Bonnie J. Addario
Bonnie is the Founder and Chair of the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation, a San-Francisco-based non-profit organization that is the nation’s largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to eradicating lung cancer. With unanimous support from the United States Senate to make lung cancer a national priority, Bonnie works collaboratively with a diverse group of physicians, researchers, corporations, legislators, and individuals to identify solutions and make timely and meaningful change through research, early detection, education, prevention, and treatment.Bonnie is a five-year lung cancer survivor and a visionary with 25 years of experience in managing a large oil company and a commercial credit card networking company. A nationally recognized business leader, from 1997 to 2004, Bonnie was the President of both the Commercial Fueling Network and Olympian Oil companies. Bonnie was the first female President of the California Independent Oil Marketers.
Bonnie is the founder of the Addario Lung Cancer Medical Institute (ALCMI), serves as a Board member of the Sequoia Hospital Foundation Board, Vice Chair of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Thoracic Cabinet, an advocate and member of Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG) Lung Committee, the 100th Member of L3 Leadership Legacy Life, and was the 2008 Jefferson Award Winner for Public Service. In October, 2007, BJALCF launched the nation’s first comprehensive lung cancer program of its kind.
She is committed to changing the horrific statistics and mortality rates for lung cancer. The overall 5-year survival rate for lung cancer is 15.5%.
Bonnie is also a mother of three grown children and a grandmother to eight.
David Carbone, MD, PhD
Dr. David Carbone is the Harold L. Moses Professor of Cancer Research, Professor of Medicine and Cancer Biology at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Director of the Experimental Therapeutics Program at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center. He is also Director and Principal Investigator of the Vanderbilt Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) in Lung Cancer.David Carbone graduated summa cum laude from Amherst College and received an MD and a PhD in Molecular Biology and Genetics at Johns Hopkins University. He then did an Internal Medicine internship and residency at The Johns Hopkins Hospital followed by a Medical Oncology fellowship at the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Dr. Carbone was appointed Assistant Professor at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, and was later promoted to Associate Professor before being recruited to Vanderbilt University.
Dr. Carbone’s research interests, grant support and publications have been focused on lung cancer, and specifically lung cancer genetics, cancer immunotherapy, tumor-associated immunosuppression mechanisms and gene therapy. Recent research directions include molecular profiling of lung cancers and preneoplasias, especially the use of mass spectrometry-based proteomics. He has over 100 peer-reviewed publications and review articles, has served on several NCI grant review panels, and has had continuous NCI funding since early in his career.Dr. Carbone has served on organizing committees for both ASCO and AACR and he is currently Chair of the Lung Biology subcommittee for the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group and serves on the Board of Scientific Counselors for the NCI.
David R. Gandara, MD
Dr. David R. Gandara is a Professor of Medicine at the University of California, Davis School of Medicine, and serves as Associate Director of Clinical Research and Director of Thoracic Oncology at the University of California, Davis Cancer Center.Dr. Gandara received his medical degree from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, followed by internship and residency at the Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma and a fellowship at the Letterman Army Medical Center Presidio of San Francisco.
Dr. Gandara is a diplomat of the American Board of Internal Medicine specializing in Medical Oncology. He is currently principal investigator for a number of research projects in lung cancer, pharmacology trials at various phases, and Southwest Oncology Group trials. He is the principal investigator for a National Cancer Institute award to the California Cancer Consortium for Early Therapeutic Trials of New Anti-Cancer Agents.
Dr. Gandara is President of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) and serves on the board of directors. Dr. Gandara is chair of the Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG) Lung Committee, and co-chair of the NCI-directed Investigational Drug Steering Committee. He has written over 300 articles, book chapters, abstracts and editorials. He is editor-in-chief of Clinical Lung Cancer, serves on the editorial board of four oncology journals, and is a manuscript reviewer for eight additional journals. He served as secretary-treasurer and a member of the board of directors for the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). Dr. Gandara is a member of the Scientific Leadership Council in Lung Cancer.
David Jablons, MD
Dr. David M. Jablons is Professor and Chief of Thoracic Surgery at the University of California, San Francisco, and Ada Distinguished Professor of Thoracic Oncology at the UCSF Helen Diller Comprehensive Cancer Center, where he also serves as Program Leader of Thoracic Oncology.Dr. Jablons received his undergraduate degree from Yale University and his medical degree from Albany Medical College of Union University. He has also trained at numerous highly-regarded institutions including Tufts-New England Medical Center, Oak Knoll Naval Hospital, the Surgery Branch of NCI, Cornell University Medical Center, New York Hospital/Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and Brigham & Women’s Hospital.
Dr. Jablons established the UCSF/UC Davis Thoracic Oncology Conference, one of the oldest and longest running didactic conferences in the field. He also helped found the International Pan Pacific Lung Cancer Conference. He is a strong supporter of international efforts to expand lung cancer research, and helped start the China Clinical Trials Consortium (CCTC). He also co-founded the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation and the Addario Lung Cancer Medical Institute.
Dr. Jablons leads a team of scientists developing molecularly targeted therapies for lung cancer and mesothelioma. Key research areas include the Wnt and Hedgehog (Hh) pathways, and stem cell signaling targets. The Thoracic Oncology Tissue Bank is one of the largest such repositories in the U.S. and serves as a hub for interdisciplinary collaboration. Dr. Jablons is also a principal investigator on two NIH R01 grants and has authored over 100 peer-reviewed research papers. In addition, he serves as a reviewer on several NIH study groups.
Pasi A. Jänne, MD, PhD Dr. Pasi A. Jänne is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Assistant Physician at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts.
After earning his MD and PhD from the School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Dr Jänne completed his internship and residency in Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston. He subsequently completed fellowship training at Dana Farber Cancer Institute/Massachusetts General Hospital combined program in medical oncology in 2001. In 2002 he earned a Masters Degree in clinical investigation from Harvard University.
Dr. Jänne’s research interests include investigation of oncogene mutations and how these correlate with clinical response to targeted therapies in lung cancer. He was one of the investigators who initially discovered EGFR mutations in 2004 and has subsequently studied their effect on clinical outcome of patients and on mechanisms of resistance. He has also worked on developing non-sequencing based technology to detect mutations in EGFR and other oncogenes. Dr. Jänne is a member of the Cancer and Leukemia Group B respiratory committee. He is also an active member of ASCO, AACR, ESMO and IASLC. He was elected to the American Society of Clinical Investigation in 2008.
Ite Laird-Offringa, PhD
Dr. Ite Laird-Offringa is an Associate Professor of Surgery and of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Southern California (USC), Keck School of Medicine. She is also the Director of the Program in Biomedical and Biological Sciences at USC.Dr. Laird-Offringa earned her Ph.D. from the University of Leiden, The Netherlands, and conducted postdoctoral work at Harvard Medical School. She joined the USC faculty in 1996. She is a member of many national and international professional and advocate societies, including the American Association for Cancer Research, the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer, and the National Lung Cancer Partnership, and she serves as a reviewer on the NIH/NCI Cancer Genetics study section.
Dr. Laird-Offringa is committed to the development of better tools for early lung cancer detection. Her laboratory’s current research in lung cancer focuses on the identification of cancer-specific changes in antibodies and in DNA methylation, a reversible alteration of DNA that can affect gene expression. The obtained information is used for biomarker development and to gain insight into the sequential molecular steps that happen during the development of lung cancer. The Laird-Offringa laboratory is funded by two NIH R01 grants and by generous donations and grants from several private foundations and individuals. In her work, she collaborates with pathologists, oncologists, surgeons, epidemiologists and a variety of other scientists.
Harvey I. Pass, MD
Harvey I. Pass, MD is Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery and Surgery, and the first Division Chief of Thoracic Surgery/ Thoracic Oncology at NYU School of Medicine. He joined NYU Medical Center in 2005 to lead the Division of Thoracic Surgery and Thoracic Oncology. His previous positions include Chief, Thoracic Oncology at the Karmanos Cancer Institute, and Head of the Thoracic Oncology Section of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) for the National Institutes of Health.Dr. Pass received his B.A. from Johns Hopkins University and his M.D. from Duke University. He completed his surgical residency at Duke and University of Mississippi. He completed his residency in Cardiothoracic Surgery at the Medical University of South Carolina. Dr. Pass also completed a fellowship in Thoracic Oncology at NCI.
Dr. Pass has published over 300 manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals, including The New England Journal of Medicine regarding the discovery of osteopontin as a possible early detection biomarker for mesothelioma. He is an editor of Lung Cancer: Principles and Practice, Surgery: Basic Science and Clinical Evidence, Oncology: An Evidence Based Approach, and Malignant Mesothelioma: Advances in Pathogenesis, Diagnosis, and Translational Therapies. Dr. Pass is Associate Editor for the Journal of Thoracic Oncology, Surgical Editor for Clinical Lung Cancer and a member of the editorial board for Clinical Cancer Research.
Dr. Pass is presently on the Board of Directors for the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer, the International Mesothelioma Interest Group, the Lung Cancer Alliance, and the Mesothelioma Foundation.
Rafael Rosell, MD, PhD
Dr. Rafael Rosell is Scientific Director for Oncology at the Catalan Institute of Oncology, Chief of the Medical Oncology Service at Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol in Badalona, Chairman of Pangaea Biotech, SA and Professor at the University of Barcelona.Dr. Rosell is the founder and President of the Spanish Lung Cancer Group (SLCG), Chairman of the IASLC 2005 World Conference on Lung Cancer, and Co-Chair of the 1st and 2nd IASLC-ESMO European Lung Cancer Conferences. He is an active member of the ESMO Educational Committee, and the EORTC Protocol Review Committee. He is on the Editorial Board of several peer-reviewed medical journals. Dr. Rosell has authored over 450 articles in peer-reviewed journals and given more than 600 presentations at conferences around the world.
Since the early 1990s, Dr. Rosell has been involved in the application of genetic research to the clinical setting. Recent translational research by Dr Rosell’s group has focused on chemosensitivity in relation to polymorphisms of DNA repair genes, methylation patterns in circulating DNA, and gene expression profiles in RNA. Dr. Rosell’s group is also involved in research on EGFR mutations and has implemented large-scale screening for EGFR mutations in newly-diagnosed lung cancer patients in Spain in order to select patients for treatment with EGFR inhibitors instead of chemotherapy as first-line treatment. In the SLCG’s ongoing trials in the adjuvant and the metastatic setting of NSCLC, customized chemotherapy and targeted therapy are being implemented as standard treatment.