New Board Member Announced for Pittsburgh Komen for the Cure

West Penn Allegheny Health System radiologist William R. Poller, MD, has been appointed to the board of directors of the

Dr. Poller will serve a two-year term during which he will advise, assist and aid the Komen Pittsburgh Affiliate in its efforts to support breast cancer education and outreach, according to a news release. He is the first physician to be named to the affiliate’s board.

Dr. Poller is director of breast imaging for West Penn Allegheny Health System and co-director of the Breast Care Center at Allegheny General Hospital. He also serves as associate professor of medicine with Drexel University College of Medicine.

Board-certified in diagnostic radiology, Dr. Poller earned his undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. He completed an internship at Montefiore Hospital followed by residency and fellowship training at Albert Einstein Medical Center in New York.

“As a clinician focused on the early diagnosis of breast cancer, I am honored to join the Pittsburgh Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure’s board,” Dr. Poller said in the release. “I am a staunch supporter of the Komen mission to eradicate breast cancer and look forward to helping the organization assist more local women in finding the screenings and care that they need to stay healthy.”

The Komen Pittsburgh Affiliate has contributed more than $23 million to the fight against breast cancer. Twenty-five percent of the money raised by the affiliate supports national research grants, while the remaining 75 percent funds local breast cancer education, screening and treatment efforts including the Mammogram Voucher Program, which provides free mammograms to uninsured and underinsured women throughout western and central Pennsylvania.

The Komen Pittsburgh Race for the Cure has become a Mother’s Day tradition in the tri-state area and draws more than 34,000 participants annually, including nearly 3,000 breast cancer survivors. In addition to the MVP, race proceeds have funded portable mammography equipment, fellowships in women’s imaging and scholarships for technicians who administer mammograms.