Faculty – WIN

International Faculty

Prof. James Allison, PhD

Nobel Laureate 2018,
Regental Professor and Chair, Department of Immunology; Vice President of Immunobiology; Executive Director, Immunotherapy Platform; Director, James P. Allison Institute; Olga Keith Wiess Distinguished University Chair of Cancer Research, MD Anderson Cancer Center (TX, USA)

Prof. James Allison, PhD

Dr. James Allison is the Regental Professor and Chair of the Department of Immunology, Vice President of Immunobiology, Executive Director of Immunotherapy Platform, Director of James P. Allison Institute, the Olga Keith Wiess Distinguished University Chair of Cancer Research. He has spent a distinguished career studying the regulation of T cell responses and developing strategies for cancer immunotherapy. He earned the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, which he shared with Dr. Tasuku Honjo, “for their discovery of cancer therapy by inhibition of negative immune regulation.” Among his most notable discoveries are the determination of the T cell receptor structure and that CD28 is the major costimulatory molecule that allows full activation of naïve T cells and prevents energy in T cell clones. His lab resolved a major controversy by demonstrating that CTLA-4 inhibits T-cell activation by opposing CD28-mediated costimulation and that blockade of CTLA-4 could enhance T cell responses, leading to tumor rejection in animal models. This finding paved the wave for the emerging field of immune checkpoint blockade therapy for cancer. Work in his lab led to the development of ipilimumab, an antibody to human CTLA-4 and the first immune checkpoint blockade therapy approved by the FDA. Among many honors, he is a member of the National Academies of Science and Medicine and received the Lasker-Debakey Clinical Medical Research award in 2015. His current work seeks to improve immune checkpoint blockade therapies currently used by our clinicians and identify new targets to unleash the immune system to eradicate cancer.

Prof. Christian Rolfo, MD PhD MBA Drhc

President, International Society of Liquid Biopsy (Spain); Professor of Medicine; Associate Director for Clinical Research Center for Thoracic Oncology, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (NY, USA)

Christian Rolfo, MD, PhD, MBA, Dr.hc. is Professor of Medicine (Hematology and Medical Oncology) and Associate Director for Clinical Research in the Center for Thoracic Oncology at The Tisch Cancer Institute. Dr. Rolfo’s clinical and research focus is on drug development, lung cancer and other thoracic malignancies, biomarkers, resistant mechanisms discovery, and liquid biopsies. Dr. Rolfo has held academic appointments at numerous institutions, including the University of Cordoba, Argentina; University of Antwerp, Belgium; University of Palermo, Italy, and the University of Maryland and Greenbaum Comprehensive Cancer Center where he was Director of Thoracic Medical Oncology and Director of Early Clinical Trials. Dr. Rolfo earned his MD at the University of Cordoba School of Medicine, his PhD and Doctor Europaeus in Clinical and Experimental Oncology Research at University of Palermo, Italy, and an MBA in Hospital and Health Services Management and Organization at Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain. He completed residency training in Medical Oncology at the National Cancer Institute in Milan (University of Milan, Italy). Dr. Rolfo is President of the International Society of Liquid Biopsy (ISLB) and Chair of the Education Committee at the International Association for Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC). Dr. Rolfo served as member of the Drug Approval & First in Human Commission at the Ministry of Health in Belgium during his time as Phase I Director at Antwerp University. Dr. Rolfo is actively working on drug development and lung cancer and mesothelioma treatment. His research is focused in molecular oncology, targeted therapies and Immunotherapy in thoracic oncology using new techniques in liquid biopsies, specifically in extracellular vesicles and circulating free tumor DNA. His research group identified ALK translocation in exosomes in NSCLC patients, and showed, for the first time, the videos of labeled EVs uptake by living lung cancer cells. He is currently working on the identification of new biomarkers involved in immunotherapy and TKI drug-resistance and early detection of lung cancer with liquid biopsy. Dr. Rolfo has contributed to the development of several compounds including Erlotinib, and the pharmacokinetics of Olaparib, Entrectinib, Selpercatinib, Trastuzumab Duocarmazine, among others. Dr. Rolfo has authored more than 250 scientific articles, has made several contributions to book chapters, and has served as a book editor. He has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals including New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet Oncology, Cancer Discovery, Nature Clinical Reviews in Oncology, Journal of Thoracic Oncology, Nature Nanotechnology, Clinical Cancer Research, Annals of Oncology, and Lung Cancer among others. Dr. Rolfo is Editor in Chief of Critical Review in Oncology Hematology.

Prof. Don Dizon, MD FACP FASCO

Professor of Medicine and Professor of Surgery; Associate Director, Community Outreach and Engagement, Legorreta Cancer Center; Director of the Pelvic Malignancies Program and Oncology Sexual Health First Responders Clinic, Lifespan Cancer Institute; Director of Medical Oncology, Rhode Island Hospital; Vice Chair for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI), and Professional Integrity, SWOG, Brown University (RI, USA).

Dr. Don S. Dizon is a Professor of Medicine and Professor of Surgery at Brown University and serves as the Vice Chair of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Professional Engagement at SWOG Cancer Research Network, a member of the National Cancer Institute’s National Clinical Trials Network. He also serves as the Editor of CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, the flagship journal of the American Cancer Society. He is a medical oncologist specializing in ovarian, cervical, and uterine cancer, prevention – particularly as it relates to the HPV vaccine, sexuality after cancer for men and women, and professional use of social media. He is the Director of The Pelvic Malignancies Program at Lifespan Cancer Institute, Director of Medical Oncology at Rhode Island Hospital, and Associate Director of Community Outreach and Engagement at Legorreta Cancer Center at Brown University. Among his other roles, he is co-Chief Medical Officer at Global Cancer Institute and sits on the boards of multiple nonprofits, including the Hope Foundation for Cancer Research and the LGBTQ Cancer Network. Dr. Dizon is a founding member of the Collaboration for Outcomes Using Social Media in Oncology and is active on many platforms, including Threads, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. Follow him @drdonsdizon.

Prof. Faisal Khan, PhD D(ABHI)

CEO, Co-Founder & Director, Molecular Diagnostics, OncoHelix (Canada) in collaboration with coLAB, Burjeel Holdings (UAE); Professor, Cumming School of Medicine; Director, Hematology Translational Lab, University of Calgary (Canada)

Dr. Faisal Khan is a Professor at Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary. In his clinical role, Dr. Khan works as the Director of the Hematology Translational Lab at the University of Calgary; as an Associate Clinical Director of the Histocompatibility and Immunogenetic Lab (HIL), and as a Scientific Lead of the Molecular Pathology Program in Alberta Precision Labs. Dr. Khan is the CEO, co-founder, and Director of OncoHelix Inc., a leading Canadian organization that specializes in esoteric cancer genomic and immunology testing. Dr. Khan obtained his PhD in Human Molecular Genetics in India. He completed his postdoctoral training and clinical fellowship at the University of Calgary in 2010. Dr. Khan is a certified Diplomat of the American Board of Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics (ABHI). Dr. Khan has more than 21 years of experience in Transplant Immunology, Cancer Genomics, and Histocompatibility, and Immunogenetics. Based on his research, Dr. Khan has published over 105 research articles in scientific journals like Science, Blood, Transplantation, and Blood Advances. His research has been recognized by several awards including the American Society of Hematology (ASH) Achievement Awards in 2013, 2015, and 2018; and the American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics (ASHI) Scholar/Most Clinically Relevant Study awards in 2014, 2019, and 2022.

Prof. Garth Powis, DPhil

Founder & Consultant, PHusis Therapeutics (CA, USA)

Dr. Garth Powis is an internationally recognized molecular translational cancer pharmacologist. A native of the United Kingdom he obtained his D.Phil at Merton College, Oxford University. Moving to the US he held has academic positions at Mayo Clinic, the University of Arizona Cancer Center, MD Anderson Cancer Center as Chair of Experimental Therapeutics, and Director of the NCI Designated Basic Research Cancer Center at Sanford Burnham in L Jolla CA. He is Cofounder and Consultant for PHusis Therapeutics La Jolla developing topical drugs for the treatment skin and cutaneous breast cancers. Through Prolx Pharmaceuticals another company he cofounded; he developed three novel molecularly targeted cancer drugs that went to advanced clinical trial. He has worked as a consultant for Burjeel Holdings.

Dr. Hatim Husain, MD

Associate Professor of Medicine, Moores Cancer Center, UC San Diego (CA, USA)

Dr. Hatim Husain is a board-certified medical oncologist who specializes in lung cancer, genomically oriented targeted therapy, and immunotherapy. He is an Associate Professor at the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Husain earned his medical degree from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. He completed a fellowship in medical oncology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Husain is a physician-scientist dedicated to understanding the cancer genome and tumor microenvironment and works on strategies to advance meaningful, precision-oriented therapies for patients.

Dr. Helmy Eltoukhy, PhD

Co-Founder and Chairman, Guardant Health (CA, USA)

Dr. Helmy Eltoukhy is the Co-Founder, Chairman and Co-CEO of Guardant Health. After receiving his PhD, MS and BS degrees in electrical engineering from Stanford University, he joined the Stanford Genome Technology Center (SGTC) as a post-doctoral fellow in 2006 to work on low-cost DNA sequencing technologies. During his doctoral studies and at the SGTC, he developed the first semiconductor sequencing platform and first base-calling algorithm for next-generation sequencing under several NHGRI grants. Prior to Guardant Health, Helmy co-founded Avantome in 2007 to commercialize semiconductor sequencing to help accelerate the democratization of high throughput DNA sequencing until its acquisition by Illumina in 2008. At Illumina, Helmy was Senior Director of Advanced Technology Research, where he developed novel chemistries, hardware and informatics for genetic analysis systems. Dr. Eltoukhy was named to Fortune’s 40 under 40 in 2017 and the San Francisco Business Times’ 40 under 40 in 2019. He was also named one of Time Magazine’s 50 Most Influential People in Healthcare in 2018 and was ranked #12 on The Healthcare Technology Report Top 50 Healthcare Technology CEO in 2021. He has served as an invited speaker or panelist at events including the World Economic Forum, The Business of Personalized Medicine Summit, and Fortune Brainstorm Health.

Dr. Jacob Scott, MD DPhil

Associate Professor, Department of Molecular Medicine; Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Physics; Associate Director for Data Sciences; Member, Developmental Therapeutics Program, Comprehensive Cancer Center, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine; Departments of Translational Hematology and Oncology Research and Radiation Oncology Clinic, CWRU School of Medicine and Cleveland Clinic (OH, USA)

Dr. Jacob Scott is a veteran of the US Navy submarine force turned academic physician-scientist. His lab pursues research decomposing the complexity of cancer through mathematical modeling and the biological and clinical validation of these models. With an educational background in physics, medicine, mathematics and engineering Dr. Scott has a unique perspective on cancer and systems biology and communicates and collaborates with professionals across many disciplines. After medical school at Case Western Reserve University, Jake pursued a residency in Radiation Oncology at Moffitt Cancer Center. Feeling frustrated with the one-size-fits-all approach in modern oncology, he took a hiatus to pursue a PhD in mathematical biology at the University of Oxford, where his thesis focused on the role of heterogeneity and evolution, both genetic and microenvironmental, on cancer evolution and radiation response – a theme which is now his laboratory’s focus. He is currently Associate Professor and Staff Physician-Scientist at the Departments of Translational Hematology and Oncology Research and Radiation Oncology at CWRU School of Medicine and Cleveland Clinic.

Dr. Jason Hipp, MD PhD

Chief Digital Innovation Officer, Mayo Collaborative Services; Medical Director, Biopharma Diagnostics, Mayo Clinic (MN, USA)

Dr. Jason Hipp, MD/PhD is the Chief Digital Innovation Officer for Mayo Collaborative Services (the commercial diagnostics arm of Mayo Clinic) and the Medical Director for Biopharma Diagnostics. He completed his undergraduate training at UCSD, his MD/PhD at Wake Forest University, residency in pathology at the NIH, and fellowship training in Informatics at the University of Michigan. He is a board-certified pathologist who has been active in the field of digital pathology, AI and cancer research. He spent most of hist time in Industry, having worked at Novartis, BMS and AstraZeneca. He was also the first pathologist hired by Alphabet and was the lead pathologist at Google. He spent two years before his current role involved in Mayo Clinic’s Practice, where he was the founder and Chair of the Division of Computational Pathology & Artificial Intelligence.

Dr. Justin Guinney, PhD

Senior Vice President, Cancer Genomics, Tempus AI (IL, USA)

Dr. Justin Guinney is the Senior Vice President of Cancer Genomics at Tempus, where he leads computational and AI-focused teams developing precision oncology models using Tempus’ large clinicogenomic and organoid databases. Prior to Tempus, Dr. Guinney was the Vice President of Computational Oncology and a principal investigator at the non-profit research institute Sage Bionetworks, where his lab focused on using multi-model data to develop diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive models of disease. Among his lab’s accomplishments are the development of the Consensus Molecular Subtypes of colorectal cancer, the first methylomic biological clock of human aging, and the popular Geneset Variation Analysis (GSVA) tool. His lab also supported data and analytics of several large cancer consortia including the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), the NCI Human Tumor Atlas Network (HTAN), and AACR Project GENIE. Dr. Guinney retains positions as an Affiliate Associate Professor at the University of Washington, and Director of the DREAM Challenges. In this latter role, Dr. Guinney organized data and AI challenges for benchmarking methods in biomedicine and bioinformatics. Dr Guinney received a BA in history & pre-medicine from the University of Pennsylvania, a BS in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and a PhD in computational biology and bioinformatics from Duke University.

Dr. Katherine Tossas, PhD MS

Assistant Professor, Department of Health Behavior & Policy; Affiliate Assistant Professor, Epidemiology Division, School of Population Health; Director, Catchment Area Data Access & Alignment (CADA), Office of Community Outreach & Engagement, Massey Cancer Center, Virginia Commonwealth University (VA, USA)

Katherine Y. Tossas, PhD, MS, is a cancer epidemiologist and an assistant professor in the Department of Health Behavior and Policy, at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Population Health (VCU). She is also a member of the VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center (Cancer Prevention and Control research program) where she is the founding director for the Office of Catchment Area Data Access and Alignment. Dr. Tossas’ research is grounded in health equity, and centers on elucidating the role of the microbiome on disparate progression of precancerous lesions, specifically in the cervix and lung. She is a Principal Investigator for multiple foundation-funded, community-engaged research projects addressing systemic or structural inequities in cancer outcomes across Virginia. She is the recipient of multiple competitive grants, most recently an NCI K01 and a V Scholar Award. Dr. Tossas also provides mentorship opportunities to students through her COQUI Lab (Cancer Outcomes Queries to Understand Inequities).

Prof. Padmanee Sharma, MD PhD

Professor, Departments of Genitourinary Medical Oncology and Immunology; Scientific Director, Immunotherapy Platform; T.C. and Jeanette Hsu Endowed Chair in Cell Biology; Co-Director, Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, MD Anderson Cancer Center (TX, USA)

Dr. Padmanee Sharma is a nationally and internationally renowned physician scientist who is a pioneer in the field of immune checkpoint therapy. In 2006, Dr. Sharma designed and conducted the first neoadjuvant (pre-surgical) clinical trial with immune checkpoint therapy. She designed and conducted multiple clinical trials, which eventually led to FDA-approval of immune checkpoint therapy for cancer patients, including patients with bladder cancer as well as patients with renal cell carcinoma. She conducted key experiments to define biologic pathways that are involved in anti-tumor responses, including ICOS+ effector T cells and tertiary lymphoid structures. She also performed innovative studies to define mechanisms of resistance to immune checkpoint therapy, including loss of signaling in the IFN-pathway, VISTA, and epigenetic pathways such as EZH2. In addition, she identified organ-specific immune responses that contribute to resistance of bone metastases to immune checkpoint therapy. Her detailed laboratory studies have allowed her to design and implement rational combination clinical trials to overcome resistance mechanisms. Currently, Dr. Sharma focuses her effort on a “reverse translation” process that encompasses studies on human immune responses to generate hypotheses related to mechanisms of tumor rejection, which she tests in appropriately designed pre-clinical models, and subsequently uses the new data to design novel clinical trials to improve outcomes for patients with cancer. Dr. Sharma is the Director of Scientific Programs for the James P. Allison Institute at MD Anderson Cancer Center. She is the inaugural Scientific Director of the Immunotherapy Platform, Professor in the Departments of Genitourinary Medical Oncology and Immunology, the T.C. and Jeanette Hsu Endowed Chair in Cell Biology, and Co-Director of Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. She is a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI); received the Emil Frei III Award for Excellence in Translational Research in 2016; the Coley Award for Distinguished Research for Tumor Immunology in 2018; and honored with the Women in Science with Excellence (WISE) award in 2020.

Dr. Pinaki Bose, PhD

Co-Founder & Executive VP, OncoHelix (Canada) in collaboration with coLAB, Burjeel Holdings (UAE); Scientific Lead, Precision Oncology and Experimental Therapeutics; Director, Tumour Biology and Translational Research, Ohlson Research Initiative, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary (Canada)

Dr. Pinaki Bose is an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Oncology and Biochemistry & Molecular Biology at the Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary. Dr. Bose serves in several leadership roles including Scientific Lead for the Precision Oncology and Experimental Therapeutics (POET) program, Director of Tumour Biology and Translational Research for the Ohlson Research Initiative (ORI) and Scientific Lead for the Calgary Global Medical Education (CGME) program. Beyond academia, Dr. Bose is a co-founder and Executive Vice-President of OncoHelix Inc., a leading Canadian biotech company providing specialized cancer genomics and immunology testing. Dr. Bose completed his Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Calgary where he was the first to characterize the extra-nuclear role of INhibitor of Growth (ING) proteins. As a postdoctoral fellow, Dr. Bose trained in the molecular epidemiology of head and neck cancers at the University of Calgary. As part of a second postdoctoral fellowship, Dr. Bose trained at the BC Cancer Genome Sciences Centre in cancer genomics and bioinformatics and contributed significantly to the first personalized oncogenomics (POG) program in Canada. The POG program improved survival outcomes in recurrent/metastatic cancer patients by administering genome-guided therapy. The Bose Lab investigates the complex biology of cancer with a particular focus on biomarker development and immuno-oncology. Dr. Bose’s team uses cutting-edge omics and functional approaches to investigate drivers of metastasis, immune evasion and immunotherapy resistance. He has published his research in high impact journals such as Nature Cell Biology, Nature Communications, Science Translational Medicine, Science Advances, Clinical Cancer Research, Cancer Research, PNAS, among others.

Prof. Razelle Kurzrock, MD

Chief Medical Officer / Equal Opportunities and Diversity Officer, WIN Consortium; Professor of Medicine, Associate Director, Clinical Research; Chair of Precision Oncology, MCW Cancer Center and Linda T. and John A. Mellowes Center for Genomic Sciences and Precision Medicine; Founding Director, Michels Rare Cancers Research Laboratories, Froedtert and Medical College of Wisconsin (WI, USA)

Razelle Kurzrock, MD is a world-renowned physician-scientist leader in precision medicine as well as in the development of novel therapeutics in the field of oncology. She is recognized for founding, developing and chairing one of the largest Phase 1 clinical trial departments globally while at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center; the central theme of the department was a personalized medicine strategy. She is also one of the pioneering trialists of the WINTHER precision medicine trial focusing, for the first time, on transcriptomics in addition to genomics. This trial was the signature study of the WIN international consortium (Nature Medicine). During her time at the University of California San Diego Health, Dr. Kurzrock’s charge was leading the Center for Personalized Cancer Therapy as well as the Experimental Therapeutics program, and she also founded a Rare Tumor Clinic focused on precision medicine. The signature study of the center was the IPREDICT study (Nature Medicine, 2019; Genome Medicine, 2021) that gave, for the first time, individualized matched combination therapies to patients with lethal malignancies, hence resulting in improved outcomes. Dr. Kurzrock has almost 950 publications on Pubmed, an H-index of 142, and has been named to the list of most cited scientists worldwide (Web of Science) and to the list of the 25 most important voices in Precision Medicine globally. She has four children and three dogs and lives with her husband Dr Philip Cohen, in San Diego, California. Dr. Kurzrock is Professor of Medicine, Associate Director, Clinical Research, Linda T. and John A. Mellowes Endowed Chair of Precision Oncology, MCW Cancer Center and Linda T. and John A. Mellowes Center for Genomic Sciences and Precision Medicine, Founding Director, Michels Rare Cancers Research Laboratories, Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin, Adjunct Professor, University of Nebraska, USA. Dr Kurzrock is WIN’s Chief Medical Officer, Executive Committee, Equal Opportunity and Diversity Officer.

Prof. Sendurai Mani, PhD

Associate Director for Translational Oncology, Legorreta Cancer Center; Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Dean's Chair of Translational Oncology; Director of Translational Research Disease Groups and Stem Cell Center, Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University (RI, USA)

Dr. Sendurai A. Mani, a distinguished Professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, holds the prestigious Dean’s Chair of Translational Oncology. His role extends to serving as the Associate Director of Translational Oncology at the Legorreta Cancer Center and as the Director of the Stem Cell Center at Brown. Dr. Mani received his Ph.D. at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, India. In 2009, he joined the Weinberg laboratory at the Whitehead Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in Cambridge, MA. In collaboration with a team of researchers, Dr. Mani led pioneering studies that uncovered the critical role of latent embryonic epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in cancer metastasis. He was the first to show that EMT activation endows cancer cells with stem cell-like properties, a landmark discovery with over 9,700 citations. This research has significantly advanced our understanding of tumor plasticity and the mechanisms enabling cancer cells to metastasize, mirroring the original tumor tissue histopathology at distant sites. Dr. Mani’s outstanding work has earned him several prestigious accolades, including the V-Scholar and American Cancer Society Research Scholar awards. He is an elected member of the Sigma Xi scientific research honor society and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences (AAAS). In addition to his academic pursuits, Dr. Mani is a dynamic entrepreneur, co-founding Sathgen Therapeutics, a subdivision of Godavari and Iylon Precision Oncology, further extending his impact in the field of oncology. Dr. Mani’s laboratory focuses on deciphering cancer cell metastasis mechanisms and investigating their evasion and resistance to chemotherapy and targeted therapies. His team explores tumor cell plasticity and the role of the tumor immune microenvironment in these processes. Utilizing advanced tools and technology, Dr. Mani’s lab is committed to discovering new precision oncology targets to improve cancer treatment efficacy.

Prof. Silvia Formenti, MD

Professor of Medicine and Radiation Oncology; Chair of Radiation Oncology; Sandra and Edward Meyer Professor of Cancer Research; Associate Director of the Meyer Cancer Center; Radiation Oncologist in Chief, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, Weill Cornell Medical College (NY, USA)

Dr. Silvia Formenti is Chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology, Professor of Radiation Oncology and Medicine, Associate Director of Translational Research at the Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center at Weill Cornell Medicine, and Radiation Oncologist-in-Chief at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. She is also the Sandra and Edward Meyer Professor of Cancer Research at Weill Cornell Medicine. Dr. Formenti received her medical degree in Italy from the University of Milan. She is board certified in medical oncology, radiology and radiation oncology. A recognized leader in radiation oncology and breast cancer research, Dr. Formenti’s groundbreaking work has transformed the paradigm in radiation biology, demonstrating the efficacy of combining radiotherapy with immunotherapy to control cancer cell growth in solid tumors. In combination with immune checkpoint blockade, focal radiotherapy can be used to recruit patients’ immune systems to reject their individual tumor, resulting in a form of personalized immunotherapy, specific for each individual patient. She has translated preclinical work into clinical trials in metastatic solid tumors like breast and lung cancer, and in brain metastases. She is currently leading
six investigator-initiated clinical trials of immunotherapy and radiotherapy. A prolific researcher, Dr. Formenti has published more than 300 papers recognized by high-impact journals including Nature Medicine, JAMA, Lancet Oncology and the Journal of Clinical Oncology. She was honored to receive the ASTRO Gold Medal in 2019, SITC Team Science Award in 2021, and the ACR Fellowship in 2024.

Dr. Vivek Subbiah, MD

Chief, Early-Phase Drug Development, Sarah Cannon Research Institute (TN, USA)

Dr. Vivek Subbiah oversees SCRl’s nine drug development units and leads the expansion of early-phase capabilities and programs across the organization’s growing research network of more than 1300 physicians at more than 250 locations in 24 states. Previously, Dr. Subbiah held several leadership roles in his 15-year tenure at MD Anderson Cancer Center including Executive Director, Medical Oncology Research, MD Anderson Cancer Network as well as Clinical Medical Director, Clinical Center for Targeted Therapy, Division of Cancer Medicine where he oversaw both the outpatient and inpatient clinical care delivery operations for the Phase I program. He served as the Principal Investigator in over 100 Phase 1/11 trials- and co-Pl in over 200 trials. His research interests are patient centric drug development in rare cancers, precision oncology and basket trials. He has led several first-in-human and practice changing clinical trials that have led to US FDA approval, EMA approval and approval in multiple geographies e.g., dabrafenib + trametinib for anaplastic thyroid cancer, vemurafenib for erdheim-chester disease, lurbinectedin for small cell lung cancer, selpercatinib and pralsetinib for RET positive non-small cell lung cancer and RET positive thyroid cancer in addition to tissue agnostic approvals for RET+ cancer and BRAF+ cancers. He has published over 350 peer-reviewed articles in several prestigious journals such as Nature Medicine, The New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of Clinical Oncology, JAMA Oncology, Cancer Discovery, Lancet Oncology, Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology, Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology and Clinical Cancer Research. He has an exceptional track record of effectively bringing together multidisciplinary clinical trials teams, early career physician investigators, and physicians in training, all with the shared commitment to bringing novel therapies to patients with cancer. Having trained in both pediatric hematology & oncology as well as adult medical oncology, Dr. Subbiah is uniquely positioned to bring cutting-edge therapeutics across the age continuum from adolescent/young adults (AYAs) to older adults with cancer. He has won numerous awards including Emil Frei Ill award for Excellence in Translational Research and 2021 Andrew Sabin Family Fellowship. He is the section editor and social media editor for American Cancer Society Journal, Cancer. He is a member of the ESMO Translational Research and Precision Medicine Working Group and in the Annals of Oncology Editorial Board.

Prof. Wafik El-Deiry, MD PhD FACP

Chair, WIN Consortium; American Cancer Society Research Professor; Director, Legorreta Cancer Center; Associate Dean, Oncologic Sciences, Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University (RI, USA)

Wafik El-Deiry, MD, PhD, FACP is Chair of the Worldwide Innovation Network (WIN) Consortium, American Cancer Society Research Professor, Director of Legorreta Cancer Center at Brown University, and Associate Dean for Oncologic Sciences at Warren Alpert Medical School. He is a practicing physician-scientist, and translational-oncology investigator focused on cell death, drug resistance, new drugs, and precision oncology. He was Deputy Director at Fox Chase Cancer Center until 2018. From 2010 through 2014 he was Chief of Hematology-Oncology at Penn State. He was tenured Professor of Medicine, Genetics, and Pharmacology at University of Pennsylvania and Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator from 1995-2004. He earned MD/PhD degrees from University of Miami and completed internal medicine residency and medical oncology fellowship at Johns Hopkins. El-Deiry discovered p21(WAF1) as p53 target gene, and cell cycle inhibitor that explained mammalian DNA-damage response. He discovered TRAIL receptor DR5, its regulation by p53, and discovered ONC201/TIC10 as cancer therapeutic. ONC201/TIC10 has clinical efficacy in H3K27M-mutated diffuse midline-gliomas and other tumors. He is a member of the Interurban Clinical Club (President 2013-2014), American Society for Clinical Investigation (1999-) and Association of American Physicians (2008-). He won the Michael Brown Award from U. Penn (1998), the Elizabeth and John Cox Award from Georgetown (2005), and 2009 Kuwait Prize for “Cancer Diseases.” He received teaching and mentoring awards from Penn State College of Medicine. He served as Chair of NIH Study Section (MCT2; 2018-2019), member of Conquer Cancer Foundation Review Board (ASCO; 2015-2018), ASCO’s Annual Program Committee (Tumor Biology Track Leader, 2017), and member of ACS Council for Extramural Grants (2015-2018). El-Deiry has >500 publications, 6 edited-books, H-index=127, >100,000 citations in Google Scholar. He founded three companies, received Inventor of Year Award from Brown University in 2022, 2023. He is among 2023 top Molecular Biology Scientists in US (#81; https://research.com/scientists-rankings/molecular-biology/us).

Dr. Vladimir Lazar, MD PhD

Chief Scientific and Operating Officer, WIN Consortium (France)

Dr. Vladimir Lazar obtained his MD (1989) at the University of Timisoara (Romania), with First Class and Certificate of Merit. He became a Specialist in Medical Clinical Biology and obtained his PhD in Molecular Biology (1997) from the University René Descartes in Paris, with the highest degree and the Prize of University. He was the Head of Gustave Roussy’s Genomic Center and Integrated Biology Platform (2002-2015). Dr Lazar is specialized in clinical biology, molecular biology, molecular pathology and has a broad training, education and postgraduate degrees in biotechnology (first in class) and project management. He is author of 8 patents and author-co-author of more than 100 publications. He is the Founder of the WIN Consortium and is the Chief Scientific and Operating officer.

Local Faculty

Dr. Alison Finall, MD FRCPath

Consultant Anatomical Pathologist, Burjeel Medical City (UAE)

Dr. Alison Finall is a consultant anatomical pathologist with 20 years of expertise in histopathology, particularly in thoracic and gynaecological pathology. She has a strong dedication to service development, medical education, and patient care. In her first six months as Head of Department of Anatomical Pathology (AP) at Burjeel Holdings, she has led a transformative restructuring of the organisation to incorporate sub-speciality reporting and lean principles for enhanced turnaround time. She is leading the way in developing digital pathology, confocal microscopy and integration of AI for further enhancements. She works closely with Oncohelix as part of the joint venture with Burjeel Holdings to mesh molecular and anatomical pathology for seamless solid tumour analysis. The College of American Pathologists have complimented the AP department at Burjeel on its standard of reporting under her leadership. Dr. Finall has a strong background in research and academia and was Honorary Associate Professor at Swansea University in the UK. She won the British Association of Gynaecological Pathologists Research Award in 2021. She has served as National Lead for Undergraduate Pathology Education at the Royal College of Pathologists in the UK and developed novel teaching programs of both undergraduate and post graduate education which have attracted recognition across the world. Dr. Finall’s dual qualifications and experience in molecular and anatomical pathology make her a valuable asset to Burjeel Holdings. Her dedication to advancing medical knowledge underscore her status as a respected and influential leader in the medical community.

Dr. Hassan Jaafar, MD

Consultant Medical Oncology, Burjeel Medical City (UAE)

Dr. Hassan Jaafar is a medical oncology consultant at Burjeel Medical City. He is certified as a medical hematologist / oncologist from the American University Beirut in 2000. he worked as a medical oncology consultant at Tawam Hospital (affiliated with Johns Hopkins) in the UAE from the year 2000 till until Feb-2018 and in Sheikh Khalifa Speciality Hospital (SKSH) operated by Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH) in Ras Alkhaima from Mar-2018 untill Feb-2022 before he joined Burjeel Medical City. Dr. Jaafar served as Assistant Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sciences of the UAE University between 2008-2018. He is the author and co-author of more than 80 peer-reviewed papers and abstracts. He is also member in several societies such as the UAE Oncology and Radiation Therapy Association, Emirates Gyn-Oncology Group, Lebanese Hematology and Oncology Association, European Society of Medical Oncology, American Society of Clinical Oncology, and the NCCN MENA subcommittee for HCC and Lung cancer. He is also member of the Scientific and Education Committee of the Arab Collaborative Hematology and Oncology Group (ACHOG), GIST working Group, and member of the Africa Middle East Cancer Research Intergroup (AMCI).

Prof. Humaid Al-Shamsi, MD FACP FRCP(Lon) FRCP(Ca)

Director of Oncology Services, Burjeel Holdings; Professor, Gulf Medical University; President, Emirates Oncology Society (UAE)

Prof. Humaid Obaid Al-Shamsi is the Director of Oncology Services at Burjeel Holding UAE and Burjeel Oncology GCC, President of the Emirates Oncology Society, Lead of the Gulf Cancer Society, Professor of Oncology at the Gulf Medical University, Ajman, UAE, and an adjunct Professor of Oncology at the College of Medicine at the University of Sharjah. He is the first Emirati to be promoted to professor of oncology in the UAE. He is also the Chairman for Colorectal Cancer in the MENA region, appointed by the prestigious National Comprehensive Cancer Network®. He is the Chairman of the Oncology and Hematology Fellowship Training Program for the National Institute for Health Specialties in the UAE. He is the only member of the GCC in the WIN Consortium, which is comprised of organizations representing all stakeholders in personalized cancer medicine globally. He is board-certified in both internal medicine and oncology from the UK, USA(ABIM), and Canada (FRCPC). He was also awarded the FRCP (London) in 2023. He is the only physician in the UAE with a subspecialty fellowship certification and training in gastrointestinal oncology and the first Emirati to train and complete a clinical post-doctoral fellowship in palliative care. He was an assistant professor at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center between 2014 and 2017. He has published more than 120 peer-reviewed articles in JAMA Oncology, Lancet Oncology, The Oncologist, BMC Cancer, and many others. His area of expertise includes precision oncology and cancer care in the UAE. In 2022, he published the first book about cancer research in the UAE and also the first book about cancer in the Arab World, both of which were launched at Dubai Expo 2020.

Dr. Ibrahim Abu-Gheida, MD

Clinical Director of Radiation Oncology; Chief Medical Officer, Burjeel Medical City (UAE)

Dr. Ibrahim Abu-Gheida is the clinical director of the department of radiation oncology at Burjeel Medical City, for which he has also been recently appointed as Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Abu-Gheida is also the chairman of the first Emirates Oncology Society Radiation Oncology Working group formulated in 2023. He also serves as a regional Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) committee representative for the Middle East and Africa. Dr. Abu-Gheida completed his undergraduate training where he earned a Bachelor of Science with honors degree from the American University of Beirut. Following this, Dr. Abu-Gheida completed his Medical School training at the American University of Beirut Medical Center. He continued and joined the Department of Internal Medicine at the American University of Beirut. He then did his training in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the American University of Beirut Medical Center, where he also served as the chief resident. During his Training, Dr. Abu-Gheida completed a Harvard-affiliated NIH-funded research program as well. After his residency, Dr. Ibrahim went to Cleveland Clinic / Ohio, where he was appointed as an Advanced Clinical Radiation Oncology Fellow. Dr. Abu-Gheida later joined the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center where he sub-specialized in treating breast, gastrointestinal, and genitourinary cancers. Dr. Abu Gheida played an instrumental role in establishing and heading the radiation oncology facility and department at Burjeel Medical City. He has chaired and co-chaired multiple international oncology conferences. He has more than 40 peer-reviewed papers in prestigious medical journals including the American Society of Radiation Oncology official journal – the International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology and Physics, Nature, Journal of Clinical Oncology, and several others. He is also the primary author and editor of several book chapters published in prestigious books.

Prof. Khaled Musallam, MD PhD

Group Chief Research Officer, Burjeel Holdings; Adj. Professor, Khalifa University (UAE)

Dr. Khaled Musallam is currently the Group Chief Research Officer for Burjeel Holdings (VPS Healthcare) based at Burjeel Medical City in Abu Dhabi, UAE. He founded the clinical research function and operations across the Group’s >10 JCI accredited hospitals and leads various real-world evidence studies and clinical trials as principal investigator at the Center for Research on Rare Blood Disorders (CR-RBD), for which he is Founding Director. He is also Adjunct Clinical Professor at the College of Medicine and Health Sciences at Khalifa University of Science and Technology and an external member of the Abu Dhabi Health Research and Technology Committee at the Department of Health in Abu Dhabi, UAE where he supports decisions on clinical trials and grant application approvals. Dr. Musallam received his medical degree from the American University of Beirut in Lebanon and his PhD from the Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands. He completed hematology/oncology research fellowships at the American University of Beirut Medical Center and the University of Milan. He is a member of Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. Dr. Musallam has a globally renowned research portfolio. He collaborated with numerous investigators and research groups from the Middle East, Asia, Europe, and the US where he led large multinational projects investigating hematological disorders. He has authored several book chapters and international management guidelines (e.g., Thalassaemia International Federation) and over 200 articles in leading international peer-reviewed journals including the New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet, JAMA, Circulation, Blood, among others. His h-index is 57. Dr. Musallam was ranked as World Expert and named among the top 0.1% scholars by EXPERTSCAPE since 2019 and is recognized among the top 2% scholars worldwide for ‘Cardiovascular System & Hematology, Immunology, Clinical Medicine’ in the “Updated science-wide author databases of standardized citation indicators” by Stanford University. In addition to his academic activities, Dr. Musallam has senior level pharmaceutical industry experience in Switzerland where he led large, multicenter clinical trials and US/EU regulatory submissions for leading hematology/oncology and rare disease products. He is also founder of an independent global cluster of agencies that offer healthcare consultancy and medical communication services for pharmaceutical companies throughout the life cycle of innovative medicines.

Mohamed Mostafa

CEO, Pharmaceutical Development Company, PDC-CRO (UAE)

Mr. Mohamed Mostafa is the Chief Executive Officer of PDC-CRO and serves on its Board of Directors. Mr. Mostafa leads a workforce in supporting Pharmaceuticals, Biotech companies and Research Institutions on the clinical development and transformational research. His inspiration and passion for clinical research led him to focus on how clinical research can improve patients’ lives. Over two decades of versed experience, he dedicated his efforts to expand research capabilities and infrastructure to provide patients an option to access new treatments. PDC is a leading CRO in the Middle East and Africa Region that focuses on early-stage clinical development, operational management of clinical trials and regulatory services. More recently, the company’s rapid response to the COVID-19 pandemic drove a coordination of global and regional initiatives to safeguard the health of people and ensure vaccines, life-saving medicines and products reach patients and communities in need. Mr. Mostafa holds a bachelor’s degree in Pharmaceutical Science from Egypt and is currently responsible for the overall management and strategic initiatives within the organization. Prior to that, he was heading the Clinical Operations across different CROs and Pharmaceutical Companies like Novartis and Roche. In his capacity, he was responsible for various scientific initiatives with local and international partners and worked closely with regulatory agencies across the region on various guidelines and strategic plans.

Dr. Mohamed Salem AlAmeri, PhD

Section Head, Studies and Special Projects, Department of Health – Abu Dhabi (UAE)

Dr. Mohamed AlAmeri is a distinguished professional currently leading the Emirati Genome Project’s flagships as the Section Head of Studies and Special Projects at the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi. With a profound commitment to advancing genomic research, Dr AlAmeri plays a pivotal role in shaping the future of personalized medicine in the country. Holding a PhD in Acute Myeloid Leukemia Epigenetics Diagnostics in pediatrics from the prestigious University College London (UCL) Institute of Great Ormond Street Child Health, his expertise in the field is both extensive and profound. This expertise is further underscored by an impressive academic background, including a BSc Honours in Genetics from the University of Western Ontario, Canada, and an MSc in Cell and Gene Therapy with distinction from UCL. Before embarking on the path of genomic leadership, Dr. AlAmeri honed their skills as a Medical Laboratory Technologist at Sheikh Khalifa Medical City’s molecular diagnostic laboratory. This hands-on experience in the lab laid a strong foundation for their current endeavours in genomic. Additionally, Dr. AlAmeri has a rich history of academic contribution, he was awarded an Associate Fellowship (AFHEA) which led him to serve as a Teaching Fellow in two different MSc programs at UCL for three years. This role not only highlights their expertise but also their dedication to educating the next generation of scientists and researchers.

Dr. Shahin Fattahi, PhD MCCPM MACPSEM

Administrative Director, Departments of Radiation Oncology and Nuclear Medicine
Burjeel Medical City (UAE)

Dr. Shahin Fattahi completed his PhD in physics from The University of Western Ontario, Canada, and completed residency training at Sunnybrook Hospital and Juravinski Cancer Center. He then worked as a medical physicist in Canada before joining GenesisCare the largest provider of Radiation Oncology globally. He joined Burjeel Medical CIty in 2020 and currently serves as Administrative Director for the Departments of Radiation Oncology and Nuclear Medicine.

International Faculty

Prof. James Allison, PhD

Prof. Christian Rolfo, MD PhD MBA Drhc

Prof. Don Dizon, MD FACP FASCO

Prof. Faisal Khan, PhD D(ABHI)

Prof. Garth Powis, DPhil

Dr. Hatim Husain, MD

Dr. Helmy Eltoukhy, PhD

Dr. Jacob Scott, MD DPhil

Dr. Jason Hipp, MD PhD

Dr. Justin Guinney, PhD

Dr. Katherine Tossas, PhD MS

Prof. Padmanee Sharma, MD PhD

Dr. Pinaki Bose, PhD

Prof. Razelle Kurzrock, MD

Prof. Sendurai Mani, PhD

Prof. Silvia Formenti, MD

Dr. Vivek Subbiah, MD

Prof. Wafik El-Deiry, MD PhD FACP

Dr. Vladimir Lazar, MD PhD

Local Faculty

Dr. Alison Finall, MD FRCPath

Dr. Hassan Jaafar, MD

Prof. Humaid Al-Shamsi, MD FACP FRCP(Lon) FRCP(Ca)

Dr. Ibrahim Abu-Gheida, MD

Prof. Khaled Musallam, MD PhD

Mohamed Mostafa

Dr. Mohamed Salem AlAmeri, PhD

Dr. Shahin Fattahi, PhD MCCPM MACPSEM

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