IECD Leadership

Bruce Chabner

Associate Director

Dr. Chabner has had extensive experience in the field of cancer drug discovery and development. During his career at the National Cancer Institute, he served as a Senior Investigator in the Laboratory of Chemical Pharmacology and Director of the Division of Cancer Treatment from 1982 to 1995. In 1995, he became the first Clinical Director of the MGH Cancer Center and organized its multidisciplinary clinical centers and its fellowship program in collaboration with Partners at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. His primary research interest has continued to be in cancer drug development, but now include outreach programs to underserved communities in Boston and abroad. From 2000 to 2012 he served as the first Associate Director for Clinical Science of the Dana Farber/Harvard Cancer Center grant. Dr. Chabner is a senior editor for the Oncologist and serves on the executive advisory boards for some of the industry's leading innovators in drug development. In 2006, Dr. Chabner received a presidential appointment to the National Cancer Advisory Board at the NCI and served as its chairperson from 2010-2012. 

Karen Burns White

Deputy Associate Director

Karen Burns White, Deputy Associate Director for the Initiative has co-led the Initiative to Eliminate Cancer Disparities at DF/HCC since 2001. As Deputy Associate Director, Ms. Burns White coordinates the planning and implementation of the Cancer Center's efforts to increase minority participation at all levels of the Center's activities. Ms. Burns White leads the implementation of an integrated structure that involves a multi-prong approach including community engagement, cultural competency, recruitment and retention of minority faculty, and training. Ms. Burns White secured the first training grant supplement to the existing P30 Cancer Center grant that established a pipeline program known as the Continuing Umbrella of Research Experiences (CURE), to increase the participation of underrepresented minorities in cutting edge cancer research. Under Ms. Burns White's leadership, she and her colleagues have been successful in seeking opportunities to further strengthen and sustain the cancer center’s community and training portfolios. Ms. Burns White also has a long history of involvement with civic and community organizations. She currently serves as a member of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Cancer Advisory Committee, whose primary responsibility is to identify priorities and develop strategies for program development and implementation for the state cancer control plan.

Emily McMains

Research Training Specialist

As the Research Training Specialist for the Continuing Umbrella of Research Experiences (CURE) Program at the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center, Dr. McMains coordinates hands-on, mentored cancer research experiences for undergraduate and high school students from underrepresented populations in research environments across the DF/HCC community. She received her doctorate in Biological Sciences at Louisiana State University, where she also worked as an instructor of human physiology. She then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Texas at Austin in retinal regeneration and developmental genetics. In her current role, Dr. McMains draws on her scientific, instructional, and mentoring expertise to work toward two broader professional goals: (1) to build inclusive, supportive, and effective scientific communities where everyone has a seat at the table, regardless of demographic identity and (2) to create training opportunities that foster efficient and creative progress in scientific research.