Dr. Karlan is being honored with the IGCS Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of exemplary contributions to gynecologic cancer research and clinical practice spanning her entire career. Her research has advanced the understanding of hereditary cancers and molecular drivers of ovarian cancer and she continues to lead investigations seeking better ways to prevent and eradicate deadly cancers. She has served in prominent roles throughout her career, including Editor-in-Chief of the scientific journal Gynecologic Oncology for over a decade. An educator, clinician, and leader in the oncology community, Dr. Karlan has gained international recognition for her lasting impacts to the field of gynecologic cancers.
About Dr. Karlan
Beth Y. Karlan, M.D. is Professor and Vice Chair of Women’s Health Research in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). She is also Director of Cancer Population Genetics at the UCLA-Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Dr. Karlan is a physician scientist whose research focuses on ovarian and other gynecologic malignancies as well as inherited cancer susceptibility. She has authored over 400 peer-reviewed publications and has served as Editor-in-Chief of the scientific journals Gynecologic Oncology and Gynecologic Oncology Reports for over a decade. Dr. Karlan is a passionate advocate for women’s health. Her testimony before the US Congress helped to spearhead the passage of the “Gynecologic Cancer Education and Awareness Act of 2005”, and she later helped to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Gynecologic Cancer Campaign “Inside Knowledge”.
Dr. Karlan is an American Cancer Society Clinical Research Professor, has served in many national leadership roles including president of the Society of Gynecologic Oncology, and has helped train a generation of physicians and scientists. In 2012, Dr. Karlan was appointed by the Obama White House to serve on the National Cancer Advisory Board and in 2015 she was elected to membership in the National Academy of Medicine. Dr. Karlan is a Fellow of the American Society of Clinical Oncology and a member of the National Cancer Policy Forum.