Heather McArthur, M.D.

Biography

Heather McArthur, M.D., M.P.H., FASCO, is the Clinical Director of Breast Cancer and Komen Distinguished Chair in Clinical Breast Cancer Research at University of Texas Southwestern (UTSW) Medical Center. Dr. McArthur is a medical oncologist with a clinical practice dedicated to the care of patients with breast cancer. Her research activities are focused on innovations in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer, with a particular interest in novel immune therapy strategies. For example, she is currently evaluating the impact of tumor destruction with freezing (cryoablation) or radiation in combination with immune stimulation for the treatment of women with early-stage breast cancer. It is hoped that by augmenting one's immune response to the unique biologic features of one's tumor, that an affected individual may develop long-term immunity against their tumor, and thus, be cured.

Dr. McArthur completed formal medical oncology training in Canada where she was awarded a highly competitive grant that funded an advanced clinical breast cancer research fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) in New York. Thereafter, she joined MSKCC as faculty where she developed the institutional breast cancer immunotherapy (IO) program before joining Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles in 2016 and UTSW in 2021. She has a master’s in Public Health with a focus in clinical trial design from Harvard University and has mentored many medical students, residents, fellows, and junior faculty in the conduct and reporting of studies – two of which directly informed National Comprehensive Cancer Network treatment guidelines.

Dr. McArthur has held several leadership positions in the field including Co-Chair of a Breast International Group Immunotherapy Taskforce, member of the NCI Breast Cancer IO Task Force, member of the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology IO Working Group, member of several Annual Meeting Scientific Committees (ASCO, SABCS, and ESMO Breast). She has served ASCO on grant selection committees, the Breast Cancer Symposium Program Committee, as chair of the Annual Meeting IO Scientific Program Committee, as grant workshop faculty for the Annual Meeting, as member of the Annual Meeting Education Committee, as co-Chair of the Practice Health Task Force, as member of the Clinical Practice Committee and as member of an Expert Guideline Panel. She has designed, completed, and reported on many investigator-initiated studies of IO in breast cancer. She currently serves on numerous Phase III study steering committees and is the global PI or co-PI for four randomized Phase III studies of curative intent IO for the treatment of breast cancer (TROPION-Breast04, TroFuse012, IMpassion030, and Checkmate7FL).