Boston – Dr. Julie Silver, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School and a cancer survivor, has been named The Globe 100 Top Innovator in Medicine 2012 for her Northborough healthcare company, Oncology Rehab Partners, and her model of cancer rehabilitation, STAR Program? Certification, which is being implemented by hospitals, cancer centers, and rehabilitation practices in more than 30 states.
“I's very appreciative of the honor. It's a powerful validation of the importance of cancer rehabilitation as a necessary next step after treatment to improve survivors” quality of life,” Dr. Silver said.
The Boston Globe's second annual Globe 100 Most Innovative in Massachusetts awards honor individuals across a wide range of fields who have contributed to our economy and community in innovative ways over the past year. A panel of six esteemed judges chose the state's 12 top innovators from a large pool of nominees in a variety of key industries. Judges included Henri Termeer, former CEO of biotech giant Genzyme Corp., Greg Selkoe, founder of online streetware retailer Karmaloop, and well-known philanthropist Dan Pallotta, among others.
Dr. Silver, a physician in physical medicine and rehabilitation who is on the staff at three of Harvard Medical School's teaching institutions including Spaulding, Massachusetts General and Brigham and Women's Hospitals, conceived Oncology Rehab Partners after her own bout with breast cancer left her with post-treatment symptoms that made it impossible to care for her family or return to work. As she struggled to recover, she questioned why the same principles of rehabilitation that are widely recognized as beneficial in fields such as cardiac and orthopedic medicine were not being applied to oncology, and it led to the creation of the STAR Program Certification.
