2024 ASCO Breakthrough Featured Voices

The ASCO Breakthrough conference, hosted by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), is a prominent event focused on showcasing cutting-edge advancements in cancer research and treatment. Typically held annually, it brings together researchers, clinicians, and industry leaders to discuss the latest breakthroughs and emerging therapies in oncology. The conference features presentations, panel discussions, and networking opportunities aimed at accelerating the translation of innovative research into clinical practice.

Recently they announced ASCO Breakthrough Featured Voices.

Shaalan Beg MD, MBA, FASCO is the Senior Advisor for Clinical Research at the National Cancer Institute (NCI). He is also the Principal Investigator at Science 37. Dr. Beg is a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the ECOG-ACRIN Clinical Research Group, having held several committee positions in those organizations. He is a graduate of ASCO’s Leadership Development Program and has been a member of the Pancreatic Cancer Task Force of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) GI Cancer Steering Committee.

Melvin L.K. Chua is the Associate Editor at BMJ Oncology. He is also on the ASCO Breakthrough Program Committee Chair. He is the Head of Department of Head Neck and Thoracic Cancers of the Division of Radiation Oncology at National Cancer Centre Singapore. He is also the Principal Investigator and Director of Data and Computational Science Core and Senior Consultant Radiation Oncologist at the National Cancer Centre Singapore.

Kate Clarke, MBChB, FRACP is a medical oncologist at the Bowen Icon Cancer Centre. She completed her medical training in Otago, Wellington and London. Her clinical experience covers a broad range of solid tumour malignancies with special clinical interest in bowel cancer, upper gastrointestinal cancer and breast cancer. She is affiliated with societies like ASCO, AGITG, and GISIG.

Khalid El Bairi, founder of The Cancer Biomarkers Working Group, specializes in clinical and translational research in medical oncology. With many peer-reviewed articles, he delves into predictive and prognostic cancer biomarkers, especially for digestive and gynecological cancers like ovarian and colorectal malignancies. El Bairi holds board positions in international scientific societies such as IGCS, ESMO, ASCO, ESGO, and AACR. Serving as editor and reviewer for over 40 journals, he also educates medical and Ph.D. students on evidence-based medicine, research methodologies, and publishing ethics.

Yu Fujiwara is a Hematology/Oncology fellow at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center. His research interests include early phase clinical trials, translational research in immunotherapy, GU/GI/thoracic, and drug development. He completed his residency in Internal Medicine from Mount Sinai Beth Israel. Previously he was a Senior Resident and Clinical Fellow at the Musashino Red Cross Hospital.

Hidehito Horinouchi is a Medical Oncologist, Assistant Chief in the Department of Thoracic Oncology at the National Cancer Center Hospital, Japan. He is a Secretary General at Lung Cancer Study Group, Japan Clinical Oncology Group. He completed his fellowship and residency from St. Luke’s International Hospital.

David Lee Dai Wee is a Consultant Clinical Oncologist at the University of Malaya Medical Centre and a lecturer at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya. He is the principal investigator for multiple international multicenter clinical trials, specializing in early-phase studies, thoracic cancers, and head and neck cancers. Dr. Lee received the ASCO Leadership Development Program – Asia Pacific award in 2021-2022 and the ASCO International Development and Education Award (IDEA) in 2024, as well as the IASLC Academy Award in 2024.

Lillian Siu is a leading cancer specialist in the field of oncology and drug development. Dr. Siu is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto and serves as a senior medical oncologist at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network. She is the President-Elect of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) for 2024-2025.

Annie Wong is a Consultant Medical Oncologist at Wellington Regional Hospital. She is also a Ph.D. candidate at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, focusing on advancing oncology research. Previously, she was a Consultant Medical Oncologist at Peter MacCallum.

Tingting Zhang is the Founder of Hear2Care and Onconomics Inc., and the Chief Executive Officer of ONEiHEALTH. Her specialties include patient-focused decision support, healthcare data integration, disease modeling and simulation, knowledge/data mining, biomarker rationales, preclinical and clinical data analyses, competitive information, due diligence, risk assessment, patient advocacy, and nonprofit management.

ASCO (American Society of Clinical Oncology) shared a post on X:

”Announcing the ASCO Breakthrough Featured Voices! Follow for a range of expert insights and join the conversation using the official hashtag: ASCOBT24.”

Source: ASCO/X

Annie Wong, Consultant Medical Oncologist at Wellington Regional Hospital, shared ASCO’s post on X, adding:

”Excited to join colleagues in Japan! Thrilled to chair the melanoma session.

Miles Andrews, Monash Public Health, The Alfred, WEHI (Walter and Eliza Hall Institute) with interactive cases on:

• Neo/adjuvant treatments.
• Brain mets management.
• Immune toxicities.

See you there!!”

Source: Annie Wong/X

Melvin L.K. Chua shared ASCO’s post on X, adding:

”Off to Yokohama for ASCOBT24.

Exciting and Collegial experience chairing the Program this year with the amazing Lillian Siu.

Very grateful to everyone’s – speakers, presenters, attendees support! Let’s have a great meeting!”

Source: Melvin L.K. Chua/X