The Louisiana Cancer Research Center (LCRC) announced the appointment of three new board members: Brian Boulmay, MD, professor of clinical medicine, LSU Health – New Orleans; Paige Carter, chief business development officer, Louisiana Economic Development; and Florastina Payton-Stewart, PhD, associate provost for faculty affairs, Xavier University. The new members will fill the board seats vacated by Valentine Nfonsam, MD, Arthur Cooper, and Gene D’Amour, PhD, respectively.  

‍Dr. Brian C. Boulmay is a hematologist and medical oncologist at LSU Health New Orleans and is affiliated with University Medical Center-New Orleans and the LSU LCMC Health Cancer Center. He received his medical degree from LSU School of Medicine in Shreveport and has been in practice for more than 20 years.

Before joining LSU in 2008, Dr. Boulmay completed his training in Internal Medicine and Hematology/Oncology at the University of Florida from 2002-2008. He practices at University Medical Center New Orleans and the VA Medical Center in New Orleans, where he cares for patients with lung, head & neck, and esophageal cancers. His primary academic focus is the training of hematology and medical oncology fellows and he has served as the program director of the LSU HemOnc Fellowship since 2013.

Paige M. Carter is chief business development officer for Louisiana Economic Development (LED), where she is responsible for leading and expanding LED’s business development, expansion and retention activities to drive economic growth and prosperity across Louisiana.

She previously served as the Executive Director of Industry Engagement at the LSU Foundation and was instrumental in securing the largest philanthropic donation in the university’s history and the largest corporate investment supporting energy-related initiatives. Ms. Carter has been recognized for excellence in economic development through an Area Development Silver Shovel award; leadership in her community as a 2021 honoree of the Baton Rouge Business Report 40 Under Forty; and commitment to the LSU Foundation and its mission as the 2022 Employee of the Year.

She holds a Master of Business Administration from Louisiana State University Shreveport, and graduated cum laude from Arizona State University’s New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences with a bachelor’s degree in political science and a minor in communication.

Dr. Florastina Payton-Stewart is the Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs at Xavier University of Louisiana. She received her bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from Xavier in 1999 and her PhD in Bioorganic Chemistry from Tulane University in 2007. Dr. Payton-Stewart held a postdoctoral position at Tulane University School of Medicine from 2007-2010. She joined Xavier in 2010 and is a professor in the chemistry department.Dr. Payton-Stewart is a synthetic organic chemist with experience in both academia and industry. Her research has been funded in part by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation (NSF) and Department of Defense. In her role as the Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs, Dr. Payton-Stewart provides leadership on all aspects of faculty success and support ensuring academic and research excellence. Her core areas of responsibilities are faculty recruitment and retention, enhancing faculty success, and coordinating and advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies.

She has served as a member of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Scientific Workforce Diversity Advisory Committee to the Director (ACD); a Keystone 2017 Fellow; a 2017 alumna of HERS, 2018 an alumnus of the AAC & UPKAL STEM Leadership Institute, a member of the Editorial Advisory Board for the Journal of Chemical Education and the ADVANCE Implementation Mentors (AIM) Network Advisory Board. Dr. Payton-Stewart was recently acknowledged as one of 1,000 inspiring black scientists.

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