[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 30 (Thursday, February 25, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E216]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    HONORING LAURA ESSERMAN, MD, MBA

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JACKIE SPEIER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 25, 2016

  Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Laura Esserman, MD, 
MBA, of San Francisco, California, in recognition of her receiving the 
Stanford Graduate School of Business distinguished Earnest C. Arbuckle 
Award during its annual award ceremony in Stanford, California, on 
March 3, 2016. The Arbuckle Award recognizes excellence in the field of 
management leadership and a commitment to addressing the changing needs 
of society.
  Dr. Esserman is a professor of surgery and radiology, and the 
director of the Carol Franc Buck Breast Care Center at the Helen Diller 
Family Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of California, San 
Francisco (UCSF). She is the founder and innovator-in-chief of the I-
SPY TRIALs and I-SPY 2 Programs: two remarkable collaborations between 
private biotech companies and federal institutes that combine 
personalized medicine and private trial design to create fast and cost 
efficient breast cancer treatments. Under Dr. Esserman's deft 
leadership, the I-SPY 2 program's efficient and groundbreaking success 
has made it an international model for translational cancer research.
  In May 2015, Dr. Esserman was awarded a five-year $14.1 million grant 
from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). The 
award is being used to fund the 100,000 women clinical trial known as 
the WISDOM study to investigate whether a personalized approach to 
breast cancer screening is as effective as annual mammograms. Dr. 
Esserman has also served as a member of President Obama's Council of 
Advisors on Science and Technology Working Group on Advancing 
Innovation in Drug Development and Evaluation, and has published over 
200 works in notable scientific magazines. She received her BA in the 
History of Science from Harvard University, her MD from Stanford 
University, and her MBA from Stanford University's School of Business.
  Dr. Esserman is no ordinary physician. When she performs a surgery, 
it is a full-service operation. Dr. Esserman's preparation for surgery 
begins days before--with singing practice. She takes requests from 
patients, and holds their hands during anesthesia while singing them to 
sleep. Dr. Esserman is known for spending hours with her patients 
during office visits, and even sends personal text messages and returns 
late night phone calls to answer follow up questions whenever she can.
  Mr. Speaker, I am honored to recognize the hard work and dedication 
of Dr. Laura Esserman to the City of San Francisco, to her husband, 
Michael Endicott, to her children, Mansa and Max, and to her patients. 
She is truly an inspiration to many, including myself, and a most 
deserving recipient of the Earnest C. Arbuckle Award.

                          ____________________