The Research Evangelist

On today's episode, meet Dr. Charu Aggarwal. Dr. Aggarwal is the Leslye Heisler Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Hematology-Oncology Division at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine. She is an active member of the Abramson Cancer Center (ACC) where she serves as Physician Leader for the clinical research program for Airways Malignancies.

Dr. Aggarwal specializes in the management of patients with lung and head and neck cancer, with a specific and clinical research focus on the development of novel immunotherapeutic approaches, and the discovery and application of biomarkers to guide therapy and monitor treatment. She serves as the local and national principle investigator for multiple clinical trials focusing on the development of “targeted” immunotherapeutic approaches including cellular therapy and CAR-T for solid tumors.

On today's episode we're talking about precision medicine in lung cancer. Meet Priti Hegde, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of Foundation Medicine, Inc., a life science company that offers a portfolio of comprehensive genomic profiling products that help physicians make more informed care decisions. She is passionate about innovation in cancer research and translating innovations to precision medicine tools to advance care for patients. Dr. Hegde explains the current science of genomic testing and what the future holds. She also talks about building long term relationships with patients and helping young women scientists get a seat at the right table. 

On today's episode, meet Dr. Henning Willers. He is the Director of the Thoracic Radiation Oncology Program at Massachusetts General Hospital, and Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School. Dr. Willers has a busy clinical practice focusing on the care of patients with thoracic cancers of various types while also spending time in the laboratory. He is active in clinical, physics, and biology research with the overarching goal of advancing precision radiation medicine.

On today's episode, meet Patrick Lilley, CEO of Liquid Biosciences. He has spent the last 25 years driving growth and innovation in software, healthcare, big data, and wireless. Patrick is inventor of over 75 patents and trade secrets in bioinformatics, diagnostic biomarkers, signal processing, artificial intelligence, and specialized algorithms. Today he discusses how his company is using mathematics to accelerate prediction in precision medicine in lung cancer and other diseases.

Dr. Narjust Duma is a faculty member in the Division of Hematology, Medical Oncology and Palliative Care at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. She is a medical oncologist at the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center with clinical and research focus on thoracic malignancies.  Her clinical interests include the care of women with lung cancer including their unique aspects of cancer survivorship. She is also a champion for empowering gender and racial equity in medicine. Dr. Duma is a co-founder of Latinas in Medicine, Inc., a nonprofit inspiring, supporting, and empowering Latinas who choose careers in medicine.

Dr. Sarah Goldberg, MD, MPH is an Associate Professor of Medicine in the division of Medical Oncology at the Yale School of Medicine and Yale Cancer Center. She specializes in the treatment of thoracic malignancies. Her research interests include personalized medicine and immunotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer and identification of biomarkers that predict response to treatment. For her, it's all about the patients.

Kimberly Richardson created a unique program at the University of Illinois - Chicago (UIC) Cancer Center called Survivors Advising Scientists Education Program. Tova Bergsten is a 4th year MD/PhD Candidate at UIC College of Medicine working on ovarian cancer research in the lab of Joanna Burdette. Kimberly's goal is to create true collaborations between those researching cancer and those who are surviving it. They are intent on keeping the learning bidirectional – where patients can learn from the scientists, but also for scientists to be able to learn from the patients.

Pamela Gardner is the Founder and CEO of Biotech Vendor Services, Inc., which helps companies & organizations in life sciences streamline their vendor management through customized on-site and virtual scientific events. She is also on a mission to help others tackle the tough equity issues of female empowerment and systemic racism to break through the barriers that exist within the system.

Adam Marcus, PhD, is Winship 5K Research Professor in the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology at Emory University School of Medicine. Dr. Marcus serves as Associate Director of Basic Research and Shared Resources for Winship Cancer Institute. He is also passionate about keeping middle school kids in Georgia enthusiastic about science.

On today's episode meet Rebecca Heist, MD, MPH, a Medical Oncologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School. Her research focuses on clinical trials of novel agents. As part of the Termeer Center at MGH, she leads first-in-human studies of targeted agents across a broad range of tumor types, with a particular focus in lung. Her commitment to her patients is very clear.