Biography

Dr. Tetsuya Mitsudomi joined the Board of Directors of IASLC in 2011 and has served as its board president since 2019. IASLC awarded Dr. Mitsudomi its Mary Matthews Award in 2013 for a lifetime achievement in pathology and translational research of thoracic malignancies.

Dr. Mitsudomi has served as a professor in the Division of Thoracic Surgery at Kindai University Faculty of Medicine in Osaka, Japan since 2012. Prior to his current role, Dr. Mitsudomi worked as Chief of the Department of Thoracic Surgery at Aichi Cancer Center for 16 years after he served as an associate professor and vice director of the Kyushu University Hospital. His research focuses on the surgical treatment of lung cancer and individualized treatment of lung cancer based on cancer genotypes such as EGFR mutations and ALK translocations. He has published more than 370 papers that have been featured in international peer-reviewed journals.

Dr. Mitsudomi earned his medical degree and his Ph.D. at Kyushu University Faculty of Medicine in Fukuoka, Japan. He completed his residency in surgery at Kyushu University Hospital and was a visiting fellow at the National Cancer Institute-Navy Medical Oncology Branch in Bethesda, Maryland from 1989 to 1991.

Biography

Dr. Enriqueta Felip joined the IASLC Board of Directors in 2017. A longtime member of the organization, Dr. Felip served as Scientific Secretary of the 11th World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC) in 2005 and as Co-Chair of the 20th WCLC in 2019. Both events took place in her home country of Spain.

Head of the Thoracic Cancer Unit at Barcelona’s Vall d'Hebron Hospital, Dr. Felip is in charge of thoracic malignancy management and is responsible for the oncology department’s thoracic cancer trials. Throughout her career, she has authored peer-reviewed articles and book chapters relating to the field of thoracic malignancies.

Dr. Felip earned her medical degree at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), where she also completed her Ph.D. studies in medical oncology. She has worked as an associate professor at UAB since 2010 and is involved in the training of medical students, residents and fellows.

Biography

As Chief Executive Officer, Dave Mesko has primary responsibility for the overall performance of the IASLC and reports to its Board of Directors. He manages the implementation of the organization’s strategic plan and leads the execution of governance initiatives, finance and budgeting and operational efforts.

Dave has a strong background in running organizations and in creating new initiatives. Before joining the IASLC, he served as Chief Operating Officer at the Council on Foundations, where he implemented a comprehensive turnaround and reorganization.

Previously, as Chief Financial Officer of Georgetown University, School of Nursing and Health Studies, Dave partnered with the executive team to evaluate business models, academic offerings and pricing. At Georgetown, he led the paradigm shift required to move a traditional academic institution to the online education space.

Dave has an M.B.A. from American University and a B.S. in Business Administration from Western Carolina University.

Biography

Dr. Suresh Ramalingam has served on IASLC’s Board of Directors since 2017. Dr. Ramalingam is a Professor of Hematology and Medical Oncology at the Emory University School of Medicine. He is also the Roberto C. Goizueta Chair for Cancer Research and the Deputy Director of Emory University’s Winship Cancer Institute.

His research includes the development of novel, anti-cancer agents and evaluation of methods to individualize therapies. Dr. Ramalingam has conducted several clinical trials with molecularly targeted agents in the treatment of small cell and non-small cell lung cancer and published more than 250 manuscripts, review articles and book chapters. Dr. Ramalingam has received several awards for excellence in teaching and research. He is the principal investigator of the Emory University Lung Cancer SPORE Award from the National Cancer Institute.

Earning his medical degree at Kilpauk Medical College in Madras, India, Dr. Ramalingam completed his residency in internal medicine at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, where he also served as Chief Medical Resident. He completed his fellowship in hematology and medical oncology at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Biography

Dr. Giorgio Scagliotti joined the IASLC Board of Directors in 2015, serving as its president-elect and then president from 2015-2019. As Editor, he helped created the IASLC reference book, Thoracic Oncology: The IASLC Multidisciplinary Approach.

Professor of Medical Oncology at Italy’s University of Turin School of Medicine, Dr. Scaglotti is also Chief of Medical Oncology at Turin’s San Luigi Gonzaga Hospital’s Division of Thoracic Oncology. He serves as a member of the administrative board of the University of Torino as well. Prior to his role as Chief of Medical Oncology, Dr. Scaglotti acted as the Head of the Department of Oncology of the University of Torino and served as the Chairperson of the Postgraduate School in Respiratory Medicine.

Professor Scagliotti focuses his research on translational research and targeted molecular therapies for lung cancer. He is principal investigator in European and international clinical trials, including investigator-initiated studies, and is study coordinator for several trials. He has authored or co-authored more than 300 papers in peer-reviewed journals. Professor Scagliotti earned his medical degree and completed his postgraduate training in respiratory medicine, internal medicine and medical oncology at the University of Turin.

Biography

Joining the Board of Directors in 2015, Dr. Heather Wakelee is a longtime IASLC member and the current President-Elect. She has served as Chair of the Communications Committee and working on various program committees for the World Conferences on Lung Cancer for over a decade.

Dr. Wakelee is a Professor of Medicine in the Division of Oncology at Stanford University and is the faculty director of the Stanford Cancer Clinical Trials Office. She has authored or co-authored over 200 articles on lung cancer and other thoracic malignancies, including thymic malignancies, and is involved in dozens of clinical trials related to lung cancer therapy and diagnostics.

Her research focuses on specific lung cancer subtypes defined by mutations. She is also involved in trials of adjuvant therapy, immunotherapy and anti-angiogenesis agents in addition to collaborations with colleagues focused on biomarkers and population science research.

A graduate of Princeton University and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Dr. Wakelee completed her post-graduate training at Stanford University.

Biography

Professor Zhou Caicun joined the IASLC Board of Directors in 2019, serving on the association’s Tobacco Control and Cessation Committee and Education Committee from 2010-2014.

With more than 20 years of experience in clinical oncology, Professor Caicun has focused his research on early detection, molecular targeted therapy, anti-angiogenesis therapy and immunotherapy in lung cancer. Since 1998, he has served as Chief Physician and Director of the Department of Medical Oncology at Tongji University in Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital. Prior to his work at Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, he served as Associate Director at Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College.

Professor Zhou has published over 200 articles in international peer reviewed journals, including the Lancet Oncology, Lancet Respiratory Medicine, Journal of Clinical Oncology and Annals of Oncology, and he has written three books on lung cancer. In 2002, he worked as a visiting scientist at the MD Anderson Cancer Center. He studied medicine at NanTong Medical College, earned his Ph.D. at China Medical University and served as a fellow at Tokyo National Chest Hospital.

Biography

Dr. Andrea Bezjak joined the IASLC Board of Directors in 2019. She has previously served on both the Advanced Radiation Technology and Bylaws Committees and acted as co-president of the 2018 WCLC in Toronto. Since 2011, she has also helped steward the Journal of Thoracic Oncology as an associate editor.

Dr. Bezjak is a University of Toronto Professor in the Departments of Radiation Oncology and Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, and a Princess Margaret Cancer Centre/University Health Network staff radiation oncologist. She has held a succession of leadership positions in the Radiation Medicine Program and the Lung Cancer Site group, helping create a program of high precision radiotherapy in lung cancer by utilizing cutting-edge technology.

Throughout her career, Dr Bezjak has authored and co-authored more than 200 peer-reviewed articles and has been a principal investigator of several multi-center clinical trials in lung cancer. Her research is in image-guided and stereotactic radiotherapy for lung cancer, palliative radiation, quality of life and symptom assessment. Her clinical practice is focused on lung cancer, thymomas and palliative radiotherapy. She is also an educator and is the current director of the radiation oncology residency training program at the University of Toronto.

Biography

Dr. Julie Brahmer joined the IASLC Board of Directors in 2017 and serves on the Patient Advocacy and North America Conference on Lung Cancer Program Committees. An active clinical leader in the treatment of lung cancer and mesothelioma, she serves as Director of the Johns Hopkins’ Thoracic Oncology Center of Excellence and helps run the multidisciplinary disease program for Johns Hopkins’ Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Bayview.

Dr. Brahmer’s research and clinical practice focus on the development of new therapies for the treatment and prevention of lung cancer. She has spearheaded early-phase immunotherapy clinical trials, including one of the first in-human trials of PD-1/PD-L1 antibody inhibitors. Leading international phase III studies of immunotherapy in lung cancer, Dr. Brahmer helped secure FDA approval for PD-1 antibodies for lung cancer treatment.

An active member of the oncology community and ardent advocate for her patients, Dr. Brahmer was awarded the Fellowship of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) for her volunteer activities. She is a founding board member of Women Against Lung Cancer, now known as Lung Cancer Research Foundation, for which she currently serves on the scientific advisory board.

Biography

Professor Nir Peled joined the IASLC Board of Directors in 2019. Professor Peled is the Past Chair of the IASLC Early Detection & Prevention Committee. He is a member of the Journal of Thoracic Oncology editorial board and serves on the association’s Treatment and Mesothelioma Committees. Until recently he was the head of the Assembly of Thoracic Oncology of the European Respiratory Society.

Professor Peled is the Head of the Oncology Division at the Legacy Heritage Oncology Center & Larry Norton Institute at Soroka Medical Center, Ben-Gurion University in Beer-Sheva, Israel. Previously, he served as an associate professor of medicine, pulmonologist and medical oncologist at Tel-Aviv University.

Focusing his research on the wide translational and clinical perspectives of lung cancer, Professor Peled’s investigates personalized targeted therapy, immunotherapy, cancer evolution, biomarker development, and early detection of this disease. He has published more than 200 peer-reviewed articles, including guidelines on the early diagnosis of lung cancer, biomarker development, and treatment of advanced disease.

Professor Peled earned his medical degree and his Ph.D. from the Rappaport Faculty of Medicine Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa.

Biography

Dr. Roy Herbst joined the Board of Directors of IASLC in 2019 and serves as a liaison to the Communications Committee. At the 17th WCLC in 2016, IASLC honored Dr. Herbst with its Paul A. Bunn, Jr. Scientific Award for his lifetime achievement in thoracic cancer research.

Dr. Herbst is the Ensign Professor of Medicine, Professor of Pharmacology, Chief of Medical Oncology, and Associate Director for Translational Research at the Yale Cancer Center (YCC) and Yale School of Medicine. He has authored more than 400 publications, including peer-reviewed abstracts, book chapters and articles in prominent journals, such as the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Clinical Cancer Research, Lancet, the New England Journal of Medicine, and Nature.

Dr. Herbst’s primary mission is the enhanced integration of clinical, laboratory and research programs to bring new treatments to patients. He has led the phase I development and successful registration of several new generation targeted and immunogenic agents for the treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer. He is the principal investigator of the NCI Lung Cancer Master Protocol (Lung-MAP) and the NCI-funded Yale Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) in Lung Cancer.

After earning a B.S. and M.S. degree from Yale University, Dr. Herbst earned his M.D. at Cornell University Medical College and his Ph.D. at The Rockefeller University. Dr. Herbst also completed a M.S. degree at Harvard University.

Biography

A long-standing member of IASLC, Dr. Erik Thunnissen joined the Board of Directors in 2019. Dr. Thunnissen has served on the IASLC Pathology Committee, where he led reproducibility studies for diagnostic pathology, relevant for the World Health Organization (WHO) classification of lung cancer.

Currently, Dr. Thunnissen is a research pathologist in the Department of Pathology at Amsterdam University Medical Center (location VUmc) in the Netherlands. Prior to this role, he served as a consulting pathologist at both VUmc, at Maastricht University Hospital and at Canisius Wilhelmina Gasthuis, Nijmegen. He was responsible for pulmonary molecular External Quality Assessment (EQA) programs initially in the Netherlands, subsequently for European Society of Pathology and now supports UKNEQAS ICC IHC {EQA organization in London, UK}.

Dr. Thunnissen has authored many peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on lung cancer and guided many students through Ph.D. thesis related to lung cancer. He earned his degree in Medicine from the VUmc, Amsterdam (1981), in Pathology at the Universiteit van Amsterdam (1986)and a PhD. in Medicine at VUmc, Amsterdam (1987).

Biography

Since 2018, Dr. Clarissa Mathias has served as a Latin American member of the IASLC Board of Directors. A medical oncologist, Dr. Mathias is currently conducting several research protocols at Nucleo da Oncologia Bahia (NOB)/Oncocínicas in Brazil, where she has worked for over 19 years. She was appointed President of the Brazilian Society of Clinical Oncology (SBOC) and as the Chair of the International Committee of ASCO.

Currently serving as the Medical Director of the NOB, Dr. Mathias is board certified in internal medicine, hematology and oncology by the American Board of Internal Medicine and in clinical oncology by the Brazilian Society of Cancerology. She has co-authored peer-reviewed papers on a variety of subtypes, including lung, colorectal and breast cancers.

Dr. Mathias earned her medical degree at the Federal University of Bahia, Brazil. She completed her residency in internal medicine at the Medical College of Pennsylvania, where she served as Chief Resident, and completed her hematology and oncology fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Mathias also completed a Ph.D. in internal medicinetat the Federal University of Bahia in 2005.

Biography

In 2017, Anne Fraser joined the IASLC Board of Directors and serves on both the Ethic/Audit and Nursing and Allied Health Committees. At the 18th World Conference on Lung Cancer, Fraser presented on and participated in the creation of the 2017 Immunotherapy Guidelines for Nurses and Allied Health Professionals.

A nurse practitioner in the areas of melanoma and thoracic oncology, Fraser has delivered clinical care and conducted thoracic research for the past decade. Currently, she serves as an oncology nurse practitioner at the Cancer and Blood Directorate at Auckland City Hospital.

A Ph.D. candidate at the University of Auckland, Fraser is undertaking a randomized control trial in surveillance models and their impact on survival outcomes, patient reported anxiety and service utilization. She earned a Master’s in health education from the University of the West of England and a Bachelor of nursing from Massey University.

Biography

Dr. James Chih-Hsin Yang joined the IASLC Board of Directors in 2017 and currently serves an associate editor of the association’s Journal of Thoracic Oncology. Dr. Yang is a professor at the National Taiwan University (NTU) Graduate Institute of Oncology and the Director of NTU Hospital’s Department of Oncology.

His research focuses on lung cancer treatment and the mechanism of chemotherapy, targeted therapy and immunotherapy resistance. Dr. Yang is a leader in lung cancer clinical studies, especially in the area of new drug development. Publishing more than 250 peer-reviewed papers, Dr. Yang’s work has appeared in scientific journals such as New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet Oncology and Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Dr. Yang received his medical degree from National Taiwan University (NTU) and completed his Ph.D. degree at NTU’s Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine. He completed his internal medicine residency at the NTU Hospital and undertook a medical oncology fellowship at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland.

Biography

Dr. Paul Van Schil joined the IASLC Board of Directors in 2017 and has served as Chair of its Staging and Prognostic Factors Committee since 2017.

Dr. Van Schil is a professor of thoracic and vascular surgery at the Faculty of Medicine, member of the Antwerp Surgical Training and Research Center (ASTARC) and consultant at the Department of Thoracic and Vascular Surgery of the Antwerp University Hospital.
His research focuses on thoracic and vascular surgery with an emphasis on lung cancer staging and therapy, lung metastases and mesothelioma. Dr. Van Schil has authored or co-authored nearly 250 articles and 44 book chapters. Dr. Van Schil graduated from medical school in 1982 at the Antwerp University in Belgium. After completing his training in general surgery, he became a fellow in the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the Antonius Hospital, Nieuwegein, the Netherlands.