Please join us in welcoming Stella E. Lee, MD, as a new faculty member in the Department of Surgery.
Stella E. Lee, MD Associate Surgeon, Division of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Section Chief, Rhinology, Division of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery
Dr. Lee received a Bachelor of Science in neuroscience and English from Duke University and her medical degree from Chicago Medical School. She completed her residency in otolaryngology-head and neck surgery at Yale University, followed by a fellowship in rhinology and skull base surgery at Johns Hopkins University.
Before coming to the Brigham, Dr. Lee served as the division chief for Sinonasal Disorders and Allergy in the Department of Otolaryngology at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center for ten years. At the Brigham, Dr. Lee will also serve as the section chief of Rhinology in the Division of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.
Dr. Lee is experienced in the comprehensive management of patients with complex rhinologic, allergic and skull base disorders. Her research interests include characterization of the inflammatory endotypes of chronic rhinosinusitis, the impact of environmental pollution on airway inflammation and advancing the care of patients with cystic fibrosis and hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia. She is a leader in the development of novel therapeutics and creation of new paradigms of how we conceptualize and treat sinus and skull base disorders.
Elizabeth A. Mittendorf, MD, PhD, has been awarded a $748K grant from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center for the study, “Leveraging digital pathology to identify and cure high risk breast cancer.”
We have reached the limits of how standard pathologic evaluation of breast biopsy or surgical specimens can inform the care of breast cancer patients. While routine hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stained slides, as well as additional staining to assess expression of the estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and HER2 are used to define the subtype of breast cancer a patient has and dictates their initial therapy, it is unable to predict who is going to respond to that treatment or provide significant prognostic information. Therefore, there is a critical unmet need to develop novel technologies that will enable improved prediction and prognostication in order to inform personalized treatment recommendations for breast cancer patients. Digital pathology has the potential to address that need, revolutionizing the way that breast cancer patients are cared for. Specifically, by employing machine learning to the evaluation of pathologic specimens, we anticipate more rapid, accurate and refined diagnoses that will inform treatment recommendations that are personalized to the individual patient.
Elizabeth A. Mittendorf, MD, PhD Rob and Karen Hale Distinguished Chair in Surgical Oncology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital Vice Chair for Research, Department of Surgery, Brigham and Women’s Hospital Director of Surgical Research, Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center (DF/BWCC) Breast Program Director, Breast Immuno-Oncology Program, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Co-Director, Breast Cancer Clinical Research Program, Breast Oncology Program, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Professor of Surgery, Harvard Medical School
Dr. Mittendorf is a graduate of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, where she also completed a residency in general surgery. After completing her residency, she served on active duty in the United States military before completing a fellowship in surgical oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Mittendorf also holds a PhD in immunology from the University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Houston.
Prior to joining Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Dr. Mittendorf was a professor in the Department of Breast Surgical Oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Mittendorf is board certified by the America Board of Surgery. She maintains a busy clinical practice and oversees a portfolio of clinical trials, as well as a basic laboratory effort.
She is principal investigator on a number of clinical protocols, including the phase III PRESENT (Prevention of Recurrence in Early-Stage, Node-Positive Breast Cancer with Low to Intermediate HER2 Expression with NeuVax Treatment) study, and a multicenter phase II trial investigating the efficacy of a CD8+ T cell eliciting vaccine in combination with trastuzumab, which is based on preclinical data generated in her laboratory and follows a phase I trial she conducted demonstrating the combination to be safe. This trial is supported by a Breakthrough Award from the Department of Defense (DoD).
Dr. Mittendorf is also the principal investigator on a multi-center trial supported by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) evaluating the impact of vaccination in patients with ductal carcinoma in situ, a trial evaluating the impact of preoperative radiation therapy on the immune response in breast tumors, as well as two investigator initiated studies evaluating immune checkpoint blockade administered to breast cancer patients in the presurgical setting.
Her laboratory work is focused on identifying novel tumor antigens and investigating aspects of the tumor microenvironment that impact the response to immunotherapy. Specifically, she is investigating mutations in the ESR1 gene as targets for vaccination, as well as the impact of standard therapies on the immune microenvironment with the goal of informing rational clinical trials evaluating the addition of immunotherapy to treatment regimens for breast cancer patients. This work is supported by the Komen for the Cure Foundation and the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy.
Please join us in welcoming Timothy Clinton, MD, MPH, as a new faculty member in the Department of Surgery.
Timothy Clinton, MD, MPH Associate Surgeon, Division of Urology
Dr. Clinton received a Bachelor of Arts in cell and molecular biology and music from Tulane University and his medical degree from the University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio. He also holds a Master of Public Health from the University of Texas School of Public Health. Dr. Clinton completed a residency in urology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Following residency, he was a urologic oncology fellow at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
Before coming to the Brigham, Dr. Clinton was a clinical instructor of urologic oncology in the Department of Surgery at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
Dr. Clinton’s clinical interests are in the treatment of all genitourinary malignancies, with a focus on urothelial carcinoma and testicular cancer, utilizing both open and robotic approaches. His research interests are defining the genomic determinants of urothelial carcinoma and germ cell tumors.
