100 Influential Women in Oncology: Key Opinion Leaders to follow on Social Media in 2023: Part 9

We continue OncoDaily’s ‘100 Influential Women in Oncology: Key Opinion Leaders to Follow on Social Media in 2023.’ As promised, each week we will highlight 10 exceptional women leaders from around the globe who are advancing the field of oncology.

You can view the profiles of the nominees from the last four weeks by checking out the links below:

100 Influential Women in Oncology: Key Opinion Leaders to Follow on Social Media in 2023 (1-10)

100 Influential Women in Oncology: Key Opinion Leaders to Follow on Social Media in 2023 (11-20)

100 Influential Women in Oncology: Key Opinion Leaders to Follow on Social Media in 2023 (21-30)

100 Influential Women in Oncology: Key Opinion Leaders to Follow on Social Media in 2023 (31-40)

100 Influential Women in Oncology: Key Opinion Leaders to Follow on Social Media in 2023 (41-50)

100 Influential Women in Oncology: Key Opinion Leaders to Follow on Social Media in 2023 (51-60)

100 Influential Women in Oncology: Key Opinion Leaders to Follow on Social Media in 2023 (61-70)

100 Influential Women in Oncology: Key Opinion Leaders to Follow on Social Media in 2023 (71-80)

Below, we present the ninth part of our list featuring 100 Women Leaders in Oncology. You can follow them on Twitter (X) and/or LinkedIn.

Dr. Margaret Foti is the CEO of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR). Under her leadership, AACR membership has grown from about 3,000 members to over 54,000 in 131 countries and territories, and the AACR’s portfolio of peer-reviewed scientific journals has increased from one to ten. After beginning her AACR career in an editorial position with the journal Cancer Research, Foti progressed through several key editorial and management roles in scientific publishing to become chief executive officer. A graduate of Temple University, Foti is one of the most influential voices in advancing the field of cancer research, both in the United States and abroad. Dr. Foti was elected president of three professional societies in scholarly publishing and in cancer research. She received numerous awards and distinctions, among them honorary degrees from the University of Rome La Sapienza, the University of Catania in Sicily and the University CEU of San Pablo in Madrid, Tara Withington Public Service Award from the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC), 2018 Women for Oncology Award from the European Society for Medical Oncology, the 2016 James Ewing Layperson’s Award from the Society of Surgical Oncology. In 2007, the AACR established the first AACR Margaret Foti Award for Leadership and Extraordinary Achievements in Cancer Research, which is given annually in her name.

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Dr. Françoise Meunier has dedicated her professional life to improving the survival and quality of life of cancer patients. Dr. Meunier received her medical degree from the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) (magna cum laude) and completed a research fellowship at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (New York, 1977-1978, Fulbright award). She holds a Master’s Degree in Medical Oncology (1976) and Internal Medicine (1979), and a PhD (1985) at the ULB. She is certified as Pharmaceutical Medicine specialist (Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine, UK) as well as in Belgium and she is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (UK). She is a member of the Belgian Royal Academy of Medicine since 2006. In 2007, she was conferred the title of Baroness by His Majesty, The King Albert II of Belgium. Dr. Meunier served as EORTC Director General from 1991 through 2015 and oversaw the growth of the EORTC into an international world class cancer clinical research infrastructure. Upon stepping down as Director General in 2015, Françoise remained active as EORTC Director Special Projects until November 9, 2018 where she was a driving force behind activities such as EORTC cancer survivorship initiatives. Since 2014, she has been leading an initiative on the Right to be Forgotten for cancer survivors, advocating for the creation of a harmonised European legal framework to tackle discrimination against cancer survivors. In November 2018, Françoise Meunier founded a European Initiative on Ending Financial Discrimination Against Cancer Survivors.

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Dr. Sara Tolaney is the Chief of the Division of Breast Oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. She also serves as Associate Director of the Susan F. Smith Center for Women’s Cancers and is a Senior Physician at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Her research focuses on the development of novel therapies in the treatment of breast cancer and developing more effective and less toxic treatment approaches. Her work has demonstrated that a relatively low risk regimen is beneficial in women with early stage node-negative HER2-positive cancers, and this works has been incorporated into national and international guidelines. She has developed several follow-up studies looking at novel approaches to early stage HER2-positive disease and has also played a significant role in development of cdk 4/6 inhibitors, antibody drug conjugates, and immunotherapy in breast cancer. She is the author of over 150 peer-reviewed publications in leading scientific journals. She is the recipient of the Lee M Nadler “Extra Mile” Award, and the Innovation Award for Clinical Faculty.

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Dr. Belén Garijo is the Chair of the Executive Board and CEO of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. She joined the company in 2011 as Chief Operating Officer of the Biopharma business, becoming President and CEO of Healthcare in 2015. In July 2020, Belén Garijo was appointed Vice Chairman of the Executive Board and Deputy CEO in addition to her role as CEO of the Healthcare business. She moved from Deputy CEO to CEO in May 2021. Under her leadership, Healthcare at Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, has become a key player in the area of oncology, immunology and immuno-oncology, after the profound repositioning of the portfolio, the reorganization of R&D and the transformation of the commercial model. Before joining Merck, Belén Garijo served as the Senior Vice President of Global Operations Europe at Sanofi-Aventis and Global Integration Leader of Genzyme after its acquisition by Sanofi. She previously held several local and global executive positions, both in R&D and commercial, at various companies at the forefront of the Healthcare sector. She started her career as a practicing physician at La Paz hospital in Madrid before moving to the pharmaceutical industry. She is a medical doctor, specialized in clinical pharmacology.

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Dr. Pamela Kunz is an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Oncology at Yale School of Medicine, Director of the Center for Gastrointestinal Cancers at Yale Cancer Center and Smilow Cancer Hospital. She was formerly the director of the Stanford Neuroendocrine Tumor Program, Leader of the Endocrine Oncology Research Group, and Director of the Neuroendocrine Tumor Fellowship. Dr. Kunz is the President of the North American Neuroendocrine Tumor Society (NANETS) and Chair of the Neuroendocrine Tumor Taskforce of the NCI. In addition, she has emerged as a leading voice for promoting gender equity in the medical workforce and has been appointed as the Vice Chief for DEI for the Section of Medical Oncology at Yale.

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Dr. Judith Trotman is the Head of the Department of Haematology at Concord Hospital (Australia), where she was the Founding Director (2004 – 2019) of the Clinical Research Unit. Professor Trotman is a lymphoma clinician researcher who provides global leadership in charting the role of PET scanning in lymphoma. She has been heavily involved in the development of the 1st generation BTKi Ibrutinib, and 2nd generation BTKi Zanubrutinib for the treatment of low grade lymphoproliferative diseases. She is a member of the ALLG (Australian Leukaemia and Lymphoma Group) Scientific Advisory Committee and the Chair of the Low Grade Lymphoma Committee She is supervising the development of a smartphone App “My Hodgkin’s, My Health” for long term follow-up of patients with Hodgkin Lymphoma. She is coinventor of ClinTrial Refer, a smartphone and tablet App that has facilitated increased collaboration in cross-referral and recruitment to clinical trials across 18 research portfolios internationally. She is a recipient of Pride of Concord 2019, 2016 Drummoyne Local Woman of the Year, 2014 NSW Cancer Institute Premier’s Award for Outstanding Cancer Research – Innovation in Clinical Trials for ClinTrial Refer.

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Dr. Tian Zhang is an Associate Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center. She specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of genitourinary malignancies. She has gained an international reputation developing clinical trials in kidney, prostate, and bladder cancers. She serves as the study chair for PDIGREE, a phase III trial in metastatic renal cell carcinoma. She serves on numerous committees, including as Co-chair of the National Cancer Institute Genitourinary (GU) Steering Committee Renal Task Force and as Chair of the Chinese American Hematologist and Oncologist Network (CAHON) Academic Committee. She is a member of several ASCO clinical management guidelines committees as well as the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology, GU Oncology, and Immuno-Oncology Committees. She has received multiple peer-reviewed grants, a Resident Research Mentoring Award from Duke, and, notably, the 2021 Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) Scholar Rising Stars Award.

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Dr. Marleen Kok is a medical oncologist and associate professor in translational cancer research at the Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI), Amsterdam, the Netherlands, where she leads the breast cancer immunotherapy program and a translational breast cancer immunology laboratory. She is working at the forefront of innovative immunotherapy trials. The mission of her clinical and translational team is to improve immunomodulatory treatments for breast cancer patients. She is the recipient of The 2023 Victoria’s Secret Global Fund for Women’s Cancers Rising Innovator Grant to investigate cancer-immune interactions in-depth in patients with TNBC in the context of anti-PD1 treatment.

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Dr. Beverly A. Zavaleta is a physician, cancer survivor and long-time advocate of patient education. After receiving her medical degree from Harvard Medical School she completed her residency training in family medicine at Christus Santa Rosa Hospital in San Antonio, Texas. In 2015 she was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer and underwent a grueling chemotherapy regimen. That experience, along with her experience as a physician, led her publish “Braving Chemo” in 2019 to provide patients and caregivers a clear and comforting handbook about chemotherapy.

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Dr. Svetlana Axelrod is the Director of the WHO Global NCD Platform. Prior to that she was the WHO Assistant Director-General for Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health. Before moving to Switzerland, Dr. Axelrod was the Coordinator of the WHO European Office for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases (Moscow), Deputy Director at the Department of International Cooperation and Public Affairs at the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Assistant Professor of Public Health at the Department of Healthcare Organizations and Medical Statistics of Pirogov Russian State Medical University.

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