Sara M. Tolaney, MD, MPH

Sara Tolaney, MD, MPH is Chief of the Division of Breast Oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.  Dr. Tolaney has earned both a strong national and international reputation as a talented clinical investigator and is key opinion leader in breast oncology. She has done extensive work on de-escalating therapy for patients with low-risk HER2-positive breast cancer, having developed a less toxic treatment regimen associated with a clinically low event rate.  This regimen is incorporated into national and international treatment guidelines, and she has follow-up multi-institutional studies ongoing to evaluate if even less toxic therapies may have a role in these patients.  She's also been instrumental in the development of cdk 4/6 inhibitors in breast cancer and served as the international co-PI for the first randomized study of cdk 4/6 inhibitors in HER2-positive breast cancer and having served on the steering committee for the study leading to the first approval of cdk 4/6 inhibitors in the adjuvant setting.  Dr. Tolaney has also been instrumental in developing antibody drug conjugates, having helped lead several registration trials with these novel therapies. Moreover, she has played a pivotal role in developing a series of investigator initiated clinical trials in immunotherapy, with strong translational endpoints.  Dr. Tolaney currently serves as the Chief of the Division of Breast Oncology, overseeing the department and mentors several junior faculty and fellows in their careers.  Importantly, Dr. Tolaney is also an outstanding clinician, recognized by her peers for her excellent patient care with the "Lee Nadler Extra Mile Award" and is a Senior Physician at DFCI.