Dr. Ellen V. Sigal is the founder and chairperson of Friends of Cancer Research (“Friends”), a Washington, D.C.,-based nonprofit organization. Friends is dedicated to accelerating the nation’s progress toward prevention and treatment of cancer by mobilizing public support for cancer-research funding and providing education on key public-policy issues. Dr. Sigal serves on the National Cancer Institute Board of Scientific Advisors, the National Institutes of Health Foundation Board (she chairs its Public Private Initiatives Committee), and the American Association for Cancer Research Foundation Board. Dr. Sigal holds leadership positions with a broad range of cancer-advocacy and public-policy organizations, and leadership positions with academic health centers including Duke University Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Johns Hopkins Cancer Center Advisory Council and the Howard University Cancer Center Board of Visitors. She serves on the C-Change (formerly the National Dialogue on Cancer Research) Research Committee, and is a member of the Entertainment Industry Foundation Oversight Committee for the Biomarker Discovery Project. During her more than 20-year commitment to cancer research, Dr. Sigal has served in a number of critical public positions. She served on the National Institutes of Health prestigious Director’s Council of Public Representatives from 2003−2006. She was a presidential appointee to the National Cancer Advisory Board from 1992-1998, where she chaired the Budget and Planning Committee that oversees the federal cancer budget. In 1998, Dr. Sigal was named vice chairman of the board of the March, a national grass-roots advocacy group that brought thousands of volunteers to Washington to liaise with Congress and to set a new advocacy agenda for cancer research and treatment. She is a past member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology Foundation Board. Dr. Sigal has also been instrumental in harnessing the energies of Hollywood on behalf of cancer research, serving as president of The Creative Community Task Force for Cancer Research. For her efforts on behalf of cancer research advocacy, Dr. Sigal was awarded the Association of American Cancer Institutes’ 2004 Public Service Award and was honored by Washingtonian magazine as a 2004 Washingtonian of the Year. In 2004 she was also honored by Research! America, the George Washington University Cancer Institute, and the International Spirit of Life Foundation. Dr. Sigal was awarded the 2002 American Society of Clinical Oncology Special Recognition Award, the 1999 Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center National Leadership Award, and the 1998 American Association for Cancer Research National Leadership Award.