Cary D. Austin, M.D., Ph.D., D.A.B.P., Pathologist, Pathology, gRED, Genentech, Inc.
Dr. Austin is Medical Board of California–certified physician and American Board of Pathology–certified anatomic pathologist. He received his M.D. and Ph.D. degrees in 1998 at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine on an institutional Medical Scientist Training Program stipend and a Life & Health Insurance Medical Fund M.D.-Ph.D. Scholarship. His graduate work in cellular biology in the laboratory of Dennis Shields focused on mechanisms of prohormone processing and secretion. In 2001, Dr. Austin completed his anatomic pathology residency training, and a fellowship in autopsy pathology, at Stanford University School of Medicine, and had become a postdoctoral research fellow in the laboratory of Richard H. Scheller under a Stanford Walter and Idun Berry Fellowship. Dr. Austin completed his postdoctoral training in 2005 at Genentech, where he investigated endocytosis and intracellular trafficking of cell surface receptors targeted by cancer therapeutics and armed antibodies. Dr. Austin then joined the Department of Pathology, where he has since been providing pathology support for a variety of research pipeline programs and basic science projects, mostly in Immunology and Infectious Diseases. In addition to project-based support in these areas, Dr. Austin develops and provides routine tissue-based endpoints for asthma and lupus models and has a research interest in dendritic cell biology. His other major responsibilities include oversight of the Human Tissue Laboratory and coordination of communications between the Departments of Pathology and Bioinformatics regarding ongoing PathLIMS support and development.
Philip Awadalla, Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, University of Montreal; Executive Scientific Director, Cartagene Project; Co-Director, Centre for Child Health Genomics of Montreal, Ste-Justine Hospital
Dr. Philip Awadalla is an Associate Professor at the University of Montreal, Ste Justine Hospital Research Centre, Department of Pediatrics. He obtained his doctorate in population and statistical genetics from the University of Edinburgh and was awarded NSERC and Killam Postdoctoral fellowships to attend the University of British Columbia and was then awarded a Wellcome Trust Fellowship (UK) to pursue his research at the University of California Davis before moving to the University of Montreal. His research utilizes population and integrative genomics approaches to capturing genetic and environmental factors associated with a number of hematological, oncological, and infectious diseases including malaria. Since 2009, he has been the lead Principal Investigator and Scientific Director of the CARTaGENE program. CARTaGENE is the Quebec health survey and an open source program that has recruited and deeply phenotyped 20,000 participants to facilitate research in the development of chronic and aging related diseases. Dr. Awadalla is a teaching faculty at a international institutions including the NIH-funded U. of Washington Institute of Statistical Genetics and sits on the advisory board of a number of international companies and Genome Centres. His team is currently part of the analytical and functional analysis groups of the 1000 Genomes Program, and have also been developing computational tools that have been used in this program as well programs like the HapMap project. Ongoing projects include next-generation programs to study the role of genetic variants responsible for neurological, hematological and cancers, particularly in children; determining rates of mutations and recombination in human pedigrees; model-based approaches to identify genetic and environmental control points to malaria infection and sickle cell disease in Africa; genetic and environmental factors associated with cardiovascular traits in Canada. Dr. Awadalla is the recipient of a Sigma Xi faculty award and the 2012 Canadian Society for Clinical Investigation’s Joe Doupe Young Investigator Award.
Geoffrey Baird, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Laboratory Medicine, University of Washington
Dr. Geoffrey Baird is an assistant professor of Laboratory Medicine and adjunct assistant professor of Pathology at the University of Washington, Seattle, as well as Director of Clinical Chemistry at Harborview Medical Center and Laboratory Director of Airlift Northwest. His clinical interests include immunohistochemistry and rational utilization of laboratory testing, and his research interests include preanalytical processes in tissue pathology, tissue proteomics and oligonucleotide aptamer technology. Dr. Baird is board-certified in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology, trained as a resident in pathology at the University of Washington, trained as a fellow in Immunohistochemistry with Allen Gown at PhenoPath in Seattle, and obtained his M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of California, San Diego.
Stefano Begolo, Ph.D., Research Scientist, Rustem F. Ismagilov Laboratory, Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology
Stefano Begolo was born in Italy, in the Venice Region. There, he completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Padua, with a Bachelor’s degree in Materials Science followed by a Master’s degree in Materials Science and Engineering. He then obtained a Ph.D. in Physics in at Université Pierre et Marie Curie (Paris Sorbonne), working on the development of droplet microfluidic platforms for the detection of proteins and nucleic acids. Since then, he has been working as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the California Institute of Technology, in Rustem F. Ismagilov's laboratory. His current research interests involve the development of microfluidic devices based on the SlipChip technology and the application of such devices for sample preparation, analytes detection and dry sample stabilization for remote analysis.
Victoria M. Blanc, Ph.D., Director, University of Michigan Health System Central Biorepository
Victoria Blanc is the Director of the University of Michigan Health System Central Biorepository. In that role, she is tasked with the de novo development and implementation of an enterprise-wide resource for the secure storage and quality controlled processing of human biological materials for research purposes. She has over 12 years experience in biorepository operations. Prior to joining U of M, Dr. Blanc was Vice President and General Manager of the Asterand Biorepository in Detroit, MI. She also serves the College of American Pathologists as a Committee member for the Biorepository Accreditation Program.
Andrew Brooks, Ph.D., COO, RUCDR Infinite Biologics; Associate Professor, Genetics, Rutgers University
Dr. Brooks is currently Chief Operating Officer of RUCDR Infinite Biologics and the Director of the Bionomics Research and Technology Center (BRTC) at Rutgers University. He is also one of the founding members of the Bioprocessing Solutions Alliance (BSA) and serves on the governance board. He is an Associate Professor of Genetics at Rutgers University. Dr. Brooks is a molecular neuroscientist whose research focuses on deciphering the molecular mechanisms that underlie memory and learning. These studies investigate gene-environment interactions in the context of aging, neurodegenerative disease and neurotoxicant exposure. Dr. Brooks is a well-recognized genomicist and has been involved in the development and implementation of cutting-edge molecular-based technologies for nucleic acid and protein analyses. He has worked to automate the BSA and build the service entity that provides high-throughput sample management and analysis for both DNA- and RNA-based technologies.
Wylie Burke, M.D., Ph.D., Professor, Bioethics and Humanities, University of Washington
Wylie Burke, M.D., Ph.D., is Professor and former Chair of the Department of Bioethics and Humanities at the University of Washington, Adjunct Professor of Medicine and Member of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Her work focuses on the ethical and policy implications of genetic information in research and healthcare. She directs the University of Washington Center for Genomics and Healthcare Equality, an NHGRI-funded center addressing the implications of genomic research for underserved communities; and co-directs the Northwest-Alaska Pharmacogenomics Research Network, a research partnership involving universities and tribal communities in Alaska, Montana and Washington. Dr. Burke received a Ph.D. in Genetics and an M.D. from the University of Washington, and completed Internal Medicine residency training at the University of Washington, where she was also a Medical Genetics fellow. She is a member of the Institute of Medicine and past President of the American Society of Human Genetics. She served as the 2013-2014 Presidential Chair at the University of California San Francisco.
Colin Collins, Ph.D., Professor, Urologic Sciences, University of British Columbia and Senior Research Scientist and Director, Laboratory for Advanced Genome Analysis, Vancouver Prostate Centre
Carolyn Compton, M.D., Ph.D., CMO, National Biomarkers Development Alliance; CMO, Complex Adaptive Systems Institute; Adjunct Professor, Pathology, Mayo Medical School; Professor, School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University
Dr. Compton is an academic pathologist who received her M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from Harvard Medical School. She a Professor of Life Sciences at Arizona State University, the Chief Medical Officer of the National Biomarkers Development Alliance, a member of the BioDesign Institute and the Chief Medical Officer of the Complex Adaptive Systems Institute. She is an Adjunct Professor of Pathology at the University of Arizona, Johns Hopkins and the Mayo Medical School. She was a Professor of Pathology at Harvard and Massachusetts General Hospital for many years, the Chair of Pathology at McGill University from 2000-2005 and the Director of the Office of Biorepositories and Biospecimen Research at the National Cancer Institute until 2012. She is the past CEO and President of the Critical Path Institute. Her primary research interests are related to colon cancer, biobanking and biomarkers development.
Hoda Elgendy, Ph.D., CSO, BioActive Technologies, Inc.
Dr. Hoda Elgendy obtained her Master’s degree at Rutgers University, her Ph.D. from Boston University and had a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard Medical School - Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Health Sciences and Technology Program. Dr. Elgendy is a biotechnology entrepreneur with over 20 years of hands-on clinical translational research and management experience to the challenge of biomedical sciences development. The breadth of her work includes: biotechnology emphasizing business development, product lifecycle management, technology licensing and partnership agreements in the areas of biomaterials, tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, musculoskeletal repair, bioinformatics, polymer-based drug delivery systems, global biobanking technology, cellular therapy, cell lines authentication, reference standards and measurements infrastructure.
Stephanie Frahm, Director, Lab Services Management and Operations, RUCDR Infinite Biologics
As Director of Lab Services Management and Operations, Stephanie Frahm manages the daily technical operations of the nucleic acid services lab, develops and optimizes complex lab processes and oversees the project management infrastructure. Leveraging a background in genomic technologies, laboratory automation and project management, Stephanie works with clients from pharma and government to identify their needs and develop a customized solution to help them attain their research aims. In addition, Stephanie oversees the project management and lab services efforts of the BioProcessing Solutions Alliance, a strategic partnership formed with BioStorage Technologies in 2012. Her alliance role is focused on ensuring all laboratory services are launched and executed consistently across locations globally and plays a key role in building customized lab service programs for clients. Stephanie received a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Temple University and a Master of Science degree in Molecular Genetics from Rutgers University.
Dayong Gao, Ph.D., Professor, Mechanical Engineering and Bioengineering, University of Washington
Dr. Dayong Gao is Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Bioengineering at University of Washington, Seattle, WA. Prior to joining University of Washington, he was Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering at University of Kentucky, where he was elected and honored as Endowed Alumni Professor and Baxter Healthcare Corp Chair in Engineering, respectively. Dr. Gao’s major research focuses and scientific contributions are in the following areas: (1) fundamental research in cryobiology, revealing the mechanisms of cryoinjury to living biological systems at low temperature, and development of optimal methods and novel technology/equipment for long-term cryopreservation/banking of living cells, tissues and organs for cellular therapy, gene therapy and organ transplantation; (2) development of a new generation of artificial organs, especially artificial kidney and artificial liver systems for treatment of the patients with end-stage kidney and liver failure; and (3) bio-instrument and biosensors/BioMEMS for rapid and cost-effective diagnosis and detection of diseases with high sensitivity and specificity. Dr. Gao is a well-known world expert in cryobiology and biopreservation engineering. Dr. Gao’s research work has been recognized and supported by numerous awards/grants and research funding agencies, including National Institutes of Health (NIH), Department of Defense, National Science Foundation, National Cancer Society, American Heart Association, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Whitaker Foundation, Washington Research Foundation and industries. Dr. Gao has authored or co-authored over 200 scientific research papers in prestigious journals, two scientific books and 17 book chapters. He served as Officer and Governor (1998-2008) in the Society for Cryobiology (International), Chairman of World Congress of Cryobiology and Cryo-medicine (2004), and Co-Chair of the Annual Meeting of the Society for Cryobiology (1996). Currently, he serves as the Editor-in-Chief, Section Editor or on the Editorial Board of eight scientific journals. He has received numerous national/international awards, and most recently was elected and honored as the Asian American Engineer of the Year 2013. Dr. Gao received his BSc in Mechanical Engineering from University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) affiliated with Chinese Sciences Academy in 1983, and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Concordia University, Montreal, Canada in 1991. He is honored with the Distinguished Master Chair Professor in his alma mater, USTC.
Timothy Hoey, Ph.D., Senior Vice President, Cancer Biology, OncoMed Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Dr. Timothy Hoey is Senior Vice President, Cancer Biology at OncoMed Pharmaceuticals. The Cancer Biology group is responsible for testing new drugs targeting cancer stem cells and translational research to discover biomarkers indicative of CSC frequency and patients most likely to respond to OncoMed therapeutic antibodies. Dr. Hoey previously served as Director, Biology Department at Amgen (San Francisco) and was responsible for characterization of oncogenes and development of drugs to target oncogene products. Prior to this he was Director, Biology Department at Tularik, responsible for Cancer and Immunology research. Prior to joining Tularik, he performed postdoctoral studies on the mechanisms of transcriptional regulation at UC Berkeley under Dr. Robert Tijian. Dr. Hoey received his Ph.D. from Columbia University, where he conducted research on regulation of gene expression and embryonic development with Dr. Michael Levine. Dr. Hoey is a co-inventor on several patents and has authored or co-authored over 60 scientific publications.
Allison Hubel, Ph.D., Professor, Mechanical Engineering and Director, Biopreservation Core Resource, University of Minnesota
Dr. Hubel is currently Director of the Biopreservation Core Resource (BioCoR, www.biocor.net), a national resource in biopreservation. She is also a professor in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Minnesota and a deputy editor for Biopreservation and Biobanking.
Devon D. Kelly, Director, OHSU Knight BioLibrary, Oregon Health & Science University, Knight Cancer Institute
Devon Kelly is Director of the OHSU Knight BioLibrary at the Oregon Health & Science University. Devon is a molecular biologist by training with over 14 years experience in specimen repository management, 10 years within pharmacogenetics research and five years basic research. In her current role, she has primary responsibility for the standardization of repository management across OHSU, as well as coordination of the distribution of specimens to non-OHSU researchers. Prior to joining OHSU in 2011, Devon managed a resource team within the Human Sample BioRepository group at GlaxoSmithKline, for which she developed specimen management processes to meet the scientific and operational requirements for nearly 13,000 R&D scientists.
Sylvia M. Lee, M.D., Research Associate, Immunology Program, Clinical Research Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and Medical Oncologist, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance
Dr. Sylvia Lee is a research associate in the Immunology Program of the Clinical Research Division at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, as well as a medical oncologist at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance who specializes in melanoma and lung cancer. She is the lead investigator for the Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes (TIL) clinical trial for melanoma patients at Fred Hutch.
Nasrin Perskvist, Ph.D., Director and National Coordinator, Cervical Cytology Biobank, Pathology and Cytology, Karolinska Institute and BBMRI.se
Nasrin Perskvist is Director and National Coordinator of Cervical Cytology Biobank of Sweden, where she leads the effort to harmonize biobanking practices nationwide. Prior to joining to Karolinska Institute and Karolinska University hospital , Nasrin worked as a pathologist at the National Board of Forensic Medicine, and as microbiologist and molecular biologist at Public Health Agency of Sweden. She gained her Ph.D. as microbiologist and hosted Queensland University in Brisbane, Australian as a postdoc. Nasrin has invented the high-throughput handling and storage process for biopreservation of liquid-based cervical cell samples. This method was then incorporated into a robotic system and the process was moved from a regionally based Cervical Cytology Biobank to a national infrastructure.
Bernard A. LaSalle, Director of Operations, BMIC, Biomedical Informatics, Center for Clinical and Translational Science, University of Utah
Mr. LaSalle joined the University of Utah General Clinical Research Center in 1986 as the CLINFO Systems Manager and became director of the GCRC Informatics Core in 1996. Since 2006 he has been an instructor in the Biomedical Informatics Department and the director of operations for the Biomedical Informatics Core for the Center for Clinical and Translational Science at the University of Utah.
Michael Liebman, Ph.D., Managing Director, IPQ Analytics, LLC
Michael N. Liebman, Ph.D., is the Managing Director of IPQ Analytics, LLC and of Strategic Medicine, Inc., and Strategic Medicine, BV (the Hague, NL) after serving as the Executive Director of the Windber Research Institute from 2003-2007. He is also an Adjunct Professor of Pharmacology and Physiology at Drexel College of Medicine and Adjunct Professor of Drug Discovery, First Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University. Previously, he was Director, Computational Biology and Biomedical Informatics at the University of Pennsylvania Cancer Center 2000-2003. He served as Global Head of Computational Genomics at Roche Pharmaceuticals and Director, Bioinformatics and Pharmacogenomics at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Director of Genomics for Vysis, Inc. He is a co-founder of Prosanos, Inc. (2000). He was on the faculty of Mount Sinai School of Medicine in Pharmacology and Physiology/Biophysics. He serves on 14 scientific advisory boards and is on the Board of Directors and chairs the Science Committee of the Nathaniel Adamczyk Foundation for Pediatric ARDS and is an Advisor to the American Heart Association Science and Technology Accelerator. Michael is Chair of the Informatics Program of the PhRMA Foundation and also Chair of its new program in Translational Medicine and Therapeutics and is a member of the PhRMA Scientific Advisory Board. He is on the Advisory Board of the International Society for Translational Medicine and on the Editorial Board for the Journal of Translational Medicine, for Clinical and Translational Medicine and for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics and the International Park for Translational Biomedicine (Shanghai). He is an Invited Professor at the Shanghai Center for Bioinformatics Technology. His research focuses on computational models of disease progression stressing risk detection, disease process and pathway modeling and analysis of lifestyle interactions and causal biomarker discovery and focuses on moving bedside problems into the research laboratory to improve patient care and quality of life. Recent activities also include computational approaches to disease modeling, patient and disease stratification, drug safety, reduction of animal testing and both qualitative and quantitative risk assessment in health care and the life sciences.
Angen Liu, M.D., Ph.D., Director, Specimen Accessioning Core, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University
Dr. Angen Liu is the Director of Specimen Accessioning Core at Kimmel Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University. He received his medical degree from Anhui Medical University in China in 1995 and his Ph.D. from Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine in Japan in 2005. During his Ph.D. program and postdoctoral training, he carried out studies in cancer biology and molecular pathology. Dr. Liu is a trained M.D. pathologist and worked for many years as an anatomic pathologist. He is experienced in the operation of biorepositories.
Geoffrey P. Lomax, Ph.D., Senior Officer, Standards Working Group, California Institute for Regenerative Medicine
Dr. Geoffrey Lomax is the Senior Officer for the Medical and Ethical Standards at the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine. He develops the CIRM’s medical and ethical standards, performs compliance-related activities and facilitates the implementation of CIRM’s Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Banking Initiative. He worked previously as the Research Director with the California Environmental Health Investigations Branch to publish and implement a strategic plan for the development of an Environmental Health Surveillance System in California. Through his professional career, Dr. Lomax has continually worked to bridge issues of scientific, policy and ethics in the development and implementation of research programs. His DrPH research and M.P.H. work were performed within the Division of Environmental Health Sciences at the University of California at Berkeley and his BS in Environmental Toxicology was conferred by the University of California at Davis.
Colleen M. Mitchell, Joint Biorepository Operations Manager, Indiana University Genetics Biobank and Indiana Biobank
Colleen M. Mitchell is the Joint Biorepository Operations Manager for the Indiana University Genetics Biobank and the Indiana Biobank. She coordinates business operations and maintenance for the cores. She ensures standardization and consistency of all standard operating procedures and quality control. She also provides leadership, guidance, support and mentoring for coordinators, technicians and medical staff within the tissue banks, and interacts and collaborates with internal and external stakeholders.
James M. Olson, M.D., Ph.D., Member, Clinical Research Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center; Professor, Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, University of Washington; Attending Physician, Seattle Children’s Hospital; Founder, Presage Biosciences and Blaze Bioscience
Dr. Olson discovers and develops promising new drugs for cancer patients. He cares for children with brain cancer, and much of his work is focused on them. He found that a vitamin A derivative could be used to treat medulloblastoma, the most common form of childhood brain cancer, without causing the harmful side effects associated with standard chemotherapy and radiation treatment. He now leads a clinical trial being conducted across 250 centers to determine whether this drug improves survival for children with this high-risk medulloblastoma. Dr. Olson led the creation of a molecular imaging agent derived from scorpion venom that illuminates cancer cells. The “Tumor Paint” can identify tumors with as few as 200 cancer cells making it 500 times more sensitive than magnetic resonance imaging. Although Dr. Olson originally developed Tumor Paint for brain cancer, it could revolutionize the treatment of other tumors by helping surgeons distinguish between cancerous and normal tissue. He founded Blaze Bioscience, which is now advancing Tumor Paint to patients. Building on the success of Tumor Paint, Dr. Olson is now developing a new class of drugs called optide therapeutics. Inspired by nature, optide drug candidates can be better engineered to fit like a key in a lock, where the lock is a disease-causing protein and the drug “key” specifically blocks its activity. They have the potential to be far more effective and easier on the body than current cancer treatments, and they may also be effective for other diseases, such as autism, mental health disorders, atrial fibrillation and stroke in the elderly. In addition to developing optides for human patients, Dr. Olson is collaborating with the Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine to design and test optides for dogs and cats with cancer. Dr. Olson also invented a technology that permits, for the first time, the comparison of multiple drug therapies in a single tumor. He founded a spin-off company, Presage Biosciences, that is using this technology to help major pharmaceutical companies develop more effective cancer drugs. Eventually, the strategy could enable oncologists to tailor treatment by matching each patient with the best therapies for his or her disease. Dr. Olson earned a Ph.D. in pharmacology in 1989 and an M.D. in 1991, both from the University of Michigan. He completed his residency in pediatrics in 1994 and his fellowship in pediatric oncology in 1997, both at the University of Washington. He became an attending physician at Seattle Children’s in 1998. He joined the Fred Hutch and UW faculties in 2000. Dr. Olson has received awards from the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, the Child Health Research Center and the American Academy of Pediatrics. He was also an Emily Dorfman Fellow of the American Brain Tumor Association.
Jeffrey Otto, MBA, Ph.D., National Director, Center for Translational Research, Institute for Research and Innovation, Catholic Health Initiatives
Dr. Otto is the National Director for the CHI Center for Translational Research and was brought on in early 2009 to start up the program. Prior to his role with CHI, he has held a variety of leadership roles at Perlegen Sciences, Sequenom and Genaissance Pharmaceuticals. At these companies, Dr. Otto has held roles both within laboratory operations as well as business development.
Bruce Pharr, Vice President, Life Science Research Systems, Remedy Informatics
Bruce Pharr brings more than 25 years of experience in technology, life sciences, and healthcare to his role as vice president of bioinformatics systems for Remedy Informatics. He has held executive positions with Symyx Technologies and GenoLogics Life Sciences Software and served as a consultant with ACD/Labs and Personalis. Bruce has authored articles on R&D informatics and data management for Bio-IT World, Drug Discovery World, and Drug Discovery News and contributed to articles in Laboratory Equipment, Lab Manager, and Scientific Computing World.
Nathan D. Price, Ph.D., Associate Director, Institute for Systems Biology
Nathan Price is Associate Director of the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, WA. Dr. Price is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Howard Temin Pathway to Independence Award in Cancer Research from the National Institutes of Health, a National Science Foundation CAREER Award, a Young Investigator Award from the Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust, and was named as one of the inaugural “Tomorrow’s Principal Investigators” by Genome Technology and, most recently, as a Camille-Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar. Dr. Price served on the National Academies-Institute of Medicine committee to set best practice guidelines to identify Omics-Based Tests for Predicting Patient Outcomes in Clinical Trials. Dr. Price has served on the scientific advisory boards of a number of companies, including TetraVitae Bioscience, Global Genomics Group and Trelys. He serves on the editorial boards of Science Translational Medicine, BMC Systems Biology, Industrial Biotechnology and Biotechnology Journal, and was Deputy Editor of PLOS Computational Biology from 2011-2014. He has served for several years on the Board of Directors and Scientific Advisory Board of the P4 Medicine Institute. Dr. Price is also Co-PI of ISB’s 100K Wellness study, which is a pioneering effort to predict and prevent disease before it happens.
Vinagolu K. Rajasekhar, MSc, MPhil, Ph.D., Senior Research Scientist, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Dr. V.K. Rajasekhar is a Senior Research Scientist in the Department of Medicine at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), New York. Dr. Rajasekhar has been an invited speaker and chaired sessions in various international conferences and also researched at MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas. Dr. Rajasekhar has received prestigious research awards and support grants from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Germany, to the Robert A Welch Foundation, Texas, USA, etc. He is the senior editor of a well-received book, Regulatory Networks in Stem Cells with Humana/Springer Press. Dr. Rajasekhar has been the reviewer of many peer-reviewed journals such as Stem Cells, Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences-USA, Journal of Cell Biology, Neoplasia, PLOS ONE, etc. He has also taught undergraduate courses at the University of California, Irvine, and delivered graduate lecture course at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. Dr. Rajasekhar’s current research focus is on developing patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models of cancer and the identification and isolation of cancer stem cells from clinical specimens, discovery of biomarkers and understanding cellular reprogramming mechanisms. Dr. Rajasekhar and collaborating oncologists, pathologists and surgeons including Dr. John Healey and others at MSKCC have identified a rare population of human patient cancer stem cells with a new set of biomarkers and a targetable novel signaling pathway distinct from that of total cells in bulk tumors (e.g., http://www.Genomeweb.com). This approach has opened up novel possibilities for biobanking of cancer stem cells and has a potential for upgrading the techniques into industrial-grade screening. Dr. Rajasekhar’s accomplishments on the basic research front have challenged the accepted textbook wisdom of gene expression during cancer initiation and have the potential to unveil novel therapeutics against cancer. Dr. Rajasekhar’s research accomplishments mark an impressive number of citations, previews by lead journals, exceptional post-publication peer reviews by Faculty of 1000, etc. Dr. Rajasekhar’s latest focus is on developing humanized PDX models of cancer to understand the cells conferring therapy resistance in the human patients’ context.
Michael H. A. Roehrl, M.D., Ph.D., Director, UHN Program in BioSpecimen Sciences, University Health Network and University of Toronto
Dr. Roehrl is Director of the BioSpecimen Sciences Program (BSP) at University Health Network in Toronto. He is a practicing academic physician-scientist who is dually board-certified in both anatomic pathology and laboratory medicine. In addition, he is a Principal Investigator at the Ontario Cancer Institute, where he studies novel genomic and proteomic biomarkers of colorectal and pancreatic cancers using a variety of biophysical (mass spectrometric) and bioinformatics approaches. Dr. Roehrl’s BSP is one of the largest academic programs of its kind in North America and has pioneered a number of research specimen data management tools as well as rapid intraoperative procurement and unique rapid research autopsy program.
Stephen Schmechel, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor, UW Medicine Pathology and Director, NWBioTrust, University of Washington
Dr. Schmechel is Director of Northwest (NW) BioTrust, a core facility established by the University of Washington (UW) and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center for patient consenting, research biospecimen procurement and research pathology services including diagnostic pathology, IHC assay optimization, TMA manufacture and digital pathology. He is additionally Chief of Pathology at Harborview Medical Center (HMC). HMC, UW Medical Center, Northwest Hospital and Medical Center, Valley Medical Center, UW Neighborhood Clinics, UW Physicians, Airlift Northwest and UW School of Medicine comprise the patient care, research and educational enterprise known as UW Medicine. Additionally, Dr. Schmechel is Chief of Cytopathology and staff surgical pathologist, UW Medicine.
Shannon Sewards, Associate Director, Human Subjects Division, University of Washington
Shannon Sewards is the Associate Director of the University of Washington (UW) Human Subjects Division (HSD), the administrative office that oversees all research involving human subjects at the UW. She received her undergraduate degree in Psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles and her graduate degree in Psychology from Pepperdine University. She has worked at several Institutional Review Boards in the Los Angeles area and has been with the UW HSD for over seven years. Her primary responsibility and focus within the HSD is overseeing the biomedical research operations at the UW with a special interest in genetic research and biospecimen repositories. For the past several years, she has been closely working as a regulatory consultant to the Northwest BioTrust, a collaborative Fred Hutchinson/University of Washington/Seattle Children’s resource that connects donated biospecimens from consenting individuals with innovative research projects aimed at advancing biomarker discovery and improving prevention, diagnosis and treatment of human disease.
W. Troy Shelton, M.S., P.M.P., Vice President, Operations, International Genomics Consortium
Troy Shelton, M.S., P.M.P., is the Vice President of Operations and oversees all aspects of operations, research studies, client services, and logistics. Troy has over 18 years of heath care and project management experience. In addition to his leadership role at IGC, he is also the Vice President of Program Management at Paradigm Diagnostics. He served as the Project Manager for The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) Biospecimen Core Resource (BCR) and oversaw: BCR day to day operations; BCR financial oversight; facilitation of communications. He is also currently the project manager for the University of Michigan Biorepository Implementation and is the co-Principle Investigator for the IGC expO Tissues Source Site Network.
John T. Slattery, Ph.D., Vice Dean, Research and Graduate Education, School of Medicine and Professor, Pharmacology and Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine
John Slattery is Vice Dean for Research and Graduate Education and Professor of Pharmacology and Medicine in the School of Medicine at the University of Washington. His academic background has included appointments in the School of Pharmacy at UW, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the School of Medicine and the College of Arts and Sciences at Indiana University. His research addressed toxicities accrued by exposure to electrophiles as such or as generated from chemically stable molecules. These compounds can cause injury to the liver, other organs and the developing fetus. Their chemical reactivity underlies the mechanism of action of many cancer chemotherapeutic agents (the class known as alkylators). The work has had practical applications in responding to and avoiding drug toxicity and improving mortality and morbidity following Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.
Stephanie Elaine Soares, MS, CCRP, Research Administrator, Urology, University of California Davis
Ms. Soares is a Research Administrator in the Department of Urology at the University of California Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, California. She has been involved with biobanking for the past 25 years and has worked closely with a number of faculty to design, implement and manage multiple biorepositories at the University. She earned her Master’s degree in Health Informatics from UC Davis with a thesis focused on identifying informatics solutions to institutional biobanking workflows. She is a member of the International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories (ISBER), the Society of Clinical Research Associates (SoCRA) and the Biobank Workgroup in the UC Biomedical Research Acceleration, Integration and Development (UC BRAID) consortium, an effort by the University of California to accelerate clinical and translational research across their five biomedical campuses. Her main interests include exploring informatics approaches to accelerate enterprise-wide biospecimen procurement.
Suzanne Vercauteren, M.D., Ph.D., FRCPC, Head, Division of Hematopathology, BC Children’s Hospital and Clinical Assistant Professor, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia
Suzanne Vercauteren is the Head of the Division of Hematopathology at BC Children’s Hospital and is Director of the BC Children’s Hospital BioBank. She is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of British Columbia. Suzanne is also on the board of the management committee of the Canadian Tumour Repository Network.
Wendell G. Yarbrough, M.D., MMHC, FACS, Professor of Surgery, Otolaryngology and Pathology; Section Chief, Otolaryngology; Co-Director, Molecular Virology Research Program; Director, Head and Neck Cancer Program, Smilow Cancer Hospital, Yale University
Dr. Yarbrough is a surgeon-scientist who has been active in head and neck cancer research for more than two decades. Recently, he assumed the position of Chief of Otolaryngology, Director of the Head and Neck Disease Center and Co-Director of the Molecular Virology Program at Yale. Previously, Dr. Yarbrough served as the co-leader of the Thoracic/Head and Neck program at the Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center where his lab developed human-in-mouse models to explore treatment of head and neck tumors. More recently, the Yarbrough lab has focused on characterization of molecular defects that drive behavior of human head and neck squamous cell carcinomas and salivary cancers so that defects can be rationally targeted to advance therapy.
William H. Yong, M.D., Professor, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Neuropathologist, National Neurologic AIDS Bank Director, Brain Tumor Translational Resource David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles
Dr. William Yong is Professor of Pathology at UCLA. He current directs a brain tumor biorepository and develops new testing for brain tumor studies and trials. He supervises the National Neurologic Aids Bank biorepository operations. His research interests include biospecimen science and brain tumor diagnostics.
Claire Zhu, Ph.D., Program Director, Division of Cancer Prevention, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health
Dr. Claire Zhu is a program director at the National Cancer Institute. She has been actively involved in the PLCO Biorepository since 2005. She played a leading role in developing the PLCO Biorepository Policies and Procedures, scientific review and management structure, as well as various guidelines designed to safeguard the biospecimens while fostering active scientific utilization. In 2012, she developed a new NCI Program Announcement that provides funding for top-tier research projects using the PLCO biospecimens. Dr. Zhu also manages a grant portfolio in cancer biomarkers and early detection. Dr. Zhu received her Ph.D. in Biology from the Johns Hopkins University in 1998.