Previous Speakers

Radiation Oncology Medical Director of East Hawaii Health Cancer Center, Hilo Hilo, HI

Associate Attending, Breast Medicine Service and Early Drug Development Service Section Head, Endocrine Therapy Research Program Clinical Director, Early Drug Development Service Department of Medicine Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Associate Professor of Medicine Weill Cornell Medical College New York, NY

Barbara Goff, MD Professor and Chair Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology | UW Medicine Surgeon-in-Chief University of Washington Medical Center   Dr. Barbara Goff received her MD at the University of Pennsylvania and did her residency at Harvard Medical School.  She did her gynecologic oncology fellowship at the Massachusetts General hospital and then joined the faculty at the University of Washington in Seattle.  She became the director of the division of gynecologic oncology at the University of Washington and Seattle Cancer Care Alliance in 2005.  Her major research focus has been in early detection of ovarian cancer, surgical skills training, novel therapeutics, survivorship and quality outcomes research in the treatment of ovarian cancer. Dr. Goff is an active gynecologic oncologist performing large numbers of surgical cases, administering chemotherapy, and supportive care for gynecologic cancer patients. Dr. Goff became the president of the Society of Gynecologic Oncology and the Foundation for Gynecologic Oncology in 2013.  She served as a Deputy Editor for the journal Gynecologic Oncology for 15 years and she is the Editor of the Gynecologic Oncology section of Up to Date. In the Fall of 2017, she became the Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Washington.  Dr. Goff is the PI of the UW K-12 WRHR training grant. She leads a group of over 120 clinicians and scientists and oversees the only academic obstetrics and gynecology residency in the WWAMI  (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho) region.

Radiation Oncologist and Medical Director Pacific Cancer Institute of Maui Wailuku, HI

Professor and Division Chief Thomas S. Kosasa Endowed Professor Gynecologic Oncology John A. Burns School of Medicine University of Hawaii Cancer Center Hawaii Pacific Health Honolulu, HI

GI Medical Oncologist and Associate Professor Division of Hematology/Medical Oncology Mayo Clinic Phoenix, AZ

Fernandez Family Foundation Endowed Chair in Cancer Research Chief of Medical Oncology Chief Scientific Officer & Deputy Director Miami Cancer Institute Baptist Health South Florida Professor of Translational Medicine Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine Florida International University Miami, FL

Associate Researcher, University of Hawaii Cancer Center Associate Professor, Department of Internal Medicine John A. Burns School of Medicine Honolulu, HI

Professor, Temple University School of Medicine Philadelphia, PA Sanjiv S. Agarwala, MD is professor of medicine at Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia. Dr. Agarwala is nationally and internationally recognized as an expert in melanoma research and treatment and cancer immunotherapy, and he has presented and led numerous conferences and meetings across the globe. He is Co-Founder & Chief Medical Officer of Cancer Expert Now, an organization that specializes in cancer education. Dr. Agarwala completed his medical training through residencies and fellowships at the University of Bombay in India, the University of Otago in New Zealand, and the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania. Dr. Agarwala has written and contributed to over 200 publications and book chapters on melanoma, immune-oncology, and other research areas. He is board certified in oncology and hematology and is an active member of several professional and scientific societies, such as the American Association for Cancer Research, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the European Society of Medical Oncology, and the Society for Melanoma Research.

Professor of Medicine Medical Director, Thoracic Medical Oncology University of California, San Francisco San Francisco, CA Matthew Gubens, MD, MS, is Professor of Medicine at UCSF, where he practices as a thoracic medical oncologist and serves as Medical Director of Thoracic Medical Oncology. He is also Vice Chair of the UCSF Cancer Center-wide Protocol Review and Monitoring Committee overseeing scientific review of all cancer research at UCSF. He is particularly active in immunotherapy clinical trials and is the lung cancer liaison to the UCSF Cancer Immunotherapy Program.   Dr. Gubens is Chair of the ASCO Evidence Based Medicine Committee which oversees the ASCO Guidelines program, and also co-chairs the ASCO Thoracic Guideline Advisory Group. Dr. Gubens serves on the National Comprehensive Cancer Network panels for non-small cell lung cancer, mesothelioma, and thymic malignancies. Dr Gubens completed his BA at Yale, his MS at the Harvard School of Public Health, and his MD at Stanford, and trained in internal medicine residency at UCSF and then medical oncology at Stanford.

Director of the Unit of Melanoma
Cancer Immunotherapy and Development Therapeutics
Istituto Nazionale Tumori IRCCS Fondazione G. Pascale

Naples, Italy

Paolo A. Ascierto obtained his medical degree from the University of Naples, Italy, the institution where he subsequently earned his Board Certification in Oncology.  He went on to serve consecutive positions at the National Tumour Institute “Fondazione G. Pascale”, in Naples, as a postdoctoral fellow and then as Vice Director of the Department of Clinical Immunology.  Professor Ascierto is currently Director of the Department of Skin Cancers, Cancer Immunotherapy and Development Therapeutics at that same institution.  He is Associate Editor for Onco-Immunology of Annals of Oncology, Associate Editor of Journal of ImmunoTherapy of Cancer, Chief Section Editor for Combination Strategies section of Journal of Translational Medicine, and member of the Editorial Board for ESMO Open. As a result of Professor Ascierto’s experience and expertise, he has been a valued invited speaker at more than 450 national and international meetings.  Furthermore, he is an active member of the Italian Society of Medical Oncology (AIOM), American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO), European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) and Society of Immuno Therapy of Cancer (SITC). Professor Ascierto has presided as Principal Investigator on over 160 clinical trials and he is author of more than 550 publications in peer-reviewed journals. Such journals include: The New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet, Lancet Oncology, Journal of Clinical Oncology, Nature Medicine, JAMA Oncology, and Annals of Oncology, among others.  Primarily, his major research interests are the skin cancers molecular biology, the assessment of molecular markers for tumour progression in melanoma, biochemical and immunological monitoring, targeted therapies for melanoma, vaccination treatments and immunotherapy of solid tumors, and combination approaches for the cancer treatment.

Grover C. Bagby Endowed Chair
Prostate Cancer Research
Professor of Medicine, Deputy Director
Oregon Health & Science University
Knight Cancer Institute
Chief Medical Officer of the Center for Early Detection Advanced Research (CEDAR) Portland, OR

Tomasz M. (Tom) Beer holds the Grover C. Bagby Endowed Chair for Prostate Cancer Research and serves as Professor of Medicine, Deputy Director at the Oregon Health & Science University Knight Cancer Institute and Chief Medical Officer of the Center for Early Detection Advanced Research (CEDAR) in Portland, Oregon. Dr. Beer leads the Prostate Cancer Research Program within the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute, an NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center.

He received his medical degree from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, in 1991. He then moved to Oregon Health & Science University. At OHSU he completed his internship and residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in Hematology and Medical Oncology.

As Deputy Director, Dr. Beer contributed to the Knight Cancer Institute achieving Comprehensive Status in 2017 on the heels of a successful $1B philanthropic campaign anchored by a historic $500M challenge gift from Phil and Penny Knight. He has provided oversight to the Cancer Institute’s clinical enterprise, administration, operations, strategic planning, regional partnerships, and clinical research programs, served on institutional leadership committees and represented the institute internally as well with external partners, media, and the public.

As CEDAR Chief Medical Officer, he represents clinicians and patients and provides medical leadership to the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute’s premiere new initiative, a $500M, 10-year program to advance the early detection of lethal cancer.

Dr. Tomasz Beer has authored and co-authored more than 350 articles and abstracts on prostate cancer largely with a focus on the development of novel therapies through clinical and translational investigation. He co-authored the book Cancer Clinical Trials: A Commonsense Guide to Experimental Cancer Therapies and Clinical Trials. Dr. Beer is particularly known for investigations of targeted therapies and immunotherapies in prostate cancer, including vitamin D receptor, the androgen receptor, and clusterin targeting agents as well as cancer vaccines, CTLA-4 and PD-1 inhibitors, and others. He led the global randomized trial of enzalutamide vs placebo which demonstrated substantial improvements in overall and progression-free survival as well as quality of life and served as the basis for a global change in the standard of care for advanced prostate cancer. At CEDAR, Dr. Beer fosters collaborations between clinicians, engineers, and cancer biologists to advance discoveries in early detection of cancer and leads clinical trials of multi-omic blood based cancer early detection tests. Dr. Beer cares for men with prostate cancer at OHSU and at the Portland VA Medical Center.

Nurse Practitioner/Assistant Researcher University of Hawaii Cancer Center/Hawaii M.U NCORP Clinical Faculty, UH School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene Honolulu, HI Christa Braun-Inglis is a nurse practitioner and a clinical researcher at the University of Hawaii Cancer Center and clinical faculty at the University of Hawaii Nancy Atmospera-Walch School of Nursing.  She is a board certified oncology nurse practitioner.   Ms. Braun-Inglis has over 27 years of oncology nursing experience, with over 20 years as an oncology nurse practitioner.  Her current clinical practice is in breast oncology.  She has a wealth of clinical expertise and has been a huge proponent of cancer clinical trials in the community, as well as enhancing the advanced practice provider role within the realm of clinical trials.

Associate Clinical Professor
University of California, Irvine

Orange, CA

Dr. Elizabeth Brém is a triple-board certified expert in Internal Medicine, Hematology, and Medical Oncology. Dr. Brém is currently a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of California, Irvine, with a clinical focus in lymphomas, chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), and multiple myeloma.  She earned her medical degree from the University of Buffalo and completed her residency in internal medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, where she was a clinical fellow at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Brém serves as the chair of the University of California Hematologic Malignancies Consortium Lymphoma/CLL committee and an active member of the SWOG Lymphoma Committee. Her goal is to help design and conduct innovative clinical trials for patients with lymphoma and CLL.

Distinguished Professor
Division of Medical Oncology
James Dudley Chair of Lung Cancer Research
University of Colorado Cancer Center
Aurora, CO

Dr. Paul A. Bunn, Jr. is Distinguished Professor and the James Dudley Chair in Cancer Research in the Division of Medical Oncology at the University of Colorado Cancer Center of the Univ. of Colorado School of Medicine, where he has practiced and taught since 1984.

Dr. Bunn received his B.A. from Amherst College in Amherst, Mass., and received his M.D. from Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City. He completed an internship and residency at the University of California San Francisco and a fellowship in medical oncology at the National Cancer Institute (Bethesda) Program. He is board certified in internal medicine and medical oncology. Dr. Bunn served as the Head of the Division of Medical Oncology from 1984-1992 and as the Director of the Univ. of Colorado Cancer Center from 1986-2009. In the IASLC, Dr. Bunn served on the Board of Directors from 1988 to 1994, President from 1997-2000, and CEO from 2004-2014. Dr. Bunn was the President of ASCO from 2002-2003.

The author of hundreds of articles, reviews and book chapters, Dr. Bunn’s research is well known in the cancer world. He focuses primarily on novel therapies for lung cancer. Dr. Bunn has led numerous national and local trials regarding the treatment of lung cancer, and his findings are credited with setting standards in the treatment of the disease.

Dr. Bunn has researched new personalized therapies for lung cancer that cause fewer side effects than traditional, intravenous chemotherapy. He has also studied the genetics of the disease, seeking to learn how gene therapy could be used to combat the disease. He was the Principal Investigator on the Specialized Program in Research Excellence in Lung Cancer (SPORE) grant funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute from 1992-2019.

Associate Professor of Medicine
Division of Hematology & Oncology
UC Irvine Comprehensive Cancer Center

Irvine, CA

Philosophy of Care
Dr. Cho is an adult medical oncologist who specializes in medical treatment of gastrointestinal malignancies including esophageal, gastric, pancreatic, hepatobiliary, and colorectal cancers.

She is a strong advocate for providing patients with comprehensive care such as mutational profiling, regional therapies, clinical trials and supportive care.

Clinical Interests
Dr. Cho is an adult medical oncologist who specializes in medical treatment of gastrointestinal malignancies including esophageal, gastric, pancreatic, hepatobiliary, and colorectal cancers.

Research/Academic Interests
Dr Cho is interested in conducting clinical trials for these malignancies and has a particular interest in novel treatments for colorectal cancer including molecular targeted therapies, immunotherapies and liver directed therapies.

Director, Leukemia Research Alliance Program
Associate Professor
Department of Leukemia
MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC)
Houston, TX

Dr. Naval Daver is an Associate Professor and Director of the Leukemia Research Alliance Program in the Department of Leukemia at MD Anderson Cancer Center. He is a clinical investigator with a focus on molecular and immune therapies in AML and myeloid disease and is principal investigator on >25 ongoing institutional, national and international clinical trials in these diseases. These trials focus on developing a personalized therapy approach by targeting specific mutations or immune pathways expressed by patients with AML, evaluating novel combinations of targeted, immune and cytotoxic agents, and identifying and overcoming mechanism of resistance. He is especially interested in developing monoclonal and bispecific antibodies, immune checkpoint and vaccine based approaches, as well as targeted and apoptotic therapies in AML and is leading a number of these trials at MDACC. Dr. Daver has published >300 peer-reviewed manuscripts and is on the editorial board of numerous hematology journals.

Jill & Alan Miller Endowed Chair in Breast Cancer Excellence
Professor of Medicine
Co-Leader, Breast Cancer Program, Abramson Cancer Center
Co-Director, 2-PREVENT Translational Center of Excellence
Physician Lead, Breast Cancer Clinical Research Unit
Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA

Dr. DeMichele holds the Jill and Alan Miller Endowed Chair in Breast Cancer Excellence, and is a Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology at the University of Pennsylvania.  She is the Co-Leader of the Breast Cancer Research Program in the Abramson Cancer Center and Co-Directs the 2-PREVENT Translational Center of Excellence.  Dr. DeMichele earned a B.S. in Biochemistry from Brown University, an M.D. from Washington University School of Medicine (as a Four Schools Physician-Scientist Scholar) and a Master’s Degree in Clinical Epidemiology from the University of Pennsylvania, where she also received clinical training in Internal Medicine and Hematology/Oncology.  Nationally, she serves on the NCI Breast Cancer Steering Committee, the Executive Committee of AACR’s San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, is the Co-Chair of the Breast Committee of the ECOG-ACRIN Cooperative Group, and chairs the ISPY2 Clinical Trial Operations Working Group.  She also serves on breast cancer guideline committees for the NCCN, American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and European Society of Clinical Oncology (ESMO).  She is an Associate Editor at Nature NPJ Breast Cancer, and has served on the American Board of Internal Medicine Oncology Subspecialty Board, and numerous editorial boards, including the Journal of Clinical Oncology.  She previously chaired ASCO’s Breast Cancer Education and Program Committees.  From 2000-2015, she also was a Senior Scholar in the Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, and during that time, from 2008–2013, she directed the Doris Duke Clinical Research Fellowship Program at the University of Pennsylvania, where she oversaw the year-out research experience of medical students from around the United States.

Since joining the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania in 2000, Dr. DeMichele’s research has focused exclusively on developing novel therapeutics and breast cancer biomarkers.  She is a past recipient of a Young Investigator Award from the American Society of Clinical Oncology, a Clinical Research Training Grant from the American Cancer Society and a Patient-Oriented Career Development Award (K23) from the NIH.  Dr. DeMichele is an experienced clinical trialist who has been Principal Investigator of numerous investigator-initiated clinical trials. (IITs), site PI of over 30 industry and cooperative group trials, is the Penn Site PI for the Translational Breast Cancer Research Consortium and is a member of the Breast Committee in the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group.  She currently serves as Co-Principal Investigator of the Palbociclib international cooperative group adjuvant trial (PALLAS), having been instrumental in both the phase I trial of this compound and PI of the single agent phase II trial in breast cancer.  She is on the Steering Committees of several additional multicenter and international clinical trials, evaluating CDK 4/6 inhibitors, JAK inhibitors and other agents in breast cancer.

Professor of Medicine and Professor of Surgery, Brown University
Director, Pelvic Malignancies Program, Lifespan Cancer Institute | Director, Medical Oncology, Rhode Island Hospital
Associate Director, Community Outreach and Engagement, The Legoretta Cancer Center at Brown University

Providence, RI

Don S. Dizon is a Professor of Medicine and Professor of Surgery at Brown University. He is a medical oncologist specializing in breast and pelvic malignancies, survivorship particularly as it pertains to sexual health for men and women with cancer, patient engagement, and social media. He grew up on the Pacific Island of Guam, and completed undergraduate and medical school at the University of Rochester in New York. He trained in Internal Medicine at Yale New-Haven Hospital and completed a fellowship in Medical Oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in NYC. He is the Director of Pelvic Malignancies and Director of Hematology-Oncology clinics at Lifespan Cancer Institute and Director of Medical Oncology at Rhode Island Hospital. Additionally, he is the Associate Director of Community Outreach and Engagement for The Legoretta Cancer Center at Brown University and serves as the Vice Chair of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Professional Integrity for SWOG Oncology Research Network. He is also the Co-Chief Medical Officer of the nonprofit, Global Cancer Institute. He writes an online column for the journal, The Oncologist, and for ASCO Connection. Dr. Dizon is a founding member of the Collaboration for Outcomes Using Social Media in Oncology and is active on many platforms, including Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. Follow him @drdonsdizon.

Associate Professor of Gynecologic Oncology
Fellowship Director
Associate Residency Program Director
Center for Personalized Cancer Therapy
Center for Precision Immunotherapy
UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center
San Diego, CA

Ramez N. Eskander, MD, is an Associate Professor in the Division of Gynecologic Oncology who specializes in the surgical management and systemic treatment of female reproductive system cancers, including ovarian, uterine, cervical, vulvar and vaginal cancer. His expertise includes novel surgical approaches including minimally invasive robotic surgery, chemotherapy and novel drugs. Dr. Eskander is also experienced in clinical trials and drug development and aims to provide individuals with access to innovative medicines during their treatment. As a member of the Center for Personalized Cancer Therapy as well as Center for Precision Immunotherapy at the UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center, he is focused on improving cancer outcomes using innovative and collaborative approaches. Dr. Eskander’s research focuses on immunotherapy, targeted therapies, cancer epigenetics and quality of life in cancer patients. He has co-authored numerous peer-reviewed articles, several book chapters and is the co-editor of Gynecologic Oncology: A Pocketbook. He speaks frequently at national and international conferences, and is an active member of the Society of Gynecologic Oncology, and the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the International Gynecologic Cancer Society, as well as the GOG-foundation.

Associate Professor/Researcher at the University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center
Medical Oncologist at Hawaii Pacific Health-Kapi’olani Medical Center for Women and Children
Member of the Hawaii Cancer Consortium

Honolulu, HI

Dr. Jami Fukui is an Associate Professor/Researcher at the University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center. She completed her medicine residency and hematology/medical oncology fellowship at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. She is a Health Disparities Research Institute Scholar at the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIHMHD) and serves on the NCI Breast Cancer Steering Committee as the NCI Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP) Representative. Her interests are in breast cancer clinical and translational research, developing clinical trial protocols, and providing cancer care to residents of Hawaiʻi.

Assistant Vice President
System Oncology Pharmacy Services
Non-Oncology Infusion Center Pharmacy Services
Corporate Pharmacy Clinical Enterprise
Miami Cancer Institute
Baptist Health South Florida
Member, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Alliance

Miami, FL

Jorge J. García obtained his Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) and Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Nova Southeastern University (NSU) in 2010.  He then transitioned to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) to pursue an American Society of Health-System Pharmacy (ASHP)-accredited PGY-1 & PGY-2 Health-System Pharmacy Administration Residency and a Master of Science (MS) in Pharmacy Administration.  He also completed a Master of Healthcare Administration (MHA) from Florida Atlantic University (FAU). Dr. García has previously served in the roles of inpatient pharmacy operations coordinator as well as director of pharmacy for system wide oncology pharmacy services.

Dr. García currently serves as an Assistant Vice President (AVP) at Baptist Health South Florida (BHSF) with responsibility for system-wide acute and ambulatory oncology pharmacy services as well as non-oncology infusion pharmacy services.  Dr. García has pioneered pharmacy charge integrity and revenue management in the health-system setting and is a thought leader and national speaker in this area, as well as in the areas of alternative payment models, biosimilars, and value-based oncology care.  Dr. García leads advocacy efforts at the national level to promote evaluation of safe and effective use of biosimilars, along with stakeholders’ engagement to support a more sustainable biosimilar pharmacoeconomic model. Dr. García has served as a board member at Florida Society of Clinical Oncology (FLASCO) since 2015 and is also a previous recipient of the FLASCO Above and Beyond Award, which honored his exceptional dedication and innovative contributions to the society.  Dr. García also currently holds multiple committee appoints at the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC), including the Oncology Pharmacy Education Network (OPEN) and the National Biosimilar Taskforce.  In 2020, Dr. García was also appointed to the Board of Trustees at ACCC.  In addition, Dr. García currently serves as faculty for the ASHP Foundation Pharmacy Leadership Academy (PLA).  Dr. García is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE).

Chief of Hematology and Oncology
Department of Medicine Betsy Bramsen Professorship of Breast Oncology
Professor of Medicine Northwestern Medicine Feinberg School of Medicine

Chicago, IL

William J. Gradishar, MD, FACP, is a Betsy Bramsen Professor of Breast Oncology and professor of medicine and deputy chief in the Division of Hematology/Oncology at the Northwestern Medicine Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, Illinois. He is also director of the Lurie Cancer Center’s Maggie Daley Center for Women’s Cancer Care, where he develops and implements clinical trials. He completed his residency at the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Chicago.

Dr. Gradishar is a fellow of both the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the American College of Physicians, as well as a member of the American Association for Cancer Research and the American Federation for Medical Research. He has held numerous leadership positions at ASCO and has been a member of numerous study sections for funding agencies, including the Department of Defense, the National Institutes of Health, the Susan G. Komen Foundation, and the American Cancer Society. He has served as a consultant to the US Food and Drug Administration’s Oncology Drug Advisory Committee, and he is a member of the Breast Cancer Core Committee of the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group.

Dr. Gradishar is a member of the editorial boards of the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Clinical Breast Cancer, Current Treatment Options in Oncology, and Oncology. He is the currently the editor-in-chief of NEJM Journal Watch: Oncology and Hematology.

Professor Department of Medicine, Division of Medical Oncology Clinical Director, Genitourinary Cancers Program University of Washington Professor, Clinical Research Division Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center Seattle, WA Dr. Petros Grivas is a board-certified medical oncologist with expertise and experience in treating genitourinary (GU) cancers. He is a Professor and the Clinical Director of the Genitourinary Cancers Program at the University of Washington and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center. Dr. Grivas completed his training at the University of Patras Medical School and earned his M.D. degree in 2005; he then pursued Ph.D. in Medical Oncology under the mentorship of academic faculty and defended his thesis successfully in late 2008. He completed his Residency in Internal Medicine at Hahnemann University Hospital/Drexel University College of Medicine (Philadelphia, USA) in 2010. He then completed his Fellowship in Hematology/Oncology at University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, USA) in 2013. He stayed there as Clinical Lecturer for another year before he was recruited as Assistant Professor at the Cleveland Clinic (Cleveland, USA), where he was leading the bladder/urothelial cancer program, pursuing clinical and translational research, teaching and mentoring trainees, and seeing patients with GU cancers. He has had a main role in large clinical trials that led to the FDA approval of new drugs for bladder/urothelial cancer (e.g. avelumab switch maintenance based on Javelin Bladder100, sacituzumab govitecan based on TROPHY-U-01), and is considered a key opinion, thought leader and international expert, giving lectures in several countries, educating oncologists and other healthcare providers, mentoring trainees, leading large innovative clinical trials and retrospective studies, reviewing grants and manuscripts, and publishing novel, important research. He is dedicated to efficient, personalized and outstanding patient care and believes in optimal patient-physician relationship as well as community outreach. He has leadership roles in various committees and supports equity, diversity, and inclusion.

Professor of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
Co-Director of the Santa Monica-UCLA Outpatient Oncology Practice
Medical Director of the Clinical Research Unit of the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center of UCLA, and Director of the Breast Oncology Program, Division of Hematology-Oncology at UCLA

Sara A Hurvitz, MD, is Professor of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA); Co-Director of the Santa Monica-UCLA Outpatient Oncology Practice; Medical Director of the Clinical Research Unit of the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center at UCLA; and Director of Breast Oncology. Dr. Hurvitz earned her MD from the University of Southern California. She served internship/residency at UCLA, was Chief Resident of internal medicine and completed a hematology-oncology fellowship at UCLA in 2006. Dr. Hurvitz received board-certification in internal medicine, hematology, and medical oncology.

Dr. Hurvitz has won numerous awards over the past few years, among them the Marni Levine Memorial Breast Cancer Research Award 2008 through 2015. She has an active clinical practice specializing in the treatment of women with breast cancer. She is involved in designing, implementing and leading multiple national and international clinical trials testing new targeted therapies and also leads the preclinical evaluation of novel breast cancer targets in the Translation Oncology Research Laboratory at UCLA.

Adult Nurse Practitioner
High Risk & Hereditary Cancer Clinics
Queen’s Medical Center
Honolulu, HI

Terri Imada is an Adult Nurse Practitioner who has been working in the field of cancer screening and prevention for the past 20 years. She opened the first High Risk Breast Clinic in Honolulu which provides screening and high risk evaluation throughout the Hawaiian Islands. Terri recently joined the Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu to create a second program for high risk management and to open the first Hereditary Cancer Clinic for Hawaii.

Terri obtained a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from San Francisco State University and a Master’s of Science in Oncology Nursing from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). She later obtained a Post-Master’s degree as a Nurse Practitioner from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Terri is nationally certified with the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners.

Associate Professor
University of California San Francisco

San Francisco, CA

Dr. Hyunseok "Hyu" Kang is an Associate Professor at UCSF and a medical oncologist/clinician scientist focusing on head and neck cancers including squamous cell carcinomas of head and neck (SCCHN), salivary gland cancers, thyroid cancers and other rare cancers of head and neck.

He completed his medical degree and public health degree at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea, then came to the US and had residency training at St.Luke's Roosevelt Hospital Center/Columbia University in New York City. He completed hematology and medical oncology fellowship at Emory University in Atlanta, GA.

Dr.Kang's research focus is development of clinical trials with novel therapeutic agents for patients with head and neck cancers. He has passion for precision oncology and rare cancers of head and neck. He has conducted/participated a number of clinical trials with immune checkpoint inhibitors and targeted therapy agents for SCCHN, adenoid cystic carcinoma and thyroid cancers.

Scott Huntington, MD, MPH is a clinician and researcher at the Yale School of Medicine specializing in the care of patients with lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia. He is an Associate Professor of Medicine (Hematology) and the Medical Director of Yale Cancer Center's Hematology Outpatient Program. He also contributes as the interim Associate Chief Quality Officer at the Smilow Cancer Center. Dr. Huntington serves as an investigator on clinical trials evaluating novel cancer therapeutics and is an active member of Yale’s Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy, and Effectiveness Research (COPPER) Center, where he leads research focused on improving the delivery of complex cancer treatment during routine care.  

Professor of Clinical Medicine
Division of Hematology/Oncology
University of California San Francisco
Associate Editor, Journal of Clinical Oncology

San Francisco, CA

Dr. Andrew Ko did his undergraduate studies at Brown University, graduating with honors in Applied Mathematics and Biology, and then received his medical degree at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. He went on to complete residency training in Internal Medicine at Beth Israel Hospital/Harvard Medical School, followed by a fellowship in Medical Oncology at Stanford University Medical Center. He is currently a Professor of Clinical Medicine and Associate Chief in the Division of Hematology/Oncology at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF). Dr. Ko’s primary clinical and research interests center on gastrointestinal malignancies, with a particular emphasis on pancreatic and gastroesophageal cancers, areas in which he has developed and led a number of clinical trials as Principal Investigator. He is currently chair of the NCI’s Pancreatic Cancer Task Force and an Associate Editor for the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Additionally, he has served on the scientific program committee, grants committee, and specialty editorial board for the American Society of Clinical oncology; plays an active leadership role in the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology national cooperative group; and sits on the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Pancreatic Cancer guidelines committee. Andrew has been married for 19 years to his wife, Christine, a civil engineer. They have two children, Naomi (16) and Elliott (12). Outside of work, he enjoys playing the piano, running, hiking, playing and watching sports, whitewater rafting, reading, cooking, and musical theater.

Associate Professor
Physician Leader, Leukemia Clinical Research Unit
University of Pennsylvania
Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine

Philadelphia, PA

Catherine Lai, MD, MPH, is an Associate Professor and the Physician Leader of the Leukemia Clinical Research Unit at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Lai specializes in detecting, monitoring, and treating acute leukemia and myeloid malignancies in adults. Dr. Lai’s research focuses on integrating health outcomes into clinical trials with novel therapeutics, with a focus on measuring physiologic age and interventions to improve early mortality and overall survival, minimize treatment toxicity and maximize tolerability to therapy.

Prior to joining Penn, Dr. Lai served as the Director of Leukemia at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center in Washington, DC.  She completed her Hematology/Oncology fellowship at the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Lai received her master’s in Public Health in Epidemiology from George Washington University.

Sagar Lonial, MD FACP Professor and Chair Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology Chief Medical Officer Winship Cancer Institute Emory University School of Medicine Atlanta, GA                                          Sagar Lonial completed his medical degree at the University of Louisville School of Medicine in Kentucky. He completed his internship and residency at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas; served as Chief Medical Resident at the Ben Taub General Hospital and the Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke’s Hospital; and completed a fellowship in hematology/oncology at Emory University School of Medicine. Board certified in hematology and medical oncology, Dr. Lonial is internationally recognized as a leading authority in multiple myeloma treatment and research. He is involved in numerous professional organizations, including the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the American Society of Hematology, and the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation. He is Vice Chair of the Myeloma Committee in the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group and Chair of the Steering Committee for the Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium. Additionally, he is on the board of directors for the International Myeloma Society and the scientific Advisory Board for the International Myeloma Foundation. He is also a member of the Discovery and Developmental Therapeutics Research Program at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University. Dr. Lonial’s recent research has focused on combinations of novel agents as therapy for myeloma and lymphoma, and particularly on evaluating combinations that may result in synergistic inhibition of the PI3-K/Akt pathway. His lab has recently received funding from the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, the Lymphoma Research Foundation, and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Dr. Lonial has authored over 200 peer-reviewed publications. He serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Clinical Oncology and Leukemia; is the myeloma editor for Clinical Lymphoma, Myeloma, and Leukemia; and is the hematologic malignancies section editor for the journal Cancer. In addition, he is an invited or ad hoc reviewer for several publications, including Blood, and Haematologica, Clinical Cancer Research, The New England Journal of Medicine, and others. Dr. Lonial’s research focuses on combination therapy in B-cell malignancies focusing on myeloma. He is a trained bone marrow transplant physician with an interest in molecular therapy for lymphoma and myeloma. His clinical interests include evaluating the combination of new molecular targeted agents for B-cell cancers, as well as methods to enhance immunity following allogeneic or autologous stem cell transplant. Dr. Lonial is a member of several local committees as well as a member of several committees for the American Society of Hematology. He is also involved in numerous professional organizations including the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation. In addition, he serves on the editorial board of the American Journal of Clinical Oncology and as an invited or ad hoc reviewer for several publications, including Blood, Journal of Clinical Oncology, and Haematologica, Clinical Cancer Research, Leukemia, and others. Dr Lonial has authored or coauthored numerous publications and abstracts and has given several presentations, locally, nationally, and internationally.

avi A. Madan, MD Head, Prostate Cancer Clinical Research Section Senior Clinician, Genitourinary Malignancies Branch Program Director, Physician-Scientist Early Investigator Program Center for Cancer Research, NCI, NIH Bethesda, MD   Ravi A. Madan, MD, is Senior Clinician and the Clinical Director of the Genitourinary Malignancies Branch, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland. His clinical research is focused on immune stimulating therapies and prostate cancer. Specifically, Dr. Madan’s clinical trials are designed to develop a better understanding of how immune stimulating therapies can improve clinical outcomes and be combined with other therapies.

Chief of Breast Medical Oncology
Miami Cancer Institute
Baptist Health South Florida

Miami, FL

Dr. Reshma L. Mahtani is a medical oncologist practicing in South Florida. She serves as Chief of Breast Medical Oncology at the Miami Cancer Institute, Baptist Health South Florida (a Memorial Sloane Kettering affiliate). She specializes in the treatment of breast cancer.

After completing her master of science degree in neuroscience at the University of Connecticut, Dr. Mahtani went on to the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine, where she received her medical degree. She completed internship at Greenwich Hospital, a Yale-affiliate, in Greenwich, Connecticut, and undertook residency training at St. Vincent’s Catholic Medical Center in New York, where she also completed her fellowship.

Prior to assuming her role at the Miami Cancer Institute, Dr.Mahtani was an Associate Professor of Medicine and Co-Leader of the Breast Cancer Program at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami, where she oversaw the clinical trial program across the network. She is an active clinical researcher and her research focuses on novel therapies for the treatment of breast cancer. She has made significant scientific and clinical practice contributions with numerous first-author publications in peer-reviewed journals.

She has served on the ASCO Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI) Steering Committee and as a member of the editorial board of The Breast Journal and Practice Update (an online medical education platform for physicians). She has been Program Director for several officially licensed Best of ASCO programs and is the Director of the ASCO Highlights series. She has a passion for medical education and founded a medical education initiative to ensure that physicians in South Florida know about the latest cancer treatments and can provide evidence-based care. Finally, she is involved in several initiatives that enhance patients’ access to healthcare and community collaborations for education and advocacy.

Chief of Blood Disorders, Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey
Professor of Medicine, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School

New Brunswick, NJ

Dr. Matthew Matasar is the Chief of Blood Disorders at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and RWJ Barnabas Health and serves as a Professor of Medicine at the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. He received his medical education from Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA, and completed his residency at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center. He completed his fellowship in hematology/oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where he subsequently served as a member of the Lymphoma service prior to his current appointment. Dr Matasar’s research interests include clinical trials developing novel immunotherapies and targeted therapies to improve outcomes in B-cell lymphoma, quality and cost of care, and lymphoma survivorship.

Medical Director of Integrative Medicine
Medical Director of Physician Wellness
Memorial Healthcare System

Hollywood, FL

In accord with our mission statement – To heal the body, mind and spirit of those we touch, Dr. Ashwin Mehta was recruited as the Medical Director of Integrative Medicine at the Memorial Healthcare System in October of 2015.

Dr. Mehta trained as a fellow in the Program of Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona and specializes in Internal Medicine and Sleep. He serves as the member of the Board of Trustees for the international Society for Integrative Oncology in 2016 and his expertise includes nutrition, exercise, sleep, yoga and mindfulness to achieve wellness in the context of coping with chronic medical conditions. Dr. Mehta’s research interests include the use of preventative medicine and positive health behaviors to improve quality of life throughout the spectrum of cancer care.

The Integrative Medicine team at Memorial works closely with the Physician Wellness Committee and provides consultations to improve the overall health of our physician workforce. Dr. Mehta envisions integrative medicine as a driving force towards a new paradigm of quality healthcare where patient satisfaction and experience are given due importance.

Clinical Professor of Medicine
Department of Medicine
University of California San Francisco (UCSF)
Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center
San Francisco, CA

Dr. Melisko is a Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of California San Francisco Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. She is interested in testing novel chemotherapy combinations, biological therapies and immunotherapies for breast cancer, with an emphasis on therapies to treat central nervous system metastases. Dr. Melisko has conducted studies evaluating clinical and molecular markers that predict the development of and prognosis after diagnosis of brain metastases, has investigated assays to diagnose and assess response to leptomeningeal carcinomatosis, and reported on molecular signatures of tumor cells in the cerebrospinal fluid. She has been a principal investigator for multiple investigator initiated and industry sponsored clinical trials in metastatic breast cancer and CNS disease.

Dr. Melisko is co leader of the Patient Reported Outcomes working group in the Translational Breast Cancer Research Consortium and helped develop and lead the Quality of Life/Patient Reported Outcomes within the ISPY neoadjuvant clinical trial. She is the medical director of the UCSF Breast Cancer Survivorship Program and has led trials on quality of life and lifestyle change in breast cancer patients. She is an active member of the NCCN Survivorship Guideline Committee.

Dr. Melisko graduated from Duke University, received her MD from the Wake Forest University School of Medicine, completed residency in internal medicine at Stanford University Hospital and fellowship in hematology and oncology at UCSF.

Vice Chief of Staff
Medical Director of Surgical Oncology
The Queen's Medical Center
Honolulu, HI

Shane Y. Morita, MD, MS, PhD, FACS, was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii. He received his medical degree from the University of Hawaii/John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM). At JABSOM, Dr. Morita also obtained his MS analyzing thyroid cancer in the Filipino community and his PhD investigating cutaneous melanoma in the Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander population.

Dr. Morita completed his internship and residency at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center/David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles. He then returned home to be with his father who was diagnosed with terminal cancer and worked at North Hawaii Community Hospital until his passing. He personally witnessed the bravery that his father exhibited in fighting an incurable illness and the dedication that his mother demonstrated during this trying time. Dr. Morita subsequently performed fellowships at the National Cancer Institute/National Institutes of Health and at The Johns Hopkins Hospital/The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Dr. Morita is the Vice Chief of Staff and Medical Director of Surgical Oncology at the Queen’s Medical Center, Associate Professor of Surgery within the John A. Burns School of Medicine, as well as Head of Surgical Oncology for the University of Hawaii Cancer Center. He is the Vice President for the Hawaii Society of Clinical Oncology and past Chair for the Hawaii Comprehensive Cancer Coalition. Dr. Morita is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and Member of the Society of Surgical Oncology as well as the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

He is the Chief Medical Officer and past Chair of the Board for the American Cancer Society Hawaii affiliate. He is Principal Editor for the Textbook of Complex General Surgical Oncology that is globally distributed by McGraw-Hill Medical. He was selected by Honolulu magazine as the inaugural recipient for the Community Healthcare Leadership Award. He is currently listed as both Top Doctor and Best Doctor in Hawaii.

He has been married to Jaimie Tom, MD for nearly 25 years and has 3 boys-Josiah, Elijah, and Zechariah.

Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine
University of Southern California
Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center

Los Angeles, CA

Dr. Jorge Nieva is Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine at the University of Southern California, Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center. He serves as Section Head of Solid Tumors, Chairman of the Data and Safety Monitoring Committee, and is the research lead for thoracic malignancies within the cancer center. He also serves as a standing member of the Oncology Drug Advisory Committee at the United States Food and Drug Administration. His research interests are in biomarker development and digital health.

Glenn J. Lesser, MD, FACP Louise McMichael Miracle Professor in Oncology Associate Chief, Section on Hematology and Oncology Principal Investigator, Wake Forest NCORP Research Base Director of Medical Neuro-Oncology Co-Leader, Neuro-Oncology Research Program, Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center Medical Center Boulevard   Dr. Glenn Lesser MD, FACP, is the inaugural Louise McMichael Miracle Professor and Associate Chief in the section on Hematology and Oncology in the Department of Internal Medicine at the Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, with joint appointments in the Departments of Anesthesiology, Neurosurgery and Public Health Sciences. He completed his undergraduate education at Duke University, received his MD from the Penn State Hershey College of Medicine and finished his Internal Medicine residency at Wake Forest in 1991. He completed a Fellowship in Medical Oncology at the Johns Hopkins Oncology Center in 1994 and returned to Wake Forest as the Director of Medical Neuro-Oncology in 1995. Dr. Lesser is the Co-Program leader of the Neuro-Oncology Research Program of the Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Director of Medical Neuro-Oncology, and the contact MPI of the Wake Forest NCORP Research Base since its inception in 2014. He is also the recently re-elected co-chair of the NCI Symptom Management and Quality of Life Steering Committee.  Dr. Lesser has extensive clinical trial expertise including serving as the PI, institutional PI or research team member for well over 130 neuro-oncology and symptom science studies. In recognition of these activities, he received the 2020 Wake Forest School of Medicine Established Faculty Investigator in Clinical Research award. He has also mentored numerous early career faculty, fellows, residents, and medical students and is a past recipient of the Wake Forest Byrum Distinguished Faculty Mentor award.  He recently completed two terms as the Associate Editor of the CNS Tumors Panel for Cancer.Net, ASCO’s patient education website, and remains the Neuro-Oncology section editor of Current Treatment Options in Oncology and a member of the editorial board of Neuro-Oncology Practice. His clinical and research interests include the development of novel therapeutic agents to treat adult malignant brain tumors and symptom management issues experienced by patients with cancer including fatigue, nausea and vomiting, anorexia and weight loss, taste and smell disturbances, and cancer pain.

Guru P. Sonpavde, MD Genitourinary Oncology & Phase I Research Director Christopher K. Glanz Chair for Bladder Cancer Research AdventHealth Cancer Institute Professor of Medicine, University of Central Florida 2501 N orange Ave, Ste 689 Orlando FL 32804, USA. Email: guru.sonpavde.md@adventhealth.com Twitter: @sonpavde Phone 407-303-2024 Fax 407-303-2038   Guru P. Sonpavde, MD is the Director of Genitourinary (GU) Oncology and Phase I Research as well as the Christopher K. Glanz Chair for Bladder Cancer Research at the AdventHealth Cancer Institute, Orlando, Florida. Additionally, he holds a position of Professor of Medicine at the University of Central Florida. Previously, he was Bladder Cancer Director at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School from 2017-2022, GU Oncology Director and Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham from 2012 to 2017 and practiced from 2004 to 2012 at Texas Oncology, a US Oncology affiliate. His focus is drug development (including early development Phase I clinical trials and later Phase II/III trials) evaluating immunotherapy, targeted therapy, antibody-drug-conjugates and other novel and emerging classes of treatments (e.g., Bi-Specific T-cell engagers, CAR-T cells) across solid tumors and clinical/translational research to cure GU cancers with a focus on bladder cancer. He serves on the steering committees of several pivotal phase III trials evaluating treatments for bladder cancer. Under his leadership, the Phase I and GU Oncology program have grown robustly at the AdventHealth Cancer Institute. His research efforts have led to ~500 publications. He also enjoys interacting with medical residents and fellows in order to teach and mentor research projects leading to presentations and publications. He is a member of Southwest Oncology Group, Scientific Advisory Board of the Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network (BCAN), and the Bladder Cancer Task Force of U.S. NCI GU Steering Committee. He was often contributed to or has been cited in video and written cancer education portals including Uptodate^®, Practice Update, Onclive, Physician Education Resource (PER) and Research to Practice. He has also been cited in several lay magazine articles notably in TIME magazine regarding participation in clinical trials in August 2022: https://time.com/6210644/bladder-cancer-clinical-trials/.  

Priyanka Sharma, MD, is Professor of Medicine at the University of Kansas Medical Center, as well as Assistant Director of Clinical Research and co-program Leader for the Drug Discovery, Delivery & Experimental Therapeutics program at the University of Kansas Cancer Center. She is the institutional principal investigator for SWOG and co-PI for The University of Kansas Cancer Center – Masonic Cancer Alliance NCORP (NCI Community Oncology Research Program Minority/Underserved UG1).   Dr. Sharma’s research interests include clinical and translational research in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and assessment of novel therapeutic strategies for breast cancer. She has led several investigator-initiated trials assessing novel therapeutic agents for breast cancer and continues to serve as principal investigator for many ongoing breast cancer trials. Dr. Sharma is the recipient of several grants including the Department of Defense (DOD) Breakthrough grant, American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Advanced Clinical Research Award, The Mary Kay Foundation grant, and SWOG ITSC grant. Dr. Sharma is Vice-Chair of the SWOG Breast Committee and is a member of the SWOG Board of Governors and the NCI Breast Cancer Steering Committee. She currently serves on the ASCO Research Committee and the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) Breast Expert Panel.

Professor Vice Chair, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Director, Gynecologic Cancer Research Director, Minimal Access Gynecologic Oncology Chair, AJCC Female Reproductive Panel Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Magee-Women's Hospital of UPMC Pittsburg, PA Dr. Olawaiye has been on staff at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital since 2008. He obtained his medical degree at the premiere University of Ibadan, Nigeria in 1991 after which he proceeded to London, United Kingdom where he successfully pursued a post-graduate training in obstetrics and gynecology at the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (RCOG) culminating in him becoming a member of that college in 1998. He subsequently relocated to the USA and went through residency at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo before moving to Boston Massachusetts to undergo fellowship training in gynecologic oncology at the Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School. Dr Olawaiye is a dedicated clinician and a passionate clinical researcher. He has served as the director of the gynecologic oncology research program, University of Pittsburgh for the past 7 years during which that program has done exceptionally well. In addition, he belongs to many national and international organizations where he has led and collaborated on multiple projects focused on advancing the field of gynecologic oncology. Dr Olawaiye has numerous publications in the peer-reviewed literature and has authored several book chapters.

Associate Director for Clinical Science, Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center
Medical Director, Sue and Ralph Stern Center for the Cancer Clinical Trials and Research
Chao Family Endowed Chair for Cancer Clinical Science
Professor of Medicine, Division of Hematology Oncology
University of California Irvine
Irvine, CA

Susan O’Brien, MD is Associate Director for Clinical Science for the Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, Medical Director of the Sue and Ralph Stern Center for the Cancer Clinical Trials and Research, and the Chao Family Endowed Chair for Cancer Clinical Science at the University of California Irvine. She earned her medical degree and completed her residency in internal medicine from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) Medical School. Dr. O’Brien completed her fellowship and spent many years at MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX.

Dr. O’Brien has been principal investigator for more than 100 funded clinical research protocols and has authored more than 800 articles in peer-reviewed journals, 30 invited articles, and numerous book chapters and abstracts. She is the hematology representative to the Southwest Oncology Group Executive Committee, and the Hematology Editor for the journal Cancer. Year after year, she has been repeatedly ranked nationally as top in her field by America’s Top Doctors, Super Docs, and America’s Top Doctors for Cancer.

Susy Yuan-Huey Hung Endowed Professor of Medical Oncology
Director, Clinical/Translational Research Unit
Associate Dean for Clinical Research Quality
Stanford University School of Medicine
Stanford Cancer Institute

Stanford, CA

Dr. Mark D. Pegram is the Suzy Yuan-Huey Hung Endowed Professor of Medical Oncology at the Stanford University School of Medicine. He currently serves as the Associate Dean for Clinical Research Quality at the Stanford University School of Medicine, and is the Director of the Stanford Clinical Translational Research Unit – a unit specializing in first-in-human phase I clinical trials

Dr Pegram received his medical degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He went on to complete an internship and residency at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. He concluded his training with a fellowship at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine in Los Angeles, CA.

Dr Pegram’s breast cancer research is focused on the study of the cancer-associated gene that encodes HER2 and on the development of novel agents in the treatment of patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer. Dr Pegram has been educating other healthcare professionals about the  future impact of biosimilars in oncology practice, especially in the breast cancer treatment landscape. He has authored more than 110 publications in medical oncology, hematology, and biosimilars across different cancer types.

Chief Scientific Officer & Medical Director
Memorial Cancer Institute/Memorial Health Care System
Co-Director MCI/FAU Florida Cancer Center of Excellence
Clinical Professor of Medicine
Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine
Florida International University
Past-President Florida Society of Clinical Oncology (FLASCO)

Miami, FL

Luis E. Raez, MD, FACP, FCCP works as Chief Scientific Officer & Medical Director at Memorial Cancer Institute (MCI)/Memorial Health Care System, he is also Director of the Thoracic Oncology Program. He is Co-Director of the MCI/FAU Florida Cancer Center of Excellence designated by the Florida Department of Health, one of only five cancer centers in Florida. He is also Clinical Professor of Medicine at Florida International University (FIU), Visiting Professor of Medicine at Cayetano Heredia University in Peru and Research Professor at Florida Atlantic University (FAU). He was the President of the Florida Society of Clinical Oncology (FLASCO) 2019-2021.

He was an Associate Professor of Medicine, Epidemiology and Public Health, and a Co-Director of Thoracic Oncology at Sylvester Cancer Center/University of Miami for 10 years (2001-2011). He has expertise in medical oncology in the areas of lung cancer, and head and neck cancer.

He designs phase I-III clinical trials with new targeted agents and immunotherapy. Dr. Raez does translational research and clinical research. He has been funded by NCI and the pharma industry. He has given oral presentations and lectures in national and international meetings in the US, Europe, Latin-America, Africa and Asia.

Professor of Surgery
Chief, Melanoma Section
Charles M. McBride Distinguished Professor in Melanoma
Department of Surgical Oncology
UT MD Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, Texas

Merrick I. Ross, M.D., F.A.C.S., is a Professor of Surgery and Chief of the Melanoma Section and the Charles M. McBride Distinguished Professorship in Surgical Oncology in the Department of Surgical Oncology, within the Division of Surgery at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.

Dr. Ross received his medical degree from the University of Illinois, School of Medicine in Chicago, Illinois, and completed a general surgical residency at the University of Illinois Affiliated Hospitals.  Additional postdoctoral training includes a Research Fellowship at the Scripps Clinic and Research Institute, in La Jolla, California, as well as a Surgical Oncology Fellowship at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.

Dr. Ross is the principal investigator for numerous ongoing clinical trials.  These trials include studies on interferon alfa-2b and vaccines in resected high-risk primary and regionally metastatic melanoma, intraoperative lymphatic mapping to identify the sentinel lymph node in patients with melanoma and breast cancer, hyperthermic regional limb perfusion with melphalan in patients with satellite and/or intransit metastatic melanoma of the extremity as well as others that deal with melanoma and breast cancers.

A fellow of the American College of Surgeons, Dr. Ross is a member of the American College of Surgeons Oncology Group for Clinical Trials for melanoma and breast cancer, a member of the Research Steering Committee of the United States Intergroup Melanoma Trials Organization and a member of the Melanoma Research Program Section of the World Health Organization.  He is also an active member of various local and national medical organizations.

A frequent contributor to the medical press, Dr. Ross has published an impressive number of articles, book chapters, and abstracts.  His most recent publishing’s include chapters in Cutaneous Melanoma and articles on sentinel lymph node biopsy in melanoma published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Surgery, Annals of Surgery and the Annals of Surgical Oncology just to name a few.

Professor of Medicine and Winterhof Family Professor of Breast Oncology UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center San Francisco, CA Hope S. Rugo, MD, FASCO, is a medical oncologist and hematologist specializing in breast cancer research and treatment. A Professor of Medicine, Dr. Rugo joined the Breast Care Center in 1999 after a decade of experience at University of California San Francisco (UCSF) in malignant hematology and bone marrow transplantation for a variety of diseases, including breast cancer. She entered the field of breast cancer in order to incorporate novel therapies based on an understanding of the biology of cancer with excellent quality of care into the treatment of women with breast cancer. Dr. Rugo is the Director of Breast Oncology and Clinical Trials Education at the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. She is a principal investigator of multiple clinical trials focusing on combining novel targeted therapeutics with standard treatment to improve the treatment of both early and late-stage breast cancer, and has published widely in this area. Her current research interests include immunotherapy and combinations of targeted agents in the treatment of breast cancer to overcome resistance. In addition, Dr. Rugo has conducted a number of studies focusing on reducing toxicity from therapy, resulting in approval of scalp cooling to reduce chemotherapy induced hair loss, and a steroid mouthwash to reduce targeted agent stomatitis. She is an investigator and the chair of the Safety Committee for the multicenter adaptively randomized phase II I-SPY2 trial, and also serves on the Novel Agents Committee. Dr. Rugo is the co-chair of the Triple Negative Working Group and an active member of the Translational Breast Cancer Research Consortium (TBCRC), and is the principal investigator of several TBCRC trials including a multi-center immunotherapy trial funded by the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF). She is an active member of the Alliance (formerly CALGB) Breast Committee, as well as ASCO, where she serves on the Guidelines Committee and as an editor for the Education Committee. In addition to her research, Dr. Rugo is an active clinician, and is committed to education, regularly lecturing locally, nationally, and internationally on subjects relating to the treatment of and supportive care for breast cancer. At UCSF, Dr. Rugo runs the Breast Forum, an open bimonthly evening educational session for breast cancer patients, families, and friends from throughout the bay area. Dr. Rugo graduated from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 1983. She completed a residency in internal medicine and primary care followed by a fellowship in hematology and oncology at the University of California San Francisco. She was a post-doctoral fellow in immunology participating in laboratory research at Stanford University from 1988-1990. In 1990, Dr. Rugo joined the faculty at UCSF in the Division of Hematology and Oncology. Dr. Rugo has been recognized for her excellence in both patient care and in teaching of both medical students and training physicians. She has received several awards including the Bank of America Giannini Foundation Award and a UCSF Clinical Cancer Center Investigator Research Program intra-mural award. In 2006, she was honored for her work in Breast Cancer Research by the Friends of the Breast Care Center. Dr. Rugo was the recipient of the Women in Oncology Award in 2019 and was awarded the Giants in Cancer Care in Education and Outreach in 2021.

Director, Division of Gynecologic Oncology
Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA

Los Angeles, CA

Dr. Ritu Salani is a board-certified gynecologic oncologist who is a nationally renowned expert in the treatment of gynecologic malignancies with over 15 years of experience. She serves as the Director of Gynecologic Oncology at UCLA.

Her expertise is in providing comprehensive care to patients with gynecologic malignancies (ovarian, cervical, uterine/endometrial, and vulvar cancers). She has specialized training in a wide range of surgical approaches (laparoscopic, robotic surgery, complex pelvic surgery, and radical surgical techniques) and the administration of systemic treatment, such as chemotherapy, immunotherapy and access to clinical trials. Her clinical care is focused on delivering compassionate care with state-of-the-art medicine and best clinical practices. She offers a multi-disciplinary approach to care partnering with specialists in radiation oncology radiology, medical oncology, genetics, and palliative care.

Dr. Salani also serves as the UCLA Gynecologic Oncology Fellowship Director and is dedicated to the education of the next generation of healthcare providers. She has received multiple teaching awards throughout her career and focuses on innovative teaching methods.

Dr. Salani’s research focuses on clinical trials with novel therapies, best practices after cancer treatment, and improving patient centered outcomes. She has over 100 peer reviewed publications and is a national and international leader in the field. She is actively involved in professional societies where she has(d) leadership roles including NRG Oncology (Cervical Cancer Committee), National Cancer Institute Gynecologic Cancer Steering Committee (Cervical Cancer Co-Chair), Society of Gynecologic Oncology (Education and Finance Committee) and the International Gynecologic Cancer Society (Education Committee Chair and Secretary-Treasurer). She is also a board examiner for the American Board of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

Genesis Care US
Medical Director of Research Services/GC Hematology-Oncology
Thoracic Cancer Program
Clinical Associate Professor
Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine
Florida Atlantic University
Treasurer, Florida Society of Clinical Oncology (FLASCO)
President, FLASCO Foundation

Boca Raton, FL

Edgardo S. Santos Castillero, MD, FACP practices at Genesis Care US and is Clinical Associate Professor at Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine/Florida Atlantic University. Dr. Santos is the Medical Director of Research Services for Genesis Care Hematology/Oncology, Secretary of Florida American Society of Clinical Oncology (FLASCO), Vice-President of the FLASCO Foundation, member of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) membership committee and editorial group member of IASLC Lung Cancer News. He earned his M.D. in 1994 at the University of Panama, School of Medicine, Republic of Panama.  Dr. Santos completed his internship and residency training in Internal Medicine at Jackson Memorial Medical Center, University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami, Florida. Then, he went on to complete his fellowship in Hematology/Oncology at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, Miami, Florida. Dr. Santos has authored or co-authored more than 100 manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals and also serves as reviewer for several scientific publications. Dr. Santos is a member of the Editorial Board of Expert Review series, Recent Patents on Biomarkers, and Clinical Practice. His focus and expertise in on lung cancer diagnosis, management and research.

Dr. Santos is a former faculty member of University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida where he held an academic rank as an Associate Professor of Medicine (2008-2012) and Tulane University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, Louisiana (2004-2008). Dr. Santos has occupied several administrative, educational, and research leadership positions including Tulane University Principal Investigator at Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG), Associate Scientific Director of Tulane Cancer Center’s Office of Clinical Research, Associate Director of the Fellowship Programs (Tulane University and University of Miami), Chief of the Hematology/Oncology Section at the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Healthcare System, Chair of the Committee Research Advisory Board, Co-Leader of  Clinical Research for the Louisiana Cancer Research Consortium, Co-Leader of the Head and Neck Cancer Program at Sylvester Cancer Center, Medical Director of Cancer Research at Lynn Cancer Institute/Boca Raton Regional Hospital, and many others.  He is an active member of IASLC, AACR, ASCO, ASH, ESMO, and ACP.

Physician Assistant Cancer Expert Now Morristown, NJ Amy Schippers, PA is a physician assistant at St. Luke's University Health Network in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. She completed her undergraduate degree in the fast track physician assistant program at DeSales University and then completed her master's degree at DeSales University in 2010. Since graduating as a PA she has been working in the hematology/oncology field and currently specializes in melanoma and squamous cell head/neck malignancies.

Interim Chief, Division of Hematology/Oncology
Chief, Section of GI Medical Oncology
Leader, University of Arizona Cancer Center GI Clinical Research Team
Associate Director of Clinical Investigations, UACC
Associate Dean, Clinical and Translational Research – UA College of Medicine-Tucson
Department of Medicine
Division of Hematology/Oncology

Tucson, AZ

Rachna T. Shroff, MD, MS, is an Associate Professor of Medicine and Chief of GI Medical Oncology as well as Leader of the Gastrointestinal Clinical Research Team at the University of Arizona Cancer Center (UACC).  She is the Director of UACC’s Clinical Trials Office as well as the Director of the Arizona Clinical Trials Network (ACTN), as well as Associate Dean for Clinical and Translational Research for UA College of Medicine-Tucson. More recently, most recently appointed Interim Chief of Division of Hematology and Oncology. She came to UACC from MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX where she was on faculty from 2010-2018 after completing her medical oncology fellowship there.

Dr. Shroff is a clinical and translational investigator focused on developing novel therapies for pancreatic and hepatobiliary cancers. She holds multiple positions nationally due to her expertise in these areas, including serving as the Hepatobiliary subcommittee Co-Chair for the Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG) and as a Leadership Committee member for GI ASCO. Most recently, she was elected to serve on the ASCO Nominating Committee. She also is a member of the Scientific and Medical Advisory Board for the Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation. Dr. Shroff has led numerous clinical trials focusing on pancreaticobiliary tumors and is the national PI for SWOG 1815 which is investigating a triplet chemotherapy regimen as a potential new standard of care for biliary cancers. This is based on a phase 2 study she led that is now published in JAMA Oncology. Dr. Shroff has been invited to speak at national and international meetings on topics related to targeted therapies for pancreatic and biliary cancers and has numerous peer-reviewed publications in this area.

Co-Director Thoracic Oncology
Inova Schar Cancer Institute

Fairfax, VA

Dr. Janakiraman Subramanian is the Co-Director of Thoracic Oncology at Inova Schar Cancer Institute (ISCI). He also serves as the Director for ISCI Data and Analytics Research Core. He leads the thoracic oncology research program at ISCI. He completed his residency in Internal Medicine at Saint Luke’s Hospital in Saint Louis and fellowship in Hematology & Oncology at Washington University School of Medicine in Saint Louis, Missouri.

Dr Subramanian specializes in the treatment of patients with thoracic malignancies. He serves as co-principal investigator for several prospective pharmaceutical and cooperative group clinical trials in lung cancer. Dr. Subramanian’s research interests include large data analysis and development of cancer biomarkers to improve outcomes for patients with lung cancer. He has over a hundred publications. He also serves on the American Society of Oncology (ASCO) clinical practice committee.

Chief of Myeloma Service
Member, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Attending Physician, Myeloma, Cellular Therapy and Adult BMT

New York, NY

Dr. Saad Zafar Usmani received his medical education at Allama Iqbal Medical College in Lahore, Pakistan. He completed a residency in internal medicine at Sinai-Grace Hospital/Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan and a fellowship in hematology and oncology at the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington, Connecticut. He then joined the Myeloma Institute for Research & Therapy, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, AR in 2010 as the Director of Developmental Therapeutics and Assistant Professor of Medicine. He was recruited to the Levine Cancer Institute/Atrium Health in 2013 as the inaugural Division Chief of Plasma Cell Disorders and Director of Clinical Research for Hematologic Malignancies where he built an internationally renowned myeloma program. He now serves as the Chief of Myeloma Service at MSKCC.

Dr. Usmani is board certified in internal medicine, medical oncology, and hematology, and he is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians. He holds membership and leadership roles on national/international committees, including the International Myeloma Working Group, the ALLIANCE Myeloma Committee (Chair), the American Society of Hematology (ASH), the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the American Society of Transplant & Cellular Therapy, and the National Cancer Institute Myeloma Steering Committee. Dr. Usmani has served as the Vice-Chair of the SWOG Myeloma Committee, and has served as chair for the ASH Scientific Committee on Plasma Cell Neoplasia, and the ASCO Scientific Committee on Plasma Cell Disorders. He has received several international awards recognizing his clinical and translational research contributions to the field, including the Celgene Young Investigator Award for Clinical Research, COMY Award for Excellence in Myeloma Research, LLS Scholar in Clinical Research and the International Myeloma Society Bart Barlogie Award for Clinical and Translational Research. Dr. Usmani has authored/co-authored more than 210 peer-reviewed research manuscripts and 250 abstracts at national and international meetings. Active in clinical and translational research, Dr. Usmani has research interests focus on plasma cell disorders—in particular, high-risk multiple myeloma.

Neumann M. and Mildred E. Harris Professor
Chief, Hematology/Oncology>br> University of Nebraska Medical Center

Omaha, NE

Julie M. Vose, MD, MBA, is the Neumann M. and Mildred E. Harris Professor and Chief of the Division of Oncology/Hematology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska. In addition, she is a past president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

Dr. Vose received her medical degree, completed her residency in internal medicine as chief resident, and completed a fellowship in hematology and oncology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. In addition, she completed a sabbatical at Stanford University, and continued her education by obtaining an MBA in Health Administration from the University of Colorado Business School.

Dr. Vose has focused her career on translational research improving the therapy of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) and Hodgkin’s lymphoma by developing a focused translational research program evaluating novel therapies, such as radiolabeled monoclonal antibodies, idiotype vaccine therapies, pathway-directed agents, stem cell transplantation, and CAR T-cell therapy. Further, her funding record and publications in NHL therapy and transplantation research have substantially added to the research and knowledge base for lymphoma therapy. As a result of her NHL research, Dr. Vose has been recognized nationally and internationally through worldwide research awards and invited lectureships.