Mary Lou Smith

Mary Lou Smith, JD, MBA, FASCO is a Co-founder of the Research Advocacy Network. She is a two-time breast cancer survivor and an ovarian and colon cancer survivor and serves as Chair of the ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Advocates Committee. She also serves on the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Breast Cancer Screening and Treatment Guidelines Committees. She is a member of the Mayo Breast SPORE and the NCI Breast Steering Committee’s BOLD Task Force. Mary Lou serves on the boards of the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers and Gateway for Cancer Research. She was a community member of the Rush University Medical Center Institutional Review Board for 10 years. Mary Lou is a past president of Y-ME National Breast Cancer Organization and has served on the Cancer Leadership Council and the National Breast Cancer Coalition’s Board of Directors.

Mary Lou has worked in health care for over 20 years in both hospital administration and consulting. She was involved in the development of numerous managed care products for the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, including a Pediatric Cancer Network. Mary Lou has a Juris Doctorate with a Health Law Certification and a master’s degree in Business Administration.