David Altshuler, MD, PhD
Vertex Pharmaceuticals
David Altshuler, M.D, Ph.D., is Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer at Vertex Pharmaceuticals. David leads research and external innovation, corporate data strategy, technology and data sciences. Before joining as Vertex’s Chief Scientific Officer, he served on the company’s board of directors from 2012 to 2014.
Prior to Vertex, Dr. Altshuler was a Founding Core Member, Deputy Director and Chief Academic Officer at the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, a professor at Harvard Medical School and a physician at Massachusetts General Hospital.
He earned his bachelor’s degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his M.D. and Ph.D. in genetics from Harvard Medical School. He completed his training at the Massachusetts General Hospital in internal medicine and in endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals
David Altshuler, M.D, Ph.D., is Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer at Vertex Pharmaceuticals. David leads research and external innovation, corporate data strategy, technology and data sciences. Before joining as Vertex’s Chief Scientific Officer, he served on the company’s board of directors from 2012 to 2014.
Prior to Vertex, Dr. Altshuler was a Founding Core Member, Deputy Director and Chief Academic Officer at the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, a professor at Harvard Medical School and a physician at Massachusetts General Hospital.
He earned his bachelor’s degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his M.D. and Ph.D. in genetics from Harvard Medical School. He completed his training at the Massachusetts General Hospital in internal medicine and in endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism.
Nir Barzilai, MD
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Dr. Nir Barzilai is a preeminent leader in geroscience, demonstrating in his studies that aging has its own biology that drives age-related diseases, a process that can be targeted. At Albert Einstein College of Medicine, he is a professor in the departments of Medicine and Genetics, the director of the Institute for Aging Research, and the director of the Einstein-National Institutes of Health (NIH) Nathan Shock Center of Excellence in the Basic Biology of Aging, and the author of >330 papers. He made seminal discoveries in extending the health and lifespan of animals and discovering pathways for exceptional longevity in humans. He is leading an international effort to approve drugs targeting aging. Targeting Aging with Metformin (TAME) is a specific study conceived by Dr. Barzilai to prove that a single drug can combat multiple diseases associated with aging and get FDA approval for targeting aging. Dr. Barzilai is a co-founder and the President of the Academy for Health and Lifespan Research (AHLS). He is also on the American Federation for Aging Research board of directors, where he co-leads its biomarker effort (FAST), TAME, and Super Agers initiative. He is an Executive of the Longevity Biotech Association (LBA) and serves on the council of the Healthy Longevity Medicine Society. He authored Age Later: Health Span, Life Span, and the New Science of Longevity.
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Dr. Nir Barzilai is a preeminent leader in geroscience, demonstrating in his studies that aging has its own biology that drives age-related diseases, a process that can be targeted. At Albert Einstein College of Medicine, he is a professor in the departments of Medicine and Genetics, the director of the Institute for Aging Research, and the director of the Einstein-National Institutes of Health (NIH) Nathan Shock Center of Excellence in the Basic Biology of Aging, and the author of >330 papers. He made seminal discoveries in extending the health and lifespan of animals and discovering pathways for exceptional longevity in humans. He is leading an international effort to approve drugs targeting aging. Targeting Aging with Metformin (TAME) is a specific study conceived by Dr. Barzilai to prove that a single drug can combat multiple diseases associated with aging and get FDA approval for targeting aging. Dr. Barzilai is a co-founder and the President of the Academy for Health and Lifespan Research (AHLS). He is also on the American Federation for Aging Research board of directors, where he co-leads its biomarker effort (FAST), TAME, and Super Agers initiative. He is an Executive of the Longevity Biotech Association (LBA) and serves on the council of the Healthy Longevity Medicine Society. He authored Age Later: Health Span, Life Span, and the New Science of Longevity.
Irit Ben-Aharon, MD, PhD
Rambam Health Care Center
Irit Ben-Aharon completed MD-PhD joint program of Tel-Aviv University and the NIH and was awarded her PhD in developmental biology. Irit completed Oncology residency at Rabin Medical Center, followed by a fellowship at MSKCC as a Fulbright scholar focused on GI cancer. In 2018, she became the director of the Fishman Oncology Center at Rambam Health Care Center, and is a Full Professor at the Faculty of Medicine, Technion, Haifa, Israel. Her main research themes involve toxicity mechanism of anti-cancer treatments on fertility and blood vessels and the pathogenesis of early-onset GI cancers. She leads the young-onset cancer task force in the European EORTC Organization is Editor-in-Chief of ESMO Gastrointestinal Oncology journal. She leads the national physician-scientist program “MAVRI” for residents within the Israeli scientific council and is actively involved in national initiatives to promote and formalize career paths of physician-scientists.
Rambam Health Care Center
Irit Ben-Aharon completed MD-PhD joint program of Tel-Aviv University and the NIH and was awarded her PhD in developmental biology. Irit completed Oncology residency at Rabin Medical Center, followed by a fellowship at MSKCC as a Fulbright scholar focused on GI cancer. In 2018, she became the director of the Fishman Oncology Center at Rambam Health Care Center, and is a Full Professor at the Faculty of Medicine, Technion, Haifa, Israel. Her main research themes involve toxicity mechanism of anti-cancer treatments on fertility and blood vessels and the pathogenesis of early-onset GI cancers. She leads the young-onset cancer task force in the European EORTC Organization is Editor-in-Chief of ESMO Gastrointestinal Oncology journal. She leads the national physician-scientist program “MAVRI” for residents within the Israeli scientific council and is actively involved in national initiatives to promote and formalize career paths of physician-scientists.
Myles Brown, MD
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School
Myles Brown is the Emil Frei III Professor of Medicine at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School. He received his undergraduate degree from Yale University and his medical degree from Johns Hopkins University. He then completed residency in internal medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital, and a fellowship in hematology/oncology at DFCI. Prior to starting his own laboratory, he was a research fellow in the labs of David Livingston and Phillip Sharp.
From 2002-2010 he served as Chief of the Division of Molecular and Cellular Oncology at the Dana-Farber. In 2010 together with Shirley Liu he founded the Center for Functional Cancer Epigenetics at the Dana-Farber.
Dr. Brown's research laboratory focuses on elucidating the epigenetic factors underlying the action of steroid hormones. This work has important implications both for normal physiology and for the treatment of hormone-dependent malignancies including breast and prostate cancer. He is recognized for three seminal discoveries. His lab helped open the steroid receptor co-regulator field, illuminated the dynamic nature of receptor and coregulator interactions with the genome and elucidated the importance of epigenetically determined distant cis-regulatory steroid receptor binding sites. His contributions have uniquely reformulated the understanding of steroid hormone action in normal physiology and in hormone-dependent cancer.
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School
Myles Brown is the Emil Frei III Professor of Medicine at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School. He received his undergraduate degree from Yale University and his medical degree from Johns Hopkins University. He then completed residency in internal medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital, and a fellowship in hematology/oncology at DFCI. Prior to starting his own laboratory, he was a research fellow in the labs of David Livingston and Phillip Sharp.
From 2002-2010 he served as Chief of the Division of Molecular and Cellular Oncology at the Dana-Farber. In 2010 together with Shirley Liu he founded the Center for Functional Cancer Epigenetics at the Dana-Farber.
Dr. Brown's research laboratory focuses on elucidating the epigenetic factors underlying the action of steroid hormones. This work has important implications both for normal physiology and for the treatment of hormone-dependent malignancies including breast and prostate cancer. He is recognized for three seminal discoveries. His lab helped open the steroid receptor co-regulator field, illuminated the dynamic nature of receptor and coregulator interactions with the genome and elucidated the importance of epigenetically determined distant cis-regulatory steroid receptor binding sites. His contributions have uniquely reformulated the understanding of steroid hormone action in normal physiology and in hormone-dependent cancer.
Nancy Brown, MD
Yale University
Nancy J. Brown, M.D. is the Jean and David W. Wallace Dean of Yale School of Medicine and C.N.H. Long professor of Internal Medicine. Prior to coming to Yale, Dr. Brown served as chair of the Vanderbilt Department of Medicine and physician-in-chief of Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Dr. Brown's research focuses on the mechanisms through which the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone, kallikrein-kinin, and incretin systems affect inflammation, thrombosis, metabolism and cardiovascular risk. Her research has been recognized by the Harriet Dustan Award from American Heart Association, the E.K. Frey-E. Werle Foundation Prize, the August M. Watanabe Prize in Translational Research, and others.
Throughout her career, Dr. Brown has worked to promote the development of physician-scientists. She served as Associate Dean for Clinical and Translational Scientist Development at Vanderbilt and established institutional infrastructure to support physician-scientists in the transition to independence.
Dr. Brown is a fellow in the American Association for the Advancement of Science and member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, the Association of American Physicians, the National Academy of Medicine, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Yale University
Nancy J. Brown, M.D. is the Jean and David W. Wallace Dean of Yale School of Medicine and C.N.H. Long professor of Internal Medicine. Prior to coming to Yale, Dr. Brown served as chair of the Vanderbilt Department of Medicine and physician-in-chief of Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Dr. Brown's research focuses on the mechanisms through which the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone, kallikrein-kinin, and incretin systems affect inflammation, thrombosis, metabolism and cardiovascular risk. Her research has been recognized by the Harriet Dustan Award from American Heart Association, the E.K. Frey-E. Werle Foundation Prize, the August M. Watanabe Prize in Translational Research, and others.
Throughout her career, Dr. Brown has worked to promote the development of physician-scientists. She served as Associate Dean for Clinical and Translational Scientist Development at Vanderbilt and established institutional infrastructure to support physician-scientists in the transition to independence.
Dr. Brown is a fellow in the American Association for the Advancement of Science and member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, the Association of American Physicians, the National Academy of Medicine, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Shane Campbell-Staton, PhD
Princeton University
Shane Campbell-Staton is an Associate Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Princeton University. His research focuses on how humans drive rapid evolutionary change in other species globally. Towards this end, his research spans many species and human actions – including lizards adapting to cities, wolves enduring radiation in Chernobyl, and the evolution of tusk loss in elephants in response to poaching, among other subjects. Additionally, he is a two-time Emmy-nominated science communicator. His most recent work includes hosting the science/travel series Human Footprint and narrating the nature documentary series Evolution Earth, both on PBS.
Princeton University
Shane Campbell-Staton is an Associate Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Princeton University. His research focuses on how humans drive rapid evolutionary change in other species globally. Towards this end, his research spans many species and human actions – including lizards adapting to cities, wolves enduring radiation in Chernobyl, and the evolution of tusk loss in elephants in response to poaching, among other subjects. Additionally, he is a two-time Emmy-nominated science communicator. His most recent work includes hosting the science/travel series Human Footprint and narrating the nature documentary series Evolution Earth, both on PBS.
Susan Cheng, MD, MMSc, MPH
Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai
Susan Cheng, MD, MMSc, MPH, is the Erika J. Glazer Chair in Women’s Cardiovascular Health and Population Science and director of Public Health Research at the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai. Dr. Cheng is a cardiologist, echocardiographer, and clinician-scientist who leads research programs aimed at uncovering the drivers of cardiovascular aging in women and men. She received her bachelor's degree from Harvard College, medical degree from McMaster University, master's of medical science from MIT, and master’s of public health from Harvard. Dr. Cheng completed internal medicine training at the Johns Hopkins Hospital and cardiology training at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Dr. Cheng has served on the editorial boards of major cardiovascular journals as well as on leadership committees for the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology. She has authored over 350 publications, and her work has been recognized with multiple awards and supported by continuous funding from the NIH.
Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai
Susan Cheng, MD, MMSc, MPH, is the Erika J. Glazer Chair in Women’s Cardiovascular Health and Population Science and director of Public Health Research at the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai. Dr. Cheng is a cardiologist, echocardiographer, and clinician-scientist who leads research programs aimed at uncovering the drivers of cardiovascular aging in women and men. She received her bachelor's degree from Harvard College, medical degree from McMaster University, master's of medical science from MIT, and master’s of public health from Harvard. Dr. Cheng completed internal medicine training at the Johns Hopkins Hospital and cardiology training at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Dr. Cheng has served on the editorial boards of major cardiovascular journals as well as on leadership committees for the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology. She has authored over 350 publications, and her work has been recognized with multiple awards and supported by continuous funding from the NIH.
Deidra C. Crews, MD, FASN
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Dr. Crews is a Professor of Medicine in the Division of Nephrology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She holds appointments with the School of Nursing, the Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology and Clinical Research, the Center on Aging and Health, and the Center for Health Equity, where she is Associate Director for Research Development. Her research focuses on addressing disparities in the care and outcomes of kidney disease and hypertension. Dr. Crews has received numerous awards for her research contributions, including the 2018 Johns Hopkins University President’s Frontier Award – a $250,000 award granted to a single faculty scholar on the cusp of transforming their field. She is a former National Academy of Medicine (NAM) Emerging Leader Scholar and was the inaugural Gilbert S. Omenn Anniversary Fellow of the NAM. In 2019, Dr. Crews received the W. Lester Henry Award for Diversity and Access to Care from the American College of Physicians and the Distinguished Leader Award from the American Society of Nephrology. She was elected to the ASCI in 2020.
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Dr. Crews is a Professor of Medicine in the Division of Nephrology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She holds appointments with the School of Nursing, the Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology and Clinical Research, the Center on Aging and Health, and the Center for Health Equity, where she is Associate Director for Research Development. Her research focuses on addressing disparities in the care and outcomes of kidney disease and hypertension. Dr. Crews has received numerous awards for her research contributions, including the 2018 Johns Hopkins University President’s Frontier Award – a $250,000 award granted to a single faculty scholar on the cusp of transforming their field. She is a former National Academy of Medicine (NAM) Emerging Leader Scholar and was the inaugural Gilbert S. Omenn Anniversary Fellow of the NAM. In 2019, Dr. Crews received the W. Lester Henry Award for Diversity and Access to Care from the American College of Physicians and the Distinguished Leader Award from the American Society of Nephrology. She was elected to the ASCI in 2020.
Ana Maria Cuervo, MD, PhD
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Cuervo was born in Barcelona, Spain, on 14 July 1966. She studied medicine at the University of Valencia in 1986 and further pursued a PhD in biochemistry and molecular biology under the mentorship of Erwin Knecht, a biochemist studying lysosomes and proteosome at the time. In 1993, she published her first academic paper as a co-author on lysosomal degradation which challenged the assumption that it was non-specific. Cuervo also worked with Fred “Paulo” Dice of Tufts University on lysosomes during the summer months as Spanish labs were closed during this time of year. Cuervo later accepted a full-time post-doctorate position at Dice's laboratory and focused on understanding the lysosomal degradation pathway. In 1996 and 2000, Cuervo and Dice published their findings on this pathway, identified the lysosomal membrane protein LAMP2A as the receptor for this form of autophagy and termed it chaperone-mediated autophagy.
In October 2001, Cuervo accepted a faculty position at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in The Bronx, New York. She continue primarily focusing on chaperone-mediated autophagy and its role in aging and human disease. Her research lab focused on protein translocations across lysosomal membranes, identifying regulator proteins like glial fibrillary acidic protein. In collaboration with neuroscientist David Sulzer of Columbia University Medical Center, she published evidence of altered chaperone-mediated autophagy in Parkinson's disease.[6] Similar findings of disrupted autophagy was also reported when Huntington Disease was studied. Cuervo's research team also identified LRRK2, a protein enzyme that becomes mutated in Parkinson's disease, disrupts the process of translocation across lysosomal membranes.
She is also co-director of the Einstein Institute for Aging Research and a member of the Einstein Liver Research Center and Cancer Center. She is also the Robert and Renée Belfer Chair for the Study of Neurodegenerative Diseases at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. In 2015 she was elected International Academic of the Royal Academy of Medicine of the Valencia Community and in 2017, member of the Real Academia de Ciencias Exactas, Fisicas y Naturales. In 2018, Cuervo was elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
She has also served as a member of the National Institute on Aging (NIA) Scientific Council, NIH Scientific Council of Councils, NIA Board of Scientific Counselors and in the Advisory Committee to the NIH Deputy Director.[10] Dr. Cuervo is also one of the founding members of the Women in Autophagy (WIA) network dedicate to promote careers of young scientist interested in autophagy.
Cuervo is co-editor-in-chief of the Aging Cell journal and serves in the editorial board of Cell Metabolism and Molecular Cell.[11] She has been involved in more than 200 publications.[12] Dr. Cuervo has been included in the 2018, 2019, 2020 Highly Cited Researchers List.
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Cuervo was born in Barcelona, Spain, on 14 July 1966. She studied medicine at the University of Valencia in 1986 and further pursued a PhD in biochemistry and molecular biology under the mentorship of Erwin Knecht, a biochemist studying lysosomes and proteosome at the time. In 1993, she published her first academic paper as a co-author on lysosomal degradation which challenged the assumption that it was non-specific. Cuervo also worked with Fred “Paulo” Dice of Tufts University on lysosomes during the summer months as Spanish labs were closed during this time of year. Cuervo later accepted a full-time post-doctorate position at Dice's laboratory and focused on understanding the lysosomal degradation pathway. In 1996 and 2000, Cuervo and Dice published their findings on this pathway, identified the lysosomal membrane protein LAMP2A as the receptor for this form of autophagy and termed it chaperone-mediated autophagy.
In October 2001, Cuervo accepted a faculty position at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in The Bronx, New York. She continue primarily focusing on chaperone-mediated autophagy and its role in aging and human disease. Her research lab focused on protein translocations across lysosomal membranes, identifying regulator proteins like glial fibrillary acidic protein. In collaboration with neuroscientist David Sulzer of Columbia University Medical Center, she published evidence of altered chaperone-mediated autophagy in Parkinson's disease.[6] Similar findings of disrupted autophagy was also reported when Huntington Disease was studied. Cuervo's research team also identified LRRK2, a protein enzyme that becomes mutated in Parkinson's disease, disrupts the process of translocation across lysosomal membranes.
She is also co-director of the Einstein Institute for Aging Research and a member of the Einstein Liver Research Center and Cancer Center. She is also the Robert and Renée Belfer Chair for the Study of Neurodegenerative Diseases at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. In 2015 she was elected International Academic of the Royal Academy of Medicine of the Valencia Community and in 2017, member of the Real Academia de Ciencias Exactas, Fisicas y Naturales. In 2018, Cuervo was elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
She has also served as a member of the National Institute on Aging (NIA) Scientific Council, NIH Scientific Council of Councils, NIA Board of Scientific Counselors and in the Advisory Committee to the NIH Deputy Director.[10] Dr. Cuervo is also one of the founding members of the Women in Autophagy (WIA) network dedicate to promote careers of young scientist interested in autophagy.
Cuervo is co-editor-in-chief of the Aging Cell journal and serves in the editorial board of Cell Metabolism and Molecular Cell.[11] She has been involved in more than 200 publications.[12] Dr. Cuervo has been included in the 2018, 2019, 2020 Highly Cited Researchers List.
Ralph DeBerardinis, MD, PhD
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Ralph DeBerardinis, M.D., Ph.D. is Professor and Director of the Eugene McDermott Center for Human Growth and Development at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, and Director of the Genetic and Metabolic Disease Program in UT Southwestern’s Children’s Research Institute. Dr. DeBerardinis received M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and clinical training at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in Pediatrics and Medical Genetics. Dr. DeBerardinis’ lab studies altered metabolic pathways in cancer and inborn errors of metabolism. The DeBerardinis lab pioneered the use of metabolomics and isotope tracing to characterize disease-associated metabolic states directly in patients, and to use model systems to explore how metabolic perturbations contribute to tissue dysfunction.
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Ralph DeBerardinis, M.D., Ph.D. is Professor and Director of the Eugene McDermott Center for Human Growth and Development at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, and Director of the Genetic and Metabolic Disease Program in UT Southwestern’s Children’s Research Institute. Dr. DeBerardinis received M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and clinical training at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in Pediatrics and Medical Genetics. Dr. DeBerardinis’ lab studies altered metabolic pathways in cancer and inborn errors of metabolism. The DeBerardinis lab pioneered the use of metabolomics and isotope tracing to characterize disease-associated metabolic states directly in patients, and to use model systems to explore how metabolic perturbations contribute to tissue dysfunction.
Victor Dzau, MD
Duke University
Victor Dzau is President of National Academy of Medicine, vice chair of National Research Council, chancellor emeritus and Distinguished Professor of Duke University. Previously, he was chairman of medicine at Harvard and Stanford Universities. He is recognized globally for a highly decorated career as a physician scientist, and leader. His research laid the foundation for lifesaving drugs known as ACE inhibitors. He pioneered gene therapy for vascular disease and is now studying cardiac regeneration. Dr. Dzau has served as the chair of the NHLBI Progenitor Cell and Translational Consortia. Dzau has devoted his career to scientific innovation, global health, and equity. At the NAM, he has launched important initiatives on the biomedical research enterprise, global health risk framework, gene editing, and climate change. Dzau cochaired the G20 Scientific Panel on Global Health Security and was an advisor to the G7 Health Task Force.
Duke University
Victor Dzau is President of National Academy of Medicine, vice chair of National Research Council, chancellor emeritus and Distinguished Professor of Duke University. Previously, he was chairman of medicine at Harvard and Stanford Universities. He is recognized globally for a highly decorated career as a physician scientist, and leader. His research laid the foundation for lifesaving drugs known as ACE inhibitors. He pioneered gene therapy for vascular disease and is now studying cardiac regeneration. Dr. Dzau has served as the chair of the NHLBI Progenitor Cell and Translational Consortia. Dzau has devoted his career to scientific innovation, global health, and equity. At the NAM, he has launched important initiatives on the biomedical research enterprise, global health risk framework, gene editing, and climate change. Dzau cochaired the G20 Scientific Panel on Global Health Security and was an advisor to the G7 Health Task Force.
Jonathan Epstein, MD
Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania
Dr. Epstein graduated from Harvard College in 1983, Harvard Medical School in 1988 and completed his Residency and Fellowship in Medicine and Cardiology at the Brigham and Women's Hospital, where he also completed an HHMI Postdoctoral Fellowship in Genetics. In 1996 he accepted a position as Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology at the University of Pennsylvania. From 2006-2015, he served as Chairman of the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology and Scientific Director of the Penn Cardiovascular Institute. From 2015-2023, he served as Executive Vice Dean and Chief Scientific Officer at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer at the University of Pennsylvania Health System. He is currently the William Wikoff Smith Professor and Interim Senior Vice President for the Health System and Dean of the Perelman School of Medicine.
Dr. Epstein has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Outstanding Investigator Award from the American Federation for Medical Research and the Harriet P. Dustan Award for Science as Related to Medicine from the American College of Physicians. He is a member of the Philadelphia College of Physicians, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, American Association of Physicians, Past President of the American Society for Clinical Investigation and a member of the National Academy of Medicine.
Dr. Epstein’s research has focused on the molecular mechanisms of cardiovascular development and implications for understanding and treating human disease. Most recently, he has collaborated with Drs. Drew Weissman, Carl June and others to pioneer the use of mRNA and lipid nanoparticles to engineer CAR T cells in vivo for the treatment of cardiac fibrosis and other disorders – work that has been highlighted in the New York Times and featured on the cover of Science magazine.
Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania
Dr. Epstein graduated from Harvard College in 1983, Harvard Medical School in 1988 and completed his Residency and Fellowship in Medicine and Cardiology at the Brigham and Women's Hospital, where he also completed an HHMI Postdoctoral Fellowship in Genetics. In 1996 he accepted a position as Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology at the University of Pennsylvania. From 2006-2015, he served as Chairman of the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology and Scientific Director of the Penn Cardiovascular Institute. From 2015-2023, he served as Executive Vice Dean and Chief Scientific Officer at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer at the University of Pennsylvania Health System. He is currently the William Wikoff Smith Professor and Interim Senior Vice President for the Health System and Dean of the Perelman School of Medicine.
Dr. Epstein has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Outstanding Investigator Award from the American Federation for Medical Research and the Harriet P. Dustan Award for Science as Related to Medicine from the American College of Physicians. He is a member of the Philadelphia College of Physicians, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, American Association of Physicians, Past President of the American Society for Clinical Investigation and a member of the National Academy of Medicine.
Dr. Epstein’s research has focused on the molecular mechanisms of cardiovascular development and implications for understanding and treating human disease. Most recently, he has collaborated with Drs. Drew Weissman, Carl June and others to pioneer the use of mRNA and lipid nanoparticles to engineer CAR T cells in vivo for the treatment of cardiac fibrosis and other disorders – work that has been highlighted in the New York Times and featured on the cover of Science magazine.
Ebru Erbay, MD, PhD
University of California, Los Angeles
Ebru Erbay, MD, PhD received her MD degree from Ankara University and PhD in cell and structural biology from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. She has been working on cellular adaptation to nutrient stress since her doctoral studies, which focused on mTOR signaling. Her postdoctoral studies with Gökhan S. Hotamışlıgil at the Harvard School of Public Health demonstrated the causality of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress to hyperlipidemia-induced inflammation and atherosclerosis. Studies published from Dr. Ebay’s lab further demonstrated that highly specific, small molecule modulators of ER's stress responses can reduce atherosclerosis progression. Her lab is a highly collaborative group that works with experts in diverse fields and utilizes the state-of-the-art research technologies to uncover ER's contribution to cellular homeostasis and stress, with a specific focus on immune cells and in cardiovascular syndrome.
University of California, Los Angeles
Ebru Erbay, MD, PhD received her MD degree from Ankara University and PhD in cell and structural biology from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. She has been working on cellular adaptation to nutrient stress since her doctoral studies, which focused on mTOR signaling. Her postdoctoral studies with Gökhan S. Hotamışlıgil at the Harvard School of Public Health demonstrated the causality of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress to hyperlipidemia-induced inflammation and atherosclerosis. Studies published from Dr. Ebay’s lab further demonstrated that highly specific, small molecule modulators of ER's stress responses can reduce atherosclerosis progression. Her lab is a highly collaborative group that works with experts in diverse fields and utilizes the state-of-the-art research technologies to uncover ER's contribution to cellular homeostasis and stress, with a specific focus on immune cells and in cardiovascular syndrome.
Julie Louise Gerberding, MD, MPH
Foundation for the National Institutes of Health
Dr. Julie Louise Gerberding is the President and CEO of the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH), a non-profit organization that builds public-private-patient biomedical research partnerships to address important medical challenges in support of the NIH mission. She also co-chairs the CSIS Bipartisan Alliance for Global Health Security.
Dr. Gerberding formerly served as President of Merck Vaccines and as Executive Vice President and Chief Patient Officer at Merck & Co., Inc. From 2003-2009, Dr. Gerberding led the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Dr. Gerberding is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and the adjunct faculties of the University of California, San Francisco, and Case Western Reserve University. Her current board service includes Mayo Clinic, Case Western Reserve University, Research!America, National Health Council, HilleVax, and Artidis.
Foundation for the National Institutes of Health
Dr. Julie Louise Gerberding is the President and CEO of the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH), a non-profit organization that builds public-private-patient biomedical research partnerships to address important medical challenges in support of the NIH mission. She also co-chairs the CSIS Bipartisan Alliance for Global Health Security.
Dr. Gerberding formerly served as President of Merck Vaccines and as Executive Vice President and Chief Patient Officer at Merck & Co., Inc. From 2003-2009, Dr. Gerberding led the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Dr. Gerberding is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and the adjunct faculties of the University of California, San Francisco, and Case Western Reserve University. Her current board service includes Mayo Clinic, Case Western Reserve University, Research!America, National Health Council, HilleVax, and Artidis.
Anna Greka, MD, PhD
Broad Institute, Harvard Medical School, and Mass General Brigham
Anna Greka is a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School (HMS), a physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and an Institute Member of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. Seeking to lay the foundation for molecularly targeted therapies, Anna leads a program focused on dissecting fundamental mechanisms of disrupted cellular homeostasis in genetically-defined kidney, metabolic and degenerative diseases.
Drawing from her early work on TRP ion channels, and guided by genetic mutations associated with the Rac1 pathway in a subset of kidney diseases, Anna’s lab uncovered a Rac1-TRPC5 feed-forward loop linking TRPC5 channel activity to cellular injury. Based on these discoveries, TRPC5 inhibitors are showing promising results in clinical trials.
Motivated to dissect the mechanisms by which mutations in the MUC1 gene lead to disease, Anna and her team made a key discovery of a cargo receptor pathway that regulates the trafficking and degradation of misfolded secretory proteins. This general mechanism is operative in diverse cell types and tissues, such as kidney epithelial cells and retina photoreceptors, and remains an area of active investigation with implications for many proteinopathies.
Anna has been the recipient of several honors, including the Donald W. Seldin Young Investigator Award by the American Society of Nephrology and the American Heart Association, the Seldin-Smith Award for Pioneering Research from the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI), and a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE).
Anna holds an A.B. in biology from Harvard College, an M.D. from the Harvard-MIT program in Health Sciences and Technology (HST) and a Ph.D. in neurobiology from HMS.
Broad Institute, Harvard Medical School, and Mass General Brigham
Anna Greka is a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School (HMS), a physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and an Institute Member of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. Seeking to lay the foundation for molecularly targeted therapies, Anna leads a program focused on dissecting fundamental mechanisms of disrupted cellular homeostasis in genetically-defined kidney, metabolic and degenerative diseases.
Drawing from her early work on TRP ion channels, and guided by genetic mutations associated with the Rac1 pathway in a subset of kidney diseases, Anna’s lab uncovered a Rac1-TRPC5 feed-forward loop linking TRPC5 channel activity to cellular injury. Based on these discoveries, TRPC5 inhibitors are showing promising results in clinical trials.
Motivated to dissect the mechanisms by which mutations in the MUC1 gene lead to disease, Anna and her team made a key discovery of a cargo receptor pathway that regulates the trafficking and degradation of misfolded secretory proteins. This general mechanism is operative in diverse cell types and tissues, such as kidney epithelial cells and retina photoreceptors, and remains an area of active investigation with implications for many proteinopathies.
Anna has been the recipient of several honors, including the Donald W. Seldin Young Investigator Award by the American Society of Nephrology and the American Heart Association, the Seldin-Smith Award for Pioneering Research from the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI), and a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE).
Anna holds an A.B. in biology from Harvard College, an M.D. from the Harvard-MIT program in Health Sciences and Technology (HST) and a Ph.D. in neurobiology from HMS.
Georgina Gyarmati
Georgina Gyarmati is assistant professor at the Department of Physiology and Neuroscience at the University of Southern California. She received her MD (2003) and PhD (2023) degrees from the Semmelweis University Medical School, Budapest, Hungary, her MPH (2017) degree from Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, US. She completed her cardiology and internal medicine residency at the Semmelweis University and her postdoctoral training in renal physiology at the University of Southern California. She joined the faculty at USC Keck School of Medicine in 2022. Dr. Gyarmati has a strong interest in the therapeutic translation of renal and cardiovascular pathological mechanisms and cell and molecular targets. Her current research focuses on the characterization and human and preclinical therapeutic translation of a new vascular cell type that she discovered recently and named neuro-endothelial cell (NEC). Specifically, she is exploring vasodilatory, angiogenic and anti-inflammatory functions of NECs that may be therapeutically targeted for vascular and inflammatory diseases. Dr Gyarmati received the prestigious Carl W. Gottschalk Transition to Independence Award from the American Society of Nephrology this year. Dr. Gyarmati is member of the American Physiological Society Renal Section, American Society of Nephrology, and the American Heart Association. She serves as the chair-elect of the AHA Kidney in Cardiovascular Disease Council Communication Committee, and as an editorial fellow of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN).
Georgina Gyarmati is assistant professor at the Department of Physiology and Neuroscience at the University of Southern California. She received her MD (2003) and PhD (2023) degrees from the Semmelweis University Medical School, Budapest, Hungary, her MPH (2017) degree from Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, US. She completed her cardiology and internal medicine residency at the Semmelweis University and her postdoctoral training in renal physiology at the University of Southern California. She joined the faculty at USC Keck School of Medicine in 2022. Dr. Gyarmati has a strong interest in the therapeutic translation of renal and cardiovascular pathological mechanisms and cell and molecular targets. Her current research focuses on the characterization and human and preclinical therapeutic translation of a new vascular cell type that she discovered recently and named neuro-endothelial cell (NEC). Specifically, she is exploring vasodilatory, angiogenic and anti-inflammatory functions of NECs that may be therapeutically targeted for vascular and inflammatory diseases. Dr Gyarmati received the prestigious Carl W. Gottschalk Transition to Independence Award from the American Society of Nephrology this year. Dr. Gyarmati is member of the American Physiological Society Renal Section, American Society of Nephrology, and the American Heart Association. She serves as the chair-elect of the AHA Kidney in Cardiovascular Disease Council Communication Committee, and as an editorial fellow of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN).
Aida Habtezion, MD, MSc, FRCPC, AGAF
Stanford University
As Chief Medical Officer of Pfizer, Dr. Habtezion led Pfizer's Worldwide Medical & Safety organization responsible for ensuring that patients, physicians, and regulatory agencies are provided with information on the safe and appropriate use of Pfizer medications and vaccines. She led Pfizer’s Institute of Translational Equitable Medicine (ITEM), an initiative spanning key research, development, and medical activities to close gaps in health disparity by leveraging science, data, and translational expertise to integrate equity across Pfizer’s end-to-end pipeline. Prior to Pfizer, she was a practicing physician, scientist, tenured and endowed Stanford Professor of Medicine, where she led a large translational research lab focused on understanding immune mechanisms in gastrointestinal diseases. She authored over a hundred high impact publications in top peer-reviewed journals and served in multiple national and international scientific study sections, editorial boards. She is an Allen Distinguished Investigator, Past American Pancreatic Association President, an elected member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation and the Association of American Physicians.
Stanford University
As Chief Medical Officer of Pfizer, Dr. Habtezion led Pfizer's Worldwide Medical & Safety organization responsible for ensuring that patients, physicians, and regulatory agencies are provided with information on the safe and appropriate use of Pfizer medications and vaccines. She led Pfizer’s Institute of Translational Equitable Medicine (ITEM), an initiative spanning key research, development, and medical activities to close gaps in health disparity by leveraging science, data, and translational expertise to integrate equity across Pfizer’s end-to-end pipeline. Prior to Pfizer, she was a practicing physician, scientist, tenured and endowed Stanford Professor of Medicine, where she led a large translational research lab focused on understanding immune mechanisms in gastrointestinal diseases. She authored over a hundred high impact publications in top peer-reviewed journals and served in multiple national and international scientific study sections, editorial boards. She is an Allen Distinguished Investigator, Past American Pancreatic Association President, an elected member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation and the Association of American Physicians.
Peggy Hamburg, MD
InterAcademy Partnership
Dr. Hamburg is an internationally recognized leader in public health, medicine, and science. She is co-president of the InterAcademy Partnership, an international consortium of academies of science, engineering and medicine, and also serves as vice-chair of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board and is on the State Department’s Foreign Policy Advisory Board.
Previous leadership roles include: Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration; National Academy of Medicine Foreign Secretary; President/Chair, American Association for the Advancement of Science; VP/Senior Scientist, Nuclear Threat Initiative; Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; NYC Health Commissioner; and Assistant Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease.
In addition to being a member of the Board of Directors of the Lasker Foundation, Dr. Hamburg sits on many boards and advisory committees. She graduated from Harvard College and Harvard Medical School.
InterAcademy Partnership
Dr. Hamburg is an internationally recognized leader in public health, medicine, and science. She is co-president of the InterAcademy Partnership, an international consortium of academies of science, engineering and medicine, and also serves as vice-chair of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board and is on the State Department’s Foreign Policy Advisory Board.
Previous leadership roles include: Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration; National Academy of Medicine Foreign Secretary; President/Chair, American Association for the Advancement of Science; VP/Senior Scientist, Nuclear Threat Initiative; Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; NYC Health Commissioner; and Assistant Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease.
In addition to being a member of the Board of Directors of the Lasker Foundation, Dr. Hamburg sits on many boards and advisory committees. She graduated from Harvard College and Harvard Medical School.
Elbert Huang, MD, MPH, FACP
University of Chicago
Dr. Elbert Huang is Professor of Medicine and Public Health Sciences, Director of the Center for Chronic Disease Research and Policy at the University of Chicago.
Dr. Huang is a practicing primary care doctor who studies clinical and health care policy issues at the intersection of diabetes, aging, and health economics. He is an international leader in diabetes whose pioneering research has transformed care for older people and influenced health policies addressing the rising costs of diabetes care. Using techniques from health economics, simulation modeling, and analysis of real-world data, he has characterized the heterogeneity of the older diabetes population, the modern natural history of disease, and illustrated the impact of patient health status on the benefits of glycemic control.
Dr. Huang also co-directs the Chicago Chronic Condition Equity Network (C3EN) with Dr. Elizabeth Lynch of Rush University. The overall goal of the C3EN is to address disparities in multiple chronic conditions by strengthening and building collaborations across community-based organizations, practice networks, and academic researchers, by promoting a comprehensive approach to the prevention and management of multiple chronic conditions that accounts for mental health, functional health and social life, and by supporting interventions that actively seek to cross boundaries of disease-specific management, professional training, community and practice.
University of Chicago
Dr. Elbert Huang is Professor of Medicine and Public Health Sciences, Director of the Center for Chronic Disease Research and Policy at the University of Chicago.
Dr. Huang is a practicing primary care doctor who studies clinical and health care policy issues at the intersection of diabetes, aging, and health economics. He is an international leader in diabetes whose pioneering research has transformed care for older people and influenced health policies addressing the rising costs of diabetes care. Using techniques from health economics, simulation modeling, and analysis of real-world data, he has characterized the heterogeneity of the older diabetes population, the modern natural history of disease, and illustrated the impact of patient health status on the benefits of glycemic control.
Dr. Huang also co-directs the Chicago Chronic Condition Equity Network (C3EN) with Dr. Elizabeth Lynch of Rush University. The overall goal of the C3EN is to address disparities in multiple chronic conditions by strengthening and building collaborations across community-based organizations, practice networks, and academic researchers, by promoting a comprehensive approach to the prevention and management of multiple chronic conditions that accounts for mental health, functional health and social life, and by supporting interventions that actively seek to cross boundaries of disease-specific management, professional training, community and practice.
John P.A. Ioannidis, MD, DSc
Stanford University
John P.A. Ioannidis, MD, DSc is Professor of Medicine, Professor of Epidemiology and Population Health, and Professor (by courtesy) of Biomedical Data Science at the School of Medicine, and co-Director of the Meta-Research Innovation Center at Stanford (METRICS) at Stanford University. He is the recipient of many awards, and he has been inducted in the Association of American Physicians (where he served as President in 2023-2024), the European Academy of Cancer Sciences, the American Epidemiological Society, the European Academy of Sciences and Arts, the US National Academy of Medicine, and as a corresponding member in the Academy of Sciences in Bologna. He has received honorary titles from FORTH and U Ioannina, honorary doctorates from the universities of Rotterdam, Athens, Tilburg, Edinburgh, Thessaloniki and McMaster and multiple honorary lectureships. He is among the 10 scientists with the highest current citation rate in the world (6,000 new citations per month per Google Scholar) with 620,000 total citations to his work.
Stanford University
John P.A. Ioannidis, MD, DSc is Professor of Medicine, Professor of Epidemiology and Population Health, and Professor (by courtesy) of Biomedical Data Science at the School of Medicine, and co-Director of the Meta-Research Innovation Center at Stanford (METRICS) at Stanford University. He is the recipient of many awards, and he has been inducted in the Association of American Physicians (where he served as President in 2023-2024), the European Academy of Cancer Sciences, the American Epidemiological Society, the European Academy of Sciences and Arts, the US National Academy of Medicine, and as a corresponding member in the Academy of Sciences in Bologna. He has received honorary titles from FORTH and U Ioannina, honorary doctorates from the universities of Rotterdam, Athens, Tilburg, Edinburgh, Thessaloniki and McMaster and multiple honorary lectureships. He is among the 10 scientists with the highest current citation rate in the world (6,000 new citations per month per Google Scholar) with 620,000 total citations to his work.
Benjamin Izar, MD, PhD
Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons
Dr. Izar is a medical oncologist and the Vivian and Seymour Milstein Family Assistant Professor of Medicine at Columbia University. He received an MD/PhD at the Justus Liebig University in Giessen Germany. He completed his internal medicine residency at Massachusetts General Hospital, oncology fellowship at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and a post-doctoral fellowship at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School with Dr. Levi Garraway, and subsequently with Dr. Aviv Regev at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, along with co-mentorship by Dr. Kai Wucherpfennig, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. During his post-doctoral training, he published first- and senior-author papers in Science and Cell, among others, and received several honors, including the NCI K08 mentored research award, the Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award for Medical Scientists, the AACR NextGen Star award, among others. He delivered several oral presentations at ASCO, AACR and the Society for Melanoma Research (SMR) annual meetings. In November 2019, Dr. Izar started a tenure-track assistant professor laboratory program at Columbia University. His lab studies the intersection of cancer immunology, tumor genomics, and metastatic organotropism. These factors dictate clinical drug responses/resistance to existing and investigational targeted and immune-based therapies. Dr. Izar’s laboratory has published several landmark studies in this field. Dr. Izar’s research program is supported by several federal grants, including an NCI R37 MERIT award, and prestigious foundations, including the Gerstner Philanthropies, Melanoma Research Alliance, and the Pershing Square Sohn Foundation. In addition to the research activities, Dr. Izar has an active clinical practice focusing on treating patients with melanoma, and, as member of the early drug development program, other solid tumors. He is the PI on immunotherapy trials in this space and holds several patents pertaining to the development of novel cancer therapies.
Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons
Dr. Izar is a medical oncologist and the Vivian and Seymour Milstein Family Assistant Professor of Medicine at Columbia University. He received an MD/PhD at the Justus Liebig University in Giessen Germany. He completed his internal medicine residency at Massachusetts General Hospital, oncology fellowship at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and a post-doctoral fellowship at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School with Dr. Levi Garraway, and subsequently with Dr. Aviv Regev at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, along with co-mentorship by Dr. Kai Wucherpfennig, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. During his post-doctoral training, he published first- and senior-author papers in Science and Cell, among others, and received several honors, including the NCI K08 mentored research award, the Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award for Medical Scientists, the AACR NextGen Star award, among others. He delivered several oral presentations at ASCO, AACR and the Society for Melanoma Research (SMR) annual meetings. In November 2019, Dr. Izar started a tenure-track assistant professor laboratory program at Columbia University. His lab studies the intersection of cancer immunology, tumor genomics, and metastatic organotropism. These factors dictate clinical drug responses/resistance to existing and investigational targeted and immune-based therapies. Dr. Izar’s laboratory has published several landmark studies in this field. Dr. Izar’s research program is supported by several federal grants, including an NCI R37 MERIT award, and prestigious foundations, including the Gerstner Philanthropies, Melanoma Research Alliance, and the Pershing Square Sohn Foundation. In addition to the research activities, Dr. Izar has an active clinical practice focusing on treating patients with melanoma, and, as member of the early drug development program, other solid tumors. He is the PI on immunotherapy trials in this space and holds several patents pertaining to the development of novel cancer therapies.
Dineo Khabele, MD
Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis
Dr. Khabele is a highly accomplished physician-scientist and leader in the field of gynecologic oncology. She embodies inspirational leadership in medicine and science driven by her vision and mission to deliver inclusion, diversity and excellence in clinical service, research, education,
and community engagement. She not only leads cutting-edge translational research, she continues to provide high quality clinical care, while advancing the next generation of clinicians and scientists from diverse backgrounds. Her ability to move research generated in her own laboratory to a Phase I/II clinical trial is not common and speaks to the scientific rigor and quality of her work. She has also developed tissue biorepositories of de-identified clinically annotated tissue samples and patient-derived xenograft models to validate molecular biomarkers. Her innovative research program focuses on the problem of chemotherapy-resistant tumors that are least likely to respond to any known therapy. She has made seminal contributions to science in the following areas: 1) investigation of epigenetic drugs as chemosensitizing agents in ovarian cancer, 2) the role of histone deacetylase 3 (HDAC3) inhibition in genomic instability, DNA damage, and replicative stress, and 3) targeting inflammatory pathways in ovarian cancer. She is well recognized as a collaborative leader with an entrepreneurial mindset as she has pioneered clinical and research programs at multiple academic medical centers. Dr. Khabele serves on multiple medical and scientific advisory boards and serves as a peer-reviewer for a range of women’s health, cancer, and basic science journals. She has presented her work at national and international meetings and is a sought-after speaker. In recognition of her scientific achievements, she was inducted into the American Society of Clinical Investigation in 2019 and the Association of American Physicians (AAP) in 2024.
Dr. Khabele is dedicated to paying it forward by training the next generation of physicians and scientists to bridge gaps between scientific advances and implementation, and she founded the first accredited gynecologic oncology fellowship in the state of Kansas. Her advocacy research and work focuses on reducing health disparities and promoting health equity in medicine and science. She serves on multiple medical and scientific advisory boards, including the National Institutes of Health, the Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance, and the Foundation for Women’s Cancer. Her work as Chair of the Healthcare Disparities and Health Equity Committee and a member of the Executive Committee for the Society of Black Academic Surgeons has focused on increasing the number of Black/African-American physicians and scientists as a strategy to for achieving health equity for all. She is firmly committed to mentorship/sponsorship of people who have been marginalized in medicine and science, particularly those with interests in women’s health, women’s cancers, and health equity.
Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis
Dr. Khabele is a highly accomplished physician-scientist and leader in the field of gynecologic oncology. She embodies inspirational leadership in medicine and science driven by her vision and mission to deliver inclusion, diversity and excellence in clinical service, research, education,
and community engagement. She not only leads cutting-edge translational research, she continues to provide high quality clinical care, while advancing the next generation of clinicians and scientists from diverse backgrounds. Her ability to move research generated in her own laboratory to a Phase I/II clinical trial is not common and speaks to the scientific rigor and quality of her work. She has also developed tissue biorepositories of de-identified clinically annotated tissue samples and patient-derived xenograft models to validate molecular biomarkers. Her innovative research program focuses on the problem of chemotherapy-resistant tumors that are least likely to respond to any known therapy. She has made seminal contributions to science in the following areas: 1) investigation of epigenetic drugs as chemosensitizing agents in ovarian cancer, 2) the role of histone deacetylase 3 (HDAC3) inhibition in genomic instability, DNA damage, and replicative stress, and 3) targeting inflammatory pathways in ovarian cancer. She is well recognized as a collaborative leader with an entrepreneurial mindset as she has pioneered clinical and research programs at multiple academic medical centers. Dr. Khabele serves on multiple medical and scientific advisory boards and serves as a peer-reviewer for a range of women’s health, cancer, and basic science journals. She has presented her work at national and international meetings and is a sought-after speaker. In recognition of her scientific achievements, she was inducted into the American Society of Clinical Investigation in 2019 and the Association of American Physicians (AAP) in 2024.
Dr. Khabele is dedicated to paying it forward by training the next generation of physicians and scientists to bridge gaps between scientific advances and implementation, and she founded the first accredited gynecologic oncology fellowship in the state of Kansas. Her advocacy research and work focuses on reducing health disparities and promoting health equity in medicine and science. She serves on multiple medical and scientific advisory boards, including the National Institutes of Health, the Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance, and the Foundation for Women’s Cancer. Her work as Chair of the Healthcare Disparities and Health Equity Committee and a member of the Executive Committee for the Society of Black Academic Surgeons has focused on increasing the number of Black/African-American physicians and scientists as a strategy to for achieving health equity for all. She is firmly committed to mentorship/sponsorship of people who have been marginalized in medicine and science, particularly those with interests in women’s health, women’s cancers, and health equity.
Amy Kind, MD, PhD
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health
Amy Kind, MD, PhD is the Associate Dean for Social Health Sciences and Programs at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. Her leadership role includes serving as Founding Director of the UW Center for Health Disparities Research, Executive Director of the $430million Wisconsin Partnership Program grant-making endowment and CEO of the rural-health focused Orion Initiative. Dr. Kind is an internationally acclaimed leader in disparities-focused exposome science and Alzheimer’s disease, leading a $40million NIH portfolio. Her field-changing exposome metric, the Area Deprivation Index (ADI), and her Neighborhood Atlas data-democratization tool have far-reaching policy, clinical and research impact.
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health
Amy Kind, MD, PhD is the Associate Dean for Social Health Sciences and Programs at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. Her leadership role includes serving as Founding Director of the UW Center for Health Disparities Research, Executive Director of the $430million Wisconsin Partnership Program grant-making endowment and CEO of the rural-health focused Orion Initiative. Dr. Kind is an internationally acclaimed leader in disparities-focused exposome science and Alzheimer’s disease, leading a $40million NIH portfolio. Her field-changing exposome metric, the Area Deprivation Index (ADI), and her Neighborhood Atlas data-democratization tool have far-reaching policy, clinical and research impact.
Sam O. Kleeman
Sam Kleeman’s photo attached and bio below for the Oral Abstract presenter on Friday afternoon. Disclosure completed.
Dr. Kleeman earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Cambridge, UK and an MD from the University of Oxford, UK. Subsequently, he completed a two-year internal medicine internship in the UK’s National Health Service. He recently completed his PhD at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) under the joint mentorship of Dr. Tobias Janowitz and Dr. Hiro Furukawa. His PhD thesis leveraged anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis as a paradigm for the connectivity between anti-cancer immunity and autoimmunity, integrating methodologies from the fields of neuroscience, tumor immunology and structural biology. Currently a postdoctoral fellow at CSHL, Dr. Kleeman is focused on translating his research findings into novel treatments for NMDA receptor-positive tumors, including triple-negative breast cancer. Dr. Kleeman hopes to pursue a career as a physician-scientist oncologist.
Sam Kleeman’s photo attached and bio below for the Oral Abstract presenter on Friday afternoon. Disclosure completed.
Dr. Kleeman earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Cambridge, UK and an MD from the University of Oxford, UK. Subsequently, he completed a two-year internal medicine internship in the UK’s National Health Service. He recently completed his PhD at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) under the joint mentorship of Dr. Tobias Janowitz and Dr. Hiro Furukawa. His PhD thesis leveraged anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis as a paradigm for the connectivity between anti-cancer immunity and autoimmunity, integrating methodologies from the fields of neuroscience, tumor immunology and structural biology. Currently a postdoctoral fellow at CSHL, Dr. Kleeman is focused on translating his research findings into novel treatments for NMDA receptor-positive tumors, including triple-negative breast cancer. Dr. Kleeman hopes to pursue a career as a physician-scientist oncologist.
Mitchell Lazar, MD, PhD
University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine
Mitchell A. Lazar, MD, PhD, is the Willard and Rhoda Ware Professor of Diabetes & Metabolic Diseases at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. He was an undergraduate at MIT, received his MD/PhD from Stanford, and trained in internal medicine and endocrinology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and MGH before joining the Penn faculty, where he has served as Chief of the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism and is Founding Director of the Institute for Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism. Dr. Lazar’s groundbreaking research has focused on genomic mechanisms by which nuclear receptors control circadian rhythms and metabolism, and how these impact metabolic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and fatty liver. He has received numerous awards including the Stanley Korsmeyer Award of the ASCI and the Fred Conrad Koch Lifetime Achievement Award of the Endocrine Society. He is a member of the ASCI and AAP, and was AAP President in 2021. Dr. Lazar is also an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the National Academy of Science.
University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine
Mitchell A. Lazar, MD, PhD, is the Willard and Rhoda Ware Professor of Diabetes & Metabolic Diseases at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. He was an undergraduate at MIT, received his MD/PhD from Stanford, and trained in internal medicine and endocrinology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and MGH before joining the Penn faculty, where he has served as Chief of the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism and is Founding Director of the Institute for Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism. Dr. Lazar’s groundbreaking research has focused on genomic mechanisms by which nuclear receptors control circadian rhythms and metabolism, and how these impact metabolic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and fatty liver. He has received numerous awards including the Stanley Korsmeyer Award of the ASCI and the Fred Conrad Koch Lifetime Achievement Award of the Endocrine Society. He is a member of the ASCI and AAP, and was AAP President in 2021. Dr. Lazar is also an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the National Academy of Science.
Vivian S. Lee, MD, PhD, MBA
Harvard Business School
Vivian S. Lee, M.D., Ph.D., M.B.A., is a physician and health tech executive, scholar, and author of The Long Fix: Solving America's Health Care Crisis with Strategies that Work for Everyone. An Executive Fellow at Harvard Business School and Senior Lecturer at Harvard Medical School, she focuses on resilience, innovation, and the intersection of tech, climate change, and healthcare. Lee served as the founding President of Health Platforms at Verily (Alphabet/Google), where she helped build multiple successful start-ups, including virtual disease management, precision risk insurance, and a pandemic management company, among others. Prior to Verily, Lee was Dean of the medical school and CEO of the University of Utah Health, a $3.6B system, which was ranked #1 in quality among university health systems (Vizient), and before that, Chief Scientific Officer at NYU Langone Medical Center. Dr. Lee is a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard, received a D.Phil in medical engineering from Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, earned her M.D. with honors from Harvard, and her MBA from NYU. Elected to the National Academy of Medicine, Lee serves on the Board of Directors of the Commonwealth Fund, Boston Children’s Hospital, and Zions Bancorporation. She was named one of the 100 Most Influential People by Modern Healthcare in 2022 for the third consecutive year and has been featured in the New York Times, National Public Radio, Bloomberg News, NBC Nightly News, Hidden Brain podcast, Crain’s 40 under 40, among others.
Harvard Business School
Vivian S. Lee, M.D., Ph.D., M.B.A., is a physician and health tech executive, scholar, and author of The Long Fix: Solving America's Health Care Crisis with Strategies that Work for Everyone. An Executive Fellow at Harvard Business School and Senior Lecturer at Harvard Medical School, she focuses on resilience, innovation, and the intersection of tech, climate change, and healthcare. Lee served as the founding President of Health Platforms at Verily (Alphabet/Google), where she helped build multiple successful start-ups, including virtual disease management, precision risk insurance, and a pandemic management company, among others. Prior to Verily, Lee was Dean of the medical school and CEO of the University of Utah Health, a $3.6B system, which was ranked #1 in quality among university health systems (Vizient), and before that, Chief Scientific Officer at NYU Langone Medical Center. Dr. Lee is a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard, received a D.Phil in medical engineering from Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, earned her M.D. with honors from Harvard, and her MBA from NYU. Elected to the National Academy of Medicine, Lee serves on the Board of Directors of the Commonwealth Fund, Boston Children’s Hospital, and Zions Bancorporation. She was named one of the 100 Most Influential People by Modern Healthcare in 2022 for the third consecutive year and has been featured in the New York Times, National Public Radio, Bloomberg News, NBC Nightly News, Hidden Brain podcast, Crain’s 40 under 40, among others.
Pringl Miller, MD
Physician Just Equity
Dr. Miller is board certified in general surgery and hospice and palliative medicine. She practices acute care surgery, provides palliative medicine and clinical medical ethics consultation, and has worked as an associate medical director of an inpatient hospice unit. Her clinical and research interests include integrating palliative medicine and clinical medical ethics into the care of seriously ill or injured surgical patients and this passion has led to becoming a founding member of the Surgical Palliative Care Society. Additionally, Dr. Miller is a fierce advocate for gender and racial equity, diversity and inclusion in medicine and surgery as a founding member of TIME’S UP Healthcare and the Founder and President of Physician Just Equity. Physician Just Equity is a 501(c)3 non-profit foundation that exists to support learners, physicians, and surgeons experiencing bias, harassment, discrimination and retaliation through workplace conflicts, championing a balanced resolution, while simultaneously seeking to facilitate institutional culture change.
Physician Just Equity
Dr. Miller is board certified in general surgery and hospice and palliative medicine. She practices acute care surgery, provides palliative medicine and clinical medical ethics consultation, and has worked as an associate medical director of an inpatient hospice unit. Her clinical and research interests include integrating palliative medicine and clinical medical ethics into the care of seriously ill or injured surgical patients and this passion has led to becoming a founding member of the Surgical Palliative Care Society. Additionally, Dr. Miller is a fierce advocate for gender and racial equity, diversity and inclusion in medicine and surgery as a founding member of TIME’S UP Healthcare and the Founder and President of Physician Just Equity. Physician Just Equity is a 501(c)3 non-profit foundation that exists to support learners, physicians, and surgeons experiencing bias, harassment, discrimination and retaliation through workplace conflicts, championing a balanced resolution, while simultaneously seeking to facilitate institutional culture change.
Svetlana Mojsov, PhD
Rockefeller University
Svetlana Mojsov was born in Skopje, the capital of Northern Macedonia, former Yugoslavia. She graduated from the University of Belgrade in 1971 with a degree in physical chemistry. In 1972 she was accepted in the graduate program at the Rockefeller University in New York and joined the laboratory of Professor Bruce Merrifield who developed the solid phase method for the synthesis of peptides and proteins. In her PhD thesis she reported the first solid phase synthesis of crystalline glucagon, graduating in 1978. She remained in the Merrifield laboratory first as a postdoctoral associate and later as a research associate and continued to work on improving the synthetic strategy for the solid phase peptide synthesis of glucagon. In 1983 she was appointed a member of the Endocrine Unit and Assistant in Biochemistry at the Massachusetts General Hospital and an Instructor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and the inaugural director of Howard Hughes peptide core facility at the Massachusetts General Hospital. Starting in 1983 she developed an independent research program to produce and study peptide products of the glucagon gene and showed that GLP-1(7-37) is secreted in the intestines. Mojsov’s collaborative studies with Joel Habener, Gordon Weir and David Nathan established that GLP-1(7-37) is a potent insulin secretagogue, an incretin, with therapeutic potential for treatment of Type 2 diabetes. In 1990 Mojsov returned to the Rockefeller University as an Assistant Professor and continued to work on GLP-1 biology and also collaborated with Professor Ralph Steinman. In 2002 she was promoted to a Research Associate Professor at the Rockefeller University. She is a co-inventor on a series of patents for the use of GLP-1(7-37) for treatment of Type 2 diabetes that were licensed by the Massachusetts General Hospital to Novo Nordisk Pharmaceutical Company who developed liraglutide, Victoza, and semaglutide, Ozempic, for treatment of Type 2 diabetes, and Saxenda and Wegovy for treatment of obesity. Mojsov is a recipient of numerous awards, including the 2023 Vin Future Prize, 2024 Pearl Meister Greengard Award, 2024 Tang Foundation Prize, 2024 Princess of Asturias Prize and 2024 Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award.
Rockefeller University
Svetlana Mojsov was born in Skopje, the capital of Northern Macedonia, former Yugoslavia. She graduated from the University of Belgrade in 1971 with a degree in physical chemistry. In 1972 she was accepted in the graduate program at the Rockefeller University in New York and joined the laboratory of Professor Bruce Merrifield who developed the solid phase method for the synthesis of peptides and proteins. In her PhD thesis she reported the first solid phase synthesis of crystalline glucagon, graduating in 1978. She remained in the Merrifield laboratory first as a postdoctoral associate and later as a research associate and continued to work on improving the synthetic strategy for the solid phase peptide synthesis of glucagon. In 1983 she was appointed a member of the Endocrine Unit and Assistant in Biochemistry at the Massachusetts General Hospital and an Instructor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and the inaugural director of Howard Hughes peptide core facility at the Massachusetts General Hospital. Starting in 1983 she developed an independent research program to produce and study peptide products of the glucagon gene and showed that GLP-1(7-37) is secreted in the intestines. Mojsov’s collaborative studies with Joel Habener, Gordon Weir and David Nathan established that GLP-1(7-37) is a potent insulin secretagogue, an incretin, with therapeutic potential for treatment of Type 2 diabetes. In 1990 Mojsov returned to the Rockefeller University as an Assistant Professor and continued to work on GLP-1 biology and also collaborated with Professor Ralph Steinman. In 2002 she was promoted to a Research Associate Professor at the Rockefeller University. She is a co-inventor on a series of patents for the use of GLP-1(7-37) for treatment of Type 2 diabetes that were licensed by the Massachusetts General Hospital to Novo Nordisk Pharmaceutical Company who developed liraglutide, Victoza, and semaglutide, Ozempic, for treatment of Type 2 diabetes, and Saxenda and Wegovy for treatment of obesity. Mojsov is a recipient of numerous awards, including the 2023 Vin Future Prize, 2024 Pearl Meister Greengard Award, 2024 Tang Foundation Prize, 2024 Princess of Asturias Prize and 2024 Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award.
Paul Noble, MD
Cedars Sinai Medical Center
Paul W. Noble, MD, received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Haverford College in Pennsylvania, and his medical degree from New York University School of Medicine. He completed his medical residency and chief residency at the University of California, San Francisco Hospitals. He completed his pulmonary and critical care fellowships at the University of Colorado and the National Jewish Center in Denver, Colorado.
From 1992–1997 Dr. Noble was Assistant Professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, where he established the Interstitial Lung Disease Clinic. He moved to Yale University School of Medicine in 1997, where he became Professor of Medicine with tenure in 2004. He served as Director of the ILD Program at Yale-New Haven Hospital until 2006, when he moved to Duke University as the Chief of the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine as the Charles Johnson Distinguished Professor with tenure. In January 2013, he moved to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center as Chair of the Department of Medicine until 2024. He directs the Women’s Guild Lung Institute.
Dr. Noble is a physician scientist with an active research laboratory focused on elucidating the basic mechanisms of lung fibrosis. His research laboratory has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health since 1992. He has over 180 peer-reviewed publications and his research has been published in Science, Nature Medicine, the Journal of Clinical Investigation and NEJM, among others. Dr. Noble has also been involved in directing industry-sponsored clinical trials evaluating new therapies in IPF and participated in both the pirfenidone and nintedanib programs that led to the first FDA approved treatments for IPF. Research from his laboratory has led to two current investigator-initiated clinical trials in IPF. He continues to have an active clinical practice in ILD.
Dr. Noble is an elected member of the American Society of Clinical Investigation and Interurban Clinical Club. He is also an elected member of the Association of American Physicians, where he currently serves as President.
Cedars Sinai Medical Center
Paul W. Noble, MD, received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Haverford College in Pennsylvania, and his medical degree from New York University School of Medicine. He completed his medical residency and chief residency at the University of California, San Francisco Hospitals. He completed his pulmonary and critical care fellowships at the University of Colorado and the National Jewish Center in Denver, Colorado.
From 1992–1997 Dr. Noble was Assistant Professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, where he established the Interstitial Lung Disease Clinic. He moved to Yale University School of Medicine in 1997, where he became Professor of Medicine with tenure in 2004. He served as Director of the ILD Program at Yale-New Haven Hospital until 2006, when he moved to Duke University as the Chief of the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine as the Charles Johnson Distinguished Professor with tenure. In January 2013, he moved to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center as Chair of the Department of Medicine until 2024. He directs the Women’s Guild Lung Institute.
Dr. Noble is a physician scientist with an active research laboratory focused on elucidating the basic mechanisms of lung fibrosis. His research laboratory has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health since 1992. He has over 180 peer-reviewed publications and his research has been published in Science, Nature Medicine, the Journal of Clinical Investigation and NEJM, among others. Dr. Noble has also been involved in directing industry-sponsored clinical trials evaluating new therapies in IPF and participated in both the pirfenidone and nintedanib programs that led to the first FDA approved treatments for IPF. Research from his laboratory has led to two current investigator-initiated clinical trials in IPF. He continues to have an active clinical practice in ILD.
Dr. Noble is an elected member of the American Society of Clinical Investigation and Interurban Clinical Club. He is also an elected member of the Association of American Physicians, where he currently serves as President.
Opeyemi A. Olabisi, MD, PhD
Duke University School of Medicine
Dr. Olabisi is an Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Nephrology, Duke University School of Medicine and Vice Chief for Research in Division of Nephrology. He received his BSc in Biology from The City College of New York and MD, PhD from Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He completed his residency at Massachusetts General Hospital, his nephrology fellowship at the combined MGH-BWH Harvard program, and postdoctoral research in the lab of Dr. Martin Pollak, Harvard Medical School. The major goal of his research is to discover and characterize the mechanisms of APOL1-mediated kidney disease (AMKD), the most common form of genetic kidney disease in African Americans, for the purpose of innovative prevention and cure. As a postdoctoral fellow, his research focused on the use zebrafish model and overexpression cellular models to study the cytotoxicity of kidney risk variants of APOL1. During that time, he identified APOL1-mediated cation transport as the upstream trigger of cytotoxicity. However, the intervening mechanisms remain unknown. Since starting his independent lab, his research group has shown that APOL1-cation transport depolarizes plasma membrane triggering a cascade of signaling events including novel activation of GPCR-IP3-calcium signaling, reduction of mitochondrial ATP production, reduction of amino acid import and global protein synthesis. Therefore, his research identified and validated APOL1 pore function as a therapeutic target for AMKD. Recognizing the importance of community engagement to translational research, his lab leads a robust community engagement effort that offers African Americans free screening for AMKD, which also enabled his lab to develop a unique human iPSC-based model of AMKD. He is the principal investigator of an NIH-funded, phase 2 clinical trial of a Jak inhibitor, which blocks APOL1 synthesis. His research is supported by multiple independent NIH grants and published in high-impact journals. He serves on NIH peer review committee.
Duke University School of Medicine
Dr. Olabisi is an Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Nephrology, Duke University School of Medicine and Vice Chief for Research in Division of Nephrology. He received his BSc in Biology from The City College of New York and MD, PhD from Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He completed his residency at Massachusetts General Hospital, his nephrology fellowship at the combined MGH-BWH Harvard program, and postdoctoral research in the lab of Dr. Martin Pollak, Harvard Medical School. The major goal of his research is to discover and characterize the mechanisms of APOL1-mediated kidney disease (AMKD), the most common form of genetic kidney disease in African Americans, for the purpose of innovative prevention and cure. As a postdoctoral fellow, his research focused on the use zebrafish model and overexpression cellular models to study the cytotoxicity of kidney risk variants of APOL1. During that time, he identified APOL1-mediated cation transport as the upstream trigger of cytotoxicity. However, the intervening mechanisms remain unknown. Since starting his independent lab, his research group has shown that APOL1-cation transport depolarizes plasma membrane triggering a cascade of signaling events including novel activation of GPCR-IP3-calcium signaling, reduction of mitochondrial ATP production, reduction of amino acid import and global protein synthesis. Therefore, his research identified and validated APOL1 pore function as a therapeutic target for AMKD. Recognizing the importance of community engagement to translational research, his lab leads a robust community engagement effort that offers African Americans free screening for AMKD, which also enabled his lab to develop a unique human iPSC-based model of AMKD. He is the principal investigator of an NIH-funded, phase 2 clinical trial of a Jak inhibitor, which blocks APOL1 synthesis. His research is supported by multiple independent NIH grants and published in high-impact journals. He serves on NIH peer review committee.
Paige M. Porrett, MD, PhD
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Dr. Porrett grew up in rural Michigan and was the first in her family to attend college. She obtained a Bachelor of Arts in French from Northwestern University in Evanston, IL and subsequently matriculated to the Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. Continuing training at the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Porrett took a four-year hiatus from her general surgery residency after her third year to pursue a PhD in immunology at Penn under the mentorship of Dr. Laurence Turka. After completion of her general surgery residency, Dr. Porrett subsequently completed a transplant surgery fellowship and joined the Penn faculty, where she began her independent basic science laboratory studying pregnancy immunobiology and alloimmunization using transgenic mouse models. She synthesized her intellectual interests and clinical expertise when she started the third uterus transplant (UTx) program in the United States as the co-principal investigator of Penn’s UNTIL trial. She was recruited to the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2020 where she was appointed the Director of Clinical & Translational Research and inaugural Director of VCA Transplantation for the UAB Comprehensive Transplant Institute. In this role, she built the fourth UTx program in the country. Dr. Porrett directs an NIH-funded laboratory studying immunobiology of pregnancy and has focused her studies on regional immunity of the human uterus. Her laboratory has recently discovered that molecular programs governing tissue residency in uterine NK cells – a population critical for normal placentation – are sensitive to calcineurin inhibitors and are reduced in the endometrium of UTx recipients. Dr. Porrett is a founding member and past-president of the US Uterus Transplant Consortium and founding member and current president-elect of the International Society of Uterus Transplantation.
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Dr. Porrett grew up in rural Michigan and was the first in her family to attend college. She obtained a Bachelor of Arts in French from Northwestern University in Evanston, IL and subsequently matriculated to the Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. Continuing training at the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Porrett took a four-year hiatus from her general surgery residency after her third year to pursue a PhD in immunology at Penn under the mentorship of Dr. Laurence Turka. After completion of her general surgery residency, Dr. Porrett subsequently completed a transplant surgery fellowship and joined the Penn faculty, where she began her independent basic science laboratory studying pregnancy immunobiology and alloimmunization using transgenic mouse models. She synthesized her intellectual interests and clinical expertise when she started the third uterus transplant (UTx) program in the United States as the co-principal investigator of Penn’s UNTIL trial. She was recruited to the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2020 where she was appointed the Director of Clinical & Translational Research and inaugural Director of VCA Transplantation for the UAB Comprehensive Transplant Institute. In this role, she built the fourth UTx program in the country. Dr. Porrett directs an NIH-funded laboratory studying immunobiology of pregnancy and has focused her studies on regional immunity of the human uterus. Her laboratory has recently discovered that molecular programs governing tissue residency in uterine NK cells – a population critical for normal placentation – are sensitive to calcineurin inhibitors and are reduced in the endometrium of UTx recipients. Dr. Porrett is a founding member and past-president of the US Uterus Transplant Consortium and founding member and current president-elect of the International Society of Uterus Transplantation.
Ashish Premkumar, MD, PhD
The University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine
Dr. Premkumar is a maternal-fetal medicine subspecialist and a medical anthropologist, broadly interested in comprehensive reproductive health. He completed his BA and MD as part of the Seven Year Accelerated Liberal Arts/Medical Education Program at Boston University. He subsequently completed a residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at University of California San Francisco and a fellowship in maternal-fetal medicine at Northwestern University. As part of his fellowship, he completed his doctorate in cultural anthropology at Northwestern University.
His research and clinical practice is focused on two goals: 1) To Improve the quality of reproductive decision-making in the setting of prenatally-diagnosed congenital anomalies, especially those amenable to maternal-fetal surgery, and 2) To innovate methods to improve health outcomes of pregnant individuals who choose to proceed with different forms of management of prenatally-diagnosed congenital anomalies, inclusive of maternal-fetal surgery and abortion care.
Dr. Premkumar has been published widely in multiple peer-reviewed journals in the biomedical and social sciences. He has been funded by groups like the Society of Family Planning and the International Institute of Research in Paris, as part of the University of Chicago, for his work.
The University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine
Dr. Premkumar is a maternal-fetal medicine subspecialist and a medical anthropologist, broadly interested in comprehensive reproductive health. He completed his BA and MD as part of the Seven Year Accelerated Liberal Arts/Medical Education Program at Boston University. He subsequently completed a residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at University of California San Francisco and a fellowship in maternal-fetal medicine at Northwestern University. As part of his fellowship, he completed his doctorate in cultural anthropology at Northwestern University.
His research and clinical practice is focused on two goals: 1) To Improve the quality of reproductive decision-making in the setting of prenatally-diagnosed congenital anomalies, especially those amenable to maternal-fetal surgery, and 2) To innovate methods to improve health outcomes of pregnant individuals who choose to proceed with different forms of management of prenatally-diagnosed congenital anomalies, inclusive of maternal-fetal surgery and abortion care.
Dr. Premkumar has been published widely in multiple peer-reviewed journals in the biomedical and social sciences. He has been funded by groups like the Society of Family Planning and the International Institute of Research in Paris, as part of the University of Chicago, for his work.
Kimryn Rathmell, MD, PhD
Dr. Kimryn Rathmell served as the 17th director of the National Cancer Institute and previously led the Vanderbilt University Medical Center as physician-in-chief and chair of the Department of Medicine.
With a specialty in the research and treatment of complex and hereditary kidney cancers, Dr. Rathmell also focuses on underlying drivers of kidney cancers using genetic, molecular, and cell biology to develop interventions to improve patients’ lives. Beyond her research interests, Dr. Rathmell is also a steadfast champion for mentorship and development of early career researchers.
Dr. Rathmell earned undergraduate degrees in biology and chemistry from the University of Northern Iowa and her Ph.D. in biophysics and M.D. from Stanford University. She completed an internal medicine internship at the University of Chicago and an internal medicine residency, medical oncology fellowship, and postdoctoral studies at the University of Pennsylvania.
Dr. Kimryn Rathmell served as the 17th director of the National Cancer Institute and previously led the Vanderbilt University Medical Center as physician-in-chief and chair of the Department of Medicine.
With a specialty in the research and treatment of complex and hereditary kidney cancers, Dr. Rathmell also focuses on underlying drivers of kidney cancers using genetic, molecular, and cell biology to develop interventions to improve patients’ lives. Beyond her research interests, Dr. Rathmell is also a steadfast champion for mentorship and development of early career researchers.
Dr. Rathmell earned undergraduate degrees in biology and chemistry from the University of Northern Iowa and her Ph.D. in biophysics and M.D. from Stanford University. She completed an internal medicine internship at the University of Chicago and an internal medicine residency, medical oncology fellowship, and postdoctoral studies at the University of Pennsylvania.
Beatrice Renault, PhD
Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation
Beatrice Renault joined the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation in 2015 as chief strategy officer. She works with the president to implement the Foundation’s mission: to increase support for biomedical research.
A molecular biologist by training, she is passionate about basic research and how it can lead to transformative knowledge for the clinic. Being attentive to early-career scientists and developing creative approaches to engage with the scientific community have guided her commitment to the scientific enterprise. In the past 10 years, Dr. Renault has developed the Lasker Foundation’s communication platforms and education initiatives, all the while nurturing long-term collaborations to foster the next generation of scientists and clinicians.
Before joining Lasker, Dr. Renault served as chief scientific officer of the New York Academy of Sciences. She also was the publisher of Nature Research journals and the chief editor of Nature Medicine.
She completed her PhD in molecular biology at the University of Pavia, Italy, and at Leiden University in the Netherlands. Renault then held a postdoctoral fellowship at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, in New York, working on the Human Genome Project. More recently she completed an MPhil in sociology at Columbia University.
Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation
Beatrice Renault joined the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation in 2015 as chief strategy officer. She works with the president to implement the Foundation’s mission: to increase support for biomedical research.
A molecular biologist by training, she is passionate about basic research and how it can lead to transformative knowledge for the clinic. Being attentive to early-career scientists and developing creative approaches to engage with the scientific community have guided her commitment to the scientific enterprise. In the past 10 years, Dr. Renault has developed the Lasker Foundation’s communication platforms and education initiatives, all the while nurturing long-term collaborations to foster the next generation of scientists and clinicians.
Before joining Lasker, Dr. Renault served as chief scientific officer of the New York Academy of Sciences. She also was the publisher of Nature Research journals and the chief editor of Nature Medicine.
She completed her PhD in molecular biology at the University of Pavia, Italy, and at Leiden University in the Netherlands. Renault then held a postdoctoral fellowship at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, in New York, working on the Human Genome Project. More recently she completed an MPhil in sociology at Columbia University.
Vijay G. Sankaran, MD, PhD
Harvard Medical, Boston Children's Hospital, Dana-Farber/ Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center
Hematologist/Oncologist and the Jan Ellen Paradise, MD, Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School; Division of Hematology/Oncology at Boston Children’s Hospital; Attending Physician in the Dana-Farber/ Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center; Associate Member of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard; Recently Selected Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator
Dr. Sankaran’s work has focused on the genes and mechanisms underpinning blood cell development and disorders. He discovered the function of a particular gene involved in blood production that, when suppressed using specific techniques, could treat sickle cell anemia. He identified thousands of gene variants involved in multiple diseases, including blood cancers, and described the role of individual mutations in Diamond-Blackfan anemia, a life-threatening blood disorder. Additionally, Dr. Sankaran’s lab devised a method that can triple the production of red blood cells, which could lead to better, cheaper methods of manufacturing these cells for transfusion.
Harvard Medical, Boston Children's Hospital, Dana-Farber/ Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center
Hematologist/Oncologist and the Jan Ellen Paradise, MD, Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School; Division of Hematology/Oncology at Boston Children’s Hospital; Attending Physician in the Dana-Farber/ Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center; Associate Member of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard; Recently Selected Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator
Dr. Sankaran’s work has focused on the genes and mechanisms underpinning blood cell development and disorders. He discovered the function of a particular gene involved in blood production that, when suppressed using specific techniques, could treat sickle cell anemia. He identified thousands of gene variants involved in multiple diseases, including blood cancers, and described the role of individual mutations in Diamond-Blackfan anemia, a life-threatening blood disorder. Additionally, Dr. Sankaran’s lab devised a method that can triple the production of red blood cells, which could lead to better, cheaper methods of manufacturing these cells for transfusion.
Larry S. Schlesinger, MD
Texas Biomedical Research Institute
Larry S. Schlesinger, MD is an internationally recognized authority in infectious diseases. He became Professor, President and CEO of Texas Biomedical Research Institute in San Antonio, TX in 2017 and is leading a transformational process focused on scientific growth and cultural change, a new campus master plan and new research and education programs. Since his arrival, Texas Biomed has added over 20 new faculty members, tripled funding and invested in ~200M in campus improvements, faculty and staff recruitment and new programs. He is very active in city-wide initiatives that advance the biosciences sector of San Antonio.
Dr. Schlesinger is a leading physician scientist whose research program focuses on how the lung environment shapes alveolar macrophage biology in the context of the pathogenesis of tuberculosis and diseases caused by other intracellular pathogens that subvert lung immune mechanisms. He translates these discoveries into new platforms and assays for host-directed therapies for infectious diseases. He is a prolific scholar, having authored 250 peer-reviewed articles and reviews, served as editor of 2 books and has written several chapters in leading textbooks. He has been continually funded by the NIH and other federal agencies as well as private foundations such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for more than 30 years. He is a past NIH NIAID Council member, Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Infectious Diseases Society of America, Association of American Physicians and American Academy of Microbiology. He has trained ~175 individuals and led NIH-funded training programs. He served as director of the Ohio State University NIH-supported MSTP in 2011-2017, was a member and chair elect of the AAMC GREAT MD-PhD Section Steering Committee and is a current member of the BOD for APSA.
Texas Biomedical Research Institute
Larry S. Schlesinger, MD is an internationally recognized authority in infectious diseases. He became Professor, President and CEO of Texas Biomedical Research Institute in San Antonio, TX in 2017 and is leading a transformational process focused on scientific growth and cultural change, a new campus master plan and new research and education programs. Since his arrival, Texas Biomed has added over 20 new faculty members, tripled funding and invested in ~200M in campus improvements, faculty and staff recruitment and new programs. He is very active in city-wide initiatives that advance the biosciences sector of San Antonio.
Dr. Schlesinger is a leading physician scientist whose research program focuses on how the lung environment shapes alveolar macrophage biology in the context of the pathogenesis of tuberculosis and diseases caused by other intracellular pathogens that subvert lung immune mechanisms. He translates these discoveries into new platforms and assays for host-directed therapies for infectious diseases. He is a prolific scholar, having authored 250 peer-reviewed articles and reviews, served as editor of 2 books and has written several chapters in leading textbooks. He has been continually funded by the NIH and other federal agencies as well as private foundations such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for more than 30 years. He is a past NIH NIAID Council member, Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Infectious Diseases Society of America, Association of American Physicians and American Academy of Microbiology. He has trained ~175 individuals and led NIH-funded training programs. He served as director of the Ohio State University NIH-supported MSTP in 2011-2017, was a member and chair elect of the AAMC GREAT MD-PhD Section Steering Committee and is a current member of the BOD for APSA.
Cynthia Tang, PhD
University of North Carolina School of Medicine
Cynthia Tang, PhD, is the President of the American Physician Scientists Association and an MD-PhD Candidate at the University of North Carolina. She worked in basic science and as a clinical research coordinator studying chronic pain and lncRNAs in lung cancer before starting her MD-PhD training. She earned her PhD in bioinformatics studying respiratory virus epidemiology and was awarded an NIH F30 Fellowship. She also received the Excellence in Public Health Award by the United States Public Health Service. Her current research focuses on pulmonary exacerbations in primary ciliary dyskinesia.
Her advocacy with APSA includes developing a grant writing hub, creating the Women Physician-Scientists Collective, leading national research efforts to assess the needs of physician-scientist trainees, establishing strategic partnerships with external societies, and expanding professional development opportunities. As President, she leads the Executive Council and serves as a member of the Board of Directors and consulting member on the ASCI Physician Scientist Development Committee. Cynthia is committed to driving innovation and leveraging data-driven approaches to improve patient-centered outcomes.
University of North Carolina School of Medicine
Cynthia Tang, PhD, is the President of the American Physician Scientists Association and an MD-PhD Candidate at the University of North Carolina. She worked in basic science and as a clinical research coordinator studying chronic pain and lncRNAs in lung cancer before starting her MD-PhD training. She earned her PhD in bioinformatics studying respiratory virus epidemiology and was awarded an NIH F30 Fellowship. She also received the Excellence in Public Health Award by the United States Public Health Service. Her current research focuses on pulmonary exacerbations in primary ciliary dyskinesia.
Her advocacy with APSA includes developing a grant writing hub, creating the Women Physician-Scientists Collective, leading national research efforts to assess the needs of physician-scientist trainees, establishing strategic partnerships with external societies, and expanding professional development opportunities. As President, she leads the Executive Council and serves as a member of the Board of Directors and consulting member on the ASCI Physician Scientist Development Committee. Cynthia is committed to driving innovation and leveraging data-driven approaches to improve patient-centered outcomes.
Swee Lay Thein, MB, BS, DSc
National Institutes of Health
Swee Lay Thein is a hematologist and clinical investigator with more than 30 years of clinical and translational hematology research and extensive personal experience in laboratory research – molecular biology, genetics and genomics. Dr. Thein currently serves as a Senior Investigator and Chief of the Sickle Cell Branch within the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health. Her current goal is to find more drugs for treating SCD, and to one day discover a way to quickly preempt excruciating sickle cell crises, breaking the cycle of pain.
National Institutes of Health
Swee Lay Thein is a hematologist and clinical investigator with more than 30 years of clinical and translational hematology research and extensive personal experience in laboratory research – molecular biology, genetics and genomics. Dr. Thein currently serves as a Senior Investigator and Chief of the Sickle Cell Branch within the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health. Her current goal is to find more drugs for treating SCD, and to one day discover a way to quickly preempt excruciating sickle cell crises, breaking the cycle of pain.
Dan Theodorescu, MD PhD
University of Arizona Cancer Center
Dan Theodorescu MD PhD is a physician scientist who has devoted his career to the study of bladder cancer. His pioneering application of computational biology led to the discovery of genes that drive growth and metastasis, while providing novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets and foundations for precision medicine such as the Molecular Twin Precision Oncology Platform and the COXEN principle. He led the discovery and development of a “first in class” RalGTPase inhibitor as a new therapeutic now licensed by pharma, and identified approaches that define effective combination therapy with checkpoint inhibitors. Recently, he was the first to demonstrate that loss of the Y chromosome in cancer makes tumors more aggressive by immune system evasion. Theodorescu is a founding co-editor in chief of Bladder Cancer, the only journal focused on this disease. He is a member of ASCI, AAP, National Academy of Medicine and a fellow of AAAS.
University of Arizona Cancer Center
Dan Theodorescu MD PhD is a physician scientist who has devoted his career to the study of bladder cancer. His pioneering application of computational biology led to the discovery of genes that drive growth and metastasis, while providing novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets and foundations for precision medicine such as the Molecular Twin Precision Oncology Platform and the COXEN principle. He led the discovery and development of a “first in class” RalGTPase inhibitor as a new therapeutic now licensed by pharma, and identified approaches that define effective combination therapy with checkpoint inhibitors. Recently, he was the first to demonstrate that loss of the Y chromosome in cancer makes tumors more aggressive by immune system evasion. Theodorescu is a founding co-editor in chief of Bladder Cancer, the only journal focused on this disease. He is a member of ASCI, AAP, National Academy of Medicine and a fellow of AAAS.
Mike Welsh, MD
University of Iowa
Dr. Michael Welsh obtained an MD and completed internal medicine residency at the University of Iowa. He trained in pulmonary medicine and research at the University of California, San Francisco and University of Texas, Houston. He then joined the University of Iowa where he is Professor Internal Medicine and Molecular Physiology and Biophysics. He directs the Cystic Fibrosis Research Center and Pappajohn Biomedical Institute. He was a HHMI Investigator from 1989-2024. His clinical activities focused on pulmonary diseases.
Dr. Welsh served as president of the American Society for Clinical Investigation and the Association of American Physicians. He was elected to the National Academy of Medicine, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and National Academy of Sciences. He received the Distinguished Mentor Award Carver College of Medicine, Walter Cannon Award, Steven Beering Award, Warren Alpert Foundation Prize, The Shaw Prize, Wiley Prize, and Switzer Prize.
University of Iowa
Dr. Michael Welsh obtained an MD and completed internal medicine residency at the University of Iowa. He trained in pulmonary medicine and research at the University of California, San Francisco and University of Texas, Houston. He then joined the University of Iowa where he is Professor Internal Medicine and Molecular Physiology and Biophysics. He directs the Cystic Fibrosis Research Center and Pappajohn Biomedical Institute. He was a HHMI Investigator from 1989-2024. His clinical activities focused on pulmonary diseases.
Dr. Welsh served as president of the American Society for Clinical Investigation and the Association of American Physicians. He was elected to the National Academy of Medicine, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and National Academy of Sciences. He received the Distinguished Mentor Award Carver College of Medicine, Walter Cannon Award, Steven Beering Award, Warren Alpert Foundation Prize, The Shaw Prize, Wiley Prize, and Switzer Prize.
Owen N. Witte, MD
University of California, Los Angeles, David Geffen School of Medicine
Dr. Witte is recognized for multiple seminal contributions over the last 50 years impacting our understanding of human leukemias, immune disorders and epithelial cancers which have defined new targets for attack that have foreshadowed and strongly influenced the development of new therapies that have changed medical practice and patient outcomes. His work on the Abelson murine leukemia virus oncoprotein aided the discovery of the tyrosine kinase class of enzymes. He discovered the Bcr-Abl protein as the product of the Philadelphia chromosome and showed it was necessary and sufficient to drive CML and some forms of ALL, validating Abl as a therapeutic target for tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy leading to drugs like Imatinib which have revolutionized targeted therapy. He discovered BTK as the cause of Bruton's agammaglobulinemia, and validated BTK as a therapeutic target for various B cell malignancies and autoimmune states which stimulated the creation of new targeted therapies like Ibrutinib that have transformed treatment for CLL, B cell lymphomas, multiple myeloma and certain autoimmune diseases. Dr. Witte expanded his interests to explore the pathogenesis of prostate and other epithelial cancers and discovered the Prostate Stem Cell Antigen (PSCA) which is under active investigation as a cell surface target for immune based treatment of advanced prostate and pancreatic cancers. Recent observations using a human epithelial tissue recombination/transformation system have shown that prostate and other tissues can be driven to an adenocarcinoma state by defined oncogenic signaling, and further trans-differentiated by epigenetic control to highly aggressive small cell carcinoma with neuroendocrine features which defines new immune targets for therapy under investigation. Dr. Witte is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Cancer Research Academy of the AACR. He has served on the Board of Directors for the AACR, the President’s Cancer Panel, numerous editorial boards, and scientific advisory boards for academic centers and biotechnology companies. He was the founding director and for 15 years led the Broad Stem Cell Research Center at UCLA. Dr. Witte has been recognized for his work by multiple awards including: The Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Foundation Award of the AACR; The William Dameshek Prize of the American Society of Hematology; The Warren Alpert Foundation Prize; The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s de Villiers International Achievement Award; The AACR G.H.A. Clowes Memorial Award; The Stanford Medical School Kornberg-Berg Lifetime Achievement Award in Biosciences; The AACR Award for Outstanding Achievement in Blood Cancer Research; and most recently The Harrington Prize for Innovation in Medicine.
University of California, Los Angeles, David Geffen School of Medicine
Dr. Witte is recognized for multiple seminal contributions over the last 50 years impacting our understanding of human leukemias, immune disorders and epithelial cancers which have defined new targets for attack that have foreshadowed and strongly influenced the development of new therapies that have changed medical practice and patient outcomes. His work on the Abelson murine leukemia virus oncoprotein aided the discovery of the tyrosine kinase class of enzymes. He discovered the Bcr-Abl protein as the product of the Philadelphia chromosome and showed it was necessary and sufficient to drive CML and some forms of ALL, validating Abl as a therapeutic target for tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy leading to drugs like Imatinib which have revolutionized targeted therapy. He discovered BTK as the cause of Bruton's agammaglobulinemia, and validated BTK as a therapeutic target for various B cell malignancies and autoimmune states which stimulated the creation of new targeted therapies like Ibrutinib that have transformed treatment for CLL, B cell lymphomas, multiple myeloma and certain autoimmune diseases. Dr. Witte expanded his interests to explore the pathogenesis of prostate and other epithelial cancers and discovered the Prostate Stem Cell Antigen (PSCA) which is under active investigation as a cell surface target for immune based treatment of advanced prostate and pancreatic cancers. Recent observations using a human epithelial tissue recombination/transformation system have shown that prostate and other tissues can be driven to an adenocarcinoma state by defined oncogenic signaling, and further trans-differentiated by epigenetic control to highly aggressive small cell carcinoma with neuroendocrine features which defines new immune targets for therapy under investigation. Dr. Witte is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Cancer Research Academy of the AACR. He has served on the Board of Directors for the AACR, the President’s Cancer Panel, numerous editorial boards, and scientific advisory boards for academic centers and biotechnology companies. He was the founding director and for 15 years led the Broad Stem Cell Research Center at UCLA. Dr. Witte has been recognized for his work by multiple awards including: The Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Foundation Award of the AACR; The William Dameshek Prize of the American Society of Hematology; The Warren Alpert Foundation Prize; The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s de Villiers International Achievement Award; The AACR G.H.A. Clowes Memorial Award; The Stanford Medical School Kornberg-Berg Lifetime Achievement Award in Biosciences; The AACR Award for Outstanding Achievement in Blood Cancer Research; and most recently The Harrington Prize for Innovation in Medicine.
George D. Yancopoulos, MD, PhD
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals
George Damis Yancopoulos, M.D., Ph.D. is co-Founder, co-Chairman, President and Chief Scientific Officer of Regeneron. He is widely recognized as one of the most successful entrepreneurs, scientists and inventors in biotech history. George has been ranked among the top 10 most-cited scientists globally and is one of the most productive drug developers, responsible for two of the best-selling drugs in the world.
George built Regeneron – alongside long-time partner Leonard S. Schleifer, M.D., Ph.D. – into a premier biotech company, based on an unprecedented record of bringing important new medicines all the way from discovery to patients. He is principal inventor of Regeneron’s numerous approved medicines and industry-leading technologies, including VelocImmune®, the world’s first antibody producing mouse with a fully humanized immune system.
Under George’s leadership, Regeneron is routinely recognized as a “Top Employer” by Science magazine and among “America’s Best Companies” by Forbes. He has been honored as one of Forbes’ “America’s 100 Most Innovative Leaders” (alongside Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk), and Fortune’s “Pandemic’s Greatest Heroes” (alongside Anthony Fauci, M.D. and Bill Gates). He is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences and graduated as valedictorian of Bronx High School of Science and Columbia University where he received his M.D. and Ph.D.
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals
George Damis Yancopoulos, M.D., Ph.D. is co-Founder, co-Chairman, President and Chief Scientific Officer of Regeneron. He is widely recognized as one of the most successful entrepreneurs, scientists and inventors in biotech history. George has been ranked among the top 10 most-cited scientists globally and is one of the most productive drug developers, responsible for two of the best-selling drugs in the world.
George built Regeneron – alongside long-time partner Leonard S. Schleifer, M.D., Ph.D. – into a premier biotech company, based on an unprecedented record of bringing important new medicines all the way from discovery to patients. He is principal inventor of Regeneron’s numerous approved medicines and industry-leading technologies, including VelocImmune®, the world’s first antibody producing mouse with a fully humanized immune system.
Under George’s leadership, Regeneron is routinely recognized as a “Top Employer” by Science magazine and among “America’s Best Companies” by Forbes. He has been honored as one of Forbes’ “America’s 100 Most Innovative Leaders” (alongside Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk), and Fortune’s “Pandemic’s Greatest Heroes” (alongside Anthony Fauci, M.D. and Bill Gates). He is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences and graduated as valedictorian of Bronx High School of Science and Columbia University where he received his M.D. and Ph.D.
Renee Yuen-Jan Hsia, MD, MSc
University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine
Dr. Hsia is Professor and Vice Chair of Health Services Research of the Department of Emergency Medicine. She is also a core faculty member of the UCSF Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies (IHPS), as well as a member of the UCSF Center for Healthcare Value and the UCSF Global Health Economics Consortium. She is the founder and director of The Policy Lab of Acute Care and Emergencies – The PLACE – at UCSF. She has had over 140 publications in peer-reviewed journals, and her pioneering work has been highlighted in print media such as the New York Times, national radio such as NPR, and network television. Her research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; and the American Heart Association. Dr. Hsia has received numerous awards, including the Academy for Women in Academic Emergency Medicine Early Career Faculty Award, Society for Academic Emergency Medicine Young Investigator Award, and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Physician Faculty Scholars Award, and has been invited on visiting professorships to multiple universities. She has mentored more than 50 trainees ranging from pre-medical students to junior faculty on projects, the majority of which have resulted in publications as well as oral and poster presentations at national meetings. Dr. Hsia works clinically at the San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, and speaks Mandarin, Cantonese, Spanish, and French. She received her undergraduate degree from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University; her medical degree from Harvard Medical School; her master’s training in health policy, planning, and financing at the London School of Economics and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine; and her residency training in emergency medicine at Stanford University. She was elected to the ASCI in 2019.
University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine
Dr. Hsia is Professor and Vice Chair of Health Services Research of the Department of Emergency Medicine. She is also a core faculty member of the UCSF Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies (IHPS), as well as a member of the UCSF Center for Healthcare Value and the UCSF Global Health Economics Consortium. She is the founder and director of The Policy Lab of Acute Care and Emergencies – The PLACE – at UCSF. She has had over 140 publications in peer-reviewed journals, and her pioneering work has been highlighted in print media such as the New York Times, national radio such as NPR, and network television. Her research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; and the American Heart Association. Dr. Hsia has received numerous awards, including the Academy for Women in Academic Emergency Medicine Early Career Faculty Award, Society for Academic Emergency Medicine Young Investigator Award, and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Physician Faculty Scholars Award, and has been invited on visiting professorships to multiple universities. She has mentored more than 50 trainees ranging from pre-medical students to junior faculty on projects, the majority of which have resulted in publications as well as oral and poster presentations at national meetings. Dr. Hsia works clinically at the San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, and speaks Mandarin, Cantonese, Spanish, and French. She received her undergraduate degree from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University; her medical degree from Harvard Medical School; her master’s training in health policy, planning, and financing at the London School of Economics and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine; and her residency training in emergency medicine at Stanford University. She was elected to the ASCI in 2019.
