Dr. Gralow was a panelist for the Forum’s discussion on Mammograms.
Julie Gralow is Professor of Medical Oncology, University of Washington School of Medicine (UWSOM), and an Associate Member, Clinical Research Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. She is Director of Breast Medical Oncology at UWSOM and Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, serves as Associate Program Head for the UW/FHCRC Consortium Women’s Cancer Program, and is a member of the FHCRC Scientific Steering Committee.
After receiving her bachelor’s degree from Stanford University, Dr. Gralow graduated with a medical degree from the University of Southern California School of Medicine. She completed her residency in internal medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital at Harvard Medical School and a medical oncology fellowship at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, where she also spent time researching immunity to the HER 2/neu oncogene in patients with breast cancer.
She is actively involved in clinical care, education, and research, and is the Principle Investigator on numerous local and national clinical trials related to breast cancer treatment, prevention, and survivorship. Her area of research specialization is the relationship between breast cancer and the bone, and she is currently leading a 6,000 patient Phase III North American Breast Intergroup group trial investigating the role of bisphosphonates in preventing bone metastases.
Dr. Gralow is Vice-Chair of the Southwest Oncology Group’s (SWOG) Breast Cancer Committee and is Co-Chair of the Breast Scientific Leadership Council of the Coalition of Cancer Cooperative Groups. She is an elected member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s (ASCO) Nominating Committee, was Chair for ASCO’s Cancer Communications Committee in 2008-09, and received an ASCO Statesman Award in 2008. Additionally, she served as Co-Chair of an NCI State of the Science Conference on Preoperative Therapy in Breast Cancer in 2007. She has served as a Board Member of the American Society of Breast Disease, and directs the American Cancer Society/UW Medical Student Summer Research Fellowship Program. She is currently a member of the Komen Scientific Advisory Council.
A prolific author, Dr. Gralow has had more than 160 abstracts and articles published in such journals as Cancer, Journal of Clinical Oncology, Journal of the American Medical Association, Clinical Breast Cancer, and British Medical Journal, and is a member of the editorial boards of several national publications.
She is committed to improving the quality of life for breast cancer patients through education, exercise and diet, and to promoting breast cancer awareness in the community. She is co-author of the book Breast Fitness: An Optimal Exercise and Health Plan for Reducing Your Risk of Breast Cancer and is Medical Director, Team Physician, and co-founder of Team Survivor Northwest, an exercise and fitness program for women cancer survivors. Additionally, she is increasingly active internationally in Breast Cancer Advocacy, presenting bi-annual programs in Eastern Europe and Asia since 2005, and through her work with the Harvard Global Equity Initiative, among other activities.
Dr. Gralow has been honored many times for service to her community and her dedication to helping patients overcome breast cancer. In 2005, she was named the C.J. Taylor Outstanding Community Volunteer by the Puget Sound affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. In the same year, the Breast Care Site recognized her efforts in fighting breast cancer with its “Above and Beyond” award, and in 2006, she received the Helen H. Jackson “Women of Valor” award for her activism in medicine and health care in Washington State.
