Heather McArthur, MD, MPH is the Clinical Director of Breast Cancer and Komen Distinguished Chair in Clinical Breast Research at University of Texas Southwestern (UTSW) Medical Center. Dr. McArthur is a medical oncologist with a clinical practice dedicated to the care of patients with breast cancer. Her research activities are focused on innovations in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer, with a particular interest in novel immune therapy strategies. For example, she is currently evaluating the impact of tumor destruction with freezing (cryoablation) or radiation in combination with immune stimulation for the treatment of women with early stage breast cancer. It is hoped that by augmenting one’s immune response to the unique biologic features of one’s tumor, that an affected individual may develop long-term immunity against their tumor, and thus, be cured.

Dr. McArthur completed formal medical oncology training in Canada where she was awarded a highly competitive grant that funded an advanced fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) in New York. Thereafter, she joined MSKCC as faculty where she developed the institutional breast cancer immunotherapy program before joining Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles in 2016 and UTSW in Dallas in 2021. She has a Master’s in Public Health with a focus on clinical trial design from Harvard University and has mentored many medical students, residents, fellows, and junior faculty in the conduct and reporting of several studies – two of which directly informed National Comprehensive Cancer Network treatment guidelines.

Dr. McArthur has held several leadership positions in the field including Co-Chair of a Breast International Group Immunotherapy Taskforce, member of a National Cancer Institute (NCI) Breast Cancer Immuno-Oncology (IO) Task Force, Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) breast expert panel, and member of an Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology IO Committee. She has served the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) on the Annual Meeting IO Scientific Committee Leader, as co-chair of the Practice Health Committee,  as member of the YIA/CDA Grant Selection Committee, as faculty at the Annual Meeting Grant Writing Workshop, as member of a Guideline Expert Panel, and member of Educational Book Reviewt Panels. She has participated in the ASCO Leadership Development Program; reviewed manuscripts for various high impact journals; authored numerous articles; and served on many study steering committees. She has designed, conducted, and reported on many studies in breast cancer and is currently the co-PI for a large, randomized, international phase 3 study exploring adjuvant chemotherapy with or without immune therapy for the treatment of triple negative breast cancer (IMpassion030).