Confirmed speakers for the Turning the Tide Against Cancer Through Sustained Medical Innovation national conference included:
Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Medical Oncology,
Department of Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine
Director, Duke Cancer Care Research Program
Amy P. Abernethy, M.D., is a tenured Associate Professor in the Duke University Schools of Medicine and Nursing, Director of the Duke Cancer Care Research Program, and a medical oncologist and palliative medicine physician. Internationally recognized for her work in improving delivery of patient-centered cancer care, Dr. Abernethy is an appointee to the Institute of Medicine’s National Cancer Policy Forum, President-Elect of the American Academy of Hospice & Palliative Medicine, on the Board of Directors for the Personalized Medicine Coalition, on the Advisory Board for the Rapid Learning System for Cancer for the American Society of Clinical Oncology, and Co-Chair of the National Institutes of Health funded Palliative Care Research Cooperative Group.
Dr. Abernethy participates integrally in international discussions about reforming the evidence development system, presenting a model for rapid learning healthcare by coordinating clinical and research functions to better serve patients’ needs in an evidence-driven, cost-effective, and patient-centered manner. She has demonstrated this model on a national scale, coordinating methods for prioritization of palliative care research questions, multisite clinical trials to address prioritized questions, quality monitoring to facilitate translation of evidence into clinical practice, workforce development, and clinician education; novel information systems, data interoperability, large-scale comparative effectiveness research, coordinated registries, and real-time reporting facilitate the approach.
Director, Jerome Lipper Multiple Myeloma Center and LeBow Institute for Myeloma Therapeutics
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Kraft Family Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Dr. Kenneth Anderson is the Kraft Family Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School as well as Director of the Lebow Institute for Myeloma Therapeutics and Jerome Lipper Multiple Myeloma Center at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. He is a Doris Duke Distinguished Clinical Research Scientist and American Cancer Society Clinical Research Professor. After graduating from Johns Hopkins Medical School, he trained in internal medicine at John’s Hopkins Hospital, and then completed hematology, medical oncology, and tumor immunology training at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Over the last three decades, he has focused his laboratory and clinical research studies on multiple myeloma. He has developed laboratory and animal models of the tumor in it is microenvironment which have allowed for both identification of novel targets and validation of novel targeted therapies, and has then rapidly translated these studies to clinical trials culminating in FDA approval of novel targeted therapies. His paradigm for identifying and validating targets in the tumor cell and its milieu has transformed myeloma therapy and markedly improved patient outcome.
Dr. Anderson received the Waldenstrom’s Award from the International Myeloma Workshop in 2003, the Robert A. Kyle Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Myeloma Foundation in 2005, the Joseph H. Burchenal Award for Clinical Research from the American Association for Cancer Research in 2007, and the William Dameshek Prize for Outstanding Contributions to Hematology from the American Society of Hematology in 2008. He was elected into the Johns Hopkins Society of Scholars in 2009, the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences in 2010, and the Royal College of Physicians and of Pathologists (UK) in 2010. In 2011 he received the David A. Karnofsky Award from the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
Editor
The RPM Report
(Moderator)
Ramsey Baghdadi is co-founder of Prevision Policy, a biopharma policy and regulatory research venture, and editor of the The RPM Report. He graduated from Trinity College in Hartford, CT.
Director, Transformative Healthcare Networks
Co-Director, Complex Adaptive Systems Initiative
Professor, School of Life Sciences
Arizona State University
(Moderator)
Dr. Anna Barker recently joined ASU to plan and direct efforts in transformative knowledge networks – specifically directed toward addressing major problems in healthcare. The Transformative Healthcare Networks initiative (THN) will serve as a foundation for the development of new research models that leverage convergent knowledge, innovative teams and novel funding approaches to better prevent and treat acute and chronic diseases. She also serves as Co-Director of a major ASU initiative in complex adaptive systems research The Complex Adaptive System Initiative (CASI). CASI serves as a computationally intensive organizing construct for trans-disciplinary research and education that enables understanding and solving multi-dimensional complex problems in the biomedical, social and decision sciences
Prior to joining ASU, Dr. Barker served as the Deputy Director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and as Deputy Director for Strategic Scientific Initiatives for eight years – retiring in 2010. While Deputy, she developed and implemented multi/trans-disciplinary programs in strategic areas of cancer research and advanced technologies including: the Nanotechnology Alliance for Cancer; The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) – in collaboration with the National Human Genome Research Institute; and the Clinical Proteomics Technologies Initiative for Cancer. Dr. Barker also led the development of a network of trans-disciplinary centers (Physical Sciences- Oncology Centers) that integrate the physical and biological sciences to better understand cancer across scales. All of these programs emphasize innovation, trans-disciplinary teams and convergence of scientific disciplines to enable progress against cancer. They also stress the synergy of large scale and individual initiated and precompetitive research, public databases, and clinical translation to more effectively detect prevent and treat cancer.
Dr. Barker led and collaborated on NCI’s development efforts in biospecimens and bioinformatics (the Cancer Human Biobank) and the Cancer Bioinformatics Grid (caBIG) to support molecularly based personalized medicine. She was founding co-chair of the NCI-FDA Interagency Task Force; founding co-chair of the Cancer Steering Committee of the FNIH Biomarker Consortium; and oversaw the NCI’s international cancer research programs, including pilot programs in Latin America and China. Dr. Barker has a long history in research and the leadership and management of research and development in the academic, non-profit and private sectors. She served as a senior scientist and subsequently as a senior executive at Battelle Memorial Institute for 18 years; and co-founded and served as the CEO of a public biotechnology drug development company. She has received a number of awards for her work in support of cancer research, cancer patients, professional and advocacy organizations and the ongoing national effort to prevent and cure cancer. Most recently she received the 2009 AACR Margaret Foti Award for Leadership and Extraordinary Achievements in Cancer Research, AACR 100th Anniversary Meeting; and In 2009 Dr. Barker was named to the list of “The 100 People Changing America” by Rolling Stone Magazine. Her research interests include complex adaptive systems, experimental therapeutics, tumor immunology, and free-radical biochemistry in cancer etiology and treatment. Dr. Barker completed her M.A. and Ph.D. at the Ohio State University, where she trained in immunology and microbiology.
Associate Director for Clinical Investigations
Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University
Al B. Benson III, M.D is a Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology/Oncology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, Illinois. He is also the Associate Director for Clinical Investigations at the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Dr. Benson is active on numerous professional committees, often serving as an officer. He is a recipient of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Statesman Award (Fellow of ASCO). He has been a member of the Task Force on Quality of Cancer Care, the Co-Chair of ASCO’s Colorectal Cancer Guidelines Subcommittee, the Stage II Colon Cancer Guidelines Panel, and the Guidelines Panel for use of Radiofrequency Ablation for Colorectal Cancer Hepatic Metastases. He also is the Chair of both the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Gastrointestinal and Data Monitoring Committees and a member of the NCI GI Steering Committee. In addition, he is a Past President of the Illinois Medical Oncology Society, Past President for the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC), and an executive committee member and immediate past-chair of the Board of Directors of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN). He is the chair of both the NCCN Hepatobiliary Guidelines Panel and a member of the Colon, Rectal and Anal Panel, and a member of the Pancreatic Cancer and Neuroendocrine Panels. He is a past President of the International Society of GI Oncology (ISGIO).
His most recent national awards include the NCCN Rodger J. Winn award and the ACCC Outstanding Achievement in Clinical Research Award.
Dr. Benson’s research is primarily in the areas of gastrointestinal cancer clinical trials, cancer clinical trials, biologic therapies, phase I cancer clinical trials, and cancer guideline development. He has authored or coauthored numerous reports, reviews, and book chapters focusing on these topics.
President and CEO
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America
John Castellani became President and Chief Executive Officer of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) in August 2010.
Prior to joining PhRMA, Mr. Castellani spent nine years as President and CEO of Business Roundtable, an association of chief executive officers of leading U.S. corporations with a combined workforce of nearly 12 million employees and $6 trillion in annual revenues.
Castellani began his career at General Electric as an environmental scientist and strategic planner. Since then, he’s worked as Vice President for Resources and Technology with the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), Vice President of State, Federal, and International Government Relations for TRW Inc., and Executive Vice President of Tenneco Inc. At the NAM, TRW, and at BRT, he gained experience in coalition-building and developed a strong reputation of working across the political divide.
Over the past few years, Mr. Castellani has received recognition from a number of organizations including Directorship Magazine, which named him as one of the 100 most influential people in corporate governance in 2007, and Bloomberg, which called Mr. Castellani one of Washington’s six most influential lobbyists. He has appeared on such programs as NBC’s “Meet the Press,” PBS’s “The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer,” Fox News Channel’s “Special Report,” and CNBC’s “Street Signs.”
Mr. Castellani received his bachelor’s degree from Union College, where he now serves on their Board of Trustees, and is a member of The Economic Club of Washington, D.C.
President, CEO, and Center Director
H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute
Dr. William (Bill) S. Dalton is President, CEO, & Center Director of Moffitt Cancer Center, an NCI-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, and serves as Founder & Board Chairman of M2Gen, a national biotechnology subsidiary of Moffitt Cancer Center. In addition to being known for his cancer research, Dr. Dalton is interested in the study and development of the most effective approaches to cancer research and care. He currently serves as the President of the Association of American Cancer Institutes, chairs the Science Policy & Legislative Affairs Committee of the American Association for Cancer Research, as well as serves on the Institute of Medicine’s National Cancer Policy Forum, and various NCI, cancer center, and research foundation scientific advisory boards across the U.S. Moffitt Cancer Center and Dr. Dalton were recognized as the 2010 recipient of the Personalized Medicine Coalition’s National Leadership in Personalized Medicine Award.
Director
The Pathways Project
Gwen Darien, a cancer survivor herself, brings a wealth of personal and professional experiences to her position as a director of The Pathways Project—an organization that creates radically inclusive, accessible communities that put people at the center of health care. Ms. Darien served as executive director of the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation. In this role, she was committed to developing collaborations across all segments of the cancer community to translate cancer research discoveries from the bench to the clinic.
Prior to joining SWCRF, Ms. Darien was editor-in-chief of CR magazine and director of the American Association for Cancer Research Survivor and Patient Advocacy Program where she led initiatives to foster mutually beneficial and enduring partnerships among leaders of the cancer survivor, patient advocacy and scientific communities through collaborations, communications and education. Ms. Darien was previously the editor-in-chief of MAMM, a consumer magazine dedicated to women with breast and reproductive cancer. During Ms. Darien's tenure, MAMM won international acclaim for its coverage of survivorship, health disparities, controversies in women's cancers and health care policy.
Ms. Darien is Chair of the NCI Director’s Consumer Liaison Group. She is a member of the Board of Directors of ENACCT (Education Network to Advance Cancer Clinical Trials) and the Strategic Advisory Group (SAGE) of the Center for Patient Partnerships at the University of Wisconsin. She has served on the Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Health, Genetics and Society and the faculties of the AACR/ASCO Methods in Clinical Cancer Research Workshop, Accelerating Anti-Cancer Agent Development and Validation Workshop and the advisory board of the Health Advocacy Program at Sarah Lawrence College. She has received several awards for her work, including: the Avon Foundation Media Leadership Award, the LYMPHAdvocate Award from the Cure for Lymphoma Foundation, and the Sisters’ Network Media Leadership Award. Darien is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College.
Professor of Surgery and Radiology, University of California, San Francisco
Director, Carol Franc Buck Breast Care Center
Co-Leader, Breast Oncology Program, UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center
Dr. Esserman is a surgeon and breast cancer oncology specialist, and is the Director of the Carol Franc Buck Breast Care Center at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). She is founder and faculty leader of the program in Translational Informatics spanning the disciplines of bioinformatics, medical and clinical informatics, systems integration, and clinical care delivery. In 1996, she started the Center of Excellence for Breast Cancer Care to integrate clinical care and research, automate tools for the capture of patient and clinical data, and develop systems to tailor care to biology, patient preference, and performance.
Dr. Esserman is nationally and internationally known as a leader in the field of breast cancer and has published over 150 articles. She is a member of President Obama’s council of advisors on science and technology (PCAST) Working Group on Advancing Innovation in Drug Development and Evaluation which is studying how the federal government can best support science-based innovation in the process of drug development and regulatory evaluation.
She is the Principle Investigator of the I-SPY TRIAL program, a multi-site neoadjuvant clinical trial that has evolved into a model for translational research and innovation in clinical trial design. Dr. Esserman has recently launched a University of California-wide breast cancer initiative called the Athena Breast Health Network, a project designed to follow 400,000 women from screening through treatment and outcomes, incorporating the latest in molecular testing and web-based tools into the course of care.
Director, Strategic Consulting, Economic Valuation and Market Access
Truven Health Analytics
(Moderator)
Kathleen A. Foley, Ph.D. is a Director of Strategic Consulting in the Economic Valuation and Market Access Group of Truven Health Analytics where she is responsible for identifying data requirements for demonstrating the value of innovative pharmaceuticals. With a primary focus in oncology, Dr. Foley provides direction on patient reported outcomes, the development of economic data and the identification of primary data collection needs that support market access and reimbursement initiatives. Dr. Foley also maintains an adjunct faculty appointment at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia where her teaching responsibilities include economic evaluation of healthcare interventions, pharmacoeconomics and pharmacoepidemiology.
Dr. Foley has her B.A. from American University in Washington, D.C., and received her Masters of health services research from the School of Public Health at the University of Michigan. She went on to earn her Ph.D. in sociology and demography from the University of Pennsylvania, where she specialized in family and medical sociology. Dr. Foley has over 20 years of health research experience, including clinical trials and survey development, and 12 years specifically in outcomes research. She has worked in the outcomes research group at Merck and Company, and was an assistant professor at the Thomas Jefferson University. She has more than 35 publications across a variety of disease states such as pain, migraine, cardiovascular disease, and oncology, and is the founder and co-chair of the ISPOR oncology outcomes research working group. Within the area of HEOR, Dr. Foley’s research interests are focused on unique and newly developing applications of economic and outcomes evaluations with current work in the areas of oncology and medical devices. Dr. Foley also has research interests in medical controversies and the social construction of medical knowledge.
Vice President for Clinical Development and Medical Affairs
Oncology Business Unit
Eli Lilly and Company
Richard B. Gaynor, M.D. joined Eli Lilly and Company as Vice President for Cancer Research and Clinical Investigation in August 2002. Currently, Dr. Gaynor is Vice President, Clinical Development and Medical Affairs at Lilly.
Dr. Gaynor received a doctor of medicine degree from the University Of Texas Southwestern Medical School. He served his internship and residency in internal medicine from at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, Texas. He completed a fellowship in hematology-oncology at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Medicine and then served on the faculty there. He received board certification in internal medicine, hematology, and medical oncology.
Prior to joining Lilly, Dr. Gaynor was a Professor of Medicine and Microbiology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UTSW) in Dallas and held several important leadership positions. He was Chief of the Division of Hematology and Oncology at UTSW and Director of the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center there in addition to his work as the Lisa K. Simmons Distinguished Chair in Comprehensive Oncology. He served on numerous NIH advisory committees and was elected to both the American Society of Clinical Investigation and Association of American Physicians.
Dr. Gaynor is on the editorial board of several scientific journals and has an extensive publication record totaling more than 140 scientific articles. He serves on the board of the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation and the Walther Cancer Institute and on several committees for the American Association for Cancer Research and other leading cancer organizations.
Founder and CEO
Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation and Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium
Kathy Giusti is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) and the Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium (MMRC). Ms. Giusti launched the MMRF in 1998, after her diagnosis with the incurable blood cancer multiple myeloma, followed by the MMRC in 2004. Leveraging her for-profit experience, she applied her business savvy to the science of cancer research and has helped to transform the culture of the traditional not-for-profit model. Her successful track record of building groundbreaking collaborative models underpinned by strong incentive structures to accelerate drug discovery and development has yielded meaningful returns for multiple myeloma patients. Further, committed to maximizing the patient-impact of these models, Ms. Giusti has shared her approach with many research organizations that are pursuing treatment advances for a number of cancers and other devastating diseases. Prior to founding the MMRF, Ms. Giusti, a former pharmaceutical executive who began her career with Merck & Co, last served as Executive Director of G.D. Searle’s worldwide arthritis franchise.
Ms. Giusti, a multiple myeloma patient, was named to the 2011 TIME 100 List of the world’s most influential people. She has received many other awards for her leadership efforts, including the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Centennial Medal for Distinguished Public Service, the Harvard Business School Alumni Achievement Award, and the Healthcare Businesswomen's Association's Woman of the Year Award. Additionally, she has been featured on the Today Show, CBS Evening News, CBS This Morning, CNN Money, Fox News and NBC Nightly News, as well as in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Economist, and TIME. Ms. Giusti currently serves on the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, as an advisor to Stand Up to Cancer, and has previously served on the President's National Cancer Advisory Board, the Board of Directors for IMS Health, and the Institute of Medicine's National Cancer Policy Board. She received her M.B.A. in general management from Harvard Business School and graduated from the University of Vermont magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences.
Chief of Staff, Office of the Chief Medical Officer
Aetna
Dr. Ira Klein is an AOA graduate of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, with residency training at Brown University and UMDNJ/RWJMS, completed in 1994, active board certification in Internal Medicine, and an M.B.A. from Rutgers in 2000. Dr. Klein has been with Aetna since April of 2006, and, as of September 2011, is the Chief of Staff to the Chief Medical Officer, responsible for communicating and deploying the strategic efforts of the CMO in multiple areas, including leveraging of business acquisitions, and clinician and clinical program development. Before that, he operated for two years in the National Accounts Sales and Support group at the corporate level, involved in the development of new benefits designs, financial and clinical analytics for National Accounts, and the evolution of oncology strategies. His previous responsibilities were as a Medical Director in the Northeast Region for four years at Aetna.
Prior to that, Dr. Klein was the Medical Director for Quality and Case Management at Bayshore Community Health Services, overseeing UM and CM activities, as well as PRO, Medicaid, and CMS relationships. He was also the Chief Medical Officer of Elderplan, an 11,000 member Medicare Social HMO focusing on the frail elderly, from 2001-2003. Previously, he began teaching and practicing internal medicine as Assistant Professor of Medicine at UMDNJ/RWJMS, acting as the Medical Director of a Skilled Nursing Facility for five years along with Hospitalist, office practice, and administrative responsibilities. His professional affiliations include: ACP, AHIP, and AOA, and currently is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at UMDNJ/RWJMS.
Deputy Chief Medical Officer
American Cancer Society
Dr. Leonard Lichtenfeld is Deputy Chief Medical Officer for the American Cancer Society. Among his responsibilities is directing the Society’s Cancer Control Science Department. This group of internationally recognized experts focuses on the prevention and early detection of cancer, as well as emerging science and trends in cancer. The department is responsible for producing the Society’s widely recognized guidelines for the prevention and early detection of cancer, including the role of nutrition and physical activity. In addition, Dr. Lichtenfeld oversees the Society’s cancer control programs in health disparities, global health, and preventive health partnership with the American Heart Association and the American Diabetes Association.
Dr. Lichtenfeld is recognized as a resource both within and outside the Society for his expertise in oncology and medical affairs. He serves as a liaison for the Society with many professional and public organizations, and is a frequent spokesperson on behalf of the Society on a variety of cancer related subjects.
A board certified medical oncologist and internist who was a practicing physician for over 19 years, Dr. Lichtenfeld has long been active in medical affairs on a local, state, and national level. He is active in several state and national medical organization and advisory committees. He is a member of the Relative Value Update Committee (RUC) of the AMA, which works with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to update the Medicare physician fee schedule (RBRVS). He has a long-standing interest in legislative and regulatory issues, quality medical care and the role of health information technology in healthcare delivery.
Dr. Lichtenfeld is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and Hahnemann Medical College (now Drexel University College of Medicine) in Philadelphia. His postgraduate training was at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and the National Cancer Institute in Baltimore. He is a member of Alpha Omega Alpha, the national honor medical society. Dr. Lichtenfeld has received several awards in recognition of his efforts on behalf of his colleagues and his professional activities. He has been designated a Master of the American College of Physicians in acknowledgement of his contributions to internal medicine.
Director, Engelberg Center for HealthCare Reform
Leonard D. Schaeffer Chair in Health Policy Studies
Brookings Institution
Mark McClellan, M.D., Ph.D. is director of the Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform and Leonard D. Schaeffer Chair in Health Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution. At the Center, his work focuses on promoting high-quality, innovative, and affordable health care. A doctor and economist by training, he also has a highly distinguished record in public service and in academic research. Dr. McClellan is a former administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), where he developed and implemented major reforms in health policy. These include the Medicare prescription drug benefit, the FDA’s Critical Path Initiative, and public-private initiatives to develop better information on the quality and cost of care. Dr. McClellan chairs the FDA’s Reagan-Udall Foundation, is co-chair of the Quality Alliance Steering Committee, sits on the National Quality Forum’s Board of Directors, is a member of the Institute of Medicine, and is a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. He previously served as a member of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers and senior director for health care policy at the White House, and was an associate professor of economics and medicine at Stanford University.
Past President
Director, Khalifa Institute for Personalized Cancer Therapy
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Dr. John Mendelsohn was President of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston from 1996 until 2011. Under his direction, MD Anderson assumed a leadership role in translational and clinical cancer research, and was named the top cancer hospital in the United States eight of the past ten years in U.S. News & World Report’s "America's Best Hospitals" survey. Previously, he chaired the Department of Medicine at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and he began his career at UCSD in La Jolla, where he was founding director of its cancer center.
Dr. Mendelsohn and his collaborators pioneered the concept of therapy targeting the products of genes that cause cancer. His team's innovative research on inhibition of the EGF receptor tyrosine kinase led to production and investigation of monoclonal antibody C225 (Erbitux), which is FDA-approved for colon cancer and head and neck cancer. He served as founding editor-in-chief of Clinical Cancer Research, has published over 250 articles and reviews, and has received many prizes and awards. Dr. Mendelsohn is chairman of the Institute of Medicine’s National cancer Policy Forum. He has directed postdoctoral programs which trained many dozens of medical oncologists and scientists. He is an active board member of several Houston-area organizations, including Houston Grand Opera, the BioHouston, and the Center for Houston’s Future.
Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Emperor of All Maladies:
A Biography of Cancer
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Columbia University
Staff Physician, Columbia University Medical Center
Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee, a cancer specialist, has devoted his life to caring for victims of cancer, a disease that sickens and kills millions of people around the world each year. As a researcher, his laboratory is on the forefront of discovering new cancer drugs using innovative biological methods.
Dr. Mukherjee is equally devoted to and effective in communicating the “story” of cancer through his writings. In his engrossing new book, The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer, Dr. Mukherjee gives readers a fascinating look into the origins and causes of cancer, its deadly effect on the human body, how it has virtually enveloped modern civilization, and the epic battles that are taking place to control, cure, and conquer it. As he notes, the disease now touches in some way the lives of every man, woman, and child in the world, while scientists and physicians work tirelessly to bring new treatments and hope to its victims.
Dr. Mukherjee has been published in Nature, New England Journal of Medicine, Neuron, Journal of Clinical Investigation, The New York Times, and The New Republic. His work was nominated for inclusion in Best American Science Writing, 2000. Dr. Mukherjee is an accomplished speaker. His words both on the stage and on the page are powerful, illuminating, and inspiring.
Senior Vice President, Oncology
UnitedHealthcare
Lee N. Newcomer, M.D., M.H.A., is the Senior Vice President, UnitedHealthcare with strategic responsibility for Oncology, Genetics and Women’s Health.
Prior to rejoining United Health Group (UHG), Dr. Newcomer was a founding executive of Vivius, a consumer directed venture that allowed consumers to create their own personalized health plans. From 1991 to 2000, Dr. Newcomer held a number of positions at UHG, including Chief Medical Officer. His work there emphasized the development of performance measures and incentives to improve clinical care. Prior to joining UHG, he was Medical Director for CIGNA Health Care of Kansas City.
Dr. Newcomer is a board certified medical oncologist; he practiced medical oncology for nine years in Tulsa, Oklahoma and Minneapolis (Park Nicollet Clinic).
He is the former Chairman of Park Nicollet Health Services, an integrated system of over 700 physicians and a 400 bed hospital. The group is nationally recognized for its leadership in quality, safety, and lean processes.
Dr. Newcomer earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in biology from Nebraska Wesleyan University, an M.D. degree from the University of Nebraska, College of Medicine, and an M.S. degree in health administration from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. He completed his internship and residency in internal medicine from the University of Nebraska Hospital, and fellowships in medical oncology and administrative medicine from the Yale University School of Medicine and the University of Wisconsin at Madison, respectively.
Venture Partner
New Enterprise Associates (NEA)
Dr. David Parkinson is a Venture Partner at New Enterprise Associates (NEA). From 2007 until 2012 Dr. Parkinson served as President and CEO of Nodality, a biotechnology company developing technologies to enable personalized medicine and more efficient drug development in cancer and autoimmune diseases. Before joining Nodality, Dr. Parkinson was SVP, Oncology R&D at Biogen Idec. Previously he had served tenures as VP and Head of the Oncology Therapeutic Area at Amgen and VP and Head of Global Clinical Oncology Development at Novartis. During his tenures at Amgen and Novartis, Dr. Parkinson was responsible for clinical development activities leading to a series of successful global drug registrations for important cancer therapeutics, including Gleevec, Femara, Zometa, Kepivance, and Vectibix, among others.
Prior to joining Novartis, Dr. Parkinson served as Chief of the Investigational Drug Branch and Acting Associate Director of the Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program at the National Cancer Institute. He had previously held positions at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, University of Texas and New England Medical Center of Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston.
He received his M.D. from the University of Toronto, with Internal Medicine and Hematology/Oncology training at McGill University and New England Medical Center. Dr. Parkinson has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed scientific papers, and is a past Chairman of the FDA Biologics Advisory Committee as well as a recipient of the FDA's Cody Medal. He is a past President of the International Society of Biological Therapy, and past Editor of the Journal of Immunotherapy. He has recently completed terms as a member of the FDA’s Science Board, the Board of Directors of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), and the National Cancer Policy Forum.
From 2008 to 20099, Dr. Parkinson was a Director of Facet Biotech, Inc., a public biopharma company, until its sale to Abbott Pharmaceuticals. He currently serves as co-chair of the Cancer Steering Committee of the NIH Foundation Biomarkers Consortium and is Chairman of the AACR Finance Committee. He also currently serves as a Director on the boards of Threshold Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Zygnenia, and the non-profits Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation and Ontario Institute of Cancer Research
Director, Office of Hematology and Oncology Products
Center for Drug Evaluation and Research
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Richard Pazdur, M.D. is presently the Director of the Office of Hematology and Oncology Products in the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research of the United States Food and Drug Administration. This Office was formed in 2005 to consolidate the review of drugs and therapeutic biologics for the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of cancer as well as the review of drugs and therapeutic biologics for hematologic diseases and for medical imaging. Dr. Pazdur’s position facilitates coordination of oncology activities across all FDA Centers and ensures an ongoing outreach and collaboration between FDA, the National Cancer Institute, and other cancer-related organizations within and outside of the government. Dr. Pazdur was the Director of the Division of Oncology Drug Products from September 1999 to May 2005.
Prior to joining the FDA, Dr. Pazdur was Professor of Medicine at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. Dr. Pazdur was on the faculty of the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center from 1988 to 1999. During his tenure at the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Dr. Pazdur held administrative positions of Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs, Associate Director of Clinical Trials Administration (Division of Medicine), and Director of Educational Programs (Division of Medicine).
Dr. Pazdur’s main research interests are in clinical trial design and drug development of anti-cancer agents in advanced colorectal cancer. He has performed numerous phase I, II, III, and adjuvant therapy trials in this disease. Dr. Pazdur has published over 400 articles, book chapters, and abstracts. Dr. Pazdur was on the faculty of Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan from 1982 to 1988. He received his undergraduate degree from Northwestern University (Evanston, Illinois), his M. D. degree from Loyola Stritch School of Medicine (Maywood, Illinois), and completed clinical training at Rush-Presbyterian St. Luke’s Medical Center (Chicago, Illinois) and the University of Chicago Hospitals and Clinics.
Executive Vice President and North American Region Head
Novartis Oncology
Christi Shaw joined Novartis Oncology in July 2010, overseeing all operations for the U.S. and Canada. In addition to her role as head of North America Novartis Oncology, Ms. Shaw’s leadership is leveraged as a member of several senior management committees, including the Oncology Executive Coordinating Committee, Portfolio Management Board, Commercial Operations Committee, and the U.S. Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation Executive Committee.
Ms. Shaw brings more than 20 years of experience in various commercial functions, along with a deep understanding of the U.S. market. She has strong capabilities in Healthcare and Medical Device Marketing, Sales, BD&L, Pipeline Development, and Business Strategy.
Prior to Novartis, Ms. Shaw was at Johnson & Johnson as Vice President, New Business Development & Strategic Analytics for Ethicon. She was responsible for leading Ethicon’s franchise-wide business development initiatives, including licensing and acquisition and technology assessment, as well as the company’s business information and analytics capabilities.Prior to that role, Christi spent two years as Vice President, Worldwide Marketing, Ethicon Products, where she worked with R&D to accelerate the pipeline, resulting in six product launches.
Ms. Shaw joined Johnson & Johnson in 2002 at Janssen Pharmaceuticals. During her tenure in that Corporation, she transitioned through a number of positions with increasing responsibility within Janssen Psychiatry, Ortho Women’s Health & Urology, and McNeil Pediatrics primarily within sales, strategic marketing, and business development. She joined the device and diagnostic division at Ethicon in 2007.
Ms. Shaw started her career in Pharmaceuticals at Eli Lilly and Company where she spent 12 years. She has an M.B.A. from the University of Wisconsin and a B.A. from Iowa State University.
President
Personalized Medicine Coalition
Edward Abrahams, Ph.D., is president of the Personalized Medicine Coalition (PMC). Representing scientists, patients, providers and payers, PMC promotes the understanding and adoption of personalized medicine concepts, services and products for the benefit of patients and the health system. It has grown from its original 18 founding members in 2004 to over 200 today.
Previously Dr. Abrahams was Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Association, where he spearheaded the successful effort that led to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s investment of $200 million to commercialize biotechnology in the state. Earlier he had been Assistant Vice President for Federal Relations at the University of Pennsylvania and held a senior administrative position at Brown University.
Dr. Abrahams worked for seven years for the U.S. Congress, including as a legislative assistant to Senator Lloyd Bentsen, an economist for the Joint Economic Committee under the chairmanship of Representative Lee Hamilton, and as a AAAS Congressional Fellow for the House Committee on the Interior.
The author of numerous essays, Dr. Abrahams serves as senior editor of Personalized Medicine and has also taught history and public policy at Brown University and the University of Pennsylvania.
CEO
American Association for Cancer Research
Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.), is the Chief Executive Officer of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR). Located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the AACR is the oldest and largest cancer organization in the world dedicated to the conquest of cancer. Dr. Foti holds a B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. from Temple University in Philadelphia, and has been awarded Honorary Doctorate degrees; one in Medicine from the University of San Pablo CEU in Madrid in June 2009, another in Medicine and Surgery from the University of Catania, Catania, Italy in July 2008, and a third in Medicine and Surgery from the University of Rome in 2003 for contributions to cancer research worldwide. She previously served as the Managing Editor of the Cancer Research journal and as Publisher for AACR for many years. Active in a wide variety of professional publishing organizations, Dr. Foti is a Past President of the Society for Scholarly Publishing and the Council of Science Editors. During Dr. Foti’s tenure, AACR has developed a dynamic and vibrant membership of over 33,000 members in more than 90 countries. She contributes to numerous cancer organizations and is a member of the Executive Committee for the Friends of Cancer Research; Council Member for the European Association for Cancer Research; and Past President of the National Coalition for Cancer Research.
Dr. Foti has received numerous national and international awards for her contributions to cancer research, including: the European CanCer Organisation Lifetime Achievement Award for outstanding contributions to cancer; the Inaugural Kripke Legend Award for significant contributions to the advancement and promotion of women in the cancer field; and ASCO’s Special Recognition Award for her overall efforts in providing vital links between translational scientists and clinicians, as well as for her instrumental role in the development of the AACR/ASCO Joint Workshop, "Methods in Clinical Cancer Research," which has served as the prototype for subsequent workshops designed to introduce beginning oncologists in Europe and Australia to the essentials of effective clinical trials design. In 2008, Dr. Foti expanded the role of the AACR as a grant giving organization and scientific partner for Stand Up To Cancer, a national, translational cancer research initiative. Most recently, Dr. Foti was named the recipient of the Raymond and Beverly Sackler Award for Sustained National Leadership, and locally was a recipient of the prestigious Pinnacle Award for her extraordinary accomplishments in the field of cancer research.
Chairman
Feinstein Kean Healthcare
Marcia Kean has built Feinstein Kean Healthcare’s unique national role in the life sciences since the firm’s inception twenty five years ago. She served as the Chief Executive Officer of the firm from 2002 to 2011 before becoming Chairman.
Marcia has more than 35 years of biomedical industry experience. She has operating experience inside commercial and non-profit organizations, as well as knowledge of the development and implementation of public-private projects undertaken by multi-stakeholder ecosystems.
In 2004, Marcia founded the first Molecular Medicine communications practice in the country. Marcia has served as an advisor to the Personalized Medicine Coalition (PMC) since its inception, and received that organization’s first Distinguished Service award in 2006. She served in 2006 as a member of the Personalized Health Care Expert Panel convened by the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to explore factors related to the integration of personalized health care into clinical and public health practice. She has served as a member of the Evidence Communication Innovation Collaborative of the Institute of Medicine since 2008. She served as co-Vice Chair of the Advisory Committee of the Institute of Medicine’s Cancer Informatics Workshop held in February 2012; as well as serving as lead author of the Discussion Paper used to frame that event, and presenter of the concept of a new coalition in the cancer community to advance data liquidity and thereby enable personalized medicine. She has served as a member of Harvard Personalized Medicine Conference advisory committee since its inception. She is a frequent speaker at industry events, including Bio-IT World, Internet 2, and the Consumer Genetics Conference in Boston.
Marcia holds an M.B.A. in finance from New York University and a B.A. from the University of California at Berkeley.