Allan Hackshaw
Professor of Epidemiology & Medical Statistics at University College London, and Director of the Cancer Research UK & UCL Cancer Trials Centre
Allan Hackshaw is Professor of Epidemiology & Medical Statistics at University College London, and Director of the Cancer Research UK & UCL Cancer Trials Centre, one of the largest cancer trials units in the UK. He has >32 years’ experience in the design, conduct and interpretation of phase I-III clinical trials, observational studies, real world data studies and systematic reviews, in a variety of disease areas, including cancer treatments, screening and diagnosis, and tobacco and health. He has worked in several cancer types (notably lung, thyroid, and gynaecological) and all types of interventions (systematic therapies including targeted and immunotherapies, radiotherapy, surgery, and combinations of them). His special interest is in adult and prenatal screening (he is a member of the UK National Screening Committee Adult Reference Group, and co-editor of the Journal of Medical Screening). He has published more than 200 journal articles and book chapters, and sole or first author of four textbooks, including two on clinical trials. He delivers modules on evidence-based medicine and clinical trials for postgraduate courses at UCL and the London School of Economics.
Key Research Focus Areas:
- Adult and prenatal screening
- Phase 1 - 3 clinical trials
- Systematic reviews
Amit Khot
Consultant Haematologist at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne, Australia.
After graduating from the University of Pune, India, Assoc Professor Khot trained in Internal Medicine in India and the UK, where he qualified as a Member of the Royal College of Physicians. He completed training in laboratory and clinical Haematology in London, UK, obtaining a Fellowship from the Royal College of Pathologists. This was followed by a clinical research fellowship involving early phase clinical trials in cell therapies and myeloma at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. Assoc Prof Khot has published in international journals and presented in international conferences in his fields of interest of cell therapies, bone marrow transplantation, myeloma, T-cell lymphoma and early phase clinical trials. He currently works as a Consultant Haematologist at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and Royal Melbourne Hospital and is an investigator in all phases of clinical trials involving novel agents and immunotherapies in myeloma and advanced haematologic malignancies.
Key Research Focus Areas:
- Myeloma
- T-cell Lymphoma
- Immunotherapy and Cell therapies in Hematologic cancers
Arnie Purushotham
Consultant Academic Surgeon, Professor of Breast Cancer at King’s College London.
Professor Arnie Purushotham has been a Consultant Academic Surgeon for 30 years having worked in Glasgow, Cambridge and London. He is Professor of Breast Cancer at King’s College London and Consultant Surgeon at Guy’s and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust. He is also the Director of King’s Health Partners Comprehensive Cancer Centre.
As a scientific researcher, Professor Purushotham’s goal has been to drive high quality clinical and translational research that directly impacts patients with cancer.
Key Research Focus Areas:
- Cancer pathways
- Intra-operative optical imaging
- MR Elastography to predict response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy
- Decision support tools in breast cancer management
- Prevention and early detection
- Cancer in low- and middle-income countries
- Cancer outcomes
Balu Krishna Sasidharan
Professor & Head, Unit 2, Radiation Oncology. Ida B Scudder Cancer Centre, Christian Medical College, Vellore
Dr Balu Krishna Sasidharan is Professor of Radiation Oncology at CMC, Vellore. His research interests include upper GI, Head and Neck, Thorax, Prostate Cancer Research, Radiomics - Artificial Intelligence, Function Sparing Radiation, Mouse Tumour models, Immunotherapy and Radiation.
Key Research Focus Areas:
- Head and neck / LUNG / prostate cancers / Radiotherapy
- AI integration in health care / technology
- Survivorship / Involve decision making / Continuum of care
C S Pramesh
Director of the Tata Memorial Hospital and Professor and Head of Thoracic Surgery at the Tata Memorial Centre, Mumbai
Dr CS Pramesh is the Director of the Tata Memorial Hospital and Professor and Head of Thoracic Surgery at the Tata Memorial Centre, Mumbai. He serves on the UICC Board of Directors. He is the convener for the National Cancer Grid, a large network of 370+ cancer centres in India and several other countries (https://ncgindia.org). Pramesh is highly committed to reducing inequities in cancer control and making cancer treatment accessible to all geographic regions and strata of society. He is visiting professor at the Division of Cancer Studies, King’s College London and the Institute of Cancer Policy, King’s Health Partners, London. He serves on the advisory boards of several global organizations including WHO, ASCO, ESMO and the UICC. His research interests include health services research, value-based care, addressing barriers to access, and cancer policy. He is a recipient of the Rachel Pearline global cancer research humanitarian award from the National Cancer Institute, USA.
Key Research Focus Areas:
- Addressing barriers in access
- Value-based innovations in cancer therapeutics
- Randomized trials
Durga Gadgil
Research Consultant
Durga Gadgil, an independent clinical research consultant, is currently working also as a consultant with the Tata Memorial Administrative and Research Council (TRAC), Tata Memorial Hospital (TMH). She is the chief coordinator for the two-year MSc in Clinical Research course conducted by the Tata Memorial Centre under the Homi Bhabha National Institute. She is also a GCP Trainer and conducts workshops and seminars for the same. Besides, she is instrumental in setting up the National Cancer Grid Contract Research Organization (NCG CRO) at TMH in 2017, which monitors Investigator Initiated Research which are NCG funded, multicentre studies carried out in India. She is a part of the Organizing committee for CReDO, the research methodology workshop conducted by TMH.
She has 31 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry and retired in November 2015 as Area Head, Asia Pacific, Regional Medical Monitoring Organization, Pfizer.
Durga is a certified NABH assessor for NABH Accreditation Standards for Clinical Trials (Ethics Committee, Investigator, and Clinical Trial Site)
During her career span of 30+ years, she has worked in many pharmaceutical companies, all MNCs and one Indian company. She has experience in all fields related to a medical doctor’s role in the industry, like medico-marketing support, regulatory activities, pharmacovigilance and safety reporting, clinical operations, medical monitoring, auditing and training.
Key Research Focus Areas:
- Clinical Operations
- Project Management & Training
Elizabeth Garrett-Mayer
PhD, FSCT, Vice President, Center for Research and Analytics (CENTRA)
Dr. Garrett-Mayer’s department (CENTRA) leads the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s research efforts, including the TAPUR Study (a pragmatic basket trial of FDA approved targeted agents in patients with advanced cancer), the CDK Study (a PCORI funded clinical trial comparing two dosing strategies for CDK4/6 inhibitors), and programs aimed at dose optimization, improving access to clinical trials, and oncology workforce issues. Prior to joining ASCO, she served on the faculty at Johns Hopkins in the Department of Oncology, and then joined the faculty of the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) where she established the Biostatistics Shared Resource at the Hollings Cancer Center (HCC).
She earned her PhD in Biostatistics from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Her publication record includes more than 300 peer-reviewed publications, primarily in early phase clinical trial design methods and clinical cancer research. She serves on the board of The Society for Clinical Trials, has been a member of numerous NIH grant review committees, NCI task forces and steering groups, Data Safety Monitoring Boards for NIH-supported clinical trials, and serves on the editorial board of three peer-reviewed journals. She has served as course director for both the ASCO-AACR Methods in Clinical Cancer Workshop and the SITC Clinical Immuno-Oncology Network Workshop.
Key Research Focus Areas:
- Biostatistics
- Dose optimization
- Phase II trial design
Ian Tannock
MD, PhD: Brief Narrative Biography, September 2024
Dr. Tannock is Emeritus Professor at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and University of Toronto. He obtained his PhD from the Institute of Cancer Research, London University, England and his MD from University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA. His clinical expertise is in GU and breast cancer, and he chaired trials for men with metastatic prostate cancer that led to licencing of drugs used worldwide. Dr. Tannock is editor of the Basic Science of Oncology textbook, now in its 6th edition (2021), that is used by trainees in all branches of oncology.
Dr. Tannock was a member of the ASCO Board of Directors (2001-2004), and of the EORTC Board (2009-2016). He received the ESMO award (2012) and the ASCO Allen Lichter award for leadership and innovation (2019), holds 2 honorary degrees and is appointed to the Order of Canada.
Since retiring from active practice, Dr Tannock teaches and mentors young oncologists internationally, and authors papers relating to clinical trial methodology. He is a member of the WHO Essential Medicines Committee, and a founding member of Common-Sense Oncology. These initiatives seek to return cancer management and cancer trials to evidence-based benefit for patients, and thereby reduce cost and improve global access to effective cancer treatment.
Key Research Focus Areas:
- Design, analysis and reporting of clinical trials, including dose optimisation and Quality of Life
- GU cancers (prostate, bladder and kidney)
- Breast cancer
Jammbe Musoro
Senior statistician, EORTC Headquarters, Brussels, Belgium.
Jammbe obtained a PhD in Biostatistics from the Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, in 2016. He joined the EORTC headquarters in October 2015, where he supports both the Quality of Life Department and the Statistics Department.
Currently, Jammbe is the designated statistician for the EORTC Cutaneous Lymphoma Tumor Group, providing statistical support in the design of cancer clinical trials. In his role with the EORTC Quality of Life Department, he offers statistical assistance in the design, analysis, and reporting of studies with quality of life endpoints. Jammbe is actively engaged in quality of life research and leads various projects, including the EORTC Minimally Important Difference (MID) project, which aims to establish interpretation guidelines for the EORTC QLQ-C30. He regularly contributes to EORTC educational courses and participates in international collaborative projects like SISAQOL- IMI, which aims to standardize the use, analysis, and interpretation of patient-reported outcome data in cancer clinical trials.
Key Research Focus Areas:
- Phase II study design.
- Design of studies with health-related quality of life (HRQoL) endpoints.
- Developing interpretation guidelines for HRQoL outcomes.
Indranil Mallick
Senior Consultant, Department of Radiation Oncology, Tata Medical Center, Kolkata
Dr Indranil Mallick completed his degree in radiation oncology at the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India and subsequently trained at the Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, India and the Princess Margaret Hospital (University of Toronto), Toronto, Canada.
Key Research Focus Areas:
- Hypofractionated radiotherapy in prostate and head and neck cancers.
- Applications of machine learning and artificial intelligence in oncology.
- Technical aspects of radiotherapy (image guidance, planning techniques, PET-CT guidance).
- Oncology education - developing and testing online educational courses.
Manju Sengar
Professor, Adult hematolymphoid disease management group, Medical Oncology, Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai.
Manju Sengar is Professor, Adult hematolymphoid disease management group, Medical Oncology at the Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai. Dr Sengar completed her training in Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology from All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi.
She has done her post graduate diploma in clinical trials from London School of hygiene and tropical medicine (external programme). She is a recipient of American Society of Hematology visitor training program fellowship at Duke University, Durham. She is a core group member of National Cancer Grid, India. She is a founding member of the Hematology Cancer Consortium. Her main areas of clinical research are non-Hodgkin lymphomas, lymphomas in HIV/AIDS, and acute lymphoblastic leukemia. She has been involved in promoting value-based cancer care and resource-stratified treatment guidelines.
Key Research Focus Areas:
- Phase I, II, III clinical trials in hematological cancers including CAR-T
- Real world data based research
Marc Buyse
Degrees of Engineering from Brussels University (Belgium), Degree of Management from Cranfield University (UK), and a ScD in biostatistics from the Harvard School of Public Health (Boston, MA)
Marc Buyse, ScD, holds degrees in engineering from Brussels University (Belgium), in management from Cranfield University (UK), and a ScD in biostatistics from the Harvard School of Public Health (Boston, MA). He worked at the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) in Brussels and at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, MA. He is the founder of IDDI (International Drug Development Institute), CluePoints and One2Treat, three companies offering services and software for clinical research. He is Associate Professor of biostatistics at Hasselt University in Belgium. His recent research work focuses on developing statistical methods for patient-centric medicine.
Key Research Focus Areas:
- Analysis of multiple outcomes
- Patient-centric treatment decisions
- Identification of predictive factors
Matthew Sydes
Head of Data-Driven Clinical Trials in the Data for R&D programme, part of the Transformation Directorate at NHS England in London, UK
Professor Matthew Sydes is Head of Data-Driven Clinical Trials in the Data for R&D programme, part of the Transformation Directorate at NHS England in London, UK. For 30 years, Matt has designed, conducted, analysed, reported and communicated clinical trials, usually late-phase, often international and often defining a new standard-of-care for patients. With a broad operations and statistical background, he has increasingly focused on methodological research to improve the delivery of clinical trials, including: implementation into practice of novel designs, particularly multi-arm multi-stage (MAMS) platform / master protocols; running academic-led trials with a view to regulatory use and submission; proportionate and efficient monitoring of clinical trial; better clinical trial data sharing; communication of trial findings; and, critically, the potential to transform clinical trial planning and delivery through the use of routinely-collected healthcare systems data. Matt has presented widely, taught on national and international courses, and sat on funding panels and ethics committee. He joined NHS England from University College London (UCL) where he was a Professor of Clinical Trials and Methodology, research director for the Transforming Data for Trials programme at Health Data Research UK (HDR UK) and Associate Director for Data-Enabled Trials at the BHF Data Science Centre. He is an inaugural HDR UK Fellow.
Key Research Focus Areas:
- Late-phase randomised controlled trials
- Health systems data for clinical trials
- Efficient clinical trial delivery
Michael Brada
BSc, MB ChB, FRCP, FRCR, DSc
Was a Professor of Clinical Oncology at the Institute of Cancer Research and the Royal Marsden Hospital in London and subsequently a Professor of Radiation Oncology at the University of Liverpool and Clatterbridge Cancer Centre.
A leading expert in neuro-oncology and thoracic oncology with an expertise in the development, evaluation and implementation of new technologies.
Served as the President of the European Association of Neuro-oncology (EANO), the President of The European Society of Therapeutic Radiation Oncology (ESTRO) and Chairman of the NCRI Brain Tumour Clinical Studies Group.
He authored and coauthored over 280 publications.
Key Research Focus Areas:
- Neuro-oncology - all aspects of investigation and nonsurgical management
- Thoracic oncology with a focus on radiation oncology
- Evaluation of radiotherapy technology and design of radiotherapy trials
- Late effects of treatment
Neil Ranasinghe
Co-founder of the Paediatric Oncology Reference Team (PORT) - a group of parents that review paediatric oncology clinical trial documentation for parents and patients
Neil Ranasinghe (BA) is the parent of a survivor of childhood cancer. For nearly 20 years he has been involved with global and UK-based cancer organisations, contributing his expertise as a patient advocate, Technical Author and his leadership capabilities.
Neil is a co-founder of the Paediatric Oncology Reference Team (PORT) - a group of parents that review paediatric oncology clinical trial documentation for parents and patients. PORT has reviewed documentation for over 40 clinical trials and advised on research and trials. This is a long standing and effective collaboration between parents and clinicians to improve the design of trials, make patient documentation more accessible, and ultimately increase participation in clinical trials.
I am attending CReDO to help attendees ensure patients are considered when designing protocols , coach attendees with their presentations, and help write plain English summaries.
Key Research Focus Areas:
- Embedding patient advocacy in clinical trials
- Investigating the role of ethnicity in treatment and outcomes in paediatric oncology in the UK
- Mapping all institutions that treat children with cancer (with SIOP)
Meet the experts:
- Helping write Plain English summaries and surveys
- Helping ensure protocols are designed with patients in mind
- Helping with presentations - content and delivery
Priya Ranganathan
Professor of Anesthesiology, Tata Memorial Centre
Priya Ranganathan works as Professor of Anesthesiology at the Tata Memorial Centre, which is a tertiary-level cancer centre in Mumbai, India. She deals mainly with anesthesia for thoracic surgical procedures especially esophageal and lung resections.
She has a keen interest in clinical research methods and biostatistics and has been faculty on several short courses on these topics. She coordinates a Masters degree in Clinical Research at the Tata Memorial Centre. She is a member of the Institutional Review Board at Tata Memorial Hospital and is editor of the biostatistics section for the journal ‘Perspectives in Clinical Research’.
Priya completed her medical training at the King Edward Memorial Hospital, Mumbai and a fellowship in Clinical Anesthesia at the Singapore General Hospital.
Key Research Focus Areas:
- Research methods training
- Statistics for non-statisticians
- Onco-anaesthesia and peri-operative care
Ramakrishnan Ayloor Seshadri
Senior Consultant Surgical Oncologist, Integrated Cancer Care Group in Chennai
Dr.Ramakrishnan Ayloor Seshadri is a Senior Consultant Surgical Oncologist with the Integrated Cancer Care Group in Chennai. He was previously Professor of Surgical Oncology at the Cancer Institute (WIA), Adyar, Chennai where he headed the Gastrointestinal and HPB oncology services. He has also held positions as In-charge of the Clinical Research Unit, Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Committee, Dean Academics, member of the IRB and lead of the Clinical Quality improvement cell.
He is a member of the GI cancer guidelines development committee of the NCG, a mentor for the EQUIP India program, editorial board member of the British Journal of Surgery and member of the technical committee for developing standards for centre of excellence (oncology) of the Quality Council of India
Key Research Focus Areas:
- Non-operative management of rectal cancers
- Perioperative management of gastric cancers
- Early onset colorectal cancers
Richard Stephens
Visiting Lecturer in Patient and Public Involvement at KCL, a Eupati Fellow, and the founding co-Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Research Involvement and Engagement.
Richard has so far survived two cancers and a heart emergency together with late effects and co-morbidities. He has participated in four interventional studies and twelve others. He is a Visiting Lecturer in Patient and Public Involvement at KCL, a Eupati Fellow, and the founding co-Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Research Involvement and Engagement. His professional careers were in education, journalism, and local government, and now he works with industry, academics and patients around the world.
Richard Chairs the UK’s Cancer Research Advocates Forum and use MY data. He was a co-author of England’s Cancer Strategy and is a CONCORD-Lancet Global Commissioner on Cancer. He is a member of the European Society of Cardiology Patient Forum and the European Taskforce on eConsent, a past Chair of the Stakeholder Forum at BBMRI-ERIC (European biobanking infrastructure) and is Vice-Chair of the European CanSERV (cancer research infrastructure) project.
Richard has been a patient partner with funders including EORTC, CRUK, Rising Tide and NIHR. Since 1995 he has helped design and deliver over 70 individual research studies and programmes (including CRUK-NCI Cancer Grand Challenges) and has co-authored over thirty published papers. He would like to spend more time on beaches reading history books.
Ruth Langley
Lead Specilaised in the design and management of oncology clinical trials based at the MRC Clinical Trials Unit at University College London.
Professor Ruth Langley is a medical oncologist specializing in the design and management of oncology clinical trials based at the MRC Clinical Trials Unit at University College London where she leads the Cancer Group. She has worked in a number of tumour areas including colorectal, lung, prostate and gastro-oesophageal cancer coordinating a series of trials and associated translational studies.
She has a particular interest in re-purposing established medicines as cancer therapeutics, as well as cancer prevention, and is clinical Chair of the UK Therapeutic Cancer Prevention Network. A focus of her recent work has been on the therapeutic potential of aspirin as an anti-cancer agent. She is the Chief Investigator of the Add-Aspirin trial and is a co-lead of the AsCaP consortium a translational program investigating the anti-cancer effects of aspirin.
Key Research Focus Areas:
- Clinical Trials
- Gastrointestinal Malignancies
- Repurposing
Sara Selig
MD, MPH, Division Director, CENTRA
Sara Selig, MD, MPH is the Division Director for the Research Shared Services Division in the Center for Research and Analytics (CENTRA) at ASCO. In this role Dr. Selig supports research initiatives within ASCO and in partnership with ASCO volunteers and other stakeholders to advance ASCO’s mission. Prior to joining ASCO she was an Associate Physician in the Division of Global Health Equity at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School where she spent more than two decades working to improve health outcomes and advance health equity through a variety of efforts including conducting community-based participatory research, building more equitable health data ecosystems, incorporating patient reported outcomes into clinical research efforts, and using research and data to drive health system strengthening in the US and globally. Among other initiatives, Dr. Selig led efforts to improve oncology care and outcomes for Indigenous cancer patients and led global efforts for a patient-reported registry.
She trained in internal medicine, public health, and global health equity at Harvard and is a Senior Fellow with the Atlantic Institute Global Health Equity Fellowship Program.
Key Research Focus Areas:
- Community-based participatory research
- Patient engagement
- Registries
- Public health
- Health equity
Shivakumar Thiagarajan
Professor, Division of Head & Neck, Department of Surgical Oncology, Tata Memorial Centre, Mumbai.
Dr. Shivakumar Thiagarajan is currently serving as a Professor in the Division of Head & Neck, Department of Surgical Oncology at the Tata Memorial Centre, Mumbai. His clinical expertise encompasses the management of oral, thyroid, and skull base malignancies, among others.
Dr. Shivakumar Thiagarajan earned his MBBS from Kempegowda Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS), Bangalore, followed by a postgraduate degree in Otolaryngology from the Indian Air Force Hospital. He further specialised in Head and Neck Surgical Oncology through fellowships at the Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology, Bangalore, and the Tata Memorial Centre, Mumbai.
His research focus areas include Surgical trials, Impact of multimodal treatment on survival and quality of life, which include randomised controlled trials and single-arm trials (Observational).
Key Research Focus Areas:
- Surgical trials, Impact of multimodal treatment on survival and quality of life, which include randomised controlled trials and single-arm trials (Observational).