Starting from August 26, which is Women’s Equality Day in the United States—celebrating the 1920 law that granted U.S. women the right to vote—OncoDaily has highlighted 10 extraordinary women leaders in oncology from all over the globe. Each week, we shared with you the names of these exceptional women, and now we present the final list for 2023. You can follow them on X (Twitter) and LinkedIn.

While there are thousands of outstanding women leaders in oncology deserving of recognition, we regret that we couldn’t include everyone. However, this is just the beginning. We’re eager to hear your nominations for 2024, and we will share the submission link soon.

Dr. Julie Gralow is the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) and Executive Vice President of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). Previously, she was the Jill Bennett Endowed Professor of Breast Cancer at the University of Washington School of Medicine, Professor in the Clinical Research division of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, as well as Director of Breast Medical Oncology at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. She is the founder of the Women’s Empowerment Cancer Advocacy Network (WE CAN). Dr. Gralow received the ASCO Humanitarian Award in 2018 for her work in empowering women cancer patients and survivors globally.

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Her Royal Highness Princess Dina Mired of Jordan is a humanitarian, passionate global advocate for Cancer Control and Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) and mother of a cancer survivor. She is the Patron of the International Society of Pediatric Oncology (SIOP), Honorary President of the EORTC Research Fund, Honorary Ambassador of Harvard Global Health Win-Win Initiative. Her Royal Highness is the Past – President of the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), former Director-General of the King Hussein Cancer Foundation. In September 2011, she was elected to deliver the keynote speech on behalf of all civil society at the opening of the United Nations General Assembly first ever high-level meeting on NCDs.

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Dr. Lillian Siu is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto (Canada), senior medical oncologist, Director of the Phase I Program, Co-Director of the Bras and Family Drug Development Program and the Clinical Lead for the Tumor Immunotherapy Program at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre. She holds the BMO Chair in Precision Genomics (2016-2026).  Dr. Siu served on the Board of Directors for the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), was a member of the Nomination Committee for the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (2014-2016) and currently serves on the AACR Board of Directors. She is a scientific editor for Cancer Discovery is on the editorial board for JAMA Oncology.

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Her Excellency Zainab Shinkafi-Bagudu is the First Lady of Kebbi State (Nigeria), a global cancer advocate, a pediatrician, a UICC Board Member, a Founder of the Medicaid Cancer Foundation, and the Chairperson of First Ladies Against Cancer (FLAC), a coalition of the spouses of current and former state governors in Nigeria who are working to address gaps in the cancer continuum of care. In her role as the First Lady of Kebbi State, Dr. Bagudu is working with the state ministries of health, education, and women affairs to implement programs to sustainably improve menstrual hygiene, girl-child education, economic empowerment of women, and put an end to gender-based violence. Her Excellency is a member of the Editorial Board of OncoDaily.

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Dr. Nita Radhakrishnan is an Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology at the Post-Graduate Institute of Child Health, Noida, India. She serves as the honorary secretary of the Pediatric Hematology-Oncology Chapter of Indian Academy of Pediatrics, the largest body of medical care providers for children with blood diseases and cancers in India. She is the Co-Chair of the Partnerships Working Group of SIOP Global Health and Chair of the International Pediatric Association Program Area Working Group on Childhood Cancer. Dr. Radhakrishnan is on the Editorial Board of OncoDaily.

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Dr. Rachel Riechelmann is the Director of the Clinical Oncology Department and Professor at AC Camargo Cancer Center, Sao Paulo, Brazil and also serves as the President of the Brazilian GI Tumors Group (GTG). Prof. Riechelmann is a member of ESMO Scientific Committees (Colorectal and NET), Latin American Society of GI Oncology (SLAGO), the European Society of Neuroendocrine Tumors Advisory Board and Chair – GI LACOG (Latin American Cooperative Oncology Group).

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Dr. Maria T Bourlon is an Associate Professor and Head of the Urologic Oncology Clinic at Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán, Mexico. She is the Director of the Genitourinary Cancers Program at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Dr. Bourlon is the chair-elect of the American Society of Clinical Oncology IDEA Steering Group and in 2023 received the prestigious ASCO CCF International Women Who Conquer Cancer (WWCC) Mentorship Award. She is on the Editorial Board of OncoDaily.

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Dr. Georgina Long is Co-Medical Director of Melanoma Institute Australia (MIA), and Chair of Melanoma Medical Oncology and Translational Research at MIA and Royal North Shore Hospital, The University of Sydney, Australia. In recognition of her ground-breaking research and work, Professor Long was recognized with the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences Outstanding Female Research Medal (2021), was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Australia (2020).  In February 2023 she was ranked the world’s 1st melanoma expert in all fields and disciplines. She is Past President of the Society for Melanoma Research.

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Dr. Serena Nik-Zainal is a Professor of Genomic Medicine and Bioinformatics and an NIHR Research Professor at University of Cambridge, UK. She is an Honorary Consultant in Clinical Genetics at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. She was awarded the Crick Lecture by the Royal Society for her work on the etiology of cancer and contributions to cancer therapies. She was the first woman to win the Josef Steiner Cancer Research Award in 2019.

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Dr. Myriam Chalabi is a Gastrointestinal Oncologist and clinician scientist at the Netherlands Cancer Institute in Amsterdam. In 2022 she was named one of the 11 early career researchers to watch by Nature Medicine. In 2023 she was awarded the ESMO José Baselga Fellowship for Clinician Scientists.

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Dr. Solange Peters is the Past-President of the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO). She is a professor and chair of medical oncology and the thoracic malignancies program in the Department of Oncology at the University Hospital of Lausanne in Lausanne, Switzerland. Additionally, she acts as the scientific committee chair and Foundation Council member of the European Thoracic Oncology Platform and Member of the Board of Director of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC). She was recently nominated as the Strategic Advisory Board President of the Paris Saclay Cancer Cluster and is part of the Board of Directors of the Swiss National Cancer League. Prof. Peters created the ESMO Women for Oncology Committee.

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Dr. Liz O’Riordan is a breast surgeon, motivational speaker, writer, cancer patient and advocate from UK, who blogs about her experiences as a doctor and patient. She has written articles for the Huffington Post, Macmillan, The Pool and Grazia. Her TEDx talk is called ‘Jar of Joy’. She is the co-author of the book “The Complete Guide to Breast Cancer” (2018), and recently released her memoir “Under the Knife” (2023). In 2016 Dr. O’Riordan was nominated for the “Woman of the Year” award. In 2017, the UK Blog Awards highly commended her for her blog “Breast Surgeon with Breast Cancer”. In the same year she was nominated one of Medscape’s best physicians of the year.

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Dr. Rachna T. Shroff is associate director of Clinical Investigations and co-leader of the Gastrointestinal Clinical Research Team at the University of Arizona Cancer Center (UACC). She also is a professor with tenure in the Department of Medicine, interim chief of the Division of Hematology and Oncology, Medical Director for the Oncology Service Line, and associate dean for Clinical and Translational Research for the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson. She is the Hepatobiliary Subcommittee co-chair for the Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG) and as Chair for GI ASCO 2024. Most recently, she was elected to serve on the ASCO Nominating Committee. She also is a member of the Scientific and Medical Advisory Board for the Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation.

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Dr. Ophira Ginsburg is a Canadian medical oncologist, humanitarian and global cancer advocate. Currently, she is the Senior Scientific Officer and Senior Advisor for Clinical Research at the US NCI’s Center for Global Health. Formerly based at the University of Toronto, Canada, she was a Medical Officer at the World Health Organization (WHO) Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland and has served as an ad hoc consultant to several UN agencies. She is the co-chair of The Lancet Commission on Women and Cancer. In 2022, Dr. Ginsburg won the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s Humanitarian award.

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Dr. Asya Agulnik is an Associate Member of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Faculty. She is the Director of Global Critical Care Program and EURO Regional Program at St. Jude Global. Dr. Agulnik is a pediatric critical care specialist at and she’s also been leading the SJCRH’s efforts to evacuate pediatric cancer patients from Ukraine during the war. The global humanitarian effort is called SAFER (Supporting Action for Emergency Response) Ukraine.

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Dr. Narjust Florez is the Associate Director of the Cancer Care Equity Program and a thoracic medical oncologist at the Dana-Farber Brigham Cancer Center. She is the principal investigator of the Sexual Health Assessment in Women with Lung Cancer (SHAWL) Study, the largest study to date evaluating sexual dysfunction in women with lung cancer. She received the 2020 Rising Star award by the LEAD national conference for women in hematology and oncology. In addition, Dr. Florez founded the Florez Lab in 2019. The laboratory focuses on lung cancer, social justice issues in medicine and medical education.

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Dr. Yelena Janjigian is an Associate Professor of Medicine at the Weill Cornell Medical College and the Chief of the Gastrointestinal Oncology at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. She serves on the Steering Committee of the Giants of Cancer Care, is a member of the International Gastric Cancer Association Council. Dr. Janjigian is a recipient of the ASCO Conquer Cancer Foundation Career Development Award, Debbie’s Dream Foundation Medical Award and Cycle for Survival Grant Award. She is on the Editorial Board of OncoDaily.

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Dr. Nazik Hammad is a Professor at the Division of Hematology and Oncology, St Michael’s Hospital, University of Toronto. She is the Chair of the Education and Training Committee of the African Organization in Research and Training in Cancer (AORTIC). Dr. Hammad is a visiting professor at the University of Nairobi, Kenya. She is the co-chair of the Network for Advancing Black Learners (Medical Students and Residents) in Ontario. She is the former Director of Global Health, Faculty of Health Sciences at Queen’s University. Dr. Hammad is the recipient 2019 Harvard Global Health Catalyst Distinguished Young Leader Award.

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Kara Magsanoc-Alikpala is a Broadcast Journalist, Documentary Filmmaker, Impact Producer and Cancer Patient Advocate. She is Co-Founder of Storytellers International Inc, a contributing producer to CNN International, ARD German TV and ARD German Radio, and the Founding President of FilDocs or the Filipino Documentary Society. She has been Jury at the Emmy Awards’ News and Documentary category since 2020. Kara is the Founding President of the ICANSERVE Foundation, a non-profit organization that helps women with breast cancer, and adviser to the Philippine Alliance of Patient Organizations. She is founding Co-Chairman of the Cancer Coalition Philippines that lobbied for the passage of the National Integrated Cancer Control Act in 2019.

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Dr. Shikha Jain is an associate professor of medicine in the Division of Hematology and Oncology at the University of Illinois Cancer Center in Chicago. She is the Director of Communication Strategies in Medicine and the Associate Director of Oncology Communication & Digital Innovation. She is a founder and Chair of the Women In Medicine Summit, and founder and President of the Women in Medicine® non-profit. She is the co-founder of the Rush Center for the Advancement of Women in Health Care. Dr. Jain was named a Rising Star in Medicine by Medscape in 2020 and one of Modern Healthcare’s Top 25 Emerging Leaders in 2019, and was also awarded the Rising Star award by the LEAD Oncology Conference in 2019 and nominated in in 2020 as a Women Leader in Oncology.

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Stella Kyriakides is the European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety since 2019. She was the first Cypriot national and third woman to serve as President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. In 1999 Dr. Kyriakides was elected as president of the First Breast Cancer Movement in Cyprus. From 2004 until 2006, she served as president of the European Breast Cancer Coalition Europa Donna. In 2016, she was appointed President of the National Committee on Cancer Strategy of the Council. A year after Stella Kyriakides took over as the new Commissioner for the Health and Food Safety Cabinet, she introduced Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan to help improve cancer prevention and care.

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Dr. Lynn M. Schuchter is the President of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). Dr. Schuchter is the Chief of the Division of Hematology-Oncology at the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania, Director of the Tara Miller Melanoma Center and Professor of Hematology-Oncology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Schuchter served on the ASCO Board of Directors from 2009 to 2012, as well as several ASCO committees, including terms as Chair of the Annual Meeting Scientific Program Committee, Cancer Research Committee, and Cancer Communications Committee. In 2019, she was awarded ASCO’s Women Who Conquer Cancer Mentorship Award.

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Dr. Stephanie L. Graff is the Director of the Breast Oncology Program at Lifespan Cancer Institute at the Legorreta Cancer Center at Brown University and co-leader of the Breast Cancer Translational Research Disease Group. She is an Associate Professor of Medicine at the Warren-Alpert School of Medicine. She also serves as a medical advisor to the Dr. Susan Love Foundation for Breast Cancer Research, is an Associate Editor of Cancer Medicine, and chairs the editorial board of Oncology Times. Dr. Graff has received the Frist Humanitarian Award for her work in the community, Healio® Disruptive Innovator Woman Disruptor of Year in 2022, and the RI American College of Physicians’ Benjamin L. Sapers Memorial Award for her “passion for pedagogy, academic rigor, empathy and humanism.”

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Michelle Mitchell is the first female chief executive of Cancer Research UK (CRUK), the world’s leading charitable funder of cancer research. In 2021/22 the charity had an income of £668m, spent £443m on cancer research and had approximately 4,000 staff and over 30,000 volunteers. Before joining Cancer Research UK, Michelle was CEO of the MS Society for five years and a founding member of the Progressive MS Alliance: a global scientific and research joint venture and launched the STOP MS £100m appeal. Prior to that, she was Director General at Age UK, the UK’s largest older people’s charity where she worked for nearly a decade and was at the forefront of national debates on health, care and welfare. Mitchell was appointed Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2016 New Year Honours for services to Older People and the Voluntary Sector. She was named by Cranfield University as one of the 100 Women to Watch in 2018.

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The Honourable Kirsty Duncan is the Member of Parliament for the riding of Etobicoke North (Canada), she has previously served as Deputy Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Minister of Science and Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities. She was the Chair of the Standing Committee on Science and Research in the House of Commons. Prior to entering politics, Kirsty was an associate professor of health studies at the University of Toronto Scarborough, an associate professor of geography at the University of Windsor, and the former Research Director for the AIC Institute of Corporate Citizenship at the Rotman School of Management. Dr. Duncan is a cancer patient and a strong cancer advocate.

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Dr Miriam Mutebi is a Breast Surgical Oncologist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery at the Aga Khan University Hospital in Nairobi, Kenya. She is also the Vice-President of East Africa of the African Organization for Research and Training in Cancer (AORTIC), treasurer for the Kenya Society of Hematology and Oncology (KESHO) and on the Board of Directors of the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC). She is the co-founder of the Pan African Women’s Association of Surgeons and is part of the Kenya Association of Women Surgeons. She is an avid supporter for the education and support for women, especially in surgery and she aims to provide mentorship for women in surgery and to improve women’s health and surgical care in Africa. She is currently pursuing a pilot’s license in order to extend breast care services to marginalized areas.

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Dr. Sanam Loghavi is an Associate Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the Department of Hematopathology at MD Anderson Cancer Center.  She is the Medical Director of the ECOG/ACRIN Leukemia Bank at the Central Biorepository and Pathology Facility at MD Anderson. She has authored around 200 peer-reviewed publications focused on hematologic neoplasms and is a co-investigator on several national and internationally-run clinical trials for hematologic malignancies. She serves on various committees including the HPATH Committee of the College of American Pathologists and the Education and Outreach Committees for International Clinical Cytometry Society.

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Rachel Hollis is an Honorary Nurse Adviser at the Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust in the UK. She spent more than thirty years working in pediatric oncology and hematology in Leeds, and has been involved in developing services for children and young people with cancer in the UK at the local and national level. Rachel is the Chair of the Board of ‘World Child Cancer UK’, a charity which works to support capacity building in pediatric oncology in LMICs. She is co-chair of the Sub-Saharan Africa Nursing Network and Trustee of the Young Lives vs Cancer. Rachel was made a Fellow of the UK Royal College of Nursing (RCN) in recognition of her work, and chairs the Professional Nursing Committee of the RCN.

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Dr. Ishwaria Subbiah is the Executive Director for Cancer Care Equity and Professional Wellness at Sarah Cannon Research Institute (SCRI). In this role, Dr. Subbiah focuses on reducing cancer outcomes disparities and diversifying clinical trial participation within SCRI’s combined research network of over more than 1,300 physicians at over 250 locations in 24 states across the US. Dr. Subbiah is a globally recognized expert in geriatric oncology, symptom management, palliative care, and healthcare professional well-being. She previously was an associate professor in the Division of Cancer Medicine at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. She is the Chair for the ASCO Women in Oncology working group and the ASCO State of Cancer Care in America initiative.

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Dr. Diana Romero is the Chief Editor of Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology. Diana obtained her PhD in Biochemistry from the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid (Spain), where she studied the role of TGF-β in cancer progression in Miguel Quintanilla’s group. She joined Calvin Vary’s laboratory at Maine Medical Center Research Institute (US) for her first postdoctoral project, which was related to TGF-β receptor signalling and prostate cancer. In 2010 she moved to Robert Kypta’s group at Imperial College London (UK) as a postdoc. While maintaining her interest in prostate cancer, her project focused on Dickkopf-3 signalling. Diana joined the Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology team in July 2015, and became Chief Editor of the journal in September 2017.

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Dr. Monica Bertagnolli is the Director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), USA. She previously served as the Richard E. Wilson Professor of Surgery in the field of surgical oncology at Harvard Medical School, a surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and a member of the Gastrointestinal Cancer Treatment and Sarcoma Centers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Dr. Bertagnolli is the Founding Chair of the minimal Common Oncology Data Elements (mCODE) executive committee and has held multiple positions nationally, including being Past President and Chair of the Board of Directors of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, Chair of the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology. In 2021, she was elected to the National Academy of Medicine, having previously served on the National Academies National Cancer Policy Forum.

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Dr. Elisabete Weiderpass is the Director of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC; France). She is an expert in cancer epidemiology and cancer prevention. Dr Weiderpass previously served as leader of the Department of Research at the Cancer Registry of Norway, and of the Genetic Epidemiology Group at the Folkhälsan Research Center in Finland. She was a Professor of Medical Epidemiology at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden, and a Professor of Cancer Epidemiology at the Arctic University of Norway. She also held Adjunct Professorship positions in Cancer Epidemiology in Brazil, China, and the Islamic Republic of Iran, and was a Visiting Professor in Kuwait. She is the author of more than 700 scientific publications in peer-reviewed international journals.

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Dr. Bhawna Sirohi is a medical oncologist and Director of Medical Oncology at BALCO Medical Centre, Nava Raipur, India. She is an honorary consultant with Queen Mary’s University, London. She was previously working at The Barts Health NHS Trust, London. She has been working as consultant medical oncologist since 2008, in breast and GI cancers and acute oncology, both in India and UK. She has edited three books on Cancer – Cancer- Questions Answered, Chemotherapy in GI cancers & Modern GI Oncology. She is the past editor-in-chief of Indian Journal of Medical and Paediatric Oncology and the 2018 – 2019 President of the Oncology section of the Royal Society of Medicine. Dr. Sirohi is the Founder President of New India Cancer Charity Initiative which has led in clinical screening for Breast, Cervical and H&N cancer in rural India.

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Dr. Tatiana M. Prowell is an Associate Professor of Oncology in the Division of Women’s Malignancies at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center and Breast Cancer Scientific Liaison to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. She was the principal architect of FDA’s policy on accelerated approval using pathological complete response as a novel regulatory endpoint in the neoadjuvant high-risk breast cancer setting, and a member of the Biden Cancer Moonshot Blue Ribbon Panel Cancer Immunology Working Group. A frequent public speaker, she is a three-time recipient of FDA’s Excellence in Communication Award. She is a past Giants of Cancer Care Award finalist, the recipient of the 2019 John and Samuel Bard Medal in Science or Medicine, and the recipient of a 2020 Webby Special Achievement Award for her effective use of social media during the pandemic. A passionate medical educator and mentor, she was Chair of the 2020 ASCO Annual Meeting Education Committee.

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Dr. Lauren Heathcote is an Associate Professor of Health Psychology at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience at King’s College London (UK). Her research focuses on understanding psychosocial influences on the experience of pain in young people, particularly youth with chronic illnesses such as cancer and chronic pain. She is the Early Career Director for the International Psycho-Oncology Society (IPOS) Board of Directors and Deputy Chair of the IPOS Fear of Cancer Recurrence Special Interest Group. She is an Associate Editor at Frontiers in Pain Research and on the Editorial Advisory Boards at the Journal of Pain, the European Journal of Pain, Frontiers in Pain Science, and Children.

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Dr. Erika Hamilton is a medical oncologist and the Director of Breast Cancer and Gynecologic Cancer Research at Sarah Cannon Research Institute (USA). In her role, Dr. Hamilton oversees the research program and clinical trial menu for gynecologic and breast cancer from a medical oncology perspective. Dr. Hamilton is a past chair of ASCO’s Scientific Breast Committee a ’21-’22, participant of the ASCO Leadership Development Program, Associate Editor for Clinical Breast Cancer, co-chair for Great Debates and Updates in Women’s Oncology Conference and a board member of the Susan G. Komen Foundation of Central Tennessee. She is active in the community, volunteering with Gilda’s Club Middle Tennessee, the American Cancer Society’s Hope Lodge, Ovarcome ovarian cancer support organization, Brentwood Baptist Church and the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure.

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Dr. Fumiko Ladd Chino is a cancer researcher and Assistant Attending in Radiation Oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (USA), who specializes in gynecological and breast cancers. She was also a caregiver for her husband Andrew Mark Ladd, PhD who died from cancer in 2007. She is a recipient of numerous awards, including ASCO Excellence in Equity Award (2022), Duke Radiation Oncology Award for Outstanding Clinical Research (2019), Duke University Hospital “Good Catch” Award (2018), Conquer Cancer Foundation of ASCO Merit Award (2018), Duke University School of Medicine Dean’s Recognition Award (2014) and Memorial Hermann Hospital, Texas Medical Center Volunteer of the Year Award (2009).

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Amanda Haddock is the Founding Director of the Dragon Master Initiative. Her son, David, died from GBM at the age of 18 and in 2013 she formed Dragon Master Foundation, with a mission to find and accelerate cures for cancers and other diseases by fostering and rewarding a community of collaboration and innovation. Amanda was named a White House Champion of Change for Precision Medicine because of her work. Amanda is a Brain Malignancies Steering Committee Member at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), serves as the Foundation Liaison for the Children’s Brain Tumor Tissue Consortium Scientific Committee and is an advisor to the Duke Glioblastoma Drug Discovery Group. She has also been in working groups for the Beau Biden Cancer Moonshot, the Gabriella Miller Kid’s First Data Resource Center, and the National Cancer Advisory Board (NCAB) Data Science Working Group.

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Dr. Angela Mastronuzzi is pediatric hematologist-oncologist and the Head of Neuro-Oncology Unit at Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital (Italy). She is also a professor at the UniCamillus International Medical University, and a Board Member of AIEOP (Associazione Italiana Ematologia Oncologia Pediatrica). Her main fields of interest are CNS tumors and innovative therapies. She is the author of more than 180 scientific publications in peer-reviewed international journals.

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Dr. Elaine Schattner is a writer, cancer survivor, and former hematologist-oncologist based in New York, USA. She is the author of the book “From Whispers to Shouts: The Ways We Talk About Cancer” (2023, Columbia University Press). Intended for a general audience, her book probes public perception of cancer through the history of awareness campaigns, patient advocacy, and news including social media. Dr. Schattner is a Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at the Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Weill Cornell Medicine (voluntary faculty). Her freelance work has appeared in The Atlantic, NPR, New York Observer, Scientific American, Washington Post, and elsewhere. As a Forbes contributor from 2014 through 2018, she covered news about cancer, novel drugs, diagnostics, and other medical technology. Previously she authored a personal blog called Medical Lessons and a Huffington Post column. She is a Distinguished Member Emeritus of the American Society of Hematology.

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Dr. Karen E. Knudsen is the CEO of the American Cancer Society (ACS) and its advocacy affiliate, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN). Prior to joining ACS, Dr. Knudsen served as executive vice president of Oncology Services and enterprise director for Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson Health. She also served as president for the Association of American Cancer Institutes (AACI), representing the 102 leading cancer centers in North America, and on the board of directors of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR). Dr. Knudsen currently holds leadership roles with some of the most important cancer entities in the United States. She serves on the board of advisors for the National Cancer Institute and on 12 external advisory boards for NCI-designated cancer centers. She is an active member of several committees with the American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO), in addition to serving on other academic and for-profit advisory boards.

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Cindy Franssen is a Member of the European Parliament from Belgium. She is a former coordinator for the EPP (European People’s Party) group in the special committee on beating cancer, member of the MEPs Against Cancer group. The fight against cancer has been at the centre of her political work for years, first in Belgium and since 2019 on the European level, with a focus on prevention, childhood and AYA cancers in particular. Cindy Franssen is the general-secretary of the European Union of Christian Democratic Workers, and was the vice-president of the Christian Democratic and Flemish Party (Belgium), Member of the Flemish Parliament and Senator of the Belgian Senate.

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Dr. Rebecca Shatsky is an Associate Professor at UC San Diego Health, Breast Medical Oncology Co-Team Leader, Scientific Director of Inflammatory and Triple Negative Breast Cancer Program.
She is a member of the NCCN guideline panel for Genetic/High Risk Assessment of Breast, Ovarian and Pancreatic Cancer and the panel for the treatment of Cancer Associated Pain. Her work has been published in JAMA Oncology, Cancer Cell and Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, among others. Dr. Shatsky is a member of the American Association for Cancer Research and the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

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Dr. Catharine Young serves in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Here she works to advance the Cancer Moonshot – The President and First Lady’s mission to decrease the cancer death rate by 50% over the next 25 years. Her focus on cancer began with serving as the Senior Director of Science Policy at the Biden Cancer Initiative (BCI), a non-profit established in 2017 by then former Vice President Biden, leading efforts to bring together the biotech, technology, science, and academic fields to drive innovative solutions and breakthroughs against cancer. Catharine then served as the Executive Director of a Rare Cancer Advocacy organization, where she advanced policy reform and awareness for all rare cancers. Prior to BCI, Catharine served as the Senior Science and Innovation Policy Advisor and Head of the DC team for the Foreign Ministry of the UK. Awards include being selected as a TED Fellow, a New Voices Fellow of the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine, a Presidential Leadership Scholar, and Social Enablers top 100 most inspiring social entrepreneurs. Catharine is an advocate for women in STEM and has been a contributor to major social and media networks including TED-Ed, the Guardian and the UK Science and Innovation Network.

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Dr. Maria Natalia Gandur Quiroga is a Medical Oncologist and Chief of the Division of Genitourinary Medical Oncology at the Instituto de Oncología Ángel H. Roffo in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Buenos Aires at the Oncologists Post Graduates Studies. Her research focuses on clinical trials with aims to improve the treatment of patients with urologic tumors.  She is an active member of the European Association for Cancer Research, Argentinian Medical Association and American Society of Clinical Oncology.

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Jill Feldman is a lung cancer patient and advocate. She is the Co-Founder EGFR Resisters, an advocacy group of EGFR positive lung cancer patients who are resistant to targeted treatment. She is the Past President of the LUNGevity Foundation, Deputy Chair of IASLC’s patient advisory board and a member of The Chicago Institute of Translational Medicine’s patient advisory board. Jill is committed to understanding and promoting patient-centered research as a member of the programmatic panel for the Department of Defense Lung Cancer Research Program, as a planning committee member on IASLC’s North America Conference on Lung cancer and as a member of the the ECOG-ACRIN Research Group’s patient advocate committee and thoracic committee.

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Dr. Cristiane D. Bergerot is the Director of the Department of Psycho-Oncology at CETTRO Cancer Research Hospital in Brasilia, Brazil. She has been working with cancer patients for almost 15 years as a clinician and as a researcher. She has over 30 peer-reviewed publications in journals including first-author publications in Cancer, Journal of Immunotherapy for Cancer, British Journal of Urology International and Pscyhooncology. She has received four merit awards from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Conquer Cancer Foundation and was selected for the SWOG Young Investigator Course.

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Dr. Ashley Love Sumrall is the Section Chief of Neuro-Oncology and Associate Professor at the Atrium Health Levine Cancer, Charlotte, NC, USA. She is the Founder and President of the Charlotte Cancer Coalition, member of the ASCO Volunteer Corps. Dr. Sumrall received 2019 APEX Award for Publication Excellence in the category of Social Media – Best Single Blog Post. She is a Fellow of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (FASCO), recipient of the Levine Cancer Institute President’s Award

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Dr. Angela (Angie) Smith is the Director of Urologic Oncology at the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. She is a Professor of Urology and Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Leadership Development at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  She has previously served on the PCORI Advisory Panel for the Assessment of Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment Options, representing clinicians. Dr. Smith also serves as the Assistant Secretary of the American Urological Association and is on the AUA Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Committee, Scientific Advisory Board for the Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network, Journal of Urology Editorial Board, and chair of the Urology Care Foundation Bladder Health Committee. She is a recipient of the Gold Cystoscope Award from the American Urological Association.

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Darcy Burbage is an Oncology Clinical Nurse Specialist with over thirty years’ oncology nursing experience, and was the first Oncology Nurse Navigator at Christiana Care Health System in Newark, Delaware where she developed and implemented the role in the Christiana Care Breast Center at the Helen F. Graham Cancer Center and Research Institute. Currently, she is a Consulting Associate at the Duke University School of Nursing, was the Secretary of the Board of Oncology Nursing Society, as well as served on the Board of Directors of the Delaware Breast Cancer Coalition, the Delaware Chapter of the American Cancer Society and is currently on the Professional Advisory Board of the Cancer Support Community Delaware. Darcy is the recipient of the Pearl Moore Making a Difference Award.

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Dr. Winette van der Graaf is the President of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC). She is a professor and the head of medical oncology Department at the Netherlands Cancer Institute (Amsterdam), Professor of Oncology at Erasmus MC (Rotterdam). Prior to that, she was a professor at Institute of Cancer Research and Honorary Consultant at Royal Marsden Hospital (London, UK), Professor and Head of Medical Oncology Department at the Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre. Dr. van der Graaf is a Board member of the European Cancer Organisation (ECO), Board member of the Connective Tissue Oncology (CTOS). She was the Chairperson of the EORTC Soft Tissue and Bone Sarcoma Group.

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Annabelle Gurtwitch is a New York Times bestselling author, actress and activist whose most recent collection of essays “You’re Leaving When? Adventures in Downward Mobility” is a 2021 New York Times Favorite Book for Healthy Living, a Good Morning America Must Read and a finalist for The Thurber Prize for American Humor Writing 2022. She’s written for The New Yorker, New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Magazine, and Hadassah amongst other publications.  Time Magazine featured Annabelle in their “Ten Ideas that are Changing the World” annual series. Annabelle has been chronicling living with stage IV lung cancer and inequities in healthcare in the New York Times and Washington Post since her out-of-the-blue diagnosis during covid. She co-hosts the podcast, “Tiny Victories,” dedicated to appreciating small mercies and minor triumphs on the Maximum Fun Podcast Network.

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Dr. Miriam A. Knoll is a radiation oncologist at Advanced Radiation Oncology Services at Montefiore Nyack Hospital in New York. Before joining Dr. Gerstley at Advanced Radiation Oncology Services, she was a radiation oncologist at the John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center and also served as a Medical Director of the Department of Radiation Oncology at Hackensack UMC Mountainside in New Jersey. Dr. Knoll is a Forbes Healthcare contributor and writes for the ASCO Connection and numerous other media outlets. She is an Associate Senior Editor of the American Society of Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) Advances in Radiation Oncology. Dr. Knoll is President of the Jewish Orthodox Women’s Medical Association.

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Dr. Aparna Parikh is a GI oncologist, the Director of the Global Cancer Care Program at Mass General and assistant professor at the Harvard Medical School. She has a long-standing background and interest in global health, having spent time in several African countries, Haiti and India. Most recently, at MGH, she co-founded and co-leads a program called POETIC (Program for Enhanced Training in Cancer (POETIC)) This fellowship exchange program, conducted in collaboration with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Cancer Center and Lowell Schnipper, MD, trains clinical oncology fellows from the University of Cape Town in South Africa and Ocean Road Cancer Center in Tanzania. Dr. Parikh also sits on the executive board of BOTSOGO, a collaboration between MGH and the Botswana Harvard AIDS Institute Partnership, Botswana’s cancer caregivers and the Botswana government. The group’s ultimate goal is to improve access to quality cancer care in Botswana by educating the Botswana population, training future generations of cancer caregivers and conducting vital clinical research. She is a member of the OncoDaily Editorial Board.

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Dr. Christine M. Lovly is an associate professor of medicine with tenure at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center. Dr. Lovly is also an elected member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI) and a member of the Editorial Board for Cancer Discovery and JCO Precision Oncology. She is a member of the Board of the American Association for Cancer Research. She serves on the Scientific Leadership Boards for the GO2 Foundation for Lung Cancer Research (where she also serves as SLB director), the LUNGevity Foundation, and the Lung Cancer Research Foundation. She is co-director of the AACR Molecular Biology in Clinical Oncology course and serves on the AACR Science Policy and Government Affairs committee. In 2021, she was awarded the ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group Young Investigator Award. Dr. Lovly is the co-Editor-in Chief for the website www.mycancergenome.org.

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Dr. Andrea Apolo is the Chief of the Bladder Cancer Section of the Genitourinary Malignancies Branch and Director of the Bladder Cancer and Genitourinary Tumors Multidisciplinary Clinic at the National Cancer Institute (USA). Apolo received a 2011 National Institutes of Health Award of Merit, the 2014 Lasker Clinical Research Scholars Program Award, the 2018 National Cancer Institute’s Director’s Award for Clinical Science, the 2018 Advancing Cancer Treatment Award for leadership in genitourinary clinical trial patient access, and the 2020 Arthur S. Flemming Award for leaders who make an impact in public service.

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Dr. Ane Gerda Z Eriksson is the head of the endometrial cancer and gynecologic sarcoma team at the Radium Hospital in Norway and an associate professor at the University of Oslo. She is an active member of several national and international societies, and is currently Chair of the surgical group in the Nordic Society of Gynecologic Oncology, Education Committee Vice Chair for the International Gynecologic Cancer Society, Vice Chair for the Norwegian Society of Gynecologic Oncology and social media editor for the International Journal of Gynecologic Cancer.

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Dr. Claire Wakefield is the continental president of SIOP (International Society of Pediatric Oncology) – Oceania.  She is a medical psychologist who leads research to improve quality of life for families affected by cancer. She is a Professor at the School of Clinical Medicine at UNSW and Director of the Behavioural Sciences Unit at Sydney Children’s Hospital, Australia. She is the Chair of the International Psycho-Oncology Society Paediatrics Committee, supporting psychologists who work with children with cancer globally as well as serving as Co-Director of Child Unlimited, which is a network of >200 child health experts across Australia.

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Dr. Fatima Cardoso is the Director of the Breast Unit of the Champalimaud Clinical Center in Lisbon, Portugal and Editor-in-chief of The Breast Journal. She was the ESMO Transitional Director of Membership and member of the ESMO Board of Directors and was also Chair of the ESMO National Representatives Committee. She is a member of the ESMO Public Policy Steering Committee and ESMO Guidelines Steering Committee, Past Chair of the EORTC-Breast Cancer Group, member of the ASCO International Affairs Committee and ASCO Breast Cancer Guideline Advisory Group. She is also the Breast Cancer Program Coordinator of the European School of Oncology and chair of the Advanced Breast Cancer International Consensus Guidelines Conference (ABC) and of the ABC Global Alliance, associate editor of the European Journal of Cancer, and an editorial board member of several other journals. She was awarded the prestigious Order of Santiago da Espada for Scientific Merit, from the President of Portugal, on June 10th 2015. She also received the 2020 European Breast Cancer Science Award – Emmanuel van der Schueren Lecture, and the 2021 Umberto Veronesi Memorial Award.

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Lacy Hubbard is the President of Elekta Foundation, a non-profit organization committed to improving access to cancer care in low-income countries. Lacy has 23 years of very diverse global radiation industry experience in running operations, developing service products, and leading transformational programs. As former Vice President of Global Education and Training, Lacy has instituted the changes in Elekta learning strategies, content development and digital learning. She also has been a strong supporter of building radiotherapy competences in LMICs in both business and charities including climbing Mount Kilimanjaro to raise funds to donate radiation equipment to low- and middle-income markets in Africa.

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Her Excellency Zuzana Čaputová is the President of the Slovak Republic. She has been widely recognized as a symbol of change in Slovak political landscapes. Before becoming the first female President of Slovakia in 2019, she was renowned as an environmental lawyer and activist. Čaputová first became known by prevailing in a decade-long struggle against the situating of a toxic landfill in her hometown of Pezinok. For this, Čaputová was awarded the 2016 Goldman Environmental Prize. Healthcare and human rights have been among the priorities during her presidency and she pays a special attention to pediatric oncology.

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Ulrika Årehed Kågström is the President-Elect of the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) and the Secretary-General of the Swedish Cancer Society. Prior to joining the Swedish Cancer Society, Ulrika was the Secretary-General at the Swedish Red Cross. She is also the chairperson of the Swedish Arts Council (appointed by the Government). At UICC, prior being elected as the President, Ulrika was the treasurer, chairman & member of the Knowledge, Advocacy and Policy Committee, chairman & member of the Finance Committee, member of the Strategy Review task force, member of the ATOM coalition task force, member of the Governance committee, member of the task force on AMR, member of the Advisory board of the Solidarity Fund for Ukraine and member of the Congress and Summit Committee.

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Dr. Maryam Lustberg is the Director of the Center for Breast Cancer at Smilow Cancer Hospital and Yale Cancer Center, and Chief of Breast Medical Oncology at Yale Cancer Center. She is also an Associate Professor of Medicine (Medical Oncology). She has been recognized for her patient-focused care with awards that include being rated by Forbes as one of the top breast medical oncologists in the nation and named to the Castle Connolly list of “Regional Top Doctors,” and “Exceptional Women in Medicine” for 2020. Dr. Lustberg is a member of the ASCO Annual Meeting Education Committee, Patient and Survivor Care Education Committee, and Neuropathy Expert Guideline Panel. She is the President and on the Board of Directors for the international organization Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer (MASCC). She serves as an Associate Editor for the Journal of Cancer Survivorship.

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Dr. Lisa Stevens is the Director of the Division of Programme of Action for Cancer Therapy at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Austria. Prior to joining the Agency, Dr. Stevens spent 24 years in various roles at the US National Cancer Institute (NCI).  Dr. Stevens’ desire to facilitate and promote science is what brought her to the Office of the Director, NCI, in 2000. She joined the Center for Global Health (CGH) as the Deputy Director for Planning and Operations in 2012. In support of NCI, she fostered collaborations, created decision making tools, and oversaw the development of strategic plans.  As the Senior Lead of the International Global Cancer Control Program Lisa worked with Ministries of Health and other multi-sectorial groups in all WHO Regions to include evidence-based policies in cancer control and/or NCD control plans. In addition, Lisa co- founded the International Cancer Control Partnerships to organize multiple global partners working with stakeholders in cancer control.

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Dr. Estelamari (Estela) Rodriguez is an Associate Director of Community Outreach and Co-Lead Thoracic Site Disease Group of the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. She is a board certified in medical oncology and hematology. In the past, she was the Medical Director Thoracic Oncology at Mount Sinai Medical Center Miami Beach. Dr. Rodriguez has a special interest in the early detection of lung cancer and increasing access to clinical trials. She is a community leader and mentor to many women and minorities in medicine. Her passion is community engagement and empowering women to be advocates for their health and profession.

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Samira Essiaf is the Chief Executive Officer of SIOP  Europe (European Society for Paediatric Oncology) since it became an independent organisation in 2007. Since 2019 she has been appointed as CEO of the international multi-stakeholder forum ACCELERATE (provides a transparent forum to discuss and address, in a timely fashion, overarching issues in the development of innovative anticancer medicines for children and adolescents with cancer.) Samira has been among the initiators of the ENCCA project, the PanCareSurFup project, the EPAAC project, ExPO-r-Net project, Joint Action on Rare Cancer (JARC), ERN PaedCan, Partner Project, IMI C4C project, Primage project, PanCare Follow-up project thereby gaining considerable experience in the management and dissemination of EU-funded projects.

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Carolyn Taylor is a global cancer care advocate, ovarian and endometrial cancer survivor and the Founder and Executive Director of Global Focus on Cancer (GFC), a US-based non-profit organization established in 2011 to act as an agent of simple and effective change to help reduce the global burden of cancer. Carolyn serves as a content expert with the Women’s Empowerment Cancer Advocacy Network, sits on ASCO’s Gynecologic Cancer Guidelines Committee and a Measures Panel, was a contributing author to the Lancet series ‘Health, Equity and Women’s Cancers’ along with additional publications. Carolyn is a frequent speaker/moderator at global cancer conferences and since 2015, has served as the co-founder and co-chair of the annual SE Asia Breast Cancer Symposium.

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Dr. Jarushka Naidoo is a thoracic oncologist at the Beaumont Hospital Dublin (Ireland), Professor in RCSI and Adjunct Professor of Oncology at Johns Hopkins University. She currently serves as national lung cancer lead for Cancer Trials Ireland. She serves on several international guideline panels including ASCO and SITC (Society of Immunotherapy for Cancer), and is an experienced clinical trialist- having developed and completed several investigator-initiated, industry-funded and cooperative group clinical trials. She has received a number of grants including a young investigator award from the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC), Lung Cancer Foundation of America (LCFA), and a career development award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) KL2-program. She is the IASLC Communications Committee Chair.

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Dr. Sharlene Gill is a Professor of Medicine at the University of British Columbia and a medical oncologist specializing in gastrointestinal (GI) malignancies at BC Cancer – Vancouver, Canada.  Dr. Gill serves as the Chair of the Canadian Clinical Trials Group (CCTG) GI Disease Site Committee and Chair of the UBC Department of Medicine Mentoring Committee.  She is the Editor-in-Chief for Current Oncology and is the President of the Canadian Association of Medical Oncologists. Her TEDx talk in 2022 on ‘How to Flip the Script on Cancer’ delivered her passion for patient advocacy and empowerment.

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Dr. Tracey O’Brien is the NSW Chief Cancer Officer and CEO of the Cancer Institute NSW, Australia. Before her current role, Tracey was Director of the Kids Cancer Centre, Sydney Children’s Hospital, and Director of the Transplant & Cellular Therapy Program. Tracey has held numerous high-profile national and international leadership positions, including Advisory Chair, Cancer Australia; V/Chair (Africa, Asia and Australasia) International Centre for Bone Marrow Transplant Research and V/President of the Australian and New Zealand Children’s Oncology Group. In recognition of her exceptional contributions, Tracey was profiled in 2023 as one of the world’s foremost women in paediatric cancer by the International Society of Paediatric Oncology. In 2019 Tracey was named in the Australian Financial Review’s prestigious Top 10 Women of Influence, winning the Innovation category. In addition to her medical expertise, Tracey has a Master of Law (Health) and executive MBA and serves as a conjoint Professor in Clinical Medicine (UNSW) and Honorary Professor in Science and Engineering (Macquarie University). Dr. O’Brien remains committed to mentoring the next generation of clinician leaders and maintains an active clinical practice in cancer survivorship at Sydney Children’s Hospital.

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Dr. Karen Winkfield is a Professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Ingram Professor of Cancer Research at Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center, and Professor of Medicine at Meharry Medical College. She is the Executive Director of the Meharry-Vanderbilt Alliance, a strategic partnership between Meharry Medical College and Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Dr. Winkfield was appointed by President Joe Biden to the National Cancer Advisory Board in 2021, where she will serve a six-year term and help guide federal initiatives that focus on cancer. She is a member of the ASCO Board. She is a recipient of The One Hundred Award from the Massachusetts General Hospital, Women Leaning the Way to Wellness Award from the American Cancer Society and Health Hero Award for Advocacy.

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Penilla Gunther is a member of the EU Cancer Mission and Former Member of Swedish Parliament. She is an experienced policy maker as former Member of Swedish Parliament, the Nordic Council and chair of the Welfare Committee, and also from local and regional councils. She is the founder of FOKUS Patient, a digital and physical meeting place for life science & healthcare with a patient perspective, President of the European Patient Safety Foundation and appointed by the European Commission as an Expert in the Cancer Mission Board. Penilla is a life-long patient as being heart transplanted 15 years ago and cancer survivor twice. Penilla Gunther co-chaired the European Cancer Organization’s SmartCARE steering committee, a landmark initiative of Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan under the EU4Health Programme, digital tool to reduce the communication gap between survivors and health and social-care providers.

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Dr. Eleonora Teplinsky is a medical oncologist specializing in breast and gynecologic oncology. She is the head of breast and gynecological medical oncology at Valley-Mount Sinai Comprehensive Cancer Care in Paramus, New Jersey, and a clinical assistant professor of medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York. Her clinical and research interests focus on young women with breast cancer, survivorship, exercise oncology, and the use of social media in oncology. She is passionate about oncology education and advocacy on social media and is the host of the INTERLUDE Podcast, where she shares the stories and experiences of those who have been affected by cancer. Dr. Teplinsky is the co-lead of the The Collaboration for Outcomes using Social Media in Oncology (COSMO) – a social media lab working to provide a venue for social media research in oncology.

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Dr. Maria Kavallaris is Founding Director of the Australian Centre for NanoMedicine at the University of New South Wales, Head of the Translational Cancer Nanomedicine Theme at the Children’s Cancer Institute and a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Investigator. Maria is recognised for her innovation in driving multidisciplinary research in cancer nanomedicine. Maria is Chair of the Australian Institute for Policy and Science, and a Life Member and past-President of the Australian Society for Medical Research. The impact of her research has been recognised many times, including via receipt of the Australian Museum Eureka Prize, as well as being named by the NHMRC as an Australian ‘high achiever’ in health and medical research. She is an elected Fellow of both the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences and the Royal Society of New South Wales.  Maria was named the 2020 NSW Premier’s Woman of the Year.  In 2019, Professor Kavallaris was appointed a Member (AM) of the Order of Australia for her significant service to medicine, and to medical research, in the field of childhood and adult cancers. Maria received the 2022 Presidential Medal for Outstanding Contributions, Republic of Cyprus.

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Dr. Elizabeth McKenna is the Executive Director of Cancer Discovery at the American Association for Cancer Research. Elizabeth earned her PhD from Harvard University and trained with Dr. Charles Roberts at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Her research was among the first to show that pediatric tumors characterized by mutations in chromatin remodelers are genomically stable and instead driven by epigenetic deregulation of key target genes. She joined Cancer Discovery shortly after its launch as its founding Science Writer and became an editor in 2014, rising through the editorial ranks to become the journal’s Executive Editor in 2019. She is a member of the 40 Under 40 in Cancer Class of 2021.

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Emily K. Drake is a cancer researcher, co-founder of #AYACSM and adolescent & young adult cancer advocate. A social innovator, Emily co-founded Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Societal Movement (#AYACSM) in 2013. This active, multi-disciplinary Twitter community, continues to grow and is changing the way stakeholders interact and share information regarding adolescents and young adults living with cancer on multiple social media channels. Emily currently lives in Halifax where she runs her own consulting business (EmilyDrake.ca) and is a PhD in Health candidate at Dalhousie University. She is a Killam Laureate, a Healthy Populations Institute scholar and a Beatrice Hunter Cancer Research Institute Cancer Research Training Program trainee. Prior to this she was working with Hope & Cope at the Jewish General Hospital/McGill University as the Director of their young adult cancer support program, which offered in person and digital support services.

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Dr. Cathy Eng is a Professor of Medicine, Hematology and Oncology, and is the Co-Director of GI Oncology and Co-Leader of the Gastrointestinal Cancer Research Program at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center. She also holds the David H. Johnson Endowed Chair of Surgical and Medical Oncology. Dr. Eng was previously a Professor of Medical Oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Her primary clinical research interests include clinical trials involving innovative drugs for the treatment of colorectal, anal, and appendiceal cancers. She has a specific interest in young colorectal cancer patients as well as the role of immunotherapy in HPV-associated cancers. Nationally, Dr. Eng has served in multiple leadership roles for ASCO, ASCO GI, ECOG, and the NCI Rectal/Anal Task Force. She has most recently been chosen to serve as the Vice-Chair for the SWOG GI Committee and the NCI GI Steering Committee.

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Dr. Teresa Amaral is a Consultant Medical Oncologist and the Head of Skin Cancer Clinical Trials Center at the Tuebingen University Hospital in Germany. Dr Amaral obtained her MD degree from Lisbon University in 2006, concurrent with her degree in Aeronautic Medicine from the Portuguese Air Force. Following her graduation, she pursued her general internship at CHLN and Hospital Pulido Valente in Lisbon in 2007, followed by Medical Oncology Internship in 2008. She is a board-certified Specialist in Medical Oncology since 2014. Between 2020 and 2022, Dr Amaral served as the Chair of the ESMO (European Society for Medical Oncology) Young Oncologists Committee. Currently, she is member of the ESMO Melanoma and Other Skin Tumours Faculty and subject editor for melanoma and other skin cancers guidelines. Since January 2023 she is Chair of the ESMO Leadership Development Committee and serves as an ESMO Council Member.

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Janice Cowden is a former nurse, cancer patient and advocate. She was diagnosed with stage I triple-negative early-stage breast cancer in 2011; later, Janice was diagnosed with metastatic disease in 2016. She became a Living Beyond Breast Cancer Hear My Voice (HMV) Advocate in 2017 and continues to serve as a Helpline Volunteer. Janice works with several patient-founded and -led organizations including PCDI, GRASP, and Project Life MBC. As a trained peer support volunteer, she is founder of an international online peer support group for patients newly diagnosed with MBC.  She serves on the Board of Directors for METAvivor Research and Support, Inc., and is an Advisory Board member for Project Life MBC. In 2022, she attended ASCO as a patient advocate scholarship recipient. In October 2022, she was invited to serve as a lead patient advocate, representing PCDI, on a research study with ASCO.

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Dr. Nirmala Bhoo-Pathy is as a Professor of Epidemiology in the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya, and practices as a public health physician in Universiti Malaya Medical Centre, Malaysia. She is also a visiting scholar at Queen’s University Belfast, United Kingdom since 2014. Dr Bhoo Pathy’s career is focused on optimizing life after cancer in resource-limited settings through research and advocacy. Dr Bhoo Pathy was the principal investigator of phase III of the ASEAN CosTs In ONcology (ACTION) study, comprising close to 10,000 cancer patients from eight low-and middle-income member countries of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). She currently serves in two Lancet Commissions: the Lancet Commission on Women and Cancer and the Lancet Commission on Cancer and Health Systems. As the founder and scientific lead of a solution-oriented research group ‘Well with Cancer in Malaysia (WeCan@MY) https://spm.um.edu.my/wecan@my/ in the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Nirmala Bhoo-Pathy currently oversees a wide range of studies on cancer care, cancer control and cancer policy, locally and globally.

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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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Dr. Julie Vose is the Neumann M. and Mildred E. Harris Professor and Chief in the Division of Oncology/Hematology at University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC). Dr. Vose was the 2015-16 President of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).  In addition to that, she also served on the ASCO Board of Directors, Special Awards Selection, Nominating, and Scientific Program Committees, Health Disparities Committee, Hematology-Oncology Task Force, Cancer.Net Advisory Panel and Editorial Board, and Journal of Clinical Oncology Editorial Board. She also served as Chair of the Cancer Education Committee and Publications Committee. Dr. Vose was Co-Chair of the Lymphoma Steering Committee for the National Cancer Institute and has served on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Biologics Committee and the FDA Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC). She also served as Education Committee Chair for the American Society of Hematology and Education Committee Chair for the American Society of Bone Marrow Transplantation. In addition, Dr. Vose served as Journal Editor of Leukemia and Lymphoma, is on three additional editorial boards, and is a reviewer for 10 journals.

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Kathi Apostolidis is the Past President and Scientific Committee Chair of the European Cancer Patient Coalition, the largest European cancer patients’ organization, representing 347 associations in 47 EU and non-EU countries. As a twice breast cancer survivor, she was involved in breast cancer and cancer patient rights advocacy since 1995. She advocates for affordable, state-of-the-art cancer care, new therapies and cancer research.  She represents ECPC at the EMA’s Patients and Consumers Working Group, she is member of the European Commission Expert Group on Cancer Control, participates as ECPC representative in Work Packages of the EU Joint Action on Cancer Control (CanCon). She is a member of the Cancer Patients Working Group of ESMO, of the Steering Committee of HTAi’s Patients and Citizens Involvement Sub-Group.  At the national level, she is the founding member and President of the Hellenic Cancer Coalition-ELLOK, Chair of the Intergroup Committee for Cancer Patient Rights Advocacy/Greece (DEDIDIKA), a body linking 28 cancer patient organizations, she serves as a Deputy Board Member at KEFI-Association of Cancer Patients, Volunteers and Physicians/Greece, and is also member of other Greek & international cancer patient associations.

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Dr. Deanna J. Attai is an Associate Clinical Professor of Surgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California Los Angeles. Dr. Attai is a Past-President of the American Society of Breast Surgeons and a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. Dr. Attai was an early adopter of social media for professional and patient education and has served as the social media editor for the Journal of Oncology Practice and the Annals of Surgical Oncology, as well as a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology Social Media Working Group. She is also a founding member and former co-chair of the Collaborative for Outcomes in Social Media in Oncology research group. She has been an invited speaker at national meetings hosted by the American College of Surgeons, the American Society of Breast Surgeons, the American Medical Association, and the Association of Academic Surgeons discussing the use of social media for patient education and support, professional education and oncology research. Dr. Attai served as co-moderator for the weekly Breast Cancer Social Media (#BCSM) Twitter chats from 2011 – 2022. #BCSM was the first cancer patient community on Twitter, and has received national media attention with profiles in USA Today, CURE Magazine, Forbes Online, and Medscape.

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Janet Freeman-Daily is a freelance writer, speaker, retired aerospace systems engineer, and a metastatic lung cancer patient and advocate. Diagnosed in 2011, her focus is now on translating the experience and science of lung cancer for others. Janet is active on social media with her own blogspot, Gray Connections (www.grayconnections.wordpress.com), and is a moderator of Lung Cancer Social Media (#LCSM) chat on X(Twitter), promoting ePatient self-advocacy. She serves as a research advocate for two NCCN facilities, the NCI and other government agencies, and as an Editorial Group member for the IASLC (International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer) Lung Cancer News. Janet is the Co-Founder, President and Board Chair of The ROS1ders, Inc, a group of engaged patients and caregivers dealing with ROS1-positive cancer of all types. In 2015, Janet Freeman-Daily was named LUNGevity Hero for her incredible work in oncology.

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Dr. Cigall Kadoch is an Associate Professor of Pediatric Oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, Affiliate Faculty of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Biology at Harvard Medical School, and Institute Member and Epigenomics Program Co-Director at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. She established her independent laboratory in 2014, at age 28, one of the youngest scientists ever appointed to the Harvard Medical School faculty, immediately following completion of her Ph.D. studies in Cancer Biology at Stanford University. In 2016, Kadoch’s research resulted in the formation of Foghorn Therapeutics, a biotechnology company that seeks to build novel therapeutic strategies based on the chromatin regulatory system. Dr. Kadoch has received numerous prestigious awards and research grants to support her academic laboratory at Harvard, including the NIH Director’s New Innovator Award, the Pew Scholar Award, the American Cancer Society Research Scholar Award, the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences (AAAS) Marin and Rose Wachtel Cancer Research Prize, and the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Outstanding Achievement in Basic Cancer Research Award. Additionally, over the past several years, she was named to the Forbes 30 under 30 list, MIT Technology Review 35 Innovators Under 35, Popular Science Brilliant 10, Business Insider Top 30 Young leaders in Biopharma and was recently named a Blavatnik National Awards Finalist.

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Dr. Johanna Joyce is a Professor at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, and Full Member of the international Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research. Prior to relocating her lab to Switzerland in 2016, she was a Full Member at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and a Full Professor at Weill Cornell Medical School in New York. Johanna has been recognized for her contributions to cancer research through a series of awards including the Robert Bing Prize, Cloetta Prize, Metastasis Research Society Innovation Award, Swiss Bridge Award, American Cancer Society Scholar Award, Rita Allen Foundation Award, V Foundation Award, Sidney Kimmel Foundation Award, Fidler Innovation in Research Award, among many others. In 2017, she was elected as a Member of EMBO and a Fellow of the European Academy of Cancer Sciences, and in 2020 she was elected to the Women in Cancer Research Council of the AACR. Johanna currently serves on the advisory boards of the CRUK Cambridge Institute and Cancer Center, Cambridge, UK; the IRB Institute, Barcelona, Spain; the Robert Bosch Center for Tumor Diseases, Stuttgart, Germany; the Institute for Research in Biomedicine, Bellinzona, Switzerland; and on the editorial boards of Science, Cancer Cell, Cancer Discovery, The Journal of Experimental Medicine, and Trends in Cancer.

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Dr. Nicole M. Kuderer is a medical oncologist at the Division of Hematology of the University of Washington Medical Center. She is the Deputy Editor of the Cancer Investigation Journal, Chief Medical Officer of the Advanced Cancer Research Group, Fellow of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (FASCO). She received her medical degree from Albany Medical College, completed Internal Medicine residency at the University of Rochester, fellowship in hematology and medical oncology at the Duke University Hospital and has been in practice for more than 20 years.

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Dr. Sara Cerdas is a Portuguese medical doctor and, since July of 2019, a Member of the European Parliament. She is a member of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI), the Committee on Transport and Tourism (TRAN) and the Special Committee on COVID-19 (COVI). Sara Cerdas is the co-chair of the European Parliament’s Working Group on Health, which brings to discussion European health issues with different stakeholders and experts. She was vice-president of the Special Committee on Beating Cancer (BECA). Sara was shadow rapporteur for the S&D group on the European Health Program “EU4Health” and on the regulation on serious cross-border threats to health and was recently appointed shadow rapporteur by the S&D group for the regulation that will create the European Health Data Space. She holds a master’s degree in Medicine from the University of Lisbon, a postgraduate degree in traveler’s medicine from NOVA University Lisbon, a master’s degree in Public Health from the Umeå University and is a doctoral student in Public Health Sciences at the University of Stockholm.

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Deanna van Gestel is the founder and CEO of Women Leaders in Oncology, providing networking and mentorship opportunities to women in oncology field. She has 30 years of pharmaceutical industry experience, the last 25 in oncology. Deanna is the founder and CEO of the Vaniam Group, board member of the Conquer Cancer Foundation of the ASCO, a member of the Women Who Conquer Cancer Committee, and a member of the Tugboat Institute.

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Dr. Jill Biden is the First Lady of the United States, a community college educator and cancer advocate. Dr. Biden also served as Second Lady of the United States from 2009–2017. After Dr. Biden and then-Vice President Joe Biden lost their son Beau to brain cancer in 2015, they helped push for a national commitment to ending cancer – White House Cancer Moonshot. Following the Obama-Biden Administration, then-former Vice President Biden and Dr. Biden continued their cancer work through the Biden Cancer Initiative. Dr. Biden’s New York Times bestselling memoir, Where the Light Enters: Building a Family, Discovering Myself was published in 2019. Her second children’s book, JOEY: The Story of Joe Biden, was published in 2020. In recognition of World Cancer Day 2022, the President and First Lady reignited the Cancer Moonshot, laying out bold goals and a vision to end cancer.  As First Lady, Dr. Biden has focused on supporting patients and their loved ones during their cancer journeys; advocating for cancer screenings; and reducing health inequities in diagnosis, treatment, research, and outcomes.

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