Dear esteemed SGO members, friends, and gynecologic oncology community,
As we embark on a new year, I am more grateful than ever for the dedication and expertise of our SGO member leaders, committee members, and staff. Our shared commitment to advancing gynecologic cancer care and fostering the professional development and wellbeing of our membership is a source of inspiration for me and everyone at the SGO. As we navigate a time of rapid evolution in healthcare and scientific research, our team has been intently focused on organizational transformation, innovative education content development, policy advocacy, and forging key partnerships. These efforts are crucial to advancing the SGO mission and equipping our members to adapt and thrive during these changing times. Kim Hoarle, MBA, CAE, our visionary new CEO, and I are eager to share more about this behind-the-scenes work and what it means for members at the SGO Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer in Seattle, Washington, USA. In the meantime, I wish to take a moment to highlight several developments and upcoming events for our membership.
Expanded Board of Directors
- Board of Directors Members: A talented Board representative of the entire gynecologic cancer care team strengthens our Society and provides stronger support to our members. Next month, we are delighted to welcome our first international and non-gynecologic oncology members to the board room. Congratulations to all elected to serve, including our incoming President-Elect II, Jubilee Brown, MD, and our first medical oncologists and international members, Helen MacKay, MD, from Toronto, Canada, and Ana Oaknin, MD, from Barcelona, Spain!
A New and Bold Strategic Plan
- Strategic Plan Unveiling: Every three years, the SGO and Foundation for Women’s Cancer (FWC) leadership thoughtfully craft new strategic plans to guide our organizations’ future. We are proud to present our new three-year plan, which seamlessly integrates the SGO and FWC plans for the first time and outlines future initiatives and deliverables to enhance our mission and impact. Please join the SGO Presidential and FWC Chair lines on February 27, 2025, at 7:00 PM ET for an upcoming webinar on our new strategic plans and how they will benefit our membership. Register here.
Our Society Journals
- Gynecologic Oncology Journal: Under the leadership of SGO Past President and Editor-in-Chief David Cohn, MD, MBA, our flagship journal continues to excel, maintaining its impressive position as the top-ranked journal dedicated to gynecologic cancer care by reputation and impact factor and the 4th ranked journal out of 86 in OB/Gyn journals. Our companion journal, Gynecologic Oncology Reports, is also reaching new heights under the expert guidance of Editor-in-Chief Susan Modesitt, MD. The collective editorial team is working diligently to innovate and improve the quality and impact of the journals. Join our editors for an engaging session titled “Ridiculously Good Writing: How to Write Like a Boss and Publish Like a Pro” on Sunday, March 16th at the SGO Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer.
SGO Winter Meeting, Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer, and Cytoreductive Surgery Course
- Winter Meeting: Held in breathtaking Whistler, Canada, our 2025 Winter Meeting was a resounding success last month, with almost 500 attendees from various countries! Wendel Naumann, MD, Ritu Salani, MD, MBA, and our SGO meetings team beautifully led another record-setting meeting with innovative educational content and memorable mentoring and networking events. Learning from and catching up with so many colleagues in a beautiful, restorative alpine setting was wonderful.
- Annual Meeting: Our exceptional SGO meetings team and program chairs, Paola Gehrig, MD, Sean Dowdy, MD, Vickie Bae-Jump, MD, PhD, and Alexander Olawaiye, MD, and I look forward to welcoming you to beautiful Seattle, Washington—the Emerald City—for the impactful 2025 SGO Annual Meeting, March 14-17. Highlights include:
- Transformative science, impactful education sessions, and inspiring career development and networking opportunities
- Practical, high-yield masterclasses on a variety of topics
- Visionary speakers, including former NIH Director Monica Bertagnolli, MD, Joint Commission CEO Jonathan Perlin, MD, vascular surgeon and ethicist Gretchen Schwarze, MD, and New York Times Best Selling author of Multipliers and Impact Players, Liz Wiseman.
- Exciting panels and leadership discussions, including the can’t-miss State of the Society Survey/Future of the Profession/Health Policy Advocacy session
- An unforgettable night at the iconic Museum of Pop Culture (MoPop), where we invite you to come as your favorite pop culture icon!
- Advanced Course in Cytoreductive Surgery for Gynecologic Peritoneal Surface Malignancies: To meet the surgical training needs of our membership, the SGO is proud to partner with world-renowned surgical leaders, Robert Bristow, MD, MBA, William Cliby, MD, Dennis Chi, MD, Christina Fotopoulou, MD, PhD, and Ana Gerda Zahl Eriksson, MD, PhD on an exciting radical cytoreductive surgery cadaver course and novel longitudinal surgical mentoring opportunity with one-on-one and small group surgical learning. Course registration is almost full, so don’t delay reserving your spot for this exclusive training opportunity.
Health, Policy, and Socioeconomic Committee (HSPC) Advances
- Advocacy: In 2024, our advocacy efforts, led by the extraordinary SGO HPSC team (Emily Ko, MD, MSCR, Mark Shahin MD, Ryan Spencer, MD, Allison Saiz, MD, Emma Barber, MD, Margaret Liang, MD, MD, MSHPM, Katie Martino, MPH, Jessica Oldham, and policy partners, CRD Associates) educated policymakers about reimbursement for gynecologic cancer professionals, maintaining a robust supply chain of life-saving drugs and IV solutions vital for cancer treatment, equitable access to gynecologic cancer care, including expansion of telehealth services, and the importance of federally funded gynecologic oncology research. Learn more about this impressive body of work in the HPSC 2024 Impact Report.
- Staying true to our mission: Regardless of the passage of time or shifts in domestic and global political or societal landscapes, the SGO remains steadfastly committed to our mission: to accelerate innovative, high-quality, equitable, and comprehensive gynecologic cancer care. On February 12-13, 2025, the SGO will have a significant presence on Capitol Hill, 1) hosting a congressional staffers briefing luncheon on gynecologic cancers, 2) engaging in targeted one-on-one sessions with key legislators and staffers on the importance of advancing gynecologic cancer research and clinical care and supporting oncology professionals, and 3) co-hosting a roundtable women’s health research meeting with the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Women’s First Research Coalition, and the American Gynecology and Obstetrics Society.
I have heard from several SGO members regarding the evolving state of our U.S. federal health and research agencies and the potential impact on patient care, research funding, and careers. The SGO is closely monitoring these developments and collaborating with colleagues and partners in Washington, DC, and other medical societies. Regardless of shifts in domestic/global political or societal landscapes, the SGO remains steadfastly committed to its mission: To accelerate innovative, high-quality, equitable, and comprehensive gynecologic cancer care. On February 12-13, 2025, the SGO will have a significant presence in Washington, DC, on Capitol Hill:
- hosting a congressional staffers briefing luncheon on gynecologic cancers.
- engaging in targeted one-on-one sessions with key legislators and staffers on the importance of advancing gynecologic cancer clinical care, research, and supporting oncology professionals.
- co-hosting a roundtable women’s health meeting with the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the American Gynecology and Obstetrical Society, and Women’s First Research Coalition.
I remain deeply honored to serve as your president and look forward to seeing many of you and sharing updates on our Society’s progress and plans in Seattle. Please don’t hesitate to contact me anytime with your ideas or input.
In solidarity and with heartfelt thanks,
Amanda Nickles Fader, MD
President, Society of Gynecologic Oncology