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DenseBreast-info, Inc.

Get Smart About Being Dense

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Board of Directors

  • JoAnn Pushkin, Executive Director, has coauthored educational courses, articles, grants, and speaks on the topic of breast density and inform/insurance efforts.
  • Laurie Scofield, CPA, CIA, CRMA, Treasurer / Secretary, is an audit and risk management professional, and is also a patient advocate and the Founder of DENSE NJ.
  • Wendie Berg, MD, PhD, serves as Chief Scientific Advisor and is Professor of Radiology at University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine/Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC.
  • Robin Seitzman, PhD, MPH, Director of Education and Epidemiology Research, has over 20 years experience in the design, conduct and analysis of epidemiologic research.
  • Deepa Narayanan, MS, MBA,, is a healthcare innovation leader with over a decade of experience funding and supporting innovative startups in breast cancer.
  • Sharon Smith, Honorary Board member, provides corporate and industry support.

Co-Founders

JoAnn Pushkin | Our Team | Dense Breast Info

JoAnn Pushkin

JoAnn Pushkin, Executive Director, has coauthored educational courses, articles, grants, and speaks on the topic of breast density and inform efforts. She learned of her own breast density's masking effect on her mammogram after finding a palpable lump which went undetected by mammography several years in a row. Ms. Pushkin's initiative and advocacy served as inspiration for New York State's Breast Density Inform bill, signed into law in July 2012.
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JoAnn Pushkin, Executive Director, has authored/coauthored educational courses, articles, grants, and speaks on the topics of breast density and inform/insurance efforts. She was named the Society of Breast Imaging's 2025 Honorary Fellow. Her work began when she learned of her own breast density's masking effect on her mammogram after finding a palpable lump which went undetected by mammography several years in a row. Ms. Pushkin's initiative and advocacy served as inspiration for New York State's Breast Density Inform bill, signed into law in July 2012. On the federal level, Ms. Pushkin led the efforts for both the introduction of the Federal Breast Density and Mammography Reporting Act, as well as the FDA’s Mammography Quality Standards Act regulatory amendment consideration, on whose behalf she was invited to testify and organized advocacy efforts to support. She is also cofounder of the advocacy group DENSE (Density Education National Survivors’ Effort) and founder of DENSE NY which work to ensure that women are notified of their own breast density.
Wendie Berg, MD, PhD | Our Team | Dense Breast Info

Wendie Berg, MD, PhD

Wendie A. Berg, MD, PhD, FACR, FSBI, Chief Scientific Advisor, is Distinguished Professor of Radiology, Dr. Barnard Fisher Chair for Breast Cancer Research, at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC. Dr. Berg specializes in breast imaging and sees patients at Magee-Womens Hospital in Pittsburgh, PA. Dr. Berg writes and co-edits one of the leading textbooks of breast imaging, Diagnostic Imaging: Breast (Amirsys; currently in its third edition) and has authored or coauthored over 120 peer-reviewed research publications on breast imaging.
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Wendie A. Berg, MD, PhD, FACR, FSBI, Chief Scientific Advisor, is Distinguished Professor of Radiology, Dr. Bernard Fisher Chair for Breast Cancer Research, at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC. Dr. Berg specializes in breast imaging and sees patients at Magee-Womens Hospital in Pittsburgh, PA. Dr. Berg writes and co-edits one of the leading textbooks of breast imaging, Diagnostic Imaging: Breast (Amirsys; currently in its third edition) and has authored or coauthored over 120 peer-reviewed research publications on breast imaging. She has been the Principal Investigator of many important research studies in breast imaging, most notably, with support of the Avon Foundation and the National Cancer Institute, the ACRIN 6666 protocol, which evaluated screening ultrasound and screening MRI in women with dense breasts. Dr. Berg has led important research evaluating positron emission mammography and MRI in women with newly diagnosed cancer, and is part of an outstanding team of physicians at UPMC who are evaluating tomosynthesis, fast MRI, contrast-enhanced mammography, and molecular breast imaging approaches to breast imaging.

Education, Program Administration

  • Cheryl Cruwys, European Education Coordinator, works to extend DBI relationships at the European level with patient advocacy and medical societies, through reach out to international breast imaging experts, and attends/presents at key scientific symposiums. She has been instrumental in breast density education in the United Kingdom.
  • Amy Pettis, Programs Administrator, has a Master of Public and Nonprofit Administration degree, with Certification in Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership.

Medical Advisory Board

  • DaCarla M. Albright, MD, FACOG, OB/GYN, Professor, Associate Dean for Student Affairs and Wellness, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia PA
  • Shusheila Appavoo, MD, FRCPC, Associate Clinical Professor, Department of Radiology and Diagnostic Imaging, University of Alberta, Canada Chair, Patient Engagement Group, Canadian Society of Breast Imaging
  • Emily F. Conant, MD, FSBI, Professor and Chief, Division of Breast Imaging, Vice Chair of Faculty Development, Department of Radiology, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
  • Stamatia V. Destounis, MD, FACR, FSBI, Attending Radiologist, Elizabeth Wende Breast Care, Professor, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY
  • Elizabeth Etkin-Kramer, MD, FACOG, OB/GYN, Assistant Professor, Florida International University School of Medicine, Founder Yodeah.org, Miami Beach, FL
  • Paula Gordon, OC, OBC, MD, FRCPC, FSBI, Clinical Professor, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC Canada
  • Lars Grimm, MD, MHS, FSBI, Associate Professor, Division of Breast Imaging, Department of Radiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC
  • Jennifer A. Harvey, MD, FACR, FSBI, Dr. Stanley M. Rogoff & Dr. Raymond Gramiak Professor and Chair, Department of Imaging Sciences, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York
  • Regina Hooley, MD, FSBI, Professor of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Department of Diagnostic Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Vice Chair for Clinical Affairs, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT
  • Linda Hovanessian Larsen, MD, Professor and Chief, Division of Breast Imaging, Department of Radiology, Los Angeles General Medical Center and Keck Medicine of USC, Los Angeles, California
  • Daniel E. Lehrer, MD, DenseBreast-info.org Spanish Language Advisor, Breast Imaging Specialist, Medical Director of CERIM, Buenos Aires, Argentina
  • Ellen B. Mendelson, MD, MA, FACR, FSBI, FSRU, Professor Emeritus of Radiology (Breast and Women's Imaging), Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL
  • Flavia Sarquis, MD, Coordinator of the Breast Imaging Department, Argus Diagnóstico Médico, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Staff mastologist, TCba Buenos Aires, Argentina. Accredited Mastologist by the Argentinian Society of Mastology.
  • Jean M. Seely, MD, FRCPC, FSBI, Full Professor of Radiology, University of Ottawa. Head of Breast Imaging Section, The Ottawa Hospital, Ontario, Canada
  • Priscilla J. Slanetz, MD, MPH, FACR, FSBI, FAAWR, FAAR, Professor of Radiology, Geisel School of Medicine and Adjunct Professor of Radiology, Boston University Chobanian & Avedesian School of Medicine, Boston, MA
  • Athina Vourtsis, MD, PhD, DenseBreast-info.org European Liaison, Director and Founder of Diagnostic Mammography Center, Athens, Greece

Patient Advisory Group

  • Kim Armstrong, a print/digital media marketing manager, first visited the website when seeking accurate information about breast imaging insurance coverage. She was impressed by the wealth and depth of information available and the ease of quickly finding the answers. She is passionate about women’s wellness and empowerment and shares her input to advance those goals.
  • Patti Beyer, is an educator, breast cancer survivor and the lead advocate for the Illinois “inform” law. She discovered the website when researching her own diagnosis and appreciated that it was medically-sourced and direct about giving answers to women. She continues her work with DBI as she feels women must come together and assist in every way they can with all things that affect women’s lives.
  • Katherine H. Friedman, has a background in finance. As a high-risk breast cancer patient, she discovered the DBI website when researching a question about insurance coverage and is grateful for the depth and breadth of website content. That the website is medically sourced and clearly fueled by a “huge amount of brainpower” motivates her to lend her own support to improve outcomes for patients.
  • Diana King, is a patient advocate who discovered that her later-stage breast cancer was missed on a mammogram due to her breast density. She became aware of DenseBreast-info.org/Europe through fellow patient advocates. She finds the wealth of trustworthy information on the website invaluable and shares her experience and expertise to help DBI inform, educate and empower women for better outcomes.

With Gratitude

  • Cindy Henke-Sarmento, RT(R)(M)(BA), DenseBreast-info.org website designer, Co-Founder and former Technology Director
Many of our medical expert reviewers are both clinicians and researchers. Medical research is either government funded or industry sponsored and reviewers and contributors to content may have participated in either or both. All physician reviewers maintain current disclosures within the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services database as required by law. Disclosures available upon request.