Jerome L. Belinson, MD

An international leader in the fight against cervical cancer, Jerome L. Belinson, MD, is the recipient of the 47th Citation of Merit Award.

In 1997 Belinson read an alarming statistic: cervical-cancer death rates in parts of rural China were 20 to 30 times higher than those in the United States. He has been on a crusade ever since. To address the chasm, Belinson established Preventive Oncology International, a research organization that combines humanitarian work with scientific investigation.

Through this organization, he has worked to make screening more accessible for women in underdeveloped countries, where cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths. His efforts have also led to developing a low-cost screening system to detect and prevent cervical cancer.

As principal investigator of the Shanxi Province Cervical Cancer Screening Study, Belinson and a team of American and Chinese medical professionals treated 2,000 women between the ages of 35 and 45. The team performed 10,000 biopsies, which allowed the researchers to measure the sensitivity and specificity of the various screening tests. Specifically, data from the Shanxi study helped Belinson and his colleagues demonstrate that human papilloma virus testing, which can be self-administered, is the most accurate method for detecting high-grade cervical disease and cancer.

The data from the Shanxi project helped researchers begin larger studies in Mexico and China, and Belinson has established contacts in other high-risk areas. In poor and underdeveloped countries, where widespread Pap cytology may not be feasible, Belinson's findings have major implications. Preventive Oncology International's research projects could save hundreds of thousands of lives.

Belinson has been an expert in gynecologic oncology for more than 30 years. During this time, his work has focused on improving cervical-cancer screening for women in the United States. In addition to his role as director of Preventive Oncology International, Belinson is head of the Section of Gynecologic Oncology in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Cleveland Clinic Foundation. He is also a professor at Ohio State University.

Born in Lincoln, Ill., Jerome Belinson attended high school in Jefferson City. After receiving his bachelor's degree from Drury College in Springfield, Mo., in 1965, he graduated from MU's School of Medicine in 1968. An internship at Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago preceded his four-year residency at Columbia University, Presbyterian Hospital and Sloane Hospital for Women in New York City. He served as chief resident during the final year of his residency.

Following his training, Belinson spent two years as a major in the U.S. Army. While stationed in Wurzburg, Germany, he served as staff and chief of service for obstetrics and gynecology. He then received an American Cancer Society Fellowship in Gynecologic Oncology at the University of Miami, where he also served as an instructor for two years.

In July 1976, he accepted a position as professor at the University of Vermont. Soon after his appointment, Belinson started the first formal gynecologic oncology service at the university. From 1977 to 1990 he served as director of gynecologic oncology at Medical Center Hospital of Vermont.

Belinson moved to Ohio in 1990 to serve as chair of the Department of Gynecology at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, a position he held for 10 years. During much of this time, he also served as vice chair of the foundation's Division of Surgery. In 2000 he accepted his current position as head of gynecologic oncology. He has been a professor at Ohio State since 1992.

Throughout his career, Belinson has received the highest honors for his dedication to medicine and teaching. The University of Vermont Medical School and the Cleveland Clinic Foundation have each honored him with teacher of the year awards. He has been cited twice in Naifeh and Smith's The Best Doctors in America. Ladies Home Journal has mentioned him as one of the top doctors for women in the United States.

In addition to these honors, Belinson has published a book on gynecological cancer consultations, several textbook chapters and more than 100 journal articles. Finally, he has somehow managed to find time to compete in the long jump or triple jump in five U.S. Amateur Track and Field Championships.