Written by: Anna Waters
Media contact: Bob Shepard, bshep@uab.edu
Helen Krontiras, M.D., has been named the new director of the Division of Surgical Oncology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Krontiras, a professor in the Department of Surgery in the UAB School of Medicine, joined UAB as an assistant professor 15 years ago.
She earned her medical degree and completed her residency at UAB before completing a surgical breast fellowship at Northwestern University.
Krontiras is the director of the UAB Breast Health Center, which was recently named one of the top breast health centers in the country. She is the co-director of the Lynne Cohen Preventive Care Program for Women's Cancers at UAB and the co-director of the Breast Cancer Prevention and Risk Assessment Clinic. She is also a senior scientist at the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center and the assistant chief medical officer for Ambulatory Quality and Patient Safety for UAB Medicine.
Krontiras’ primary research interests lie in the chemoprevention of breast cancer. At the UAB Breast Health Center, she works with other surgeons, medical oncologists and radiation oncologists to help about 450 new breast cancer patients every year.
Krontiras works as the clinical investigator on a new drug developed by UAB researchers.
“We’ve just completed the first human study of the rexinoid UAB30,” Krontiras said. “We are excited about the clinical and preclinical data. It appears UAB30 may be able to reduce the risk of developing breast cancer with very little toxicity. We plan to begin the next phase of clinical trials in early 2017.”