Dear SIOP Members,

We are happy to announce the new leaders of the SIOP PARC Committee: Dr. Carl E. Allen and Dr. Girish Chinnaswamy. They take on the Chair and Vice-Chair positions at the SIOP PARC Committee, taking over from Dr. Guillermo Chantada, SIOP President, who stepped down from the PARC Committee after a 2-year period to initiative the SIOP PARC Programme.

The SIOP Board of Directors decided to establish the Programme for Advancing the Research Capacity (PARC) for Pediatric Cancer Clinical Trials in Low Income Countries and Middle Income Countries, which is governed by the SIOP PARC Committee. The PARC Programme is generously funded by Amazon and Foundation S.

Carl E. Allen, Chair of the SIOP PARC Programme

Carl E. Allen’s overall professional goal is to improve outcomes for children with cancer and blood disorders by addressing areas of greatest unmet need through innovative research, collaboration and mentorship. He is currently Professor of Pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine, Co-Director of the Lymphoma and Histiocytosis Programs, and Vice-Chair for Research for the Department of Pediatrics. His research group focuses on clinical and translational research efforts to develop and test improved therapeutic strategies for children with histiocytic disorders, lymphoproliferative disorders and lymphomas. In collaboration with the Global HOPE Program, he is also working with colleagues to develop and deploy capacity-building initiatives for care of children with cancer and blood disorders in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Dr. Girish Chinnaswamy, Vice-Chair of the SIOP PARC Programme

Dr. Girish Chinnaswamy completed his medical school and post graduate training in Pediatrics at Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER) Pondicherry, India.  He further underwent subspeciality training in Pediatric and Adolescent Oncology at the Royal London and Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals in the United Kingdom. He subsequently pursued research in Pediatric Cancer Pharmacology at the Northern Institute of Cancer Research, Newcastle University, UK studying the pharmacokinetics and pharmacogenomics of anticancer drugs in children. He has previously worked as a faculty in Pediatric Oncology at Christian Medical College Hospital Vellore, India, and is presently working as a faculty at Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai. His special interests are Pediatric neuro-oncology, solid tumors and bone tumors in children. He is a member of various national and international societies. His research interests include Pediatric cancer pharmacology including cancer drug disposition in malnourished children (with cancer), development of newer formulations (liquid formulation  etc) and drug repurposing for advanced and high risk pediatric malignancies.

To learn more about the work of the PARC Committee, please see this page here.