Danish Research Center for Cancer Surgery | ACROBATIC
Research Collaboration Across Surgical Oncology for Better Patient Care
Organization
ACROBATIC is supported by the Danish Cancer Society and integrated within the national Danish Comprehensive Cancer Center (DCCC). The center is managed by:
- The Center Management Team
- The Executive Committee
- The Steering Committee
Furthermore, the following groups assist the center in different matters:
- an international Advisory Board
- patient organizations
The Management Team
The Center Management Team consists of the Chairman and the Vice-chairman of The Executive Committee as well as the Scientific Coordinator. The Chairman of the Executive Committee is also the Center Leader of ACROBATIC.
Lene Hjerrild Iversen, MD PhD
Center Leader & Chairman
Pernille Tine Jensen, MD PhD
Vice-Chairman
Marie-Louise Holm, MSc PhD
Scientific Coordinator
The Executive Committee
The Executive Committee consists of 13 members, including 8 surgeons from four of the regions in Denmark, the Chairman and the Vice-chairman of the Executive Committee, as well as the Scientific Coordinator, a patient representative from the patient organization ‘Lung cancer’ and a NI Leader. Broad professional, methodological and geographical composition is ensured with representation from all five Danish Regions; taking into account that different cancers are represented to the widest possible extent and with representatives from all three CFAs.
Members
The Executive Committee consists of the following members.
Chairman
Lene Hjerrild Iversen, MD, PhD
Professor, Senior Consultant Abdominal Surgeon
Dept. of Surgery, Aarhus University Hospital
Vice-Chairman
Pernille Tine Jensen, MD, PhD
Professor, Senior Consultant Gynaecologist
Dept. of Gynecology, Aarhus University Hospital and Aarhus University
Scientific Coordinator
Marie-Louise Holm, MSc, PhD
Scientific Coordinator
ACROBATIC
Committee Member
Ole Thorlacius-Ussing, MD, PhD
Professor, Senior Consultant Abdominal Surgeon
Dept. of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Aalborg University Hospital
Committee Member
Rune Erichsen, MD, PhD
Associate Professor, Senior Registrar in Surgery
Dept. of Clinical Epidemiology, Aarhus University
Committee Member
Bente Thoft Jensen, RN, MPH, PhD
Senior Researcher
Dept. of Urology, Aarhus University Hospital
Committee Member
Thomas Baad-Hansen, MD, PhD
Professor, Senior Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon
Dept. of Othopaedic Surgery, Aarhus University Hospital
Committee Member
Peter Christensen, MD, PhD
Professor, Senior Consultant Abdominal Surgeon
Dept. of Surgery, Aarhus University Hospital
Committee Member
Mads Hvid Aaberg Poulsen, MD, PhD
Senior Consultant Urologist
Dept. of Urology, Odense University Hospital
Committee Member
Gitte Persson, MD, PhD
Professor
Dept. of Oncology, Herlev Hospital
Committee Member
Tine Damsgaard, MD, PhD, MRBS
Professor, Senior Consultant Plastic Surgeon
Dept. of Plastic Surgery and Burns Treatment, Rigshospitalet
Committee Member
Lisbeth Søbæk Hansen
Patient Representative
Patient Organization for Lung Cancer
Committee Member
Susanne Oksbjerg Dalton
Director
Danish Center for Equality in Cancer (COMPAS), Department of Clinical Oncology & Palliative Care, Zealand University Hospital
The Steering Committee
The Steering Committee constitutes ACROBATIC’s Center of Knowledge in Surgical Oncology comprising all leaders of the Work Packages (WP) and the NIs, as well as all six patient representatives, who contribute with scientific knowledge sharing.
The Steering Committee consists of key persons from:
- Collaborative cancer units ensuring representatives of various cancers
- The Clinical Focus Areas (CFAs)
- The National Infrastructures (NIs)
- Patient organizations
All WP Leaders, NI Leaders and all six patient representatives will be on the Steering Committee, which will meet one to two times per year. WP Leaders within each CFA are meeting at least three times per year to ensure progress of their research activities, and importantly, to facilitate further development of research across the surgical disciplines.
Advisory Board
An international Advisory Board of five leading experts distributed within the CFAs will assist the Steering Committee regularly, and contribute to the planning of clinical trials. At present, four experts has bee appointed:
Expert in colorectal cancer, robotic surgery, and survivorship
Julio Garcia-Aguilar, MD, PhD
Chief Attending, Senior Consultant Surgeon
Department of Surgery, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Expert in sarcoma
Ajay Puri, MBBS, MSc, PhD
Professor, Head of Department
Department of Surgical Oncology, TATA Memorial Centre, Mumbai, India
Expert in prehabilitation
Chelsia Gillis, Dietitian, RD, MSc, PhD
Assistant Professor, Registered Dietitian
Nutrition Lead, Peri Operative Program, McGill University Health Centre, Canada
Expert in cancer specific prehabilitation
Anna Campbell, MSc, PhD
Professor
Clinical Exercise Sciences, School of Applied Science, Edinburgh Napier University, UK
A fifth international expert will be appointed after a grant.
Patient organizations
Patient representatives of six organizations have committed themselves to become active participants in ACROBATIC. They represent organizations of lung, colorectal, bladder, prostate, and gynecological cancer, as well as survivorship and late adverse effects.
The patient representatives are part of the Steering Committee, and share and disseminate new knowledge to patient organizations and the public. Further, they are involved in patient-directed written information and communication, and they are invited to contribute within all parts of research from the design of clinical protocols to interpretation of data.
Patient representatives
Bowel Cancer Association
Jette Lyngholm
Danish Cancer Survivorship and Late Effects Group
Marianne Nord Hansen
Patient Organization for Prostate Cancer
Niels Einer-Jensen
Patient Organization for Lung Cancer
Lisbeth Søbæk Hansen
Patient Organization for Women with Gynecological Cancer
Birthe Lemley
Patient Organization for Bladder Cancer
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