Bringing the patient voice into every stage of research
The Patient Alliance Committee ensures that the perspectives of patients, caregivers, and care partners are woven into every stage of Alliance clinical research. As members of the Alliance scientific community, patient partners work with investigators, clinicians, and research professionals to help shape studies that are not only scientifically rigorous but also meaningful, accessible and responsive to the needs of those affected by cancer.
By representing the varied experiences, cancer types, and communities across the country, our patient partners contribute a critical perspective that strengthens study design, enhances participant engagement, and helps ensure research reflects the realities of people undergoing cancer care.
How patient representatives contribute
Alliance patient representatives are active contributors throughout the clinical trial lifecycle. By participating as equal members of study teams, patient representatives help ensure that Alliance research addresses scientific questions in a way that is most impactful to patients and families. They participate in disease, treatment type (modality), and administrative committees, where they collaborate to:
- Review study concepts and clinical trial protocols
- Identify opportunities to improve the patient experience and reduce barriers to participation
- Provide feedback on study schedules, eligibility criteria, informed consent materials, and participant communications
- Promote inclusive access to clinical trials, particularly for underrepresented populations
- Develop plain-language summaries for study results to help patients and the public better understand research findings
- Share how patients experience trials by providing the patient perspective through presentations, education, and collaborations with national organizations and community partners
Meet our patient representatives
Alliance patient representatives serve across Alliance committees, contributing their expertise and lived experience to research spanning the full continuum of cancer care. The following include the name of each patient representative along with their Alliance committee(s) on which they serve.
- Chair: Patty Spears
- Vice Chairs: Vernal Branch and Jane Perlmutter, PhD, MBA
- Disease Committees
- Breast cancers: Eva May, MBA, Jane Perlmutter, PhD, MBA, Ivis Sampayo, M. Kelly Shanahan, Patty Spears
- Gastrointestinal cancers (such as colon, rectum and anus): Julie Krause, Yasmeen Watson
- Genitourinary cancer (such as bladder, kidney and prostate): Robert Downey
- Leukemia: Lisa Cohen, MBA, Amanda Ferraro
- Lymphoma: Mike Abrams
- Myeloma: C. Todd Kennedy
- Neurooncology cancers (such as brain, spinal cord): Helaine Bader, MPH
- Respiratory cancers (lung): Pam Moffitt, Sara Whitlock, MSN
- Cancer Control Committees
- CCP executive committee: Jane Perlmutter
- Cancer care delivery research: C. Todd Kennedy, Jane Perlmutter, PhD, MBA, Patty Spears
- Cancer in the older adult: Sandra Finestone, PsyD, Barbara LeStage, Pamela Moffitt
- AYA working group (adolescent and young adult): Celeste (Bunny) Leach
- Community oncology: Deborah Collyar, Eva May, MBA
- Population, Education, Access and Research (PEAR): Michael Abrams, Vernal Branch, Coleen Crespo, MS, Phyllis Pettit-Nassi, MS, Ivis Sampayo, Yasmeen Watson
- Health outcomes: Sandra Finestone, PsyD, Eva May, MBA
- Prevention: Vernal Branch, Eva May, MBA, Patty Spears
- Symptom intervention: Julie Krause, Julia Maues, Jane Perlmutter, PhD, MBA, M. Kelly Shanahan
- Modality Committees
- Experimental therapeutics and rare tumors: Deborah Collyar
- Transplantation and cell-based therapies: C. Todd Kennedy
- Patient alliance: All patient representatives
- Administrative Committees
- Data and Safety Monitoring Board: Jane Perlmutter, PhD, MBA
- Ethics: Deborah Collyar, Sandra Finestone, PsyD, Jane Perlmutter, PhD, MBA, Christina Sisti, DPS, MPH, MS, Patty Spears
- Publications: Deborah Collyar
- Procedure-based Therapy Committees
- Steering Committee: Julie Krause
- Imaging: Barbara LeStage
- Radiation therapy: Sara Whitlock
- Translational Research Committees
- Executive committee: Eva May, MBA
- Pharmacogenetics and population pharmacology: Eva May, MBA, Phyllis Petit-Nassi, MS