GUEST OF HONOR
Brian G.M. Durie, M.D.
Co-founder of the IMF and Chairman of the IMF Board of Directors
To most, it is abundantly clear why Dr. Brian G.M. Durie is this year s gala honoree. His life-long work dedicated to myeloma patient care and myeloma research is well known. As one of the most sought-after physicians, recognized for his kindness, listening ear and careful attention to patient diagnosis and treatment, Dr. Durie evaluates and treats five to ten new multiple myeloma patients each week, totaling several hundred new patients each year.
Based at the Cedars-Sinai Comprehensive Cancer Center in Los Angeles , Dr. Durie directs a variety of research projects, including imaging with PET scans, molecular studies, virus culture research, and a range of treatment studies involving novel agents such as VELCADE and thalidomide. Dr. Durie is the Director of Research for blood cancers for Salick Health Care, Inc., which is based at the Los Angeles cancer center and has additional sites in New York , Miami , San Francisco and Palm Springs < . In his role for these institutions, Dr. Durie coordinates clinical trial activities including setting up contracts with pharmaceutical companies for sponsored research. Dr. Durie is also co-Chairman of the myeloma committee (with Dr. Bart Barlogie) for the Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG). Funded by the National Cancer Institute, this clinical trials group conducts major national trials to evaluate new myeloma therapies..
Dr. Durie is the Chairman of the Board and Medical Director for the International Myeloma Foundation. As a co-founder of the IMF, Dr. Durie has been instrumental in establishing and implementing many of the foundation s programs over the last 14 years. During the last two years, Dr. Durie has coordinated development of the IMF sponsored new International Staging System (ISS), as well as a new set of multiple myeloma treatment guidelines allowing physicians to be familiar with state of the art myeloma care recommendations.
Originally from Scotland , Dr. Durie graduated from the University of Edinburgh Medical School in 1966. He was an intern at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary working as assistant to Professor Sir John Bruce, a prominent orthopedic surgeon, and Professor Sir James Fraser, one of the leading internal medicine physicians in Scotland . Dr. Durie completed his residencies and his fellowships in Hematology and Oncology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester , Minnesota . It was at the Mayo Clinic that Dr. Durie first worked under the direction of Dr. Robert Kyle, a world expert on multiple myeloma. At the Mayo Clinic Dr. Durie conducted several research projects including special analyses of the impact of computers on medical research and medical practice.
Upon completion of his fellowship training, Dr. Durie moved to Tucson , AZ., and began working in the Department of Hematology/Oncology at the University of Arizona . In his first year there, Dr. Durie worked on a computer project utilizing new statistical methods to calculate the number of multiple myeloma cells in the body at different stages of the disease. This project led to the development of the Durie/Salmon clinical staging system for myeloma, published in 1975 a tool used today worldwide for the evaluation of patients with multiple myeloma.
From 1989-1992 Dr. Durie assumed the chair as professor of Clinical and Laboratory Hematology, Charing Cross and Westminster School of Medicine, University of London . During this time Dr. Durie served as Chairman of the EORTC Myeloma Committee when the randomized trial comparing stem cell transplant with standard chemotherapy was planned and subsequently implemented by Dr. Attal for the IFM group. In 1992 Dr. Durie came to Los Angeles to chair the IMF and work at Cedars Sinai Medical Center .
Dr. Durie has achieved many honors and awards. He was the Scholar of the Leukemia Society of America, International patent holder for scintillation auto radiography and received the U.S. Hematological Research Foundation Annual Award in 1991. Dr. Durie is listed in the Marquis Who s Who in America and The Best Doctors in America . He has published more than 600 research papers and abstracts, as well as numerous book chapters, Myeloma Today articles and 3 published books. The most recent book, published in 2004, is the 2nd edition of the multi-authored text (465 pages) Myeloma and related disorders by Arnold publishers.
