Global Cancer Research and Control Seminar Series 2025 (Past Webinars)

Yannick Romero, Ph.D., Senior Knowledge and Advocacy Manager
Union for International Cancer Control

Yannick Romero, Ph.D., is the Senior Knowledge and Advocacy Manager within the Knowledge, Advocacy, and Policy team at the Union for International Cancer Control. Dr. Romero’s work primarily focuses on developing and gathering evidence-based information for global tobacco control. He also leads the Lung Cancer Collaboration Secretariat. Dr. Romero is dedicated to national cancer control planning, analyzing and evaluating countries' cancer plans in the frame of the International Cancer Control Partnership. Over the past decade, Dr. Romero has worked with diverse stakeholders throughout the fields of oncology, communicable diseases, and genetics. He earned his Ph.D. in molecular and cellular biology from the University of Geneva Medical School.

Zuzanna Tittenbrun, M.Sc., M.A., Global Resources Manager
Union for International Cancer Control

Zuzanna Tittenbrun, M.Sc., M.A., is a Global Resources Manager with the Knowledge, Advocacy, and Policy team at the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC). Ms. Tittenbrun works in the area of cancer staging, managing UICC’s flagship Tumor, Node, Metastases (TNM) Project, which publishes the TNM Classification of Malignant Tumours. She also works in cancer control planning, managing a web portal for the International Cancer Control Partnership, which serves as a repository of publicly available national cancer control plans. Before joining UICC, Ms. Tittenbrun worked for the Nobel Peace Prize–winning Cluster Munitions Coalition of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, coordinating civil society’s presence in the humanitarian disarmament arena. She holds a Master of Arts in cultural studies and foreign languages and a Master of Science in global health policy from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.

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Carla Berg, Ph.D., M.B.A., Professor
George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health

Carla J. Berg, Ph.D., M.B.A., is a Professor in the Department of Prevention and Community Health at George Washington University's (GW) Milken Institute School of Public Health and the Associate Center Director for Population Sciences and Policy at the GW Cancer Center. Dr. Berg’s research focuses primarily on socio-structural determinants of health, particularly as they relate to NCD prevention and control and related disparities. In particular, her research examines tobacco and cannabis use in the context of related policies and marketing influences; policy adoption, implementation, and evaluation; and developing and testing scalable interventions to reduce NCD risk and related burdens.

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Jennifer Moodley, M.B.Ch.B., M.Med., Ph.D., Director, Cancer Research Initiative
University of Cape Town

Jennifer Moodley, M.B.Ch.B., M.Med., Ph.D., is the Director of the Cancer Research Initiative at the University of Cape Town and co-Director of the African aWAreness of CANcer and Early Diagnosis (AWACAN-ED) program. Prof. Moodley is a Public Health Medicine Physician with expertise in health systems research, epidemiology, advocacy, and public policy development. She has worked as a clinician in rural and urban healthcare settings and has first-hand experience of the challenges in providing healthcare in resource-constrained environments. She has been involved in the development and implementation of diverse public health programs and policies; conducted health systems research to support national and provincial public health objectives; and mentored under- and post-graduates to meet similar responsibilities. Prof. Moodley’s research focuses on primary and secondary cancer prevention and improving pathways to cancer diagnosis and care. She values the importance of multi-disciplinary teams in addressing public health issues and is committed to social development and translating research into policy and practice.

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Martin Lajous, M.D., Sc.D., Faculty-Researcher
Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública

Martin Lajous, M.D., Sc.D., is a medical doctor and cancer epidemiologist at the National Institute of Public Health (INSP) in Mexico. Dr. Lajous received his medical degree from the National Autonomous University of Mexico and Master’s and Doctoral degrees in epidemiology from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Dr. Lajous acts as a Faculty-Researcher at INSP in Mexico since his appointment in 2004. In addition, he is an adjunct professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. At INSP he helped design and develop the Mexican Teachers’ Cohort (MTC) and now serves as its principal investigator. MTC has since become part of the U.S. National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) Cancer Cohort Consortium. Dr. Lajous teaches courses at INSP on cancer epidemiology, causal inference (methodologies and strategies that allow researchers to draw causal conclusions based on data), and implementation science. His research interests are cancer epidemiology and implementation of cancer prevention and control programs.

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Gaurav Narula, M.D., D.N.B., Professor of Pediatric Oncology & Health Sciences
Tata Memorial Centre

Gaurav Narula, M.D., D.N.B., is a Professor of Pediatric Oncology & Health Sciences at the Tata Memorial Centre (TMC) and Homi Bhabha National Institute in Mumbai. He graduated from the Armed Forces Medical College in Pune in 1987, and later completed his M.D. in pediatrics from the same institution in 1995. Followed by a Fellowship in hematology oncology from Tata Memorial Hospital in 2003. A veteran of the Indian Navy, Dr. (Surgeon Commander) Narula, served for 25 years as a Medical Officer in various Naval ships and hospitals. In 2012, he retired as Professor of Pediatrics & Hematology at INHS Asvini—the Apex referral multi-specialty hospital of the Indian Navy—and joined Tata Memorial Centre in his current appointment. Dr. Narula was convener of the Pediatric Hematolymphoid Group at TMC from 2015-18. This group manages more than 1,200 new cases of children with blood and lymphoid cancers every year. His interests are in immunotherapy and collaborative clinical trials for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), Hodgkin lymphoma & histiocytosis. He was principal investigator and part of the core team for ICiCLe 1 and 2—collaborative multi-center randomized clinical trials for childhood ALL. He is also Study Chair for a nation-wide multi-center randomized clinical trial in Pediatric Hodgkin lymphoma. Since 2015, Dr. Narula has been collaborating with IIT-B at Mumbai to develop the first CAR T product in India, which is now approved by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization to ImmunoACT. He was a member of the Clinical Advisory Group for the WHO Classification of Hematolymphoid Tumors (2022) and a co-author in the chapter on histiocytic disorders. He founded the Immuno-Oncology Society of India and serves as Treasurer. Dr. Narula was also the Founder of the Pediatric Hematology Oncology Journal (PHOJ)—the official journal of the PHO Chapter of Indian Academy of Pediatrics and was Editor-in-Chief from its inception in 2015, until 2021.

Hasmukh Jain, M.D., D.M., Medical Oncologist
Tata Memorial Hospital

Hasmukh Jain, M.D., D.M., is a Medical Oncologist in the Adult Hematolymphoid and Cell Therapy Unit at Tata Memorial Hospital. Dr. Jain obtained a M.D. in general medicine from Kasturba Medical College and D.M. in medical oncology from Tata Memorial Centre. His primary research focus is acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), Hodgkin lymphoma, cell therapy, and supportive care. He is a clinical primary investigator (PI) on several investigator-initiated trials and was the PI on the clinical trials that led to approval of the first CAR T-cell therapy product in India, in October 2023. His group is now working on ways to improve access of CAR T-cell therapy to Indian patients. Dr. Jain has taken part in numerous national and international conferences as a speaker and expert panelist.

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Isaac Alatise, M.D., Professor of Surgery
Obafemi Awolowo University

Isaac Alatise, M.D., is a Professor of Surgery in the College of Health Sciences at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) in Nigeria, he also acts as a Consultant General Surgeon at the OAU Teaching Hospital. He trained in surgical oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. Dr. Alatise is a leader in surgical oncology and gastroenterology in Nigeria and has trained over thirty general surgeons interested in surgical oncology. He holds multiple positions in various cancer organizations and associations including—Secretary General of the Society of Gastroenterology and Hepatology in Nigeria; Secretary General of the Nigeria Chapter of the International Hepatopancreatobiliary Association; Vice President (West Africa) of the African Organisation for Research and Training in Cancer; Membership on the American Society of Clinical Oncology African Regional Council; and Membership on The Lancet Oncology Commission on Global Cancer Surgery. In 2016, Dr. Alatise was selected as one of the “50 for 50” future cancer research leaders by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. He was awarded the prestigious Professor T.A.I. Grillo ‘Excellence in Research’ Award (2017) and a ‘Excellence in Grantsmanship’ award (2023) by Obafemi Awolowo University in recognition of his work. He has over 170 peer-reviewed publications and four book chapters.

Peter Kingham, M.D., Director, Global Cancer Disparity Initiatives
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Peter Kingham, M.D., obtained his undergraduate degree from Yale University and M.D. from SUNY Stony Brook Medical School. He completed his general surgery residency at New York University before he undertook a research fellowship in hepatic immunology in the DeMatteo Laboratory at Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) Cancer Center in New York. After finishing residency, Dr. Kingham completed a two-year fellowship in surgical oncology at MSK prior to being appointed on the Hepatopancreatobiliary Service. Dr. Kingham acts as Director of the International Surgical Oncology Fellowship and the Global Oncology Fellowship. In 2015, he was appointed Director of Global Cancer Disparity Initiatives. In 2022, he was promoted to Professor. Dr Kingham’s primary research interest is determining how to improve cancer care for patients in low- and middle-income countries and colorectal cancer liver metastasis management. He has over 300 publications in peer-reviewed journals and authored 18 chapters.

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Christian Ntizimira, M.D., M.M.Sc., Executive Director
African Center for Research on End-of-Life Care

Christian Ntizimira, M.D., M.M.Sc., is the author of “The Safari Concept: An African Framework on End-of-Life Care” and Founder and Executive Director of the African Center for Research on End-of-Life Care (ACREOL), a non-profit organization designed to bring socio-cultural equality through “Ubuntu in End-of-life Care” in Africa. He is a Fulbright alumni and graduate of Harvard Medical School, Department of Global Health and Social Medicine. Dr. Ntizimira is also an alumnus of the Kofi Annan Global Health Leadership Programme, which aims to bring select Africans to strategize, manage, and lead public health programs that will transform public health in Africa.

Dr. Ntizimira is the winner of the prestigious Tällberg-Stervos Niarcos Foundation-Eliasson Global Leadership Prize (2021), for his passionate advocacy for palliative care in Rwanda and elsewhere in Africa, rooted in his deeply held belief that dignified end-of-life care is a human right.

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Anna Schuh, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Molecular Diagnostics
University of Oxford

Anna Schuh, M.D., Ph.D., F.R.C.P., F.R.C.Path., completed her academic and clinical hematology training in Oxford, United Kingdom. From 2006 to 2014, she acted as clinical director of the hematology laboratories at Oxford University NHS Hospital Trust. Since 2006, she has led over 50 early- and late-phase clinical trials in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), a number of which have changed clinical practice for patients in the UK and worldwide. Professor Schuh served as chair of the UK CLL forum from 2015 to 2018; as chair of the National Cancer Research Institute Collaborative Group for Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia from 2018 to 2022; and was asked to join the board of the International Workshop on CLL in 2019, where she established the Global Partnership Committee. Her main research interest is in the development, evaluation, and implementation of new technologies for precision diagnostics. Professor Schuh's research group published the first genome-wide longitudinal study on the changes in the genomic landscape of patients undergoing treatment for leukemia and subsequently led pivotal whole genome sequencing studies in collaboration with Genomics England. In the last five years, her group has focused on evaluating whole genome sequencing of liquid biopsies for early cancer detection. She published the first ever deep whole genome analysis of circulating tumor DNA in solid tumors and now oversees research programs evaluating the clinical utility of liquid biopsies for early cancer diagnosis in the UK, Uganda, and Tanzania.

Professor Schuh became a member of Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS) faculty in Tanzania, in 2019 and actively contributes in their hematology M.Med. program. In this role, she serves as Principal Investigator of a 5-year program funded by the UK National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) for improving the diagnosis of aggressive infection-related lymphomas in East Africa (AI-REAL). In addition, Professor Schuh holds a patent in non-invasive prenatal diagnosis of sickle cell disease and has co-founded two biotechnology start-ups, including Seren, a social enterprise to improve access to DNA-based diagnostic in sub-Saharan Africa.

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Laura Fejerman, Ph.D., Placer Breast Cancer Endowed Chair
UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center

Laura Fejerman, Ph.D., is the Placer Breast Cancer Endowed Chair and Professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences, at the University of California Davis School of Medicine. She is also the Associate Director for Community Outreach and Engagement, co-Director of the Women’s Cancer Care and Research Program (WeCARE), and co-Director of the Latinos United for Cancer Health Advancement (LUCHA) initiative at the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center. She completed her undergraduate degree in social anthropology at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina and earned her Ph.D. in biological anthropology and M.Sc. in human biology at the University of Oxford, England.

Dr. Fejerman’s research focuses on the discovery of genetic and non-genetic factors that contribute to breast cancer risk and prognosis in Hispanic and Latina women. She built the Peruvian Genetics/Genomics of Breast Cancer (PEGEN-BC) study collaborating with the Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Neoplasicas, Lima, Peru, which included ~2,000 women with breast cancer. She also leads the Latin America Genetics and Genomics of Breast Cancer Consortium (LAGENO-BC) which brings together researchers from the U.S. and Latin American countries to study the genetics of breast cancer in women of Latin American heritage. Dr. Fejerman is passionate about eliminating cancer health disparities and dedicates part of her time to the development and implementation of cancer education and navigation programs tailored to underserved and under resourced communities in California.

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Asya Agulnik, M.D., M.P.H., Director, St. Jude Global Critical Care Program
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Asya Agulnik, M.D., M.P.H., is an Associate Member at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in the Department of Global Pediatric Medicine, with a joint appointment in the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Critical Care. Dr. Agulnik is the Director of the St. Jude Global Critical Care Program, Euro Regional Program, and SAFER Ukraine. She is a clinician scientist, with clinical expertise in pediatric onco-critical care and research focused on how to implement, scale-up, and sustain interventions to hospital care and outcomes for children with cancer in resource-limited settings. Dr. Agulnik leads Proyecto EVAT, a quality improvement collaborative in Latin America to support implementation of Pediatric Early Warning Systems (PEWS) — an intervention to improve early identification of clinical deterioration in hospitalized children with cancer. Along with Dr. Virginia McKay, she was recently awarded an R37 grant to study sustainability of PEWS in resource-limited hospitals.

Dr. Agulnik obtained her undergraduate degree from Harvard University and a Master of Public Health degree from the University of California, Berkeley. She earned her medical degree from Stanford University School of Medicine and completed her residency in pediatrics through the Boston Combined Residency Program and pediatric critical care fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital.

Carlos Acuña, M.D., Chief, Pediatric and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
Luis Calva Mackenna Hospital

Carlos Acuña, M.D., is a pediatric intensivist and Chief of the Pediatric and Neonatal ICU at Luis Calvo Mackenna Hospital in Santiago, Chile. In addition, he serves as ECMO Program Director at the Luis Calvo Mackenna Hospital and Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics and Surgery at the University of Chile. Dr. Acuña is a member of the steering committee, EVAT program, and Global Critical Care Medicine Program at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Dr. Acuña obtained his undergraduate and medical degree from the University of Chile where he also completed his residency in pediatrics and pediatric critical care. He completed his training with a Pediatric Critical Care Fellowship at the University of Tennessee Health Science Le Bonheur Children’s Medical Hospital in Memphis.

Virginia McKay, Ph.D., M.A., Assistant Professor
Washington University in St. Louis Brown School of Social Work & Public Health

Virginia McKay, Ph.D., M.A. is an Assistant Faculty member in the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis. Her research focuses on the dissemination and implementation of evidence-based practices, especially the sustainability and de-implementation of interventions. She serves as a Principal and Co-Investigator on a wide range of funded projects from the National Institutes of Health, Agency of Healthcare Research and Quality, and private foundations. She is a member of the leadership team for the Dissemination and Implementation Research Core at the Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences at the Washington University School of Medicine and is the Assistant Director of Research with the Center for Public Health System Science at the Brown School.

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