Speakers

Amy P. Abernethy, M.D., Ph.D., a hematologist/oncologist and palliative care physician, is professor of medicine in the Duke University School of Medicine, director of the Duke Center for Learning Health Care in the Duke Clinical Research Institute, and director of the Duke Cancer Care Research Program in the Duke Cancer Institute. With over 375 publications, she is an internationally recognized expert in health services research, comparative effectiveness research, patient-reported outcomes (PROs), clinical informatics, and patient-centered care. In addition to her role at Duke, Dr. Abernethy is the chief medical officer at Flatiron Health, Inc., a health technology company focused on organizing the world’s cancer data and making it useful for patients, clinicians, researchers, payers, and policy-makers.

Dr. Abernethy participates integrally in current high-level national and international discussions about reforming the evidence development system, presenting a model for a rapid learning healthcare that coordinates clinical and research functions to better serve patients’ needs in an evidence-driven, cost-effective, and patient-centered manner. She is an appointee to the Institute of Medicine’s National Cancer Policy Forum, immediate past president of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, secretary of the board of directors for the Personalized Medicine Coalition, co-chair of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded Palliative Care Research Cooperative Group, and chair of the PRO Task Force for the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute National Clinical Research Network. She co-leads the Learning Health System Training Program at Duke. Dr. Abernethy also serves on the board of directors for athenahealth.

Anna Barker, Ph.D., directs efforts in transformative knowledge networks, specifically directed toward addressing major problems in healthcare as a major focus of Complex Adaptive Systems at Arizona State University (ASU). These multi-sector networks 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. The National Biomarker Development Alliance (NBDA) employs this model. As the president and director of the NBDA, Dr. Barker leads the areas of strategic planning, staffing, program development, and implementation. She works closely with the management team, advisors, external experts, and other stakeholders to define the scope of targeted scientific and education projects, achieve the mission of the NBDA, and enable precision medicine.

Prior to joining ASU, Dr. Barker served as the deputy director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and as the deputy director for Strategic Scientific Initiatives for eight years where she developed and led or co-led a number of transdisciplinary programs including the Nanotechnology Alliance for Cancer, the Cancer Genome Atlas, the Clinical Proteomics Technologies Initiative for Cancer, and the Physical Sciences-Oncology Centers.

Dr. Barker was the founding co-chair of the NCI-FDA Interagency Task Force and of the Cancer Steering Committee of the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health Biomarker Consortium. She served as a senior scientist and subsequently as a senior executive at Battelle Memorial Institute for 18 years. Previously, she co-founded and served as the CEO of a public biotechnology drug development company. Her research interests include complex systems, biomarker discovery and development, experimental therapeutics, and free-radical biochemistry in cancer etiology and treatment.

Dr. Barker completed her Master of Arts and doctorate at the Ohio State University, where she trained in immunology and microbiology.

As executive vice president, Tanisha V. Carino, Ph.D., oversees Avalere Health’s strategic advisory and research services for the nation's leading life sciences companies. For close to a decade, Dr. Carino has worked with senior leadership in FORTUNE 500 companies to establish organizational goals and align their internal functions to capture opportunities and mitigate challenges related to evolving regulatory, evidence, and commercial trends. Dr. Carino is a recognized thought leader in health technology assessments, comparative effectiveness research, and the role of quality and performance measurement in U.S. healthcare. She also established Avalere Health’s Center on Evidence Based Medicine in 2006.

Prior to joining Avalere Health, Dr. Carino was a policy analyst in the Coverage and Analysis Group at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Dr. Carino has a doctorate in health policy from Johns Hopkins University and is a Fulbright scholar. She serves as an associate faculty member at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and is a board member of both the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review and Bread for the City in Washington, D.C.

John J. Castellani is president and chief executive officer of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), which represents America’s leading biopharmaceutical research companies. The biopharmaceutical sector directly employs over 810,000 Americans, and has invested more than $50 billion in 2013 alone to develop new medicines that help patients fight disease and live longer, healthier lives.

At the nexus of public policy, health, and business, Mr. Castellani leads PhRMA’s work to preserve and strengthen a healthcare and economic environment that fosters medical innovation, new drug discovery, and access to life-saving medicines. He is a passionate advocate for a strong American biopharmaceutical research industry that plays a critical role in helping improve patients’ health in the U.S. and around the world.

Recognized each year by The Hill as one of America’s top health care lobbyists, Mr. Castellani was also honored with the Bryce Harlow Foundation’s prestigious Business-Government Relations Award, recognizing his leadership and exemplary, lifelong contribution to the public affairs and advocacy profession.

Mr. Castellani is a former president and CEO of Business Roundtable, an association of CEOs of leading U.S. corporations with a combined workforce of nearly 12 million employees and $6 trillion in annual revenues. Prior to Business Roundtable, Mr. Castellani was executive vice president of Tenneco, Inc.

Mr. Castellani, who began his career as an environmental scientist at General Electric, earned his bachelor’s degree at Union College in Schenectady, New York.

A former United States congressman from California, Tony Coelho, was elected to Congress in 1978 and served for six terms until 1989. He served on the Agriculture, Interior, Veterans Affairs, and Administration Committees during his tenure, specializing in disability rights.

Mr. Coelho was the original author of the Americans with Disabilities Act, signed into law by President George H.W. Bush. By 1994, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that some 800,000 more people with severe disabilities had found employment than were employed when the bill was first enacted.

President Bill Clinton appointed Mr. Coelho to serve as chairman of the President’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, a position he held from 1994 to 2001. He also served as vice chair of the National Task Force on Employment of Adults with Disabilities.

In addition to formerly chairing Life Without Limits and the Disability Pride and Power Committee, he is the past chair of the board of directors for both the Epilepsy Foundation (2005–2007) and the American Association for People with Disabilities (2009–2011). He also served as acting president and CEO of the Epilepsy Foundation in 2011. In May 2013, he co-authored an article for the American Journal of Public Health titled “Addressing Stigma Through Social Inclusion” with former First Lady Rosalynn Carter and former Surgeon General David Satcher.

In March 2009, Mr. Coelho was named as chairperson for the Partnership to Improve Patient Care. In this capacity, Mr. Coelho works to amplify the voice of the partnership’s diverse members, including people with disabilities, racial and ethnic communities, and the elderly, among others.

Mr. Coelho annually participates in the Tony Coelho Lecture in Disability Employment Law and Policy at New York Law School. He has endowed a chair in public policy at the University of California in Merced and in neurology for pediatric surgery at the University of California in Los Angeles. He also serves as the patient stakeholder on the Stakeholder Advisory Group for the TVT Registry, which was created by the Society of Thoracic Surgeons and the American College of Cardiology as a benchmarking tool developed to track patient safety and real world outcomes related to the transcatheter aortic valve replacement procedure.

Newton F. Crenshaw became vice president of the Oncology Business Unit with responsibilities for commercial operations, business development, and payer/advocacy relations in July 2011. He had previously served as president of Lilly Japan from 2003 to 2008, and corporate vice president of Global Payer and Corporate Affairs from 2009 to 2011.

Mr. Crenshaw joined the company in 1985 as a sales representative in Charlottesville, Virginia. In 1988, he became a marketing analyst and in 1989 he served as a government pricing associate. Later that year, he was named manager of the Nashville Sales District. In 1992, he became manager of Market Research for Oral Antibiotics and Central Nervous System. Two years later, he was named area sales director of the South Central Area.

As executive director, Mr. Crenshaw led Lilly USA’s Business-to-Business Organization in 1997, where he built the company’s business-to-business capability in the U.S. market. He was promoted to vice president, U.S. Sales and Marketing for Primary Care and Neuroscience in 1998. He was named vice president of e.Lilly, which was formed in July 2000 to accelerate the use of new business models through the use of digital technologies, as well as the initiation of Lilly’s first venture investment fund. From 2002 to 2003, he served as vice president of Communications and Public Affairs where he re-vitalized Lilly’s corporate branding effort.

Mr. Crenshaw serves on the board of trustees of DePauw University and chairs the local committee for Young Life in Zionsville. He has served on Young Life’s National Board of Trustees, was the founding board chair for Twelve Stones Ministries, and chaired PhRMA’s executive committee for two years while in Japan.

Mr. Crenshaw received a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors in Economics from DePauw University in 1985, where he was a management fellow in the University’s Center for Management and Entrepreneurship.

Stephen L. Eck, M.D., Ph.D., is vice president and global head of Oncology Medical Sciences at Astellas Pharma Global Development. He is directly responsible for the oversight of oncology drug development plans. Much of this work is focused on special cancer populations for which unique biology enables the development of personalized cancer therapies. Dr. Eck previously served as vice president of Translational Medicine and Pharmacogenomics at Eli Lilly and Company from 2007 to 2011, where he was responsible for the clinical pharmacology components of drug development, including both early-phase clinical studies and late-stage drug development studies. His group also developed the biomarkers and companion diagnostics needed for effective decision-making and for tailoring therapeutics to the right patient population. An essential part of this work was conducted in the Diagnostic and Experimental Medicine Group and the Laboratory for Experimental Medicine. Prior to joining Lilly, Dr. Eck served in a variety of drug development leadership roles at Pfizer, Inc. from 2002 to 2007.

Dr. Eck is a board certified hematologist/oncologist with broad drug development experience in oncology and neuroscience. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He serves on the scientific advisory board of the Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy Foundation, which supports academic cancer research, and he is a member of the scientific advisory committee of the Fairbanks Institute, an institution dedicated to developing data banks to enable personalized medicine. He also serves on the advisory board of the Keck Graduate School in Claremont, California, and is a board member of the Personalized Medicine Coalition.

Shelley Fuld Nasso, M.P.P., is chief executive officer of the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS). Prior to joining NCCS, Ms. Fuld Nasso served in leadership roles at Susan G. Komen, where she leveraged the strength of Komen’s grassroots network to strengthen the organization’s reputation and visibility in Washington, D.C. and in state capitals. She has also served as director of Community Philanthropy at The Dallas Foundation and held management positions at communications and technology enterprises.

Her commitment to the work of NCCS is strongly tied to the experiences in the cancer care system of her dear friend, Dr. Brent Whitworth, a beloved physician diagnosed with stage IV cancer days before his 42nd birthday. Through Brent’s battle, she witnessed the strengths and flaws of the cancer care system and embraces the notion that policy change can directly benefit patients and caregivers going through this journey.

Ms. Fuld Nasso is a graduate of Rice University and holds a Master of Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School.

Patricia J. Goldsmith joined CancerCare in 2014 as chief executive officer, overseeing the vision and direction of the organization. Ms. Goldsmith brings more than 20 years of nonprofit management and strategic planning experience to the role and has a proven track record of success in hospital and physician academic organizations, as well as nongovernmental health care organizations.

She previously served as executive vice president and chief operating officer at the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN). In this role, Ms. Goldsmith was responsible for the overall operations of NCCN, as well as for public policy initiatives at the federal level and national initiatives related to payers and employers. Ms. Goldsmith was also responsible for the philanthropic affiliate of NCCN, the NCCN Foundation.

Ms. Goldsmith formerly served as vice president for Institutional Development, Public Affairs and Marketing at the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida. Before joining Moffitt, she developed and directed all managed care activities for the University of South Florida College of Medicine.

A frequent speaker at national meetings and symposia, Ms. Goldsmith was chosen by U.S. Representative Bill McCollum (R-Fl.) in 2003 to join a panel of 100 thought leaders representing every stakeholder interest in health care. This unique effort focused on building consensus about what structural changes could be made in our nation's health care delivery system to assure quality health care for future generations.

Ms. Goldsmith has studied at the Pennsylvania State University, the University of Missouri Bloch School of Business, and the Harvard School of Public Health. She was a winner of the 1999 Distinguished Women in Business Award sponsored by the Business Journal of Tampa Bay and also was named the 1999 Leukemia Society Woman of the Year, an award based on her philanthropic efforts on behalf of the Leukemia Society.

Roy S. Herbst, M.D., Ph.D., is ensign professor of medicine, professor of pharmacology, chief of medical oncology, director of the Thoracic Oncology Research Program, and associate director for Translational Research at Yale Comprehensive Cancer Center (YCC) and Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut. Dr. Herbst has led the Phase I development of several of the new generation of targeted agents for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), including gefitinib, erlotinib, cetuximab, and bevacizumab. He is co-lead for the BATTLE-1 effort, co-lead for the subsequent BATTLE-2 clinical trial program, and a co-program leader of the Developmental Therapeutics Program for the YCC Cancer Center Support Grant. He is a member of the National Cancer Policy Forum for which he has organized an Institute of Medicine meeting focused on policy issues in personalized medicine. His laboratory work is focused on angiogenesis and dual EGFR/VEGFR inhibition in NSCLC.

Dr. Herbst is author or co-author of more than 250 publications, including peer-reviewed journal articles, abstracts, and book chapters. He has contributed his work to many prominent journals, such as the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Clinical Cancer Research, Lancet, and the New England Journal of Medicine.

Dr. Herbst is also an active member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the American Association of Cancer Research, the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer, the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group, and the Southwest Oncology Group Lung Committee.

Linda House R.N., B.S.N., M.S.M., joined the Cancer Support Community (CSC) in February 2012 as executive vice president of External Affairs where she oversees the development, marketing and communications, and public policy efforts of the national organization. Ms. House joined CSC with nearly 30 years of experience working in the cancer care environment, several of them being direct patient care in the acute oncology and hospice care setting.

Immediately prior to joining CSC, Ms. House served as executive director of St. Vincent Cancer Care in Indianapolis where she led a team of individuals to provide care across the full cancer continuum. Prior to that, she was senior director of Advocacy and Professional Relations for Lilly Oncology, working with patient and professional organizations on programs and broad issues related to cancer care.

Ms. House serves in a variety of advisory roles in the national cancer community including the National Cancer Institute Director’s Consumer Liaison Group, the Leadership Council for the Academy of Oncology Nurse Navigators, C-Change Together Value of Cancer Care and Workforce panels, the American Cancer Society, the American Society of Clinical Oncology panels on palliative and hospice care, and the patient advisory board for the Patent Resource Cancer Guide. She is also an active volunteer with a number of organizations in her local community.

Suleika Jaouad is the critically acclaimed New York Times “Well” author of the column “Life, Interrupted,” which chronicles her journey as a young woman living with cancer. An award-winning video series accompanies the column, which earned Ms. Jaouad the 2013 News & Documentary Emmy^® award.

Ms. Jaouad graduated with highest honors from Princeton University in 2010. Shortly after graduation, at age 22, she was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome and acute myeloid leukemia. After almost three years of chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant, she is finally cancer-free and continuing to make the most of a life, interrupted.

Ms. Jaouad is a young adult healthy living advocate, motivational speaker, and cancer warrior, who speaks and writes about topics including patient advocacy, nutrition, sexuality, and relationships. A strong and powerful voice for the young adult generation, she has been featured in The New York Times, Glamour, Women’s Health, NBC’s Weekend TODAY Show, NPR’s Talk of the Nation & All Things Considered, and Everyday Health, among numerous other media outlets.

Paul G. Kluetz, M.D., is a board certified medical oncologist and internist who is currently serving as acting deputy office director for the Office of Hematology and Oncology Products at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Dr. Kluetz attended the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and went on to study emergency and internal medicine at the University of Maryland. He then went on to complete a medical oncology fellowship at the National Cancer Institute (NCI). At the NCI, he worked with Dr. Bill Dahut focusing on early phase clinical trials of anti-angiogenic agents in prostate cancer.

At the FDA, Dr. Kluetz has focused on genitourinary oncology drug development and currently serves as the FDA Prostate Cancer Scientific Liaison. He provided the primary clinical review for two practice changing prostate cancer drugs, abiraterone acetate (Zytiga^®) as well as the novel alpha-emitting radiopharmaceutical Radium-223 (Xofigo^®). He has represented the FDA as a speaker at several oncology drug advisory committee meetings on topics including the accelerated approval of oncology drugs and challenges involved in the development of products for non-metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer. Dr. Kluetz is engaged with the academic community both through peer-reviewed publications and as a speaker at various workshops and international meetings. He has developed a particular interest in several regulatory topics including defining clinical benefit in oncology trials, the use of expedited programs such as accelerated approval, and the opportunities and challenges associated with patient-reported outcomes data.

Dr. Kluetz remains clinically active, treating prostate cancer patients at the National Institutes of Health and practicing inpatient medicine as a teaching attending at the Georgetown University Hospital.

Michael Kolodziej, M.D., is the national medical director for Oncology Solutions in the Office of the Chief Medical Officer at Aetna. Dr. Kolodziej attended college and medical school at Washington University in St. Louis where he was Phi Beta Kappa and Alpha Omega Alpha. He completed internal medicine and hematology/oncology training at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. After completing training, Dr. Kolodziej joined the faculty at the University of Oklahoma School of Medicine where he was an associate professor.

He joined New York Oncology in the winter of 1998, and was a partner in the practice until December 2012. He was an active member of the US Oncology Pharmacy and Therapeutics committee, serving on the executive committee from 2002 to 2011, and as chairman from 2004 to 2011. He served as medical director for Oncology Services for US Oncology from 2007 to 2011. In this role, he helped direct the implementation of the USON clinical pathways initiative, the integration of the USON EMR into this program, and the development of the USON disease management and advanced care planning programs, now known as Innovent Oncology.

He has published several manuscripts and given several presentations on oncology care delivery and reimbursement reform, use of evidence based treatment to enhance value, and personalized medicine. Since joining Aetna in January 2013, he has been active in Aetna’s oncology delivery reform pilots, pharmacy policy, condition analysis, and genetics subcommittee. He is a fellow of the American College of Physicians and is a member of the board of the Personalized Medicine Coalition.

Raju Kucherlapati, Ph.D., came to the United States in 1967 after receiving his bachelor’s degree in Biology at P.R. College in Kakinada, India and his master’s degree in Biology at Andhra University in Waltair, India. Dr. Kucherlapati received his doctorate from the University of Illinois at Urbana and did his post-doctoral work in the lab of Frank Ruddle at Yale University. In 2001, Dr. Kucherlapati became the Paul C. Cabot Professor of Genetics and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and served as the first scientific director of the Harvard Medical School-Partners HealthCare Center for Genetics and Genomics (HPCGG) until late 2008. Prior to joining Harvard Medical School, Dr. Kucherlapati was a professor at the University of Illinois College of Medicine and chairman of the Department of Molecular Genetics at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

At HPCGG, Dr. Kucherlapati devoted his energies to advancing the cause of personalized medicine. Under his direction, HPCGG launched initiatives that resulted in a large number of novel molecular diagnostics and built new information technology programs that captured the results of clinical and basic genetic research in structured formats that could then be applied meaningfully in clinical decision-making. He also strengthened and developed new training and educational programs in genetics and genomics and the application of genetics in healthcare.

Dr. Kucherlapati contributed to several areas of research and holds 12 patents. He was a member and chair of several review committees at the National Institutes of Health, a member of the National Advisory Council for Human Genome Research at the National Human Genomics Research Institute, and a co-chair of the steering committee for the National Cancer Institute’s Mouse Models for Human Cancer Consortium. He served on the editorial board of the New England Journal of Medicine and was editor in chief of the journal Genomics. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences.

Dr. Kucherlapati is also a member of Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues. He was a founder of Cell Genesys, Abgenix, and Millennium Pharmaceuticals. He currently serves on the boards of AVEO Pharmaceuticals and the privately held companies Metamark Genetics, KEW Group, and Enlight Biosciences.

J. Leonard Lichtenfeld, M.D., MACP, currently serves as Deputy Chief Medical Officer for the American Cancer Society in the Society’s Office of the Chief Medical Officer located at the Society’s Corporate Center in Atlanta.

Dr. Lichtenfeld joined the Society in 2001 as a medical editor, and in 2002 assumed responsibility for managing the Society’s then newly created Cancer Control Science Department which included the prevention and early detection of cancer, emerging cancer science and trends, health equity, quality of life for cancer patients, the science of cancer communications and the role of nutrition and physical activity in cancer prevention and cancer care.

In 2014, Dr. Lichtenfeld assumed his current role in the Office of the Chief Medical Officer where he provides extensive support to a number of Society colleagues and activities. As a result of his over four decades of experience in cancer care, Dr. Lichtenfeld is frequently quoted in the print and electronic media regarding the Society’s positions on a number of important issues related to cancer. He has testified regularly in legislative and regulatory hearings, and participated on numerous panels regarding cancer care, research, advocacy and related topics. He has served on a number of advisory committees and boards for organizations that collaborate with the Society to reduce the burden of cancer nationally and worldwide. He is well known for his blog, Dr. Len’s Cancer Blog, which first appeared in 2005 and which continues to address many topics related to cancer research and treatment.

A board certified medical oncologist and internist who was a practicing physician for over 19 years, Dr. Lichtenfeld has long been engaged in health care policy on a local, state, and national level. He is active in several state and national medical organizations and has a long-standing interest in professional legislative and regulatory issues related to health care including physician payment, medical care delivery systems, and health information technology.

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.

Jennifer Malin, M.D., Ph.D., is the medical director for Oncology for Care Management at WellPoint, Inc. In this role, she provides clinical leadership for all aspects of the delivery of care for WellPoint members with cancer.

After graduating from Harvard University, Dr. Malin received her medical degree and doctorate in public health from the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA). She is board certified in internal medicine and medical oncology. An associate professor of medicine at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, she is the author of more than 80 peer-reviewed articles and is widely recognized for her research on the quality of cancer care. She has served on a number of advisory boards and national committees including the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s Quality of Care Committee and the National Quality Forum’s Cancer Endorsement Maintenance Project Steering Committee.

Dr. Malin continues her clinical practice by volunteering at the Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Health Care System.

Lee N. Newcomer, M.D., M.H.A., is the UnitedHealthcare senior vice president for Oncology, Genetics, and Women’s Health.

His career with UnitedHealth Group started in 1991 as the chief medical officer with responsibilities for clinical services, Medicare, and Medicaid. He focused his later work on the development of performance measures and incentives for the improvement of clinical care until 2001. He returned in 2006 to lead a pilot initiative combining clinical, financial, and program management experts to improve the quality and affordability of cancer care. This team was the first to complete an episode payment program for cancer treatment and it has built the only commercial database combining clinical and claims information for cancer patients.

Prior to his work at UnitedHealth Group, Dr. Newcomer practiced medical oncology for nine years in Minneapolis and Tulsa, Oklahoma. He served as the medical director for Cigna Healthcare in Kansas City, and was a founding executive of Vivius, a consumer-directed venture that allowed consumers to create their own personalized health plans.

He is a former chairman of Park Nicollet Health Services (HealthPartners), an integrated system of physicians and hospitals based in Minnesota with national recognition for its leadership in quality, safety, and cost effectiveness.

Dr. Newcomer holds a bachelor’s degree from Nebraska Wesleyan University, a medical doctorate from the University of Nebraska College of Medicine, and a Master of Health Administration from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. His clinical training included an internal medicine residency at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and a medical oncology fellowship at the Yale University School of Medicine.

Richard L. Schilsky, M.D., FACP, FASCO, earned his medical doctorate at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine in 1975. Following a residency in internal medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and Parkland Memorial Hospital, he received training in medical oncology and clinical pharmacology at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) from 1977 to 1981. He then served as assistant professor of Medicine at the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine from 1981 to 1984, when he returned to the University of Chicago. At the University of Chicago, Dr. Schilsky rose to the rank of tenured professor of medicine and served as director of the University of Chicago Cancer Research Center from 1991 to 1999, as associate dean for clinical research from 1999 to 2007, and as chief of the section of hematology/oncology from 2009 to 2012. From 1995 to 2010, Dr. Schilsky also served as chairman of the Cancer and Leukemia Group B, an NCI-sponsored national cancer clinical trials group.

An international expert in gastrointestinal malignancies and cancer pharmacology, Dr. Schilsky has published more than 320 scientific articles, reviews, and commentaries. He has served on a number of peer review and advisory committees for the NCI including as a member and chair of the NCI Board of Scientific Advisors and as a member of the Clinical and Translational Research Advisory Committee. Dr. Schilsky also served as a member and chair of the Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). He presently serves as a member of the board of directors of the Reagan-Udall Foundation for the FDA, a member of the board of directors of Friends of Cancer Research, and as a member of the National Cancer Policy Forum of the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Schilsky has served as a member of the board of directors of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and of the Conquer Cancer Foundation of ASCO, and as ASCO President from 2008 to 2009.

Lowell E. Schnipper, M.D., received his medical doctorate from the State University of New York Downstate College of Medicine, summa cum laude, and trained at the Yale-New Haven Medical Center, the National Cancer Institute (NCI), and Washington University. In addition to his clinical work and teaching, Dr. Schnipper is deeply committed to oncology research, receiving numerous grants over the years from the NCI and the American Cancer Society (ACS), and publishing more than 120 papers on subjects ranging from developing new anti-viral and anti-cancer therapies to the basic biology of cancer, to ethical issues in cancer research.

He has built a program boasting 65 faculty physicians and scientists whose mutual goal is to achieve clinical excellence through scientific understanding of cancer coupled with personalized care. Among the unique initiatives that have come about under his leadership is a molecular imaging program aimed at identifying cancer at its most minimal stage, a research program on the origins of leukemia, and translational research in tumor vaccines and prostate cancer.

Areas of long-term research interest include genomic instability of malignant neoplasm, the basis of resistance and sensitivity to inhibitors of topoisomerase II, the efficacy of high-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell reinfusion as a novel therapy for a range of advanced solid tumors, and developmental therapeutics.

Dr. Schnipper has been a member of the board of directors of the ACS and president of its Massachusetts division. He is recipient of the St. George Medal from the American Cancer Society and a Distinguished Public Service Award from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). He has also held a number of leadership positions in the ASCO, including chair of the Ethics Committee that updated the Society’s policy on conflict of interest. Most recently, Dr. Schnipper has chaired ASCO’s Cancer Research Committee, and since 2008 he has led that society’s Task Force on the Cost of Cancer Care. This initiative has led to defining clinical scenarios in which the quality of care can be improved and costs contained by used available high quality evidence as a guide. Boston Magazine has voted him one Boston’s top oncologists four times, and he is listed in Best Doctors of America.

As senior executive director at The Ohio State University, Jeff A. Walker, M.B.A., oversees all administrative, operational, and fiscal functions for the National Cancer Institute (NCI) designated Comprehensive Cancer Center (OSUCCC) as well as the James Cancer Hospital, a 200-bed, free-standing cancer hospital. Mr. Walker’s responsibilities include guiding the high-performance infrastructure necessary to support research that translates scientific discoveries into innovative patient care. He also plays a key leadership role in an expansion that will result in a new 306-bed James Cancer Hospital designed to more closely integrate patient care, research, and education that will open in December 2014.

Prior to arriving at Ohio State, Mr. Walker worked at Roswell Park Cancer Research Institute in Buffalo, New York, serving as executive vice president. In that capacity, he oversaw the development, direction, and operation of the Institute, including the administrative, scientific, and clinical departments, all mission area programs, and strategic planning initiatives. His time at Roswell Park was preceded by an earlier stint as associate director of the OSUCCC from 2001 to 2007, a position to which he was recruited after gaining a decade of administrative leadership experience at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute. Mr. Walker earned a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from Pennsylvania State University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Pittsburgh.

He serves on the finance and investment committee of the Association of American Cancer Institutes, as a board member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, and a member of the Alliance of Dedicated Cancer Centers Executive.

Edward Abrahams, Ph.D., is president of the Personalized Medicine Coalition (PMC). Representing innovators, 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 225 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 an American Association for the Advancement of Science Congressional fellow for Representative Edward J. Markey.

The author of numerous essays, Dr. Abrahams serves on the editorial board of Personalized Medicine and has also taught history and public policy at Brown University and the University of Pennsylvania.

Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (hc), is the chief executive officer of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR). The AACR is the oldest and largest cancer organization in the world dedicated to the conquest of cancer. Dr. Foti holds a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, and a doctorate from Temple University in Philadelphia, and has been awarded several 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 in 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 works closely with cancer organizations both in the U.S. and around the world, and is a board member of many groups that support cancer research, such as the Friends of Cancer Research, the European Association for Cancer Research, the Japanese Cancer Association, and the National Coalition for Cancer Research.

In addition, Dr. Foti has received numerous national and international awards for her significant and unwavering contributions to the cancer research field. Her work has led to myriad interactive synergies and vital links between basic and translational scientists, as well as clinicians, that has helped to move the field forward. She is regularly invited to speak on behalf of the AACR and the cancer community. In 2008, Dr. Foti further expanded the role of the AACR as a grant-giving organization and scientific partner of Stand-Up To Cancer, a national, translational cancer research initiative. As CEO and secretary-treasurer of the AACR Foundation, Dr. Foti works tirelessly to support the global community of cancer researchers, clinicians, advocates, and patients alike toward the goal of conquering cancer.

Marcia A. Kean, M.B.A., has built Feinstein Kean Healthcare’s unique national role in the life sciences since the firm’s inception more than 25 years ago. She became chairman after serving for close to a decade as the chief executive officer of the firm.

Ms. Kean has more than 35 years of biomedical industry experience. She has operating experience inside commercial and nonprofit organizations, as well as knowledge of the development and implementation of public-private projects undertaken by multi-stakeholder ecosystems.

In 2004, Ms. Kean founded the first molecular medicine communications practice in the country. Ms. Kean received the Personalized Medicine Coalition’s first Distinguished Service award in 2006. 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; and as lead author of the discussion paper used to frame that event. She has served as a member of the Harvard Personalized Medicine Conference Advisory Committee since its inception. She is a member of the Scientific Advisory Group of Internet2, and a member of the policy committee of the Health Data Consortium. She also serves as advisor to the Governance Board of the PCORI-funded iConquerMS initiative.

Ms. Kean holds a Master of Business Administration in finance from New York University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Berkeley.

Amy M. Miller, Ph.D., is the executive vice president of the Personalized Medicine Coalition (PMC) which represents a broad spectrum of academic, industrial, patient, provider, and payer organizations that seek to advance the understanding and adoption of personalized medicine concepts and products for the benefit of patients. Dr. Miller works with these communities to reach consensus on policy issues impacting personalized medicine and share those views with policy makers.

Before joining the PMC, Dr. Miller worked in the Office of the Director of the National Institute of Mental Health where she served as a liaison among the scientific community, the legislative branch, and the consumers of mental health care and their families. A former American Association for the Advancement of Science fellow, she also served as a domestic policy advisor to Senator Jay Rockefeller. She began her career as a researcher at National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

Dr. Miller received a bachelor’s degree from the University of New Orleans and holds a doctorate in human development from the University of Connecticut.

Before joining the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) in 2010, as the managing director of Science Policy and Government Affairs, Jon Retzlaff, M.B.A., M.P.A., led the health and biomedical practice for a government relations firm in Washington, D.C. Prior to that, he served as legislative director for the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology from 2004 to 2007.

Additionally, he previously worked from 1993 to 2004 for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), first as a program analyst within the NIH Office of the Director’s legislative office, then as a senior legislative advisor to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, and finally as the executive officer of the National Library of Medicine. During his time as an NIH employee, Mr. Retzlaff was “detailed” to the House in 1998 and to the Senate from 2000 to 2001 appropriations subcommittees on labor, health and human services, education, and related agencies on health research funding issues, as well as within the Office of the Secretary for Legislation at the Department of Health and Human Services. He entered the federal government as a Presidential Management Intern in 1993 and completed a rotation in the Office of Senator Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) during his two years of formal training.

Mr. Retzlaff earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Minnesota, a master’s degree in public administration from Indiana University, and a master’s degree in business administration from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.