Jay K. Harness, MD, FACS, FASBrS

Forty-five years.

That is how long Dr. Jay K. Harness has been showing up for breast cancer patients. As a surgeon. As a teacher. As a leader who has trained surgeons on six continents and helped shape national standards for breast cancer care.

And he’s not done yet.

Dr. Harness earned his medical degree from the University of Michigan Medical School and completed his surgical training at the University of Michigan Medical Center. He went on to hold Clinical Professor appointments at the University of Michigan, Tufts University, UC Davis, UC San Francisco, and UC Irvine — a career spanning five decades and some of the most respected academic medical institutions in the country.

A Career Built on Pioneering Breast Cancer Care

Dr. Harness spent the core of his career advancing breast cancer surgery and patient-centered care in ways that shaped the field nationally. He served as Director of the University of Michigan Breast Care Center, Medical Director of the St. Joseph Hospital Comprehensive Breast Center in Orange, California, and Chief of Surgical Oncology at Highland General Hospital in Oakland.

His leadership extended to the highest levels of his profession. He was a founding member of Breast Surgeons International, served as President of the American Association of Endocrine Surgeons, and served as President of the American Society of Breast Surgeons (ASBrS) — the society behind the FASBrS in his credentials, designating him a Fellow of the American Society of Breast Surgeons. He is also a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (FACS).

His honors are extraordinary — including the Medal of the Danish Surgical Society, the Career Impact Award from the National Consortium of Breast Centers (2024), designation as Best Doctors in America® across multiple years, and eleven consecutive years of the Orange County Physician of Excellence Award from 2007 through 2017. He has lectured on every continent and trained surgeons around the world.

He has also served as Chief Medical Officer of the Maple Tree Cancer Alliance and Medical Director of Breast Cancer Answers — long committed to ensuring patients have access to expert knowledge outside the clinical setting.

A New Chapter: Exercise Oncology

After four and a half decades at the forefront of surgical oncology, Dr. Harness has turned his focus to a field he describes as both urgent and transformational.

Exercise Oncology is not simply about encouraging patients to stay active. It is a structured, evidence-based discipline supported by over 3,000 clinical trials conducted across 35 years, generating more than 30,000 publications on the measurable benefits of exercise for cancer patients — before treatment, during active therapy, and into long-term survivorship.

Integrated Exercise Oncology programs bring together structured physical exercise, precision nutrition, metabolic monitoring, and behavioral support — addressing the whole person, not just the tumor.

Dr. Harness is committed to bringing this science to the patients and caregivers who need it most. And Learn Look Locate is where he has chosen to do it.

Role at Learn Look Locate

As a Medical Advisor for Learn Look Locate, Dr. Harness brings both the authority of one of breast cancer surgery’s most decorated careers and the forward-thinking vision of a physician who continues to push the science forward. His focus at LLL is Exercise Oncology — helping patients understand how movement, nutrition, and metabolic health can meaningfully improve outcomes and quality of life across every phase of the breast cancer journey. His presence on our advisory board ensures that LLL patients have access to one of the most important — and still underrepresented — conversations in breast cancer education today.