World-Renowned Experts Guiding Clinical Trial Innovation

Tanios Bekaii-Saab, MD is the David F. and Margaret T. Grohne Professor of Novel Therapeutics for Cancer Research I and Chair of the Division of Hematology/Medical Oncology at Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, Arizona. He co-leads the Advanced Clinical and Translational Science Program and serves as Disease Group Leader for Gastrointestinal Cancers across the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center.

Dr. Bekaii-Saab earned his medical degree from the American University of Beirut, followed by residency at Indiana University and fellowships at Tufts University. Before joining Mayo, he was a tenured professor at Ohio State University.

He conducts clinical and translational research in gastrointestinal cancers, leading phase II/III trials that informed FDA approvals as well as ESMO and NCCN guidelines. He has authored over 600 publications, including in NEJM, Lancet, JAMA, JCO, Lancet Oncology and Nature Medicine.

Rafael Fonseca, MD, is the Getz Family Professor of Cancer, Professor of Medicine, Chief Innovation Officer, and a consultant in the Division ofHematology/Oncology at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona. He is a member of the Mayo Clinic Board of Governors and Board of Trustees. He earned his MD at Universidad Anahuac, Mexico. He completed a residency inInternal Medicine at the University of Miami, FL, and a fellowship inHematology and Medical Oncology at Mayo Graduate School ofMedicine, Rochester, MN. He was named a Clinical Investigator for theDamon Runyon Cancer Research Fund. He is a visiting healthcare fellowat the Goldwater Institute.Dr Fonseca’s practice has focused on the diagnosis and treatment of plasma cell disorders. Heleads the multiple myeloma team in its efforts to develop a better understanding of the disease and its impact on patients. In his laboratory, Dr Fonseca has led his team of researchers to better understand the genetic nature of malignant plasma cells, myeloma bone disease, prognostic markers, and development of new therapies for the disease. He is an active participant and leader of myeloma clinical trials. He also has served as consultant to multiple companies including AbbVie, Adaptive Biotechnologies, Amgen, Apple, BMS, GSK, Janssen, Karyopharm, Pfizer, Regeneron, Sanofi. He is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board ofCaris Life Sciences, and a member of the Board of Directors for Antengene. He holds the patent for FISH prognostication in myeloma.Throughout his training and career, Dr Fonseca has received numerous awards and honors, including the Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator Award, and the International Waldenström Macroglo bulinemia Research Award. He is a Mayo Clinic Distinguished Investigator, the highest academic distinction given to investigators at his institution. In 2024 he was inducted into theGiants of Cancer Care Hall. He was awarded in 2023 the Cyril-Rozman prize by the SpanishSociety of hematology and Hematotherapy. He was awarded a Doctor honoris causa by theUniversity of Tucuman in Argentina.Dr Fonseca holds memberships and has served in positions for organizations such as theASCO, ASH and the International Myeloma Society. His research has been funded by theNational Cancer Institute (R01, P01, SPORE, CPTAC U01), the Leukemia & LymphomaSociety, the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, and the Damon Runyon Cancer ResearchFund, Paula and Rodger Riney Foundation and others. Dr Fonseca serves as reviewer and in editorial capacities for medical publications including Blood, Lancet, Nature Medicine, CancerCell, Leukemia, and the New England Journal of Medicine, among others. He has given many national and international presentations as a visiting professor, and has authored numerous articles. He has over 400 publications with an associated H index of 133 with 69,597 citations

Siavash Jabbari, MD is a practicing and academic radiation oncologist with special interest in clinical trials and integrating innovative technology into community practice. Formerly an Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology at the Chicago Medical School, he now serves as Medical Director of the Lauryl Amtower Neuro-Oncology Program and Cancer Institute at Sharp Healthcare in San Diego, CA.

Dr. Jabbari has authored numerous textbook chapters and peer-reviewed publications across diverse malignancies and technologies. He has led several prospective clinical trials, served as reviewer for high-impact oncology journals, and been invited to lecture at international meetings including ASTRO, ARS, and ARRO.

He served on the ARS/ACR Appropriateness Criteria Brain Tumor Committee, shaping national CNS guidelines.

Dr. Jabbari is an eight-time recipient of San Diego Magazine’s “Top Doctor–Physicians of Exceptional Excellence” award and a finalist for the American Cancer Society’s inaugural Cancer Care Champions of the Year award.

Dr. Elias Jabbour serves as Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) Section within the Department of Leukemia at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. His research is centered on translational and clinical developmental therapeutics in leukemia, with a particular emphasis on advancing novel treatment paradigms across disease subtypes.

Over the past two decades, Dr. Jabbour has made seminal contributions that have significantly enhanced prognosis, survival outcomes, and therapeutic strategies for patients with various forms of leukemia. His work is reflected in an extensive body of scholarship, with more than 1,000 peer-reviewed publications, underscoring his leadership and impact in the field of hematologic malignancies.

Dr. Razelle Kurzrock is a world leader in precision medicine and immunotherapy. As a board-certified medical oncologist, practicing physician, and researcher, she is recognized as one of the most important voices in precision medicine worldwide and one of the most highly cited scientists globally. She recently joined the Medical College of Wisconsin Cancer Center, overseeing the development of a new Precision Medicine and Rare Cancers initiative and assuming leadership of the cancer clinical trial enterprise.

Dr. Kurzrock is known for founding and chairing the largest Phase 1 clinical trials department in the world while at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. The program’s focus on the precision medicine strategy solidified her standing as a pioneer in the development of personalized medicine.

More recently, at the University of California, San Diego Moores Cancer Center, Dr. Kurzrock established the Rare Tumor Clinic and assumed leadership of both the Center for Personalized Cancer Therapy and Experimental Therapeutics Program.

Dr. Kurzrock has served as principal investigator on more than 100 clinical trials and brought oversight to more than 500 early-phase trials, with many agents yielding FDA approvals. She is the author of more than ~900 peer-reviewed articles in a variety of elite medical journals and holds a highly exceptional Hirsch index (h-index) score of 136, with over 75,000 citations. Her strong record of competitive funding is comprised of approximately $125 million in lifetime funding, which includes nearly $50 million in research support from the National Institutes of Health. Dr Kurzrock also serves as the Chair of the Early Therapeutics and Rare Cancer Committee (NCI SWOG) and as one of the PIs of the DART trial (national immunotherapy trial for rare cancers, opened at ~1000 sites) as well as the PI of TRACK, the national precision genomics trial for rare cancers sponsored by TargetCancer Foundation.

Dr. Kurzrock received her medical degree from the University of Toronto, Canada. She has four children, two Basenjis (dogs) and is married to Philip Cohen, MD, who is a dermatologist.

Rana R. McKay, MD, is a board-certified medical oncologist who specializes in treating people with urogenital cancers, including bladder, kidney, prostate and testicular cancer.

Dr. McKay leads a multi-disciplinary prostate cancer clinic. Focused on delivering advanced cancer care through a coordinated team approach, this clinic enables men diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer - either early-stage or metastatic - to see her and a team of doctors including a urologist and radiation oncologist to provide patients with highly specialized care.

As a professor in the Department of Medicine and Department of Urology, Dr. McKay instructs medical students, residents, and fellows at UC San Diego School of Medicine. Her research interests include the design and implementation of clinical trials to including novel biomarkers and therapeutic outcomes for patients with genitourinary malignancies.

She serves as principal investigator of several early phase trials in kidney and prostate cancer. As a clinical investigator, she is committed to advancements in cancer care that will improve the lives of cancer patients.

Furthermore, she is interested in understanding mechanisms of response and resistance to specific cancer therapies. Her work has appeared in peer-reviewed publications such as Nature, Lancet, Journal of Clinical Oncology, Clinical Cancer Research, and Cancer, among others.

Before joining UC San Diego Health, Dr. McKay was a medical oncologist at the Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center in Boston and an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School.

Dr. McKay completed a fellowship in oncology/hematology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School. She completed a residency in internal medicine at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Md. Dr. McKay earned her medical degree at the University of Florida College of Medicine in Gainesville, Fla.

Dr. McKay is a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the American Association for Cancer Research.

Dedee Murrell is a Director of Dermatology at the St George Hospital, she set up a new course at the St George Campus for 4th years and at UNSW, with her colleague Prof Anderson, for 5th years. The courses consisted of interactive lectures and clinics. In the revised course, dermatology is now arranged as an elective subject and she takes local and overseas elective students interested in dermatology for 1-2 months of intensive clinics and teaching. There is a regular seminar with visiting speakers for all dermatology staff at St George Hospital on Wednesdays.

She has established special programs for GP education in dermatology in her clinics and publishes monthly cases in "Australian Doctor". Dermatology participation at Medicine Grand Rounds is an important aspect of dermatology teaching to the medical trainees, including interactive consultations presented, annual lectures, and lectures to individual departments, including emergency, surgery, rheumatology, pediatrics and genetics.

Alan Skarbnik, MD, serves as the director of the lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia program and director of experimental therapeutics, malignant hematology at Novant Health. Prior to joining Novant Health, Dr. Skarbnik served as the director of the chronic lymphocytic leukemia program at John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center. As an expert in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and lymphomas, his research focuses on using immunotherapy to improve outcomes of autologous stem cell transplantation for patients with high-risk blood cancers. Dr. Skarbnik is a member of the medical advisory board to the CLL Society and has over 90 peer-reviewed research manuscripts and abstracts in the fields of lymphomas, CLL and stem cell transplantation. Dr. Skarbnik is fluent in English, Spanish and Portuguese. During his free time, he enjoys time with his wife and three children, playing in a rock band and crafting beer.

Vivek Subbiah, MD, is a renowned medical oncologist specializing in precision medicine and targeted therapies for cancer treatment. He is the Chief of Early-Phase Drug Development at the Sarah Cannon Research Institute (USA). He was executive director, of Medical Oncology Research, MD Anderson Cancer Network.  He focuses on translational cancer research and the design and implementation of early-phase biomarker-driven clinical trials. His work specifically targets antibody-drug conjugates, radiopharmaceuticals, immunoconjugates, and basket trials.