Health system leadership, Healthcare, hospital administration, Medicine
Practicing internal medicine physician who has served as chairman and CEO of the Virginia Mason Health System in Seattle since 2000. He is also chair of the National Patient Safety Foundation Lucian Leape Institute and immediate past chair of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement Board of Directors. During his tenure as chief executive, Virginia Mason has become a national leader in quality, safety and innovation resulting from its Toyota Production System-inspired lean management methodology, the Virginia Mason Production System. To schedule an interview with Dr. Kaplan, contact Virginia Mason Media Relations.
Medicine, Osteoporosis
Recker is perhaps best known for a study in which he, molecular geneticist Mark Johnson and several others found a gene mutation causing bones to be twice as massive as “normal” bones. Using the genetic material from these “super bones” that were discovered virtually by accident in a Nebraska-based family, the two have been working on what some might call “nature’s cure” for osteoporosis.
Antibodies, B Cells, Health, HIV, Immune System, Immunology, Infectious Disease, Influenza, Medicine, Pandemic, T Cells, Viruses
Shane Crotty, Ph.D., and his team study immunity against infectious diseases. They investigate how the immune system remembers infections and vaccines. By remembering infections and vaccines, the body is protected from becoming infected in the future. Vaccines are one of the most cost-effective medical treatments in modern civilization and are responsible for saving millions of lives. Yet, good vaccines are very difficult to design, and very few new vaccines have been made in the past 10 years. A better understanding of immune memory will facilitate the ability to make new vaccines. Dr. Tony Fauci, NIH, referred to some of the Crotty lab work as “exceedingly important to the field of immunogen design.”
Dr. Crotty is a member of the LJI Coronavirus Task Force. The Crotty Lab, in close collaboration with the lab of LJI Professor Alessandro Sette, Dr. Biol. Sci., was the first to publish a detailed analysis of the immune system’s response to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 (). The made a number of important findings. Most importantly, it showed that the immune system activates all three major branches of “adaptive immunity” (which learns to recognize specific viruses) to try to fight the virus: CD4 “helper” T cells , CD8 “killer” T cells, and antibodies. The LJI team found good immune responses to multiple different parts of SARS-CoV-2 (imagine the virus is made out of legos, and the immune system can recognize different individual legos), including the Spike protein, which is the main target of almost all COVID-19 vaccine efforts.
Dr. Crotty has a major focus studying human immune responses to vaccines. His lab is hard at work on candidate HIV vaccines with the CHAVID consortium. His lab is also hard at work on vaccine strategies for influenza, strep throat, and COVID-19. The Crotty lab studies new vaccine ideas and strategies that may be applicable to many diseases, based on a fundamental understanding of the underlying immune responses, and how the cells of the immune system interact.
Dr. Crotty regularly does media outreach on vaccines and immunity to infectious diseases. Dr. Crotty is also the author of Ahead of the Curve, a biography of Nobel laureate scientist David Baltimore, published in 2001, and reviewed in The Wall Street Journal and other publications. He earned his B.S. in Biology and Writing from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1996, and his Ph.D. in Molecular Biology/Virology from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) in 2001.
Antibodies, Biology, Coronavirus, cryo-electron microscopy, Ebola, Ebola Virus, Global Health, Health, Infectious Disease, Lassa Fever, Marburg, Medicine, Rabies, Structural Biology, Virology, zoonotic disease
Erica Ollmann Saphire, Ph.D. serves as President and CEO of the La Jolla Institute for Immunology. She is one of the world’s leading experts in pandemic and emerging viruses, such as Ebola, Marburg and Lassa. Dr. Saphire directs the Viral Hemorrhagic Fever Immunotherapeutic Consortium (VIC), an NIH-funded Center of Excellence in Translational Research. The VIC unites 43 previously competing academic, industrial and government labs across five continents to understand which antibodies are most effective in patients and to streamline the research pipeline to provide antibody therapeutics against Ebola, Marburg, Lassa and other viruses. Dr. Saphire's research explains, at the molecular level, how and why viruses like Ebola and Lassa are pathogenic and provides the roadmap for developing antibody-based treatments. Her team has solved the structures of the Ebola, Sudan, Marburg, Bundibugyo and Lassa virus glycoproteins, explained how they remodel these structures as they drive themselves into cells, how their proteins suppress immune function and where human antibodies can defeat these viruses. A recent discovery revealed why neutralizing antibodies had been so difficult to elicit against Lassa virus, and provided not only the templates for the needed vaccine, but the molecule itself: a Lassa surface glycoprotein engineered to remain in the right conformation to inspire the needed antibody response. This molecule is the basis for international vaccine efforts against Lassa.
Dr. Saphire is the recipient of numerous accolades and grants, including the Presidential Early Career Award in Science and Engineering presented by President Obama at the White House; the Gallo Award for Scientific Excellence and Leadership from the Global Virus Network; young investigator awards from the International Congress of Antiviral Research, the American Society for Microbiology, American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and the MRC Centre for Virus Research in the United Kingdom; the Investigators in the Pathogenesis of Infectious Disease Award from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, and the Surhain Sidhu award for the most outstanding contribution to the field of diffraction by a person within five years of the Ph.D. Dr. Saphire has been awarded a Fulbright Global Scholar fellowship from the United States Department of State and a Mercator Fellowship from the German research foundation, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, to develop international collaborations around human health and molecular imaging through cryoelectron microscopy.
Dr. Saphire received a B.A. in biochemistry and cell biology and ecology and evolutionary biology from Rice University in Houston, Texas, and a Ph.D. in molecular biology from Scripps Research. She stayed on at Scripps Research as a Research Associate to conduct postdoctoral research and rose through the ranks to become a Professor in the Department of Immunology and Microbiology. In early 2019, Dr. Saphire joined La Jolla Institute for Immunology to establish a molecular imaging facility for cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) at the Institute. The extremely detailed images produced by cryo-EM reveal precisely how essential mechanisms of the immune system operate.
Alonzo and Virginia Decker Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship
Johns Hopkins University Carey Business SchoolJohns Hopkins, Medicine, strategic management , Technology, Technology Transfer and Commercialization
Phillip Phan, PhD, is the Alonzo and Virginia Decker Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship and joined the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School in 2008. He is a professor in the research track with expertise in the areas of technology entrepreneurship and strategic management.
HIV, Infectious Diseases, Internal Medicine, Medicine, Pediatric, Preventive Medicine
Dr. Pavia is a pediatric infectious disease expert who can provide expert commentary on vaccines, infectious disease and related trending topics. He has become a trusted source for top national media. He received his bachelor's degree and medical degree at Brown University. He trained in internal medicine and pediatrics at Dartmouth and the University of Utah. At the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Pavia trained in Public Health Epidemiology as an Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) officer and a Preventive Medicine Resident. Additionally, Dr. Pavia completed a fellowship in pediatric and adult infectious diseases at the University of Utah. He joined the faculty at the University of Utah in 1991. In 2003 Dr. Pavia became the George and Esther Gross Presidential Professor and Chief of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, where he mentors a dynamic and productive team of faculty and fellows. He also serves as Director of Hospital Epidemiology at Primary Children's Hospital and Associate Director of Antimicrobial Stewardship. Dr. Pavia is a member of the Society for Pediatric Research. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. Dr. Pavia is a member of the National Academy of Science Engineering and Medicine Forum on Preparedness. He was recently Vice Chair and Chair of the Program Committee for IDWeek and served two terms on the CDC Board of Scientific Counselors. He has served as a member of the Board of Directors the Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA) and past chair of the Pandemic Influenza Task Force and past Chair of the National and Global Public Policy Committee. Dr. Pavia served as a member of the National Vaccine Advisory Committee and chaired the Vaccine Safety Working Group, was an inaugural member of the National Biodefense Science Board (NBSB) and chaired the Influenza Working Group, and co-chaired the Personal Preparedness Working Group of the NBSB from 2008-2010. Dr. Pavia has served on several Institute of Medicine Committees including “Antivirals for Pandemic Influenza: Guidance on Developing and Distribution and Dispensing System,” and “Prepositioned Medical Countermeasure for the Public,” and is a frequent consultant for CDC. He is an associate Editor of the Sanford Guide to Antimicrobial Therapy and is on the editorial board the Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Disease Society and a reviewer for numerous journals. He has published more than 250 peer-reviewed scientific articles, textbook chapters, reviews and scientific abstracts. His research interests include the epidemiology of influenza and other emerging respiratory infections, pneumonia, vaccine preventable diseases, emerging infections, and HIV/ AIDS, with a particular interest in infections of pregnant women and their children. He has been the principal investigator or co-investigator on grants from the National Institutes of Health, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Pavia received his undergraduate and medical degrees from Brown University. He completed his residency at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center and served as Chief Resident. He then served as an officer in the Epidemic Intelligence Service at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and completed a residency in Preventive Medicine. He completed fellowship training in pediatric and adult infectious diseases at the University of Utah. Dr. Pavia is currently the George and Esther Gross Presidential Professor at the University of Utah and is Chief of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases. His academic interests include the epidemiology, diagnosis and management of emerging infectious diseases including influenza, respiratory infections and diarrheal diseases. He is also keenly interested in HIV/AIDS and has been involved in HIV clinical care and research since the 1980s.
Internal Medicine, Lung Disease, Medicine, Pulmonary and Critical Care , respiratory care
Sean is an assistant professor in pulmonary and critical care medicine who originally hails from the Commonwealth of Virginia. His clinical and research interests include care for patients with complex lung disease, with a focus on idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and other interstitial lung diseases. He sees patients at the Farmington and University Hospital pulmonary clinics. He has expertise in the pulmonary care and pathology of patients with the deadly illness caused by vaping, e-cigarette or vaping use associated with lung injury (EVALI), and with COVID-19.
Associate Chief Medical Quality Officer, University Health Care
University of Utah HealthBrain Injury, Cancer, Health Services, Medicine, Neuroradiology, Patient Care, Radiology
Dr. Anzai is Professor of Radiology at the University of Utah. She completed her Diagnostic Radiology residency and neuroradiology fellowship training at the University of Michigan. In 2000, she moved to the University of Washington, Seattle where she had served as the neuroradiology fellowship director from 2004-2008, subsequently became the section chief in 2008. In 2005, she obtained her MPH from the University of Washington in Health Services funded by GERRAF program and AHRQ K08 award. Dr. Anzai currently serves as Associate Chief Medical Quality Officer of the University of Utah Health Care. The major goals as the Associate Chief Medical Quality Officer are to improve safety and quality of patient care, to facilitate the process standardization and coordination of care, to implement patient centered outcomes measures that are relevant for each service line, and connect the costs of delivering care with outcome measures in the entire healthcare enterprise. She received the AAMC (Associations of American Medical College) Award for the implementation of Value Driven Outcome tool in 2016. Dr. Anzai has been a longstanding member of many academic organizations, including ASNR, ASHNR, RSNA, AUR, ACR, and AAWR. She also participated in the large clinical trial including ACRIN trial. She has over 16 years of experience in working as a neuroradiologist in leading academic institutions with a background of health services research. Her area of primary imaging research interest includes head and neck cancer imaging, traumatic brain injury, and neurodegenerative disease. She is also involved in the cost effectiveness and comparative effectiveness of diagnostic tests in various conditions.
Co-Director, Division of Clinical Data Analytics and Decision Support
NewswiseBiomedical Informatics, Clinical Research, Medicine, Pharmacology
Raymond L. Woosley, MD, Ph.D., is a Flinn Scholar and professor of Biomedical Informatics and Medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix. He is also the founding president and chairman of the Board for AZCERT, Inc., a non-profit organization funded by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to work with the College of Medicine to improve the safe use of medications. Dr. Woosley received his medical degree from the University of Miami, FL; his doctorate in pharmacology from the University of Louisville, KY; and his bachelor's degree from Western Kentucky University. After an internship and residency in internal medicine, he completed a fellowship in clinical pharmacology at Vanderbilt University before joining the faculty as founding director of the Vanderbilt Cardiac Arrhythmia Center and rose to the rank of professor of Medicine and Pharmacology and associate director of the Vanderbilt Clinical Research Center. In 1988, Dr. Woosley was appointed chairman of the Department of Pharmacology at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, D.C. He also served as associate dean for Clinical Research and director of the Institute for Cardiovascular Sciences. In 2001, Dr. Woosley joined the faculty at the University of Arizona as vice president of the Arizona Health Sciences Center and the dean of the College of Medicine. In 2005, he founded the Critical Path Institute (C-Path), an independent, non-profit organization created jointly by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the University of Arizona to help implement the FDA’s Critical Path Initiative and accelerate the development of new drugs and diagnostics. In 2012, he founded the non-profit AZCERT, Inc. Dr. Woosley’s research has been reported in more than 300 peer-reviewed publications and serves as the basis for eleven patents. For his contributions to medicine, Dr. Woosley has received numerous awards and honors from academic institutions, the Food and Drug Administration and professional societies.
Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mathematical Sciences, Medicine, Radiology, Wireless
Theodore (Ted) S. Rappaport is the David Lee/Ernst Weber Professor of Electrical Engineering at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering (NYU-Tandon) and is a professor of computer science at New York University's Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences. He is also a professor of radiology at the NYU School of Medicine. Rappaport is the founding director of NYU WIRELESS, the world's first academic research center to combine engineering, computer science, and medicine. Earlier, he founded two of the world's largest academic wireless research centers: The Wireless Networking and Communications Group (WNCG) at the University of Texas at Austin in 2002, and the Mobile and Portable Radio Research Group (MPRG), now known as Wireless@ at Virginia Tech, in 1990. Rappaport is a pioneer in radio wave propagation for cellular and personal communications, wireless communication system design, and broadband wireless communications circuits and systems at millimeter wave frequencies. His research has influenced many international wireless-standards bodies, and he and his students invented the technology of site-specific radio frequency (RF) channel modeling and design for wireless network deployment - a technology now used routinely throughout wireless communications. Rappaport has served on the Technological Advisory Council of the Federal Communications Commission, assisted the governor and CIO of Virginia in formulating rural broadband initiatives for Internet access, and conducted research for NSF, Department of Defense, and dozens of global telecommunications companies. He has over 100 U.S. or international patents issued or pending and has authored, co-authored, and co-edited 18 books, including the world's best-selling books on wireless communications, millimeter wave communications, and smart antennas. In 1989, he founded TSR Technologies, Inc., a cellular radio/PCS software radio manufacturer that he sold in 1993 to Allen Telecom which later became CommScope, Inc. (taken private in 2011 by Carlyle Group and now owned by Keysight). In 1995, he founded Wireless Valley Communications, Inc., a pioneering creator of site-specific radio propagation software for wireless network design and management that he sold in 2005 to Motorola. Rappaport received BS, MS, and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from Purdue University, and is a Distinguished Engineering Alumnus of his alma mater. Dr. Rappaport can be reached by contacting NYU WIRELESS Administrator Pat Donohue at [email protected], NYU WIRELESS Center Administrator Michelle Austin at [email protected] or his assistant Leslie Cerve at [email protected]. Contact Michelle Austin if you are interested in inviting Dr. Rappaport to give a presentation or attend a meeting.
Cancer, Cell Biology, Medicine
Associate Professor of Medicine; Co-Director, Colorectal Program in the Center for Gastrointestinal Cancers
Yale Cancer Center/Smilow Cancer HospitalCancer, Colorectal Cancer, Gastrointestinal Cancer, Medicine
Dr. Cecchini focuses on developing new treatments for patients living with advanced gastrointestinal cancers. His specific research includes leveraging innovating DNA damaging therapies as a strategy to enhance the immune response. He has participated as both a principal investigator or sub-investigator on more than 100 clinical trials. This includes cooperative group studies, industry studies, as well as investigator initiated clinical trials. He is also the national principal investigator for multiple studies. In addition to his clinical research, Dr. Cecchini collaborates with multiple laboratories to perform bench to bedside research to enhance treatment options for patients living with gastrointestinal cancers. He currently receives research funding through his NIH K08 Career Development Award which is evaluating the relationship between DNA damage and the immune response for gastrointestinal cancers. He was also awarded a Young Investigator Award from the Conquer Cancer Foundation, during his fellowship.
Breast Cancer, immune-based therapies, Medicine
Professor, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine Member, Developmental Therapeutics Program, Case Comprehensive Cancer Center Research Information Research Interests: Dr. Montero's research interests include the improvement of clinical outcomes in patients with breast cancer through the development of novel targeted therapies. He has been the principal investigator in over 30 clinical trials and has co-authored over 50 peer-reviewed publications. He has a particular interest in immune-based therapies in breast cancer and other solid malignancies, and better understanding the various mechanisms by which tumors evade the immune system. Dr. Montero also has a keen interest in process improvement in oncology to develop more effective and efficient treatment strategies in breast cancer that lead to better clinical outcomes and, ultimately, superior quality of care for patients. External Appointments Medical Director, Seidman Cancer Center Clinical Trials Unit University Hospitals Clinical Director, Breast Cancer Program University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center
Antibodies, Computational Biology, Computer Science, Data Science, genomic analysis, Genomics, Health, Immune System, Immunology, Infectious Disease, Medicine
Dr. Tal Einav’s accomplishments included the development of sophisticated computational methods to understand viral behavior and predict how individuals react to vaccination or infection. This research earned Einav a prestigious Damon Runyon Quantitative Biology Fellowship and emphasized the importance of pursuing machine learning to analyze big data in immunology.
“We have these tremendous datasets that we’re just barely tapping into,” says Einav. These data allow Einav to understand the immune response in different contexts, from the young to the elderly, from healthy people to individuals who are immunocompromised. All with the goal to discover key patterns that let us understand and harness our immunity. Einav’s work has already demonstrated that blending biophysics and computer science enables researchers to predict the antibody response against new viral variants.
This work paves the way for a fundamentally new form of personalized medicine. For example, Einav imagines tailoring an individualized vaccine strain or dosage based on a patient’s specific antibody repertoire to create a stronger response that lasts for years, if not their entire life.
Medicine, Neurology, Psychiatry, Surgery
With a fervent passion for evidence-based medicine, I am deeply committed to medical research. My dedication is reflected in the numerous research projects I have undertaken, demonstrating my exceptional research and analytical abilities. Proficient in conventional analysis using SPSS and highly skilled in meta-analysis, I have primarily focused on observational studies, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses. Currently, I am engaged in a cohort study involving medical records, alongside several systematic reviews and meta-analyses. My work is driven by my ambition to contribute to the medical field through rigorous research and analysis.
D.W. Brooks Professor & GRA Eminent Scholar Chair in Animal Reproductive Physiology
University of GeorgiaBiology, Drug Screening, Medical Research, Medicine, NAI fellow, Neurodegenerative Disease, NIH, Science, Stem Cell, Stroke
Dr. Steve Stice is a University of Georgia, DW Brooks Distinguished Professor and Director of the Regenerative Bioscience Center, who holds a Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar endowed chair, and is CSO of ArunA Biomedical Inc. He has over 30 years of research and development experience in biotechnology and is a co-founder of several biotech start-ups, including ArunA Biomedical; the first company to commercialize a product derived from human pluripotent stem cells, and cell development used to facilitate approval of Pfizer’s current cognitive enhancing pharmaceuticals.
Prior to joining UGA, Stice was the co-founder and served as both CSO and CEO of Advanced Cell Technology, the first USA Company to advance to human clinical trials using human pluripotent stem cells. Additionally, he co-founded startups; Prolinia and Cytogenesis which later merged with what is now, ViaCyte.
Outside of his academic professorship and business role, Stice co-directs The Regenerative Engineering and Medicine research center, or REM, a joint collaboration between Emory University, Georgia Institute of Technology and UGA, and is also a group leader of EBICS: Emergent Behaviors of Integrated Cellular Systems, a National Science Foundation Science and Technology Center founded by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. As an invited member, he sits on the Scientific Advisory Board for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and is serving on the Governing Committee of the first institute funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC); National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals (NIIMBL), the eleventh institute in the Manufacturing USA government network.
Stice is a world-renown expert in the field of pluripotent stem cell biology. In 2001, he directed work on derivation of three human pluripotent stem cell lines which were approved for federal funding by the NIH and President Bush. One of several noteworthy achievements for Stice, was producing the first cloned rabbit in 1987 and the first cloned transgenic calves in 1998 (George and Charlie). In 1997 his group produced the first genetically modified embryonic stem cell derived pigs and cattle. Notably, the Stice lab was one of only five NIH sponsored sites for training NIH investigators on the propagation, differentiation and use of hESC over a six year period.
Currently, the Stice lab is developing novel therapies and new technologies for drug screening and neurodegenerative disease, which could change the lives of those suffering with Parkinson’s, Stroke injury, and Alzheimer’s. This research has led to publications in Science and Nature journals, national news coverage (CBS, NBC, ABC and CNN) and the first US patents on cloning animals and cattle stem cells which was featured in the Wall Street Journal. Most recently, Stice was elected to NAI Fellow status, the highest professional distinction accorded solely to academic inventors. Georgia Bio also honored Stice that same year with the 2017 Georgia Bio Industry Growth Award.
Assistant Professor, Institute of Cancer Research, Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research
NewswiseBiology, Clinical Trials, Genomics, In Vitro, In Vivo, Medicine, Oncology, Pancreas Cancer, Research, Tumor
Daniel King, MD, PhD, is a former Howard Hughes research scholar at the National Institutes of Health and trained in genomics and bioinformatics at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, where he developed software tools to perform mosaic copy number detection. During his time at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, he spearheaded copy number analysis for 36,000 exome samples in the Deciphering Developmental Disorder Rare Disease project. The results from this work characterized unprecedented detail in the landscape and architecture of developmental disorders, was published in Nature and Lancet, and led to several first author publications.
Following medical and graduate school, Dr. King pursued a medical oncology fellowship under the ABIM Research Track pathway at Stanford University. A core focus of his fellowship research involved circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), which included the computational design of a ctDNA detection panel for pancreas cancer and laboratory validation. This work extended to fragmentomics—a computational analysis of circulating DNA fragment ends as a biomarker of cancer for early detection. From here, Dr. King created a large biobank of pancreas cancer specimens consisting of nearly 500 clinical blood samples from approximately 250 patients. He went on to link this biobank with a large clinical research database built in pancreatic cancer to mine and associate clinical data with translational correlates.
Director of the James P. Wilmot Cancer Institute and the Samuel Durand Professor of Medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center
University of Rochester Medical CenterClinical, Hematology - Oncology, Lymphoma, Medicine, Research
Jonathan W. Friedberg, M.D., is Director of the James P. Wilmot Cancer Institute and the Samuel Durand Professor of Medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center. He is a driving force behind the operations of Wilmot’s clinical and research programs, leading a team of associate directors who help make decisions surrounding Wilmot’s clinical, research, education, and community outreach missions.
Dr. Friedberg serves as the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Clinical Oncology (JCO), the flagship journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). He began this five-year term in June 2021. Prior to his editor-in-chief role, he served as associated editor of JCO. He has also served as a reviewer and on editorial boards for a number of medical journals.
Friedberg is a chair of the lymphoma committee in the SWOG group of the NCI National Clinical Trials Network and is an independently R01-funded investigator in the field of lymphoid malignancies.
Dr. Friedberg received his medical degree from Harvard Medical School. His postgraduate training included an internship and residency at Massachusetts General Hospital. He also completed a medical oncology and hematology fellowship at Dana-Farber/Partners Cancer Care in Boston. Dr. Friedberg also has an M.M.Sc. degree from Harvard Medical School in clinical investigation. He holds subspecialty certification in Medical Oncology and Hematology.
His research interests focus on development of novel therapies for patients with lymphoma. He formerly received a Scholar in Clinical Research award from the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, based upon his work with an oral inhibitor of a protein called Syk, which demonstrated efficacy in the treatment of several different forms of lymphoma. He is currently funded as PI of the ILyAD trial, evaluating patients with follicular lymphoma receiving rituximab with a vitamin D intervention. As chair of SWOG, he is co-leader of the current North American intergroup effort in advanced stage Hodgkin lymphoma. He is also a founding member of the Lymphoma Epidemiology of Outcomes Consortium.
cognitive functions, Medicine, Molecular Biology, Nervous System, Neurology
The brain is composed of billions of neurons forming a complex network. Improper connections of these neurons have severe consequences on the sensory, motor, and cognitive functions of the nervous system. During embryonic development, neuronal axons are guided to their target by attractive and repulsive axonal guidance molecules. We have recently demonstrated that Sonic Hedgehog (Shh) acts as a chemoattractive molecule for the axons of certain neurons in the spinal cord.
One of the objectives of Dr. Frédéric Charron's team is to identify and characterize the components of the Shh signaling pathway in axonal guidance. In addition to helping better understand the immense complexity underlying the formation of nervous system circuits, this research will aid in identifying new strategies to promote the guidance and reconnection of axons damaged by neurodegenerative diseases and brain or spinal cord injuries.