Dr. Julianne Childs DO has been practicing medical oncology and hematology since 1993. She started a private practice, which became the Hope Community Cancer Center in 1995 The premise was to provide professional excellence along with tender love and care for her patients in a setting close to home.

She was joined by Dr. Hemang Dave and Dr. Kaleem Ahmad in 1997 and 1999 respectively and they remained friends and partners ever since that time. In 2012 Hope affiliated with multiple practices across New Jersey through RCCA.

She is grateful for the wonderful Hope staff, who shares her vision of providing personal care.

Dr. Childs has a great passion for medicine in general and a special love for the treatment of women’s malignancies, including breast cancer and ovarian cancer, but like many community oncologists, she treats malignancies of all types.

She loves learning about her patients, and aims to treat them as a whole person and not just a disease.

She feels one of her best accomplishments is the origination of Hope Music Fest, a 501(c) charity 22 years ago. This charity provides monetary grants to cancer patients actively undergoing therapy who are suffering also from the financial toxicities of their disease.

Every year, Hope Music Fest is held in October, a night of musical celebration, open to anyone who’s been touched by cancer. (HopeMusicFest.org)

Her greatest gift, however, is her wonderful family: husband, Dr Art Childs, and her children Britt and Nick, Aimee and Jim, Emily and Alaukik, Sarah and Kyle, Hannah and Matt, Joshua. With the bonus gift: grandkids Penelope, Sebastian, Maeve and Hazel.

She is grateful to receive this honor from the American Cancer Society.

Kathie-Ann P. Joseph, MD, MPH, FACS, is Professor of Surgery at the Rutgers Cancer Institute. She serves as the Associate Chief Surgical Officer at the Rutgers Cancer Institute, Chief of Breast Surgery, Co-Director of the Breast Oncology Program, and Director of Breast Services at RWJBarnabas Health Southern Region.

Dr. Joseph holds leadership roles across numerous professional organizations. She serves on the editorial boards of the Annals of Surgical Oncology and the American Journal of Surgery and is an Examination Consultant for the American Board of Surgery’s Complex General Surgical Oncology Continuous Assessment. She chairs the Research and Education Committee for the Society of Black Academic Surgeons, serves as Vice Chair of the American College of Surgeons Committee to Advance Surgical Excellence and Inclusion, and participates in the SSO Breast Fellowship Training Committee, the ACS Committee on Interprofessional Education and Practice, and the NAPBC Standards and Accreditation Committee. In 2024, the American College of Surgeons (ACS) appointed her to the Board of Directors of the Accreditation Review Council in Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting (ARC/STSA). She is a member of the American Surgical Association, Society of University Surgeons, American College of Surgeons, Society of Surgical Oncology, and other national organizations. The ACS Committee on Interprofessional Education and Practice, which Dr. Joseph serves on, focuses on meeting the educational needs of interprofessional team members and promotes understanding among surgeons of the vital roles each discipline plays in patient care.

Dedicated to breast cancer screening and treatment in underserved populations, Dr. Joseph previously served as the Co-Director of the Beatrice W. Welters Breast Health Outreach and Navigation Program for ten years, a program she created. She was also the first medical director of the Kimmel Pavilion Unit 3 Post-Procedure Unit (KP3), one of the busiest and most important patient care areas at NYU Langone. From 2010 to 2021, Dr. Joseph was the Chief of Breast Services at Bellevue Hospital, and in 2015, she was named H+H/Bellevue Physician of the Year. She graduated from Harvard College and earned her medical degree and master’s in public health from Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, respectively. She completed her general surgery residency at NYU Langone Medical Center and her breast surgical oncology fellowship at Columbia University Medical Center.

A committed advocate for diversity and mentorship, Dr. Joseph served as president of the Columbia VP&S Alumni Association and founded the Columbia VP&S Women in Medicine Collaborative to support women medical students. In recognition of her service, she received the Columbia VP&S Gold Medal and the Columbia Alumni Medal from President Lee Bollinger in 2022.