Dr. Charles M. Balch has led a distinguished career as a clinical and academic surgical oncologist for the past 50 years, as a leading authority in both melanoma, breast cancer, and immunotherapy. He has also made significant contributions to laboratory research in tumor immunology and human T lymphocyte differentiation. He is author of over 840 publications, which have been cited over 38,000 times in the biomedical literature (an average of 80 citations per article, h-index of 92). He has lectured in over 45 different countries in the world and most of the major academic centers in the United States. Dr Balch was the founding Editor-in-Chief of the Annals of Surgical Oncology, which is recognized as the leading journal in the world in its field, with over 11,000 surgical and library subscribers in 110 countries.

In past years, Dr. Balch has served as Executive Vice President and CEO of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (2000-2005), and as President and CEO of the City of Hope National Medical Center (1996-2000). At the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, from 1985-1996, Dr. Balch served as Executive Vice President for Health Affairs, Vice President of Hospital and Clinics, and Surgeon-in-Chief and Head of the Division of Surgery, among other positions. Dr. Balch’s leadership roles have involved the Society of Surgical Oncology (as President), where he currently serves as Founding Emeritus Editor-in-Chief for the society’s peer-reviewed journal, the Annals of Surgical Oncology, the American Board of Surgery (Board of Directors), the Association of Academic Surgeons (President), the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (Founding Board of Directors) The International Sentinel Node Society (as President), the Commission on Cancer (Chair, Board of Directors) and the American Joint Committee on Cancer (Executive Committee). He holds honorary memberships in 13 national surgical organizations, including the Royal College of Surgeons of England, the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, the Japan Surgical Society, the National Academy of Medicine of Mexico, and the European Society of Surgical Oncology), a Ph.D degree (honora causa) from the University of Crete, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the British Association of Surgical Oncology, Professor Emeritus from John Hopkins University, and the Highest Alumni Award from his alma mater, The University of Toledo.