Ruben Mesa, MD, FACP, has been elected an officer on the national board of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Dr. Mesa is director of the Mays Cancer Center, where he holds the Mays Family Foundation Distinguished University Presidential Chair. The Mays Cancer Center is the only National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Cancer Center in South Texas, and one of only four in Texas.
He is a nationally known researcher of myeloproliferative neoplasms, a group of rare blood disorders, and sees patients with these disorders from throughout the U.S. at the Mays Cancer Center.
Dr. Mesa, who will serve as an at-large officer for the LLS, has been principal investigator or co-principal investigator of more than 70 clinical trials for patients with myeloid disorders and has played a lead role in several Food and Drug Administration approvals for treatments.
“I first became involved with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society national board in 2018 and have enjoyed participating in many leadership and educational initiatives. Most recently, we have focused our efforts on educating fellow oncologists and cancer patients on precautions to take during the COVID-19 pandemic so that patients can continue receiving their treatments safely. Of course, we are also encouraging the general public to continue getting their cancer screenings so that cancer doesn’t develop undetected,” he said.