UC Irvine surgical oncologist named John Wayne Cancer Foundation endowed chair
Maheswari Senthil, MD, FACS — chief of surgical oncology at University of California, Irvine — has been named John Wayne Cancer Foundation endowed chair in surgical oncology.
“I am honored to hold the John Wayne Cancer Foundation endowed chair in surgical oncology,” Senthil, also a professor of surgery, said in a press release. “This partnership will help move the field forward and continue our ‘Discover. Teach. Heal.’ mission.”
Senthil — who specializes in gastrointestinal cancers — is recognized for her expertise in the management of patients with peritoneal carcinomatosis and advanced malignancies.
She is founder of the complex general surgical oncology fellowship at University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine.
“The John Wayne Cancer Foundation, my family and I are extremely proud to partner with [University of California, Irvine] to change the course of cancer treatment for patients and their loved ones for generations to come,” Ethan Wayne, John Wayne Cancer Foundation director, said in the release. “Together, through research and lifesaving clinical trials, and by training future surgical oncologists like Dr. Senthil and her extraordinary fellows, we are poised to make a difference in the fight against cancer.”
The John Wayne Cancer Foundation — founded by Wayne’s family in honor of the iconic actor who died of stomach cancer in 1979 and had undergone treatment for lung cancer 15 years before that — funds novel and innovative programs intended to improve patient outcomes through research, education, awareness and support.