Newswise — FORT WASHINGTON, PA — The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) has appointed Robert C. Young, MD, as Interim Vice President of the NCCN Oncology Research Program (ORP).

Dr. Young brings to NCCN more than 45 years of oncology experience. Dr. Young is President of RCY Medicine, a consulting service focused on cancer center productivity, health care quality, and health policy. He served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Fox Chase Cancer Center—one of the original NCCN Member Institutions—for 18 years, following which he served two years as Chancellor. Dr. Young is internationally known for his treatment of lymphoma and ovarian cancer.

“We are pleased to welcome Dr. Young as Interim Vice President of ORP,” said Robert W. Carlson, MD, Chief Executive Officer, NCCN. “As an original member and leader of NCCN, Dr. Young indeed was instrumental in initiating the practices and policies that have led to more than 20 years of success for the organization. We are sure his expertise will further enhance ORP’s position in the oncology community.”

As Interim Vice President, Dr. Young will be responsible for developing and managing NCCN’s centralized, standardized infrastructure for the conduct of clinical trials among its 26 NCCN Member Institutions and their community affiliates. The Oncology Research Program fosters collaboration among NCCN Member Institutions and pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to bring promising and effective new treatments to patients with cancer. In addition to providing funding for groundbreaking clinical research, ORP publishes important resources for clinical investigators, including, but not limited to the Informed Consent Language Database and Points to Consider on the Best Practices for Biorepositories, Registries, and Databases.

“I am very pleased to be working with NCCN again in this new capacity as Interim Vice President of the Oncology Research Program,” said Dr. Young. “It’s exciting to be part of the team that brings new novel therapies to researchers at NCCN Member Institutions so that our patients can benefit from early access to these new medicines.”

Among his national leadership positions in oncology, Dr. Young served as President of American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), The American Cancer Society, and the International Gynecological Cancer Society, as well as Chairman of the NCCN Board of Directors and Chair of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Board of Scientific Advisors. He also served as a member of the National Cancer Policy Board of the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Young was a member of the subspecialty board on medical oncology for the American Board of Internal Medicine and on the Experimental Therapeutics study section of NCI. In 1995, he served as Chairman of the General Motors Cancer Research Foundation’s Charles F. Kettering Selections Committee.

Since 2010, Dr. Young has been a member of the NCCN Foundation® Board of Directors and he currently serves on the Board of Directors of AVEO Pharmaceuticals, Inc. He also serves on the Scientific Advisory Boards of The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, the University of Kansas Cancer Center, and the University of Oklahoma Cancer Center.

From 1987 to 2001, Dr. Young was an Associate Editor of the Journal of Clinical Oncology and currently serves as Chairman of the Editorial Board of Oncology Times.

Dr. Young received his Bachelor of Science degree from The Ohio State University and his medical degree from Cornell University Medical College. Following his internship at New York Hospital, he completed a residency at NCI and Yale-New Haven Medical Center. He is board-certified in internal medicine, hematology, and oncology by the American Board of Internal Medicine.

For more information about NCCN ORP, visit NCCN.org/ORP.

About the National Comprehensive Cancer NetworkThe National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®), a not-for-profit alliance of 26 of the world’s leading cancer centers devoted to patient care, research, and education, is dedicated to improving the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of cancer care so that patients can live better lives. Through the leadership and expertise of clinical professionals at NCCN Member Institutions, NCCN develops resources that present valuable information to the numerous stakeholders in the health care delivery system. As the arbiter of high-quality cancer care, NCCN promotes the importance of continuous quality improvement and recognizes the significance of creating clinical practice guidelines appropriate for use by patients, clinicians, and other health care decision-makers.

The NCCN Member Institutions are: Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center, Omaha, NE; Case Comprehensive Cancer Center/University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center and Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Institute, Cleveland, OH; City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, Los Angeles, CA; Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center | Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Boston, MA; Duke Cancer Institute, Durham, NC; Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA; Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT; Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center/Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, Seattle, WA; The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD; Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, Chicago, IL; Mayo Clinic Cancer Center, Phoenix/Scottsdale, AZ, Jacksonville, FL, and Rochester, MN; Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY; Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL; The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, Columbus, OH; Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY; Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO; St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital/The University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN; Stanford Cancer Institute, Stanford, CA; University of Alabama at Birmingham Comprehensive Cancer Center, Birmingham, AL; UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center, La Jolla, CA; UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, San Francisco, CA; University of Colorado Cancer Center, Aurora, CO; University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Ann Arbor, MI; The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX; Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Nashville, TN; and Yale Cancer Center/Smilow Cancer Hospital, New Haven, CT.

Clinicians, visit NCCN.org. Patients and caregivers, visit NCCN.org/patients.