Academic History

Heather McArthur, MD, MPH, FASCO, is a Professor of Internal Medicine, the Clinical Director of Breast Cancer, and the Komen Distinguished Chair in Clinical Breast Cancer Research at the University of Texas Southwestern (UTSW) Medical Center, Dallas, TX. Prof.  McArthur obtained her medical degree at the University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada. She completed her residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada, and a fellowship in Medical Oncology at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. Following this, she completed an advanced clinical research fellowship in breast cancer at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY. Prof. McArthur also holds a Master of Public Health from Harvard University.

She is an active member of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG). She serves on the Immuno-Oncology Committee Advisory Council for the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology and the Breast Immuno-Oncology Task Force of the Breast Cancer Steering Committee for the National Cancer Institute, and has previously served ASCO as chair of the Annual Meeting Immuno-Oncology Scientific Program Committee and on grant selection committees.

Speaking on breast cancer and novel immunotherapies

Prof. McArthur’s research activities are focused on innovations in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer, with a particular interest in novel immunotherapy strategies. She is currently investigating tumor destruction with cryoablation or radiation alongside immune stimulation in early-stage breast cancer. She has designed and led many investigator-initiated studies in breast cancer, including trials of immune checkpoint inhibitors and antibody-drug conjugates, and serves on a number of steering committees for Phase III clinical trials.