Growth in Leadership

We are pleased to announce that Constance Griffin, MD, of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine has become the new Principal Investigator of the Mid-Atlantic Cancer Genetics Network. She replaces Gloria Petersen, PhD, formerly of the Department of Epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health, who has moved to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. We will miss Dr. Petersen but are looking forward to a productive new year with Dr. Griffin.

We’d also like to welcome Susan Booker, Betty May and Michelle McCullough to the MACGN family. Susan is our liaison with the Johns Hopkins Hereditary Colorectal Cancer Registry assisting in database matters. Betty heads the recruitment of prostate cancer patients into the MACGN for the CGN Prostate Cancer Pilot project. Michelle also acts as a project coordinator on the Prostate Cancer Pilot project.

A message from the new PI:

Greetings!

Welcome to the Mid-Atlantic Cancer Genetics Network, one of eight founding institutions of the national Cancer Genetics Network (CGN). Based out of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, we are part of a major research initiative to create a national network of centers that specializes in the study of the genetic susceptibility to cancer.

Tremendous progress has been made in the area of cancer genetics in recent years. CGN will serve as a major national resource to promote cancer genetics research, translate research findings into medical practice, and address the associated psychosocial, ethical, legal, and public health issues. CGN is working to become a large collaboration dedicated to the study of cancer genetics.

We are inviting people in the mid-Atlantic region who may be at increased risk of cancer due to a personal or family history to join our cancer registry. Combined with those from the other seven institutions, our registry will help form a national registry of potential study participants. Registry members are updated on recent developments in cancer genetics and notified of special research studies for which they may be eligible.

Working with health care professionals from across the mid-Atlantic region, we provide referrals to cancer specialists, including those who provide genetic counseling and testing. We also help facilitate the exchange of information on cancer genetics and research resources through public and professional education via our web site, a quarterly newsletter, speakers' bureau, and continuing medical education.

We at MACGN are very excited to be a part of this national endeavor and look forward to serving our community. Please let us know how we can help you. Studies that are beginning include those involving prostate cancer and colon cancer in families. Also beginning is a search for genes affecting the development of breast cancer in individuals who carry an abnormal BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene. Yet another study will analyze the utility of models that predict whether an individual carries a higher risk of developing breast cancer. Additional studies, including those involving melanoma and pancreas cancer, are in the planning stage.

Sincerely,
Constance Griffin, M.D.

Dr. Griffin received her medical education at the University of Cincinnati in Ohio. Her ties with Johns Hopkins can be traced back to 1981 when she was a Fellow in Medical Oncology. She left in 1984 to pursue a genetics fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania, and returned in 1986 to join the oncology faculty at Hopkins. Dr. Griffin is currently an Associate Professor in the Departments of Pathology, Oncology, and Medicine. She directs the Pathology Cytogenetics and Molecular Diagnostics Laboratories of the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. Dr. Griffin also directs the Johns Hopkins Familial Cancer Service and provides clinical attending services in the Cancer Risk Assessment Service.