cadrg-tacpad (Speaker Bios)

I am a Surgical Oncologist with clinical and research training in pancreatic and hepatobiliary malignancy. In 2018, I joined Duke University as the Chief of Surgical Oncology, and the Chief of Surgery in the Duke Cancer Institute. Previously, I led the clinical and research efforts regarding pancreatic neoplasia within the Department of Surgery at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and served as the Associate Director for Clinical Programs within the David Rubenstein Center for Pancreatic Cancer Research. I also held the Murray F. Brennan endowed Chair in Surgery. Over the previous ten years, I have been interested in the progression of pancreatic precursor lesions called intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMN). These cystic precursor lesions of the pancreas present an opportunity for to both study cancer progression, and potentially prevent the development of this lethal malignancy. My research has focused on biomarker development to identify high-risk IPMN as well as studies evaluating the cause of this disease process. I have successfully completed phase II and phase III clinical trials in patients with pancreatic cancer and IPMN, and am currently the PI of a first-in-human multi-center randomized chemoprevention trial for pancreatic cancer that is targeting patients with high-risk IPMN.

My laboratory includes both pre and postdoctoral trainees, and they play a critical role in the development of our pancreatic cancer prevention program.

Education
B.A. 1989
1989 Harvard University
M.D. 1993
1993 Dartmouth College, Geisel School of Medicine
Surgical Intern, SURGERY
1994 Walter Reed Army Medical Center
Surgical Resident, SURGERY
1999 Walter Reed Army Medical Center
Research Fellow
1997 Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Surgical Oncology Fellow, SURGERY
2003 Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Vinod Balachandran, MD, is a surgeon-scientist in the Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program (HOPP) and Founding Director of The Olayan Center for Cancer Vaccines at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK), an academic biohub focused on catalyzing next-generation precision cancer vaccines.
Vinod’s laboratory discoveries have established precision vaccines as a promising new immunotherapy for pancreatic cancer, a common, deadly cancer with no effective treatments. His team discovered, designed, and demonstrated in a landmark clinical trial that precision RNA vaccines targeting ‘neoantigens’ – mutation-derived antigens unique to cancer cells – trigger potent immunity that correlates with delayed pancreatic cancer recurrence. This work revealing that vaccines targeting ubiquitous oncogenic byproducts may impact outcome in one of the most challenging cancers has ignited global interest in RNA vaccines as a potentially transformative cancer treatment.
Vinod has received several honors for his work, including the 2023 Trailblazer Prize for Clinician-Scientists from the Foundation for the NIH.

Dr. Bansal completed his residency training in Internal Medicine at New York Medical College, New York. Subsequently, he served as the Chief Resident at New York Medical College, New York. Then he completed his Gastroenterology Fellowship from the University Hospital at Stony Brook, Long Island, New York. Currently, he is the Medical Director of Gastroenterology Cancers Prevention Clinic of the NCI-designated Kansas University Cancer Center and an Professor of Medicine in the Department of Gastroenterology at the University of Kansas Health System, Kansas City, KS. His overarching research interest is cancer prevention. He conducts research in the areas of inherited gastrointestinal cancer syndromes, Barrett’s esophagus and novel imaging techniques for detection of premalignant and malignant lesions in the gastrointestinal tract. He is the principal investigator on an NCI funded 14-center trial to test a novel combination of vaccines and IL-15 superagonist in patients with Lynch syndrome. He recently was funded to repurpose itraconazole for prevention of recurrent Barrett’s esophagus in a 5-center clinical trial. He has > 100 peer-reviewed publications and is a reviewer for multiple peer-reviewed journals.

Dr. Julie Bauman, MD, MPH is the Dr. Cyrus Katzen Family Director of the George Washington University Cancer Center (GWCC), Associate Dean of Cancer Programs, and Professor of Medicine at the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences. She completed a dual MD/MPH degree at Tufts University School of Medicine, internal medicine residency at the University of Utah, and medical oncology fellowship at the University of Washington/Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Her education and training, at the intersection of oncology and public health, resulted in unique expertise in clinical trial design. As a recipient of the prestigious NCI Clinical Investigator Team Leadership Award, Bauman is widely recognized for her work in cancer therapeutics for both prevention and treatment.
Dr. Bauman’s research program includes rigorous, biomarker-driven, early phase clinical trials to prevent or improve oncologic outcomes in tobacco-related cancers, including head and neck cancer (HNC). Her prevention research focuses on “green chemoprevention” strategies, evaluating plants or their simple extracts to augment carcinogen detoxification in environmentally and occupationally exposed individuals. She is the MPI of the University of Arizona Cancer Prevention Clinical Trials Network, which performs early phase cancer prevention trials evaluating surrogate biomarker modulation by candidate chemoprevention agents. She also serves as Chair of the NRG NCI Community Oncology Research Program Cancer Prevention Committee, which performs phase II and III prevention studies. Dr. Bauman is the current Co-Chair of the NCI Cancer Prevention Steering Committee as well as Co-Chair of the Previously Untreated Locally Advanced Task Force of the NCI HNC Steering Committee.

Pratip is an imaging scientist and currently a professor in the Department of Cancer Systems Imaging at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer. He received his PhD degree in Chemistry at California Institute of Technology. He started his independent career at the Huntington Medical Research Institute and University of South California as an Assistant Professor. The focus of research in his laboratory is the development of real-time metabolic and molecular imaging applications by hyperpolarization. His laboratory is exploring novel ways to utilize Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to create more detailed metabolic and molecular imaging studies by employing hyperpolarized, non-radioactive carbon 13 (13C)-labeled compounds and silicon particles and nanoparticles to tag specific metabolic and biochemical structures and functions that are altered in cancer and neurodegeneration.

He enjoys close collaboration with physician/scientists, radiologists, oncologists, and basic cancer researchers to explore new opportunities and identify critical needs to ensure that imaging science advances alongside novel therapeutic approaches to improve the next generation of clinical care. He believes that imaging plays an important role in fundamental cancer research, optimization of new therapies and, ultimately, the quality of care and outcome for those touched by cancer.

His training strength is reflected by the diverse range of scientists mentored in his laboratory. He has advised 10 graduate students, 11 postdoctoral trainees and over 30 undergraduate trainees in his career so far. The trainees from his laboratory have gone on to develop scholarship and independent careers in next generations of parahydrogen polarizer and hyperpolarized metabolic imaging probes in the US, Europe, Australia, and Asia.
Pratip is an avid mountaineer and is currently in the process of climbing all the seven summits of the seven continents.

Mariana Bustamante Eduardo, PhD, has been a postdoctoral researcher in the laboratories of Dr. Susan Clare and Dr. Seema Khan at Northwestern University in Chicago since 2020. She earned her degree in Biology from Universidad Mayor de San Simón in Cochabamba, Bolivia. Mariana then pursued a Master’s degree in Biology, specializing in Genetics, Development, and Evolution, at the University of Geneva in Switzerland. In 2018, she completed her PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Bern, where her research focused on the heterogeneity of breast cancer, particularly the progesterone receptor. Currently, her research is directed towards breast cancer prevention, exploring the links between lipid metabolism, epigenomic reprogramming, and malignant transformation. In 2023, she was awarded the AACR-Pfizer Breast Cancer Fellowship, which supports her continued investigation into the biology of estrogen receptor-negative breast cancer—an area vital for the development of biomarkers and innovative preventive strategies.

Margie Clapper, Ph.D. is a cell biologist and pharmacologist by training. For more than three decades, her research efforts have focused on the identification of biomarkers of cancer risk, and the development of novel strategies to inhibit tumor formation. All research is highly translational, with experimentation spanning from cultured cells and genetically-defined animal models, to clinical trials in individuals with increased susceptibility for cancer. Specific research interests include the establishment of regimens for the prevention of cancer in subjects at high-risk for sporadic and colitis-associated colorectal tumors, and the contribution of hormones to the development of non-small cell lung cancer among never-smokers. Her laboratory has been funded continuously by grants from the National Cancer Institute, NIH since its inception. She serves as PI and a founding member of the NCI Cancer Prevention-Interception Targeted Agent Discovery Program, focused on establishing a national pipeline for the development of molecularly and immunologically targeted agents for the early interception of cancer. As a Prime Contractor of the Division of Cancer Prevention, NCI for over two decades, she has evaluated the ability of numerous promising agents to inhibit tumor formation in preclinical animal models, and comprehensively investigated their associated mechanisms of drug action. In her Senior Leadership role at Fox Chase Cancer Center, she co-leads the Cancer Prevention and Control Program and facilitates translational cancer prevention research by fostering strong collaborations among clinical and basic research scientists.

Shawn Demehri, MD, PhD, is the inaugural incumbent of the Arthur and Sandra Irving Endowed Chair in Cancer Immunology at Massachusetts General Hospital and Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Demehri received his undergraduate degree in Biology from Washington State University. He completed his medical degree (MD), PhD in Cell Biology in the laboratory of Dr. Raphael Kopan, and Dermatology residency training at Washington University in St. Louis. He conducted postdoctoral research in Immunology in the lab of Dr. Wayne Yokoyama at Washington University. Dr. Demehri is a physician-scientist performing basic science and translational research in cancer immunoprevention related to skin, breast, and other epithelial cancers. His laboratory in the Center for Cancer Immunology and Cutaneous Biology Research Center at MGH/HMS is focused on determining the immune system's role in maintaining normal tissue homeostasis and preventing the early stages of cancer development. Dr. Demehri is a recipient of several awards, including the American Academy of Dermatology Young Investigator Award, American Society for Clinical Investigation Young Physician-Scientist Award (currently a member of ASCI), NIH Director’s Early Independence Award, Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award for Medical Scientists, Breast Cancer Alliance Young Investigator Award, Kimmel Scholar Award, LEO Foundation Award, Gray Foundation Award, and MGH Research Scholar Award.

Dr Madhav Dhodapkar is the Brock Chair, GRA Eminent Scholar and Professor of Hematology and Medical Oncology in the Emory School of Medicine. He also co-leads the cancer immunology program at Winship Cancer Institute. Prior to moving to Emory in 2018, Dhodapkar served as chief of Hematology at Yale and co-leader of the Cancer Immunology Program within the Yale Cancer Center. Dr Dhodapkar’s research focuses on biology of host immune response to precursor lesions, intersection of innate and adaptive immunity and harnessing this biology for prevention/therapy of cancer.

Dr Dhodapkar earned his medical degree from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, India, and completed his fellowship in oncology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Prior to Yale, Dhodapkar served on the faculty at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and The Rockefeller University in New York. He is a member of the American Society of Clinical Investigation.

Vignesh Gunasekharan, Ph.D., serves as a Program Officer and Contractor Officer’s Representative in the Chemopreventive Agent Development Research Group (CADRG), Division of Cancer Prevention (DCP), National Cancer Institute (NCI). Dr. Gunasekharan is the Deputy Director of PREVENT Cancer Preclinical Drug Development Program (PREVENT) Operations. Dr. Gunasekharan’s responsibilities also include planning, implementing, and evaluating preventive efficacy contract projects in the PREVENT Program; managing grants for CADRG; and cooperative agreements for Cancer Prevention-Interception Targeted Agent Discovery Program (CAP-IT).

Dr. Gunasekharan joined DCP in 2021, following an 11-year research career in Molecular Oncology and Virology. He holds a Ph.D. in cancer biology from Queen’s University in the United Kingdom. Before joining CADRG, he worked as a faculty and lab director at the Yale Cancer Center where he led a pre-clinical drug development team that helped to develop targeted therapeutics against triple-negative breast cancer. During his postdoctoral training at Northwestern University, Dr. Gunasekharan studied Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) pathogenesis and helped to identify host-pathogen interactions critical for viral life cycle events.

I am a medicinal chemist with extensive experience in natural products drug discovery and pharmacology. I completed my PhD at the University of Illinois Chicago followed by an American Cancer Society postdoctoral fellowship (2018-2022), a current NCI-NRSA postdoctoral fellowship (2023-2025), and a Lurie Cancer Center Translational Bridge fellowship (2022-2024) in Dr. Seema Khan’s laboratory at Northwestern University. My research interest is interventional breast cancer risk reduction through reversing SREBP1-dependent oncogenic metabolism and inflammation in high-risk breast. The presently available breast cancer prevention drugs that are effective against the hormone-responsive (HR+) breast cancer subtype have fewer than 15% acceptance rate among more than 10 million risk-eligible women, because of their adverse side effects. Further, there is no drug for preventing hormone non-responsive (HR-) breast cancer. This has led to the minimal success of prevention strategies; a majority of preventable breast cancers are not prevented. My goal is to discover risk-reduction drug candidates, particularly from natural products scaffolds, with sufficient efficacy, minimal adverse effects, and greater acceptance. I have characterized and am developing a promising candidate agent, L13, based on licochalcone A, with demonstrated efficacy against HR+ and HR- subtypes, and a promising oral pharmacokinetics. My career goal is to establish my independent academic research in the medicinal prevention of cancer through transdisciplinary collaborations, and with a patient-focused approach by maintaining an active researcher-patient advocate partnership.

Dr. Lipkin is a physician-scientist who has published in Cell, Cell Stem Cell, Nature Biotechnology, NatureGenetics, Science, Genes and Development, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and Journal of Clinical Investigation, among others. He is Vice Chair for Research, Weill-Cornell Department of Medicine. He is a member of the FDA Molecular and Clinical Genetics Panel, which reviews and votes on approval of new genetic tests in the US. He is Director of the Weill Cornell Medical College Adult and Cancer Genetics Clinic, where he practices as a Clinical Geneticist and supervises Genetic Counselors, and Director of the Program in Mendelian Genetics. He directs a research laboratory that uses massively parallel sequencing, computational biology, mouse models, cell culture and genomics to understand the contribution of genetics to, and mechanisms of, hereditary cancer genetic syndromes. He discovered and mechanistically characterized MLH3, a DNA mismatch repair gene colorectal polyposis and cancer predisposition gene. He has also identified or co-identified 6 B cell malignancy predisposition genes. His lab made important contributions to our understanding of cancer initiating cells and was also the first to model human cancer cells in immune competent mice. He currently leads the NCI CAP-IT Center for Cancer Immunoprevention and is developing precision prevention and precision targeted therapies for patients with DNA repair deficient cancers.

Altaf Mohammed, Ph.D., serves as a Program Director and Contractor Officer’s Representative (COR) in the Chemopreventive Agent Development Research Group (CADRG), Division of Cancer Prevention (DCP), National Cancer Institute (NCI). Dr. Mohammed joined DCP in January 2017.

Dr. Mohammed brings more than 16 years of experience in cancer prevention and interception, animal models, drug discovery and development and immunoprevention to his current position where he oversees and manages grants and contracts in these areas. He also led the establishment of two of NCI’s new research programs:

1. Discovery and Development of Natural Products for Cancer Interception and Prevention (DDNP-CIP)
2. Cancer Immunoprevention Network (CIP-Net).

Dr. Mohammed provides scientific and programmatic leadership to these newly established DDNP-CIP and CIP-Net programs.

Dr. Mohammed earned his Ph.D. in microbiology before moving to the Department of Medicine at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (OUHSC) in Oklahoma City for a postdoctoral fellowship in carcinogenesis and cancer chemoprevention. Dr. Mohammed advanced to a faculty position and pursued research in cancer chemoprevention at OUHSC. He also served as Experimental Bioassay Director at the Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development, Stephenson Cancer Center, at OUHSC for 8 years. At the OUHSC, Dr. Mohammed’s research interests have focused on identifying molecular targets for pancreas and colon cancers; developing effective chemopreventive/immunomodulatory agents and their regimens for preventing cancers using preclinical in vivo (carcinogen-induced, genetically engineered, and transgenic) rodent models; establishing molecular mechanisms; and identifying strategies for cancer prevention. Dr. Mohammed is one of the first investigators to optimize a genetically engineered mouse model (GEMM) for pancreatic cancer chemoprevention research.

Dr. Mohammed has published more than 90 articles in peer-reviewed journals and serves as Editorial Board member and regular reviewer for several cancer journals, including the AACR journals.

Tomonori received his Ph.D. degree in Dermatological sciences in 2018 studying the role of CXCL17 in psoriasis. During his clinical work as a dermatologist, he has focused on cutaneous T-cell lymphoma and atopic dermatitis. In the Demehri Lab, Tomonori is studying the mechanisms of skin cancer immunoprevention.

Dr. Chinthalapally V. Rao, he is Kerley-Cade Endowed Chair in Cancer Research, and George Lynn Cross Professor of Medicine, and Director of the Center for Cancer Prevention and Cancer Drug Development (CCPDD) at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (OUHSC) and Co-Leader for Cancer Prevention and Control Program at the Stephenson Cancer Center (SCC).
Research Focus: Molecular and Preclinical Approaches to Clinical Prevention of Colorectal and other Aero-digestive Tract Cancers: Research in my lab is focused on cancer prevention with major goal to design and develop efficacious strategies for clinical prevention of colorectal cancer and other aero-digestive tract cancers.
Education and previous appointments: Dr. Dr. Rao earned B.S. degree in Biology and Chemistry; M.S. (1983) and Ph.D. (1987) degrees in Microbiology from the Osmania University, Hyderabad, India.
Dr. Rao joined University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in Oct 2004, as a Leader of the Aerodigestive tract Cancers/Chemoprevention Program (2004 to 2009) and Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Committee (2006-2009) at the Stephenson Oklahoma Cancer Center. Previously he held the position of Chief, Division of Nutritional Carcinogenesis and Leader of Chemoprevention Program at the American Health Foundation, an NCI-designated Cancer Center, Valhalla, New York.
Publications: Dr. Rao has over 260 peer reviewed research publications in leading scientific and cancer research journals (>23,700 Citations; with h-index: 76).
Dr. Rao is a member of the Board of Scientific Counselors/Reviewer of the National Cancer Institute. He is Chair of SBIR/STIR Study Section. Member, SEP, Prevention and Therapy, Member Conflicts; He was a member of NCI study sections: Molecular Targets for Cancer Intervention (MTCI) Chemo/Dietary Prevention Study Section (CDP), Cancer Biomarkers Study Section (CBSS) and Metabolic Pathology Study Section (MP).

Steve Reed is the Founder, President, and CEO of HDT bio, a Seattle based biotech company that developed the next generation RNA technology for treatment and prevention of cancer and infectious diseases. His academic appointments include Adjunct Professor of Medicine at Cornell University Medical College and Research Professor of Pathobiology at the University of Washington.

Dr. Reed’s dedication to global health began during his undergraduate studies, and were the focus of this graduate studies at the University of Montana where he began work on adjuvants with Dr. Edgar Ribi. Dr. Reed received a PhD in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of Montana in 1979. That year he was appointed as Scientist of the National Institute of Amazon Research in Manaus, Brazil, where he directed research on tropical diseases.

Dr. Reed joined Cornell University Medical College in 1980, continuing to work in Brazil as manager of the Cornell-Bahia program in International Medicine. He joined the Seattle Biomedical Research Institute in 1984 where he worked until founding the Infectious Disease Research Institute. He has received over $150 million in grants and contracts from the US NIH, BARDA, DARPA, and the Gates Foundation. In 1994 he co-founded Corixa Corporation. In 2008, Reed was the Founding CEO of Immune Design Corp. Reed was also co-founder of Afrigen.

Dr. Reed’s research interests have focused on the immunology of intracellular infections, and on the development of vaccines and diagnostics for both cancer and infectious diseases. In partnership with GSK, he led the team that developed the first defined tuberculosis vaccine, now in advanced clinical development. He also developed the first defined vaccines for leprosy and leishmaniasis, as well as the K39-based diagnostic tests currently licensed for leishmaniasis. He has over 400 original publications, 35 book chapters and reviews, and 105 issued patents.

Dr. Surya Singh, Ph.D., is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development, Stephenson Cancer Center, Department of Medicine, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. Prior to this, he received his Ph.D. in Life Sciences from the Banaras Hindu University, India. As part of his doctoral studies, he has explored the use of plant extracts for cancer prevention. His current research focuses on understanding the mechanisms of tumor progression and developing safe and effective agents for the early interception of bladder cancer using small-molecule inhibitors. He has expertise in establishing ex vivo 3D tumoroid models from rodent and human-derived cancer tissues to study the interactions and molecular crosstalk between cancer cells and the tumor microenvironment.

Pankaj K. Singh, Ph.D. is currently a Professor and Founding Chair of the Department of Oncology Science in the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine. He also serves as Senior Director of Oncology Science at OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center and holds the Jim and Christy Everest Chair in Cancer Research. Dr. Singh earned his doctorate at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Salk Institute in San Diego, California. Following his training, Dr. Singh became a faculty member at the Eppley Institute for Cancer Research at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, becoming a full professor in 2017. From 2018 to 2022, he was co-leader of the Cancer Biology Program at the Fred and Pamela Buffett Cancer Center at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. His research interests include metabolic alterations in the regulation of chemotherapy/radiotherapy resistance in pancreatic cancer, metabolic regulation of cancer cachexia, nutritional interventions to prevent/revert wasting in cancer patients, tumor-stromal metabolic interactions, metabolic regulation of stromal and immune microenvironment in pancreatic cancer, and metabolic regulation of stemness and cancer metastasis. He has earned numerous grants from the National Institutes of Health and has published over 100 research articles and book chapters. He has been active as an educator and has mentored numerous graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and junior faculty members, including several individuals from underrepresented groups.

Eva Szabo, MD is the Chief of the Lung and Upper Aerodigestive Cancer Research Group in the Division of the Cancer Prevention at the US National Cancer Institute. She is the Director of the Cancer Prevention Clinical Trials Network (CP-CTNet), through which she designs and oversees early phase cancer prevention clinical trials funded by the NCI. Dr. Szabo also participates in clinical trials and standard-of care treatment of patients with lung cancer and thymic malignancies in the NCI Intramural Thoracic Malignancies Clinic and is an adjunct investigator in the NCI Thoracic Malignancies Branch. Her research centers on identifying effective agents for lung and head and neck cancer prevention, identifying intermediate endpoints for assessing efficacy in early phase cancer prevention clinical trials, and developing new clinical trial models for assessing efficacy of preventive interventions. She is a Senior Deputy Editor for Cancer Prevention Research, has participated in multiple committees and working groups for ASCO and AACR (including as a member of 2022 Annual Meeting Program Committee), has participated in FDA Oncologic Drug Review Committees, is a longstanding member of the US Department of Defense Lung Cancer Research Program Integration Panel, and is a member of the Cancer Research UK Prevention and Population Research Committee as well as co-chair of its Prevention and Population Expert Review Panel A.

Dr. Szabo received her B.S. in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry from Yale University and M.D. from Duke University. She completed her Internship and Residency in Internal Medicine at NYU-Bellevue and her Fellowship in Medical Oncology at the National Cancer Institute. She is ABIM board-certified in Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/eva.szabo.1/bibliography/public/

Dr. Toriola is a Professor in the Division of Public Health Sciences, Department of Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine (WUSM), St. Louis, MO. He is a William H. Danforth Washington University Physician-Scientist Scholar. He co-leads the Cancer Prevention and Control Program at Siteman Cancer Center at WUSM. His work focuses on identifying pathways driving breast cancer development in premenopausal women and how these can be targeted in primary prevention. His lab discovered the associations of breast tissue as well circulating receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-Β ligand signaling (RANKL) with breast density in premenopausal women. He is leading a phase II clinical trial to test whether inhibiting RANKL signaling can reduce breast density in premenopausal women. He was recognized for his achievements in breast cancer prevention with the 2022 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Outstanding Investigator Award for Breast Cancer Research.

Dr. Barbara Vanderhyden is a Distinguished University Professor of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of Ottawa, a Senior Scientist in the Cancer Therapeutics Program at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, and has held the inaugural Corinne Boyer Chair in Ovarian Cancer Research since 2000. Her research focuses on the mechanisms underlying risk factors for ovarian cancer and strategies to mitigate those risks. Her lab has also generated and characterized numerous transgenic and syngeneic models of ovarian cancer that have shed light on cancer susceptibility and tumor progression. These models are being used in preclinical trials for the evaluation of novel therapeutic approaches, including targeted and immune therapies. Her research is currently funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Cancer Research Society. Dr. Vanderhyden manages the Ottawa Ovarian Cancer Tissue Bank, serves on the Board of Directors of Ovarian Cancer Canada, is a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, and chairs the OvCAN Governing Council which oversees a national strategic research plan to advance novel treatments for ovarian cancer. She is actively involved in science outreach and teaches on a variety of topics, including ovarian function, cancer models, academic integrity and science communication.

Catherine J. Wu, M.D. is Professor of Medicine and Chief, Division of Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapies at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston. A member of the National Academy of Medicine and the Association of American Physicians, she oversees an integrated program at DFCI of research and clinical activities that focuses on dissecting the basis of effective anti-tumor immunity. Her laboratory has implemented genomics-based approaches for target antigen discovery and for understanding the basis of therapeutic response and resistance.

Dr. Fan Zhang is an assistant professor at the Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy. He also holds affiliated positions at the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, and the Department of Chemical Engineering at UF. Fan received his Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from Johns Hopkins University. To extend his expertise in immuno-oncology and to expand the clinical impact of his research. He undertook postdoctoral training at the Clinical Research Division of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Dr. Zhang's current work focuses on developing nanoplatforms to direct immune cells as ‘living therapeutics’, through genetically programming cellular functions or molecularly targeting stimulatory/inhibitory pathways. To this end, his lab leverages dendrimer chemistry, cell engineering, and immunology to determine the fundamental principles that govern nanoparticle’s interaction with immune cells; and to elucidate how immune cell recruitment affects nanoparticle’s in vivo targeting behaviors. His current research is supported by NCI, NIGMS, and Ocala Royal Dame Cancer Foundation.