PHILADELPHIA (October 16, 2023) — Joseph Friedberg, MD, FACS, Thoracic Surgeon-In-Chief for Temple Health, Professor of Thoracic Medicine and Surgery, Professor in the Division of Thoracic Surgery at Fox Chase Cancer Center, and Melissa Culligan, RN, BSN, MSc, PhD candidate, Director of Thoracic Surgery Research in the Department of Thoracic Medicine and Surgery at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University, were recently appointed to new positions in the International Mesothelioma Interest Group (iMig).
The organization is made up of physicians, nurses, researchers, scientists, and advocates working to facilitate research, education, and collaboration to encourage advancements in best treatments for mesothelioma patients globally. The group was formed in 1995 and is the only international society dedicated specifically to the study of mesothelioma, is a rare cancer that can occur in the lining of the chest cavity, abdomen, pericardium, or testes.
It is typically caused by inhaled asbestos. Consequently, greater than 80% of mesothelioma occurs in the chest — pleural mesothelioma. This form of mesothelioma is one of the deadliest cancers known to man and is currently considered incurable. The life expectancy often cited for patients with the disease is in the one-year range. Friedberg and Culligan are considered international leaders in the treatment and study of pleural mesothelioma.
Friedberg serves as Co-Director of the Temple-Fox Chase Cancer Center Mesothelioma and Pleural Disease Program, and is a pioneer in the use of lung-sparing surgical techniques in the treatment of pleural mesothelioma. He has also been an NIH- funded mesothelioma researcher for many years. His clinical interests include mesothelioma and the surgical treatment of advanced lung cancer and complex thoracic malignancies.
He is on the iMig Board of Directors and was elected to the position of Secretary at the 2023 meeting in Lille, France. He also serves on the Scientific Advisory Board for the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation and previously served on the Mesothelioma Committee for the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC).
Culligan has more than 30 years of experience in the field of thoracic surgery, with a primary focus on pleural mesothelioma. Her doctoral research is focused on quality of life studies related to patients undergoing lung-sparing surgery for pleural mesothelioma. She serves as the other Co-Director of the Temple-Fox Chase Cancer Center Mesothelioma and Pleural Disease Program.
She was elected to the iMig Board of Directors at the recent 2023 meeting. She is also past President of the International Thoracic Oncology Nursing Forum and is currently serving on its steering committee. In addition, she is Chair of the Nursing and Allied Health Professionals Committee for the IASLC and recently delivered one of the presidential addresses at the organization’s World Lung Conference in Singapore.