Dr. Lee Norman appointed to board of Masonic Cancer Alliance by Governor Kelly
Colonel Lee A. Norman, M.D., MHS, MBA, secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), has been appointed by Kansas Governor Laura Kelly to the Masonic Cancer Alliance Partners Advisory Board.
Colonel Lee A. Norman, M.D., MHS, MBA, secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), has been appointed by Kansas Governor Laura Kelly to the Masonic Cancer Alliance Partners Advisory Board.
The Masonic Cancer Alliance (previously the Midwest Cancer Alliance) is the outreach network of The University of Kansas Cancer Center. The KU Cancer Center is one of only 71 cancer centers designated by the National Cancer Institute for meeting rigorous standards for transdisciplinary, state-of-the-art research. Its catchment area includes the state of Kansas as well as western Missouri.
"We are delighted Dr. Norman has been appointed to serve on the Partner Advisory Board," said Roy Jensen, M.D., director of the KU Cancer Center and chief executive officer of the Masonic Cancer Alliance. "His leadership skills, coupled with the work he does to improve the health and lives of Kansans, will enhance the Board's efforts to support the cancer center's quest to become a National Cancer Institute Comprehensive Cancer Center."
The Partners Advisory Board is a collaboration of key Masonic Cancer Alliance member hospitals and research institutions that support strategic cancer initiatives in the region. Partners Advisory Board member organizations devote a minimum of one million dollars per year in research initiatives to improve cancer research and care throughout the region and to help support the regional effort to pursue Comprehensive National Cancer Institute designation for KU Cancer Center.
"Dr. Norman is one of the most outstanding public health experts in the United States," said Fred J. Logan, Jr., J.D., chair of the Masonic Cancer Alliance Partners Advisory Board. "He will provide important perspective as the KU Cancer Center prepares to apply to the National Cancer Institute for renewal of NCI designation and for designation as a Comprehensive Cancer Center," Logan said.
Alongside Governor Kelly, Dr. Norman has been instrumental in coordinating efforts across Kansas related to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to his role as secretary of KDHE, Dr. Norman is a colonel in the Kansas Army National Guard and serves as the state surgeon of Kansas. He previously served in the United States Air Force as a family physician, flight surgeon, and combat medicine instructor, and he practiced medicine in Seattle for 20 years.