Michael Lowe, MD, MA, has been named as the new chair of the Protocol Review and Monitoring Committee at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University.
Michael Lowe, MD, MA, has been named as the new chair of the Protocol Review and Monitoring Committee at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University. The Protocol Review and Monitoring Committee assesses the scientific merit and feasibility of all cancer clinical trials conducted at Winship and monitors enrollment and progress throughout the trial’s duration.
As chair, Lowe will lead the Protocol Review and Monitoring Committee in assuring rigorous internal oversight of Winship’s cancer clinical trials, a requirement for all National Cancer Institute-designated cancer centers. The committee is composed of faculty members and specialists with diverse scientific and clinical expertise to ensure a critical and fair review of all clinical cancer protocols. It has the authority to activate meritorious trials and to close trials that are not meeting criteria for scientific progress, enrollment or performance standards. The Protocol Review and Monitoring Committee complements the work of Emory University’s Institutional Review Board, which focuses on the protection of patients, and Winship’s Data and Safety Monitoring Committee, which ensures patient safety, ethical research conduct and data integrity.
“Our protocol review process is designed to ensure that Winship clinical trials meet the highest standards of scientific merit and clinical excellence,” says Winship Executive Director Suresh Ramalingam, MD, FACP, FASCO. “With clinical research experience spanning scientific review to clinical implementation, Dr. Lowe is an exceptional person to lead the crucial charge of the Winship Protocol Review and Monitoring Committee.”
Lowe is the Melanoma Disease Team leader at Winship and an associate professor of surgery in the Division of Surgical Oncology at Emory University School of Medicine. A surgical oncologist specializing in skin cancer, his clinical research centers on the application of conventional and novel immune targets for patients with advanced melanoma. He has been actively involved in melanoma clinical trial development and administration since he joined Winship in 2016. He has led numerous investigator-initiated clinical trials and co-chaired trials for several cooperative groups, including ECOG-ACRIN and SWOG, and the National Cancer Institute’s National Clinical Trials Network (NCTN).
“It is a privilege to serve on the Protocol Review and Monitoring Committee alongside such a talented and dedicated group of experts,” says Lowe. “All of us on the committee recognize the importance of our role and are committed to advancing high-quality cancer research for our patients.”