goals of undertaking groundbreaking research in areas such as aging and cancer, pancreatic cancer and cancer metastasis.”

The appointments grow the board membership to twenty-five and fill one vacancy as longtime member Robert Kantor stepped down from the role. Last year, the SWCRF announced its $32 million “Collaborating for a Cure” capital campaign. The five-year campaign seeks to grow its Institute Without Walls™ cross-institutional research programming and the Partnership for Aging and Cancer Research program, its newest collaboration with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and National Institute on Aging (NIA) to fund research that will address how aging affects cancer development and treatments.

 

Ethan Dmitrovsky, M.D.

Dr. Dmitrovsky brings a wealth of scientific, medical and administrative expertise as a current and past SWCRF Investigator who developed innovative therapeutic strategies to treat lung cancer through minimally toxic drugs and make lung cancer cells less resistant to treatment protocols. He is the director of the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research and president of Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc. based in Maryland. Previously he was the provost and executive vice president of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center where he oversaw more than 4,000 clinical trials, served as the Principal Investigator of a National Institute of Health-funded cancer research grant and facilitated a collaboration with 33 institutions across 23 countries to deliver pain management treatments to cancer patients in Ethiopia. Dr. Dmitrovsky graduated from Harvard University and Cornell University Medical College.

 

Jody Gorin

Jody Gorin is a retired banking executive who specialized in middle- market lending at some of New York’s largest financial institutions. After she retired to help raise her two children, she became an active leader in parent associations and served on her building’s co- op board for several years. Currently, Mrs. Gorin serves on the parent leadership board at Emory University and is spearheading a pancreatic cancer research program at the SWCRF in memory of her husband, William Gorin who was CEO at MFA Financial, Inc. before his death from pancreatic cancer in 2017.

 

Joseph G. Steffa

Joseph Steffa is managing director in the Global Markets division at Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC. In this role, Mr. Steffa is the global head of securitized products trading within the firm’s structured products group. Prior to joining Credit Suisse in 2013, Mr. Steffa was managing director for the RBS non-agency trading division and before that, he traded mortgage securities at Bear Stearns. Mr. Steffa is a graduate of Harvard University.

 

Marc D. Taub

Marc Taub is president and CEO of Palm Bay International and Esprit Du Vin Fine Wine Merchants taking over leadership of the company following his father’s death in 2012. Mr. Taub’s father, David Taub was a supporter of cancer research and a longtime member of the SWCRF board of directors. Marc Taub has taken the mantle his father started both in the family business and philanthropic work.

 

Scott Waxman

Scott is the CEO of Diversion Publishing Corp, a book and media company in New York City. In addition, he is the founder of the Waxman Literary Agency. His companies represent and publish hundreds of titles per year in multiple formats and platforms. He has been associated with dozens of national bestselling authors and brands in sports, politics, pop culture, and business. He lives in Scarsdale, New York with his family.

 

For more information, contact Jesse Dean at 212-867-4502