Elizabeth Swisher M.D. graduated cum laude from Yale University and received her medical degree from the University of California at San Diego. She completed her residency in obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Washington and a fellowship in gynecologic oncology at Washington University, St Louis. She joined the faculty at the University of Washington in 1999 where she is currently a Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Gynecologic Oncology and an adjunct Professor in the Department of Medicine, Division of Medical Genetics. Both her clinical and laboratory work focus on cancer genetics. She is medical director of the Breast and Ovarian Cancer Prevention Program at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. Her research has been funded by the NIH, the Department of Defense, the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation, and other cancer foundations. Dr. Swisher’s research has primarily focused on understanding the early events of ovarian carcinogenesis and on the development of novel biomarkers of disease and prognosis, with an emphasis on the role of the BRCA-Fanconi anemia pathway. She has been exploring how a better understanding of this pathway can lead to more effective therapies and prevention of ovarian cancers. She is principal investigator on several PARP inhibitor therapeutic trials and leads the translational research for numerous other clinical trials. Her overall goal is to reduce the burden of ovarian cancer by combining broader identification of inherited risk with effective prevention.