Bradley N. Mills, PhD, earned his undergraduate degree in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Rochester, where he conducted research in the lab of Dr. Kevin Parker. He then pursued graduate studies at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, earning ... a PhD in Pathology under the mentorship of Dr. Marc Halterman. His research on hypoxic signaling in glioblastoma progenitor cells was supported by a Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award and Howard Hughes Medical Institute Med-Into-Grad Fellowship, which provided clinical clerkship opportunities and solidified his foundation in translational research. Dr. Mills went on to complete postdoctoral training in tumor immunology under Drs. Scott Gerber and David Linehan, where he characterized a novel radiation and immunotherapy combination for pancreatic cancer, laying the groundwork for a phase 1 clinical trial. Dr. Mills is currently an Assistant Professor of Surgery and the Director of the Wilmot Cancer Institute Biobank at the University of Rochester Medical Center. In these roles, he pursues a bedside-to-bench approach to catalyze translational cancer research. With expertise spanning cancer biology, tumor immunology, preclinical modeling, and biospecimen research, he collaborates closely with trainees, fellows, and principal investigators across the institution, providing scientific guidance, consultation, and fostering partnerships. Dr. Mills' research interests include examining the tumor immune microenvironment of recalcitrant solid malignancies and developing innovative strategies to enhance antitumor immunity through exploiting immunogenic cell death.

Dr. Gibson completed her B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Michigan State University, and her Ph.D. in Immunology at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. During her postdoctoral training, she studied response to cancer vaccination in outbred animal models ... which ignited her interest in the role the host plays in immune response and cancer immunotherapy outcomes. Upon receiving an R37 for the development and testing of novel imaging agents to detect immune activity in situ, she was promoted to Assistant Professor in the Oncology Department at Wayne State. Her independent research program is primarily focused on the identification of resistance mechanisms to immune checkpoint inhibitors and anti-tumor antibodies, also known as targeted immunotherapy. Utilizing heterogeneous mouse models, her team has not only directly demonstrated the influence of host genetics on treatment efficacy, but they have identified genes and pathways involved in therapeutic success or failure. The translational potential of these findings is under investigation to establish biomarkers of response and identify promising new actionable targets for co-therapeutic intervention. She is also interested in cancer health disparities and the role of genetic ancestry in treatment outcomes, with the goal of contributing to the advancement of personalized medicine to increase health equity.

Kathleen (Katie) Kokolus is a research scientist at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo, NY. She received BS and MS degrees from Duquesne University before earning a PhD in Tumor Immunology from SUNY Buffalo. Dr. Kokolus also did a post-doctoral fellowship at ... Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine in Hershey, PA. Broadly, Dr. Kokolus's research interests include immunology, stress, and oncology with a focus on studying immunotherapy, one of the most promising treatments available for patients with advanced cancers. In addition to research, Dr. Kokolus is highly motivated to educate and train the next generation of cancer researchers. She teaches graduate students and mentors trainees in the laboratory. Dr. Kokolus has been involved in the scientific planning and organization of several local, regional, and international conferences focused on immunology and cancer research.

Montserrat Valdes is a highly skilled chemical engineer with a diverse background in research and industry. She holds a Master of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Saskatchewan and an Analytical Chemistry Diploma from the National Autonomous University ... of Mexico. Currently, Montserrat is working with CloudLIMS.com as a Scientist. Montserrat is an experienced chemist with expertise in the analysis of cannabis and nicotine-containing products. As a QC Chemist and Analytical Chemist, she has conducted numerous accredited testing methods to ensure the quality and compliance of cannabis products. Her experience also includes validating analytical testing methods and operating, calibrating, and troubleshooting a variety of analytical instruments, including HPLC-FLD/DAD/VWD, IC, and LC-MS. In addition to her work as a chemist, Montserrat has also served as a Research Engineer, successfully coordinating various environmental projects of great importance. These projects include the simultaneous capture of NH3 and H2S using nanoparticles, the biodegradation of surrogate naphthenic acids, and the adsorptive removal of antibiotics from livestock waste streams. Montserrat has also made significant contributions to scientific literature through her research articles and conference presentations. Her publications in journals such as the Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering and Bioprocess and Biosystems Engineering highlight her expertise in topics ranging from nanotechnology applications to biodegradation and wastewater treatment.

Dr. Sandro Matosevic is an associate professor in the College of Pharmacy at Purdue University, and is a member of the Purdue Center for Cancer Research. Dr. Matosevic runs an NIH-funded research program focused on the development and use of cell-based therapies with natural ... killer cells and CAR-engineered immune cells in the treatment of cancer and holds a number of patents on the engineering and utilization of NK cells and stem cell-derived NK cells in cancer immunotherapy. Dr. Matosevic is on the editorial board of several journals, acts on pharmaceutical advisory boards, and has been on committees for several organizations advancing the development and standardization of cell-based therapies, and is current chair of the BIO Focus group of the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Technology and Education. Dr. Matosevic obtained his graduate degree from University College London and completed his postdoctoral training at the Scripps Research Institute.

Raoul S. Concepcion is the Chief Science Officer for U.S. Urology Partners in Nashville TN and Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Urology, Vanderbilt School of Medicine. Dr. Concepcion was a General Surgery and Urology Resident at Vanderbilt University School of ... Medicine from 1984 - 1989. He served as Chief Urology Resident from 1989 - 1990 and was also a research fellow in the Light Laboratories at Vanderbilt. He has been in practice since 1990, with his major clinical interest being Urologic Oncology, specializing in advanced prostate and bladder cancer and lower urinary tract reconstruction, as well as the role of genomics and genetic testing in GU tumors. He is Board Certified by the American Urological Association (AUA) and is a member of that organization, as well as the Southeastern Section of the AUA, Society of Urologic Oncology, American College of Surgeons and the Nashville Surgical Society. Additionally, he is an alumnus of the City of Hope Intensive Course for cancer risk assessment and genomics. From a research perspective, Dr. Concepcion has been actively in involved in basic science and clinical research since his days at Vanderbilt. Dr. Concepcion has been either the principal investigator (PI) or Co-PI on many clinical trials since the 1990's. The focus as of recent has been in advanced prostate cancer, as well as biomarker development. From an industry perspective, Dr. Concepcion serves as an advisor, consultant or speaker for many companies involved in the diagnosis and management of prostate cancer. He is currently developing a precision medicine, genomics based prostate cancer program for U.S. Urology Partners and affiliated groups. He also serves as a reviewer for the Journal of Urology and a member of the SUO-CTC prostate committee.

Dr. Curtis J. Henry received his Bachelor of Science degrees from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University. He then matriculated into the graduate program at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and conducted research focusing on understanding how cytokines regulate ... CD8+ T-cell mediated protective immunity under the guidance of Dr. Elizabeth Hiltbold-Schwartz. As a postdoctoral fellow and Research Instructor in the laboratory of Dr. James DeGregori at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Dr. Henry's research focused on dissecting how aging-associated chronic inflammation regulated hematopoiesis and leukemogenesis. Dr. Henry then joined Emory University as an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics with joint affiliations within the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center and the NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, Winship Cancer Institute. At Emory, Dr. Henry continued his research on aging and cancer and expanded his portfolio to understand how obesity impacts tumor development, immunity, and the efficacy of immune-based therapies. Dr. Henry is currently the Deputy Associate Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Access at the University of Colorado Cancer Center (UCCC), an Associate Professor in the Department of Immunology and Microbiology and the Margaret Turley Grohne Chair in Translational Cancer Research at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus (UC AMC). With the support provided by UCCC and UC AMC, Dr. Henry and his team will continue to delineate how immunological changes associated with cancer-related comorbidities impact cancer progression and therapeutic outcomes.

Dr. Antonio T. Baines is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biology at North Carolina Central University (NCCU) and an adjunct professor in the Department of Pharmacology in the School of Medicine at the University of North Carolina (UNC) Chapel Hill. He earned a ... bachelors degree in biology from Norfolk State University and a doctorate in pharmacology and toxicology from the University of Arizona. Afterwards, Dr. Baines accepted a postdoctoral fellowship at UNC in pharmacology and radiation oncology under Drs. Channing Der and Adrienne Cox. His research focused on understanding the role of the Ras oncogene as a molecular target in pancreatic cancer oncogenesis. In August 2006, Dr. Baines accepted a tenure-track faculty position at NCCU where he currently teaches and conducts research as a cancer biologist. Also, he mentors high school, undergraduate, and graduate students in his laboratory. Pancreatic cancer is the 4th most common cause of cancer deaths in the United States with a high mortality rate and very limited treatment options. The overall focus of Dr. Baines research program is to identify and validate novel molecular targets in pancreatic cancer which can be targeted by potential cancer therapeutics. Additionally, his lab aims to understand the role of these molecular targets in the development and progression of normal cells transforming into cancer cells of the pancreas. Currently, Dr Baines studies the functional significance of the oncogenic Pim kinase family in pancreatic cancer growth and development. He hypothesizes that inhibition of these enzymes will be an effective approach for antagonizing the aberrant growth of pancreatic carcinoma. In addition to working with colleagues in academia, he collaborates with various pharmaceutical companies that are developing Pim inhibitors. Results from his studies will allow for critical validation of these kinases as novel therapeutic targets for pancreatic cancer treatment. Dr. Baines research has been funded by NIH and other grant sources. He has presented his research at various national scientific meetings such as the Society of Toxicology and the American Association for Cancer Research. In addition, Dr. Baines has given invited research seminars at universities such as Duke University, UNC-Chapel Hill, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical (A&T) State University, Indiana University, North Carolina State University, University of Missouri-Kansas City and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Dr. Rajan T. Gupta, MD, is an Assistant Professor of Radiology in the Division of Abdominal Imaging at Duke University Medical Center, as well as the Director of the Abdominal Imaging Fellowship Program and a Faculty physician in the Duke Cancer Institute. Since 2009, he has been ... a faculty member in the Department of Radiology at Duke. Dr. Gupta has coauthored over 40 peer-reviewed publications. He has been awarded two Duke-Coulter Translational Research Grants as Clinical Principal Investigator, the most recent of which was entitled, "Registration of Multi-parametric MR and Quantitative Shear Wave Elasticity Images for Focal Prostate Cancer Procedures." He is a member of the Duke Cancer Institute Multi-Disciplinary Prostate Cancer Strategy Group. He has been an invited Refresher Course speaker at the Radiological Society of North America national meeting for the past 5 years and has been an invited Visiting Professor at institutions such as George Washington University, MD Anderson Cancer Center, The Mayo Clinic, and the University of Chicago. His recent published works have been focused on the comparison of multiparametric MRI (mpMRI) at 3 Tesla with the Partin Tables in assessment of organ confined prostate cancer, the effects of dedicated education on reader performance of mpMRI interpretation, and the assessment/development of a novel ultrasonic technique (Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse Imaging - ARFI) in the detection/characterization of prostate cancer in conjunction with his colleagues in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Duke.

Keith L. Knutson, Ph.D., is a consultant in the Department of Immunology, Mayo Clinic in Florida, where he also serves as director of the Discovery and Translation Lab's Cancer Research Program. Dr. Knutson joined the staff of Mayo Clinic in 2005 and holds the academic rank of ... Professor of Immunology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science. Dr. Knutson is also Director of the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center's Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program. Dr. Knutson received his B.S. in Microbiology at the University of Washington. He earned his Ph.D. in Physiology and Pharmacology from the University of Georgia and completed two postdoctoral fellowships in immunology, one at the University of British Columbia and the other at the University of Washington. Dr. Knutson is internationally recognized in the field of cancer immunology. His research focuses on the immunology and immunotherapy of breast and ovarian cancers, both the basic immunobiology and clinical translation, including clinical trials. His contributions to science include clinical development and testing of self-tumor antigen-specific vaccines in patients with breast and ovarian cancers. He currently has three FDA-approved vaccine trials underway and is principal investigator of 3 Department of Defense grants to test vaccines aimed at preventing recurrence breast cancer, including triple negative breast cancer for which there are no targeted therapies. Dr. Knutson is frequently invited to give presentations on his research both domestically and internationally, and he has authored numerous journal articles, abstracts and other written publications, consistently publishing in high-impact scientific journals. Additionally he holds reviewer responsibilities for several prominent publications. In recognition of his work, Dr. Knutson has received many awards and honors, including the Young Investigator Award-Pharmingen, conferred by the American Association for Cancer Research, and the prestigious Howard Temin Award, conferred by the National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute. He is also recognized as the 2017 Investigator of the Year at the Mayo Clinic campus in Florida. In addition to his research activities, Dr. Knutson is active in education and has mentored postdoctoral fellows, research associates and medical students, among others. He holds full faculty privileges in Immunology in Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. Dr. Knutson's has several current and past memberships with professional organizations which include the Breast Cancer Research Program and the Ovarian Cancer Research Program of the United States Department of Defense, the Tumor Microenvironment Study Section of the U.S. National Institutes of Health Center for Scientific Review, and the Education and Training Committee for the Society for the Immunotherapy of Cancer. He is a Principal Investigator of the Artemis Project, National Breast Cancer Coalition, where he is leading efforts to produce prevention vaccines for breast cancer.

John Quackenbush is Professor of Computational Biology and Bioinformatics and Chair of the Department of Biostatistics at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health and Professor at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. John's PhD was in Theoretical Physics but a fellowship to work ... on the Human Genome Project led him through the Salk Institute, Stanford University, and The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR), before joining Harvard in 2005. John's research uses massive data to probe how many small effects combine to influence our health and risk of disease. His published work has more than 87,000 citations and among his honors is recognition in 2013 as a White House Open Science Champion of Change. In 2012 he founded Genospace, a precision medicine software company that was sold to Hospital Corporation of America in 2017.

Dr. Yan Asmann is an Associate Professor of Biomedical Informatics at Mayo College of Medicine. Her research focuses on developing analytical algorithms and frameworks for multi-omics data mining, modeling, and integration. Dr. Asmann has applied these methods to study complex ... disorders and to identify diagnostic-prognostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets. She is co-leader of the Bioinformatics and Biostatistics Core of Mayo Myeloma SPORE, and PI of the Bioinformatics, Biostatistics, and Data Management Core of a multi-center Alzheimer's Disease U19 grant. Dr. Asmann also co-leads the Mayo Clinic Neoantigen Therapy Program.