Yüksel Ürün: Congratulations all new participants of the ASCO Leadership Development Program!

Launched in 2009, the prestigious, highly selective, yearlong Leadership Development Program (LDP) provides midcareer oncologists with leadership training skills, advocacy experience, networking opportunities, and mentorship from senior American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) members and leadership.

In 2013, recognizing the growing number of international members and participants at ASCO’s annual scientific meeting and building on its efforts to develop oncology globally, ASCO welcomed its first international LDP participant. The program is currently open to 16 participants, only one of whom is chosen from outside the United States. LDP participants partake in person in three meetings held at ASCO headquarters and special sessions at the Annual Meeting.

LDP curriculum includes strategy development, conflict management, interpersonal effectiveness and teamwork, and media communication. Participants also meet ASCO administrative staff and learn how ASCO interacts with the US Food and Drug Administration, Capitol Hill, and advocacy organizations. LDP participants embark on ASCO strategic initiatives. Teams work on interactive learning projects, and their findings and formal recommendations are presented to the ASCO Board of Directors.

During ASCO Leadership Development Program participants learn valuable leadership skills, gain exposure to the roles and mission of ASCO, and learn about the Society’s place in developing the future of cancer care. This program is intended to develop future ASCO leaders.

During this yearlong program, participants:

• Engage with and learn from a diverse group of program participants.
• Enhance leadership skills through interactive training sessions with an executive leadership coach.
• Network with and receive mentorship from ASCO leaders.
• Explore ASCO strategic challenges and solutions.
• Gain exposure to ASCO committees.

The purpose of this program is to:

• Identify, select, and train mid-career-level members to become future leaders at ASCO and in the field of oncology.
• Provide leadership skills training and an orientation to ASCO’s structures and programs.
• Facilitate the promotion of program graduates into volunteer positions in ASCO.

The 2025-26 LDP application period is July 1, 2024 through September 23, 2024.  Applicants will be notified in April 2025. Applicants are encouraged to start their application early due to the complexity of the online application process. To apply, please visit ASCO SurveyMonkey Apply.

2024-25 ASCO LDP Participants

Manali A. Bhave, MD | Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University

Dr. Bhave is an Assistant Professor and medical oncologist in the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology at Emory University. She serves as Director of the Phase I Clinical Trials Unit and Vice Chair of the Data and Safety Monitoring Committee at Winship Cancer Institute. She received her medical degree from Northwestern University in Chicago, IL where she also completed her internal medicine residency. She then obtained her fellowship training in hematology and medical oncology at University of Michigan where she served as Chief Fellow.

Her clinical expertise is in breast medical oncology with a research focus on developing and conducting early phase clinical trials and investigating biomarkers of response and resistance to guide novel therapeutic strategies for advanced breast cancers. Dr. Bhave also has a strong interest in clinical trial operations and has worked in her role as Director of the Phase I Clinical Trials Unit to expand access to and improve diversity on phase I clinical trials.

She completed the ASCO Komen/QOPI Quality Training Program and served on ASCO’s Annual Meeting Education Committee for Developmental Therapeutics – Molecularly Targeted Agent and Tumor Biology (Track Leader from 2021-2022). She participates actively in the cooperative group setting and serves on the NCI BIO Task Force for the Breast Cancer Steering Committee.

Jad Chahoud, MD, MHA | Moffitt Cancer Center

Dr. Chahoud completed his Internal Medicine Residency at the University of Texas Health Science Center and completed his hematology and medical oncology fellowship at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. Dr. Chahoud is currently a member of the GU Oncology department and Immunology department at Moffitt Cancer Center.

Dr. Chahoud is the medical director of the IPOP (inpatient outpatient infusion service) at Moffitt. Dr. Chahoud’s clinical and research includes advanced kidney and penile cancers.

Fumiko Chino, MD | Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Dr. Chino is a cancer researcher, Assistant Attending in Radiation Oncology, and Lead of the Affordability Working Group at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. She is a Director at the Costs of Care group, a NGO working to improve affordability in healthcare and the recipient of the inaugural 2022 ASCO Excellence in Equity Award.

She is the Chair-Elect of the ASCO Quality Care Symposium and also serves on the ASCO Cancer Communications Committee and as a consultant editor for JCO Oncology Practice. Her research is focused on financial toxicity, gaps in survivorship, health care disparities, and access.

Stephen Chun, MD | MD Anderson

Dr. Chun is an Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology and Director of Radiation Oncology Clinical Research for the Houston Area Locations at MD Anderson. His efforts to expand clinical trial access for underserved communities are supported by National Cancer Institute R50 funding for which he is Principal Investigator.

Dr. Chun has led multiple prospective clinical studies for aerodigestive cancers and conducted lung cancer disparities research that has been recognized by awards from ASTRO, ASCO, the IASLC and NRG Oncology. With the NRG Oncology group, he is a member of the Lung Core Committee, Radiation Oncology Committee and Protocol Operations Management Oversight Committee where he is leading the rollout of the NRG Oncology Podcast.

Mentorship is a source of pride for Dr. Chun as he has guided numerous trainees to high-impact publications including female and minority investigators. As an avid classical violinist, Dr. Chun has frequently volunteered his artistry in the community.

Erin Cobain, MD | University of Michigan

Dr. Cobain is an Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine in the Division of Hematology/Oncology at the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center where she serves as Co-Director of the Breast Cancer Clinical Research Team. Her research focuses on identifying those at high risk of developing breast cancer and personalizing therapy for those with a breast cancer diagnosis through genetic and genomic testing.

Dr. Cobain is a recent recipient of an American Cancer Society clinician scientist development grant and is also very active within the SWOG breast cancer committee, serving as study chair of a clinical trial exploring use of combination chemo-immunotherapy for patients with high-risk, hormone receptor positive, HER2-negative early-stage breast cancer.

Within the Rogel Cancer Center, Dr. Cobain is a member of the emerging leaders council and the protocol review committee. Within ASCO, she is a member of the TAPUR molecular tumor board and recently served as chair of the education committee for the prevention, risk reduction and hereditary cancers track at the ASCO annual meeting.

Ibiayi Dagogo-Jack, MD | Massachusetts General Hospital

Dr. Dagogo-Jack received her bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University and her medical degree from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. She trained in internal medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and completed hematology/oncology fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital/Dana Farber Cancer Institute. She is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and a thoracic oncologist at Massachusetts General Hospital.

She conducts clinical/translational research focused on understanding mechanisms underlying resistance to therapies for lung cancer and mesothelioma. She leads the MGH Mesothelioma program and is the Cancer Center’s Oncology Molecular Pathology Liaison/ Director of Molecular Testing Integration.

Dr. Dagogo-Jack has served on AACR, IASLC, and ASCO Committees, including leadership roles on the Education Committee and Taxonomy Committee. She is deeply invested in her work with the thoracic oncology research and patient community, which includes editorial positions for multiple journals, advisory committee roles, and partnerships with patient groups and nonprofits.

Rawad Elias, MD | Baystate Health

Dr. Elias serves as the Medical Director for Cancer Services at Baystate Health and holds the position of Chief of the Hematology-Oncology Division at UMass Chan Medical School-Baystate. He is recognized for his expertise in geriatric oncology, particularly clinical implementation and models of care. Dr. Elias has a particular interest in developing healthcare delivery models for real-world practice.

Before joining Baystate Health, he led the development of a pioneering care delivery model for older adults with cancer at Hartford HealthCare Cancer Institute where he served as the medical director for geriatric oncology. His clinical practice focuses on gastrointestinal malignancies and geriatric oncology.

Born and raised in Lebanon, Dr. Elias completed his medical education at the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik. He then underwent training in internal medicine at Atlantic Health – Morristown Medical Center, followed by a fellowship in Geriatrics and Hematology-Oncology at Boston Medical Center.

Shilpa Gupta, MD | Cleveland Clinic Foundation

Dr. Gupta is Professor of Medicine at the Lerner College of medicine at Case Comprehensive Cancer Center. She serves as the Director of the Genitourinary Medical Oncology at Taussig Cancer Institute and Co-Leader of the Genitourinary Oncology Program at Cleveland Clinic. Dr. Gupta’s research interests are novel drug development and understanding biomarkers of response and resistance to therapies in bladder cancer.

Dr. Gupta leads several early and late phase clinical trials in Genitourinary Cancers and has several leadership roles in NCI trials.  Dr. Gupta is the Co-Chair of the Hoosier Cancer Research Network (HCRN) Genitourinary Working Group and serves on the scientific advisory and steering committee for the Bladder cancer Advocacy Network (BCAN). She has served on the ASCO scientific committee for GU cancers (non-prostate), volunteered for the ASCO Item Writing workshop and serves as a bladder cancer specialty editor for the Cancer.Net.

Brian S Henick, MD | Columbia University

Dr. Henick is a medical oncologist specializing in the care of patients with cancers of the lung, head/neck, and esophagus. He serves as the Interim Director of Experimental Therapeutics and Director of Translational Research, Upper-Aerodigestive Malignancies in Columbia’s Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center. In these roles, Dr. Henick seeks to improve the therapeutic index of novel therapies by identifying patient-level predictors of efficacy and toxicity, including histology, genomics, and immunobiology.

These interests led him to serve on the editorial board of JCO Precision Oncology and the Steering Committee of AACR’s Project GENIE. To assure clinical and translational relevance to the underserved populations disproportionately affected by these cancers, Dr. Henick participates in the Robert A Winn Diversity in Clinical Trials program, is the NRG Champion of PRAGMATICA-Lung, and co-leads a phase IV study of immunotherapy in patients from underrepresented populations with lung cancer via Stand Up to Cancer’s Health Equity program.

Sadhana Jackson, MD | National Institutes of Health

Dr. Jackson attended Hampton University where she received her Bachelor of Science in Molecular Biology. She then obtained her MD from Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS) and subsequently completed a residency in Pediatrics at Orlando Health. After completing a fellowship in pediatric hematology/oncology at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, she finished her training at Johns Hopkins for a joint fellowship in pediatric neuro-oncology and clinical pharmacology.

Dr. Sadhana Jackson is a board-certified pediatrician and pediatric hematologist/oncologist with clinical expertise and research efforts related to the blood-brain barrier and malignant glioma. Her clinical practice focuses on drug delivery of systemic agents for pediatric malignant brain tumor patients. As a tenure-track Investigator in NINDS and NCI, Dr. Jackson ties her clinical practice to her research efforts focused on understanding the heterogeneous permeability of the blood-brain barrier amongst malignant gliomas.

With her laboratory and clinical studies, her team aims to modulate the tumor microenvironment to enhance effective treatments to the CNS for malignant gliomas. She has extensive experience with use of intracerebral microdialysis to evaluate optimal drug entry to malignant tumors. Using exquisite tools to measure drug concentrations and agents to transiently disrupt the BBB, her research aims to maximize therapies for prolonged survival in aggressive pediatric brain tumors.

With a deep commitment to volunteerism, she engages in community work to ensure equity for marginalized communities, and advocate for justice/inclusion specifically within the STEM field. These efforts are predominately completed as a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, Sorority Incorporated, and an 8CRE Supporter.

Miriam Knoll, MD | Northwell

Dr. Knoll is a radiation oncologist at Northwell Health in New York. Dr Knoll received her medical degree at New York University School of Medicine and completed her radiation oncology training at Mount Sinai Medical Center in NY. She serves as a section editor for the peer-reviewed journal of the American Society of Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), Advances in Radiation Oncology and is an active volunteer with ASCO, ASTRO, NRG and the RTOG Foundation.

She is co-founder and CEO of the Jewish Orthodox Women’s Medical Association (JOWMA), a non-profit public health organization serving the Orthodox Jewish community and supporting a network of Jewish women physicians. Dr. Knoll is an international speaker and researcher focusing on the medical workforce, women in medicine, and social media in medicine.

Dr. Knoll is a Forbes Healthcare contributor and writes for the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Connection and numerous other media outlets. You can follow her on Twitter @MKnoll_MD and on Instagram @Dr.Mimi.K.

Christina Ahn Minami, MD, MS | Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Dr. Minami is an Associate Surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH)/Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) and an Assistant Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School. She received her MD from the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, an MFA from the Iowa Writers Workshop in fiction writing, and an MS in health services and outcomes research at Northwestern University.

She completed her general surgery residency at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and a breast surgical oncology fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. She is core faculty at the Center for Surgery and Public Health at BWH, with a research focus on avoiding both over- and under-treatment of older adults with breast cancer.

Ryan Nipp, MD, MPH | University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center

Dr. Nipp is a gastrointestinal oncologist and cancer outcomes researcher at the University of Oklahoma (OU) Health Sciences Center and the OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center. He is the Director of Geriatric Oncology, Director of Cancer Outcomes Research, Director of Trainee Research, and the Associate Fellowship Director for the Oncology Fellowship at OU Health. Dr. Nipp completed internal medicine residency at Duke University and oncology fellowship at Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center.

His research focuses on optimizing care delivery and outcomes for patients with cancer. Specifically, his research platform consists of studies interfacing between palliative care, geriatric oncology, and health services research. Dr. Nipp has had the honor of serving on the ASCO Quality Care Symposium planning committee (2021-2023), the ASCO Annual Meeting Education Committee, the ASCO Palliative Care Guideline Panel, and as an Associate Editor for JCO Oncology Practice and Section Editor for The Oncologist.

Sami Saleem Omar, MD, Medical Oncologist Specialist KHCMS | Rizgary Teaching Hospital

Dr. Omar graduated from the College of Medicine at Hawler Medical University (HMU) in Erbil, Iraq, in June 2009 and became a licensed Medical Oncologist Specialist by the Kurdistan Higher Council for Medical Specialties (KHCMS) in October 2018. His experience includes:

• Visiting Lecturer at University of Koya – faculty of Medicine, 2019 – Present
• Head of Medical Committee, Ministry of Health, Cancer Patients Support Fund, March 2023 – Present
• Board member of the Kscien Organization, a non-profit organization dedicated to confronting predatory publishing since 2020, which has created the most up-to-date list of predatory journals and publishers worldwide.
• ASCO IDEA Award in 2020 and the ASCO Virtual Mentoring Program Award in 2022. Additionally, he holds active memberships with ASCO and ESMO.
• Specific Areas of Interest; breast cancer and neuroendocrine tumors.

Mina Sedrak, MD, MS | University of California Los Angeles

Dr. Sedrak is an Associate Professor of Medicine and Director of the Cancer and Aging Program at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. He obtained his B.A. from the University of Chicago, M.D. from Rush Medical College, and M.S. in Health Policy from the University of Pennsylvania, where he also completed his residency in internal medicine and fellowship in hematology/oncology.

His research is focused on understanding the mechanisms underlying cancer therapy-induced accelerated aging and, in turn, developing mechanism-based interventions to mitigate accelerated aging in cancer patients. His research has been recognized by the NIA, receiving the Paul B. Beeson Emerging Leaders Career Development Award.

Beyond his research, he actively advocates for increased inclusion of older and frail adults in cancer clinical trials. He is also committed to mentoring and serving the scientific community through his roles as Vice Chair of the Alliance Cancer in the Older Adult Committee and Chair-Elect of the Research Committee in ASCO.

Gita Thanarajasingam, MD | Mayo Clinic

Dr. Thanarajasingam is an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology, Lymphoma Disease Group at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.  She is a graduate of Yale University and Mayo Medical School, and completed her residency at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital at Harvard Medical School followed by hematology/oncology and advanced lymphoma fellowships at Mayo Clinic.

Her clinical practice is the care of patients with Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.  Her health outcomes research program focuses on improving adverse event (AE) evaluation and measuring treatment tolerability in patients with cancer. She developed the Toxicity over Time (ToxT), a longitudinal approach to AE evaluation.

She is the recipient of K and U01 grants from the U.S. National Institutes of Health, the lead commissioner for the Lancet Hematology AE Commission, and an ad-hoc member of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Oncology Drug Advisory Committee with expertise in toxicity assessment.

Namrata Vijayvergia, MD, FACP | Fox Chase Cancer Center

Dr. Vijayvergia is an Associate Professor of Hematology and Oncology and Assistant Chief of GI Medical Oncology at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, PA.  Board certified in hematology and oncology, Dr. Vijayvergia is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians.  She is a GI Medical Oncologist with a passion for neuroendocrine and colorectal malignancies with research interest in developing new treatment paradigms for these cancers and improve the patient experience throughout the cancer journey.

Her mission is to advance patient-centric care with a focus on personalized medicine, ctDNA science and novel drug targets.  While patient care is her foremost priority, she has successfully developed and run early and late phase clinical trials and other research studies with federal, foundation and industry grant support.  With a goal-oriented and data-driven approach, she has successfully led teams in the GI program as the Medical Director for Fox Chase’s community affiliate sites program.

A leader in the Office of Clinical Research and the Protocol review committee at her institution, she effectively leads study startup and guides the team to ensure feasibility and smooth activation of all trials coming into the center.  Increasing access to clinical trials and effective clinical trial operations are her priorities.

She has also gained regional and national recognition in her field with multiple peer-reviewed papers, collaborative work and representation on committees (NCCN, NCI Task Force, ECOG) and was awarded 40 under 40 and Top Physicians in PA under 40.  Colleagues consider her as a reliable, empathetic, practical and effective peer and leader.

2024-25 ASCO LDP Mentors

Nasser Hanna, MD, FASCO | University of Indiana

Dr. Hanna is a Professor of Medicine at Indiana University and the Tom and Julie Wood Foundation Professor of Lung Cancer Clinical Research. He received his MD from the University of Missouri-Columbia and completed an Internal Medicine residency at the University of Iowa and an Oncology fellowship at Indiana University, where he has remained as a faculty since January 2001.

His primary interest has been in the clinical care, research, and advocacy for those with lung cancer. He has served as the Chairman of the Board for the Hoosier Oncology Group, Service Line Leader and Associate Chair of the Division of Hematology/Oncology, Program Leader for the Thoracic Oncology Group, and is the current Chairman for End Lung Cancer Now. He was an inaugural member of the Leadership Development Program for ASCO in 2010 and has served on various ASCO committees over the years.

Greg S. Nowakowski, MD, FASCO | Mayo Clinic

Dr. Nowakowski, M.D., FASCO, is a consultant and Professor of Oncology and Medicine at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. He holds key roles as the Enterprise Deputy Director of Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center for Clinical Research, Chair of Lymphoid Malignancy Disease Group, and Vice-Chair of Division of Hematology. With international recognition, his expertise lies in hematological malignancies management, novel therapeutics, and clinical trial design.

Dr. Nowakowski’s research emphasizes molecular classification, biology of lymphoproliferative disorders, and innovative therapies for lymphoma and hematological disorders. He leads multiple clinical trials and holds influential positions in organizations like ECOG, ASH, and ASCO. With over 250 publications and extensive regulatory experience, including serving on FDA‘s ODAC, he’s a mentor and leader in the field. Dr. Nowakowski earned his MD from the Medical University of Warsaw and completed his training at Yale University Medical School and Mayo Clinic.

Sumanta Kumar Pal, MD, FASCO | City of Hope

Dr. Pal is an internationally recognized leader in the area of genitourinary cancers, including kidney, and bladder cancer. He is co-director of City of Hope’s Kidney Cancer Program, Director of the Kidney and Bladder Cancer Disease Team and Vice Chair of Academic Affairs for the Department of Medical Oncology and Therapeutic Research.

Dr. Pal entered college at the age of 13 and began medical school at UCLA at the age of 17. After completing his residency training at UCLA, Dr. Pal completed a fellowship program in medical oncology at City of Hope’s comprehensive cancer center where he has remained on faculty since 2009. Dr. Pal has published more than 500 PubMed cited articles that are featured in journals including:  Cancer Discovery, The Journal of Clinical Oncology, The Lancet, Cancer Cell, and Nature Medicine.

Tiffany A. Traina, MD, FASCO | Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Dr. Traina is an Associate Attending Physician on the Breast Medicine Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.  She serves as Vice Chair of Operations for the Department of Medicine, an elected officer of the MSK Medical Staff Council and Section Head of the TNBC Research Program. She also holds an appointment as Associate Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell. Dr. Traina is a graduate of the ASCO Leadership Development Program and has either volunteered on or led a wide range of impactful ASCO committees.

She has Co-Chaired MSK Outpatient Operations Committee and has served as the Clinical Director of the Breast Medicine Service. She has received recognition for her teaching from MSK and Weill Cornell and has been acknowledged with the Hally Yaccino Steiner Award from the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and the Hero Award from the Triple Negative Breast Cancer Foundation. Dr. Traina is a board member of The Love You Share and supports the breast cancer community through Infinite Strength programming.

Source: Yüksel Ürün/X and Miriam Knoll/X

Yuksel Urun is a Medical Oncology professor at Ankara University School of Medicine in Turkey. His research focuses on genitourinary cancers, covering epidemiology, diagnosis, biomarkers, meta-analysis, and treatment outcomes. His dedication to patient care and research inspires positive change in the medical field.

 Miriam 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.