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Two University of Florida College of Medicine surgical oncologists started off the year by taking on new leadership roles, as they further grow their involvement in key organizations.

UF chief of surgical oncology Steven Hochwald, M.D., now sits as the Florida state chair of the American College of Surgeons' Commission on Cancer, a consortium of professional organizations dedicated to improving survival and quality of life for cancer patients.

In this role Hochwald will work as part of a network of 64 state chairs who guide liaison physicians from cancer programs throughout the country, to work together to assess patterns of care, outcomes, quality of care and community-based cancer control projects. Additional responsibilities include, working with national and state agencies to support data driven comprehensive cancer control planning, with the goal of reducing cancer incidence, morbidity and morality.

Hochwald, an associate professor of surgery, was named the Edward M. Copeland, III, M.D. Professor of Surgery in late 2008; a position that will enable him to further focus on translating laboratory findings into patient care practices. Copeland, an internationally known expert in the field of breast cancer, served as chairman of the UF department of surgery for more than 20 years.

Stephen Grobmyer, M.D., chief of the Breast, Melanoma, Sarcoma, and Endocrine Surgical Service, chaired an international cancer nanotechnology symposium at the Society for Surgical Oncology's annual meeting, held this March in Phoenix. Participants in the symposium included director of the National Cancer Institute, John Niederhuber, M.D. Nanotechnology, the manipulation of particles 10,000 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair, offers unprecedented opportunities for new cancer detection and treatment methods.

An assistant professor of surgery, Grobmyer was one of 26 surgeons elected into the Southern Surgical Association during the organization's annual meeting held in December 2008.