Breast Surgery Fellowship Program at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey Receives Support from Breast Cancer Alliance

Newswise — New Brunswick, N.J., June 25, 2014 – The Breast Surgery Fellowship Program at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School is receiving a $75,000 training grant from the Breast Cancer Alliance to support a surgical fellow for academic year 2014-2015. It is the third consecutive year that the non-profit entity has given this award to the program.

The one-year fellowship provides surgeons who have completed their general surgery residency with advanced training and experience that prepares them to provide comprehensive care specifically for patients with breast disease. Through the program, they learn how to apply a multidisciplinary approach to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer and rehabilitation of breast cancer patients.

Along with supporting education and outreach efforts devoted to breast cancer, the Breast Cancer Alliance also awards grants to support innovative research. This component is a main focus of the Breast Surgery Fellowship Program at the Cancer Institute of New Jersey, as fellows participate in clinical and/or laboratory research with opportunities to design and implement clinical trials. They also train in the basic methodology for conducting those trials.

“Providing optimal surgical care for breast cancer patients requires specialized, comprehensive training through an accredited program. We are pleased the Breast Cancer Alliance recognizes the benefits of our program at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey in training future breast cancer surgeons,” said Cancer Institute surgical oncologist Laurie J. Kirstein, MD, FACS, who heads the fellowship program and is an assistant professor of surgery at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

The training grant will support the program’s newest breast surgery fellow, Tara Balija, MD, beginning July 1. Dr. Balija currently serves as a chief surgical resident at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, which is the Cancer Institute’s Flagship hospital. Previously she was a Doris Duke Clinical Research Fellow at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, where she focused on healthcare disparities research.

About Rutgers Cancer Institute of New JerseyRutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey (www.cinj.org) is the state’s first and only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center. As part of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, the Cancer Institute of New Jersey is dedicated to improving the detection, treatment and care of patients with cancer, and to serving as an education resource for cancer prevention. Physician-scientists at the Cancer Institute engage in translational research, transforming their laboratory discoveries into clinical practice, quite literally bringing research to life. To make a tax-deductible gift to support the Cancer Institute of New Jersey, call 732-235-8614 or visit www.cinj.org/giving. Follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TheCINJ.

The Cancer Institute of New Jersey Network is comprised of hospitals throughout the state and provides the highest quality cancer care and rapid dissemination of important discoveries into the community. Flagship Hospital: Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital. System Partner: Meridian Health (Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Ocean Medical Center, Riverview Medical Center, Southern Ocean Medical Center, and Bayshore Community Hospital). Major Clinical Research Affiliate Hospitals: Carol G. Simon Cancer Center at Morristown Medical Center, Carol G. Simon Cancer Center at Overlook Medical Center, and Cooper University Hospital. Affiliate Hospitals: JFK Medical Center, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Hamilton (CINJ Hamilton), Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset, Shore Medical Center, , The University Hospital and University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro.

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