Jim Allison grew up in the tiny town Alice, Texas, and lost his mom to cancer at age 10.  Today, he is not only an “iconoclast with a lab that has the feel of a pirate ship,” but he is also the Chair of the Department of Immunology and the Executive Director of the Immunotherapy Platform at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.  On October 1, 2018, his phone rang at 4:30 am with a call from Stockholm.  He was awarded the Nobel Prize for his discovery of checkpoint inhibitors (CTLA-4) that essentially “take the brakes off” of the immune system so it can fight cancer.  After years of fighting hard to bring his discovery to patients, his discovery finally sparked an entirely new way of thinking about cancer therapies. Most importantly, many lives have been saved through Jim’s work.  Jim works on future cancer therapies when he is not playing the harmonica on stage with his personal idols Willie Nelson and Mickey Raphael.

Jim Allison grew up in the tiny town Alice, Texas, and lost his mom to cancer at age 10.  Today, he is not only an “iconoclast with a lab that has the feel of a pirate ship,” but he is also the Chair of the Department of Immunology and the Executive Director of the Immunotherapy Platform at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.  On October 1, 2018, his phone rang at 4:30 am with a call from Stockholm.  He was awarded the Nobel Prize for his discovery of checkpoint inhibitors (CTLA-4) that essentially “take the brakes off” of the immune system so it can fight cancer.  After years of fighting hard to bring his discovery to patients, his discovery finally sparked an entirely new way of thinking about cancer therapies. Most importantly, many lives have been saved through Jim’s work.  Jim works on future cancer therapies when he is not playing the harmonica on stage with his personal idols Willie Nelson and Mickey Raphael.

Bob Langer has been referred to as The Edison of Medicine, with 1,400 issued and pending patents worldwide licensed or sublicensed to over 400 companies. Bob himself has played a role in the foundation of over 40 companies, including Moderna, where he is a co-founder. Bob’s 1,500 articles have been cited over 320,000 times, which gives him the highest h-index of any engineer in history; he is currently in a competition with Sigmund Freud in the top six most cited person in history.  Bob has collected 220 awards and 34 honorary doctorates, and been elected to the National Academy of Medicine, the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Inventors.  Where does Bob get his inspiration?  He loves to attend magic shows. Or he makes his own magic shows. Literally.

Bob Langer has been referred to as The Edison of Medicine, with 1,400 issued and pending patents worldwide licensed or sublicensed to over 400 companies. Bob himself has played a role in the foundation of over 40 companies, including Moderna, where he is a co-founder. Bob’s 1,500 articles have been cited over 320,000 times, which gives him the highest h-index of any engineer in history; he is currently in a competition with Sigmund Freud in the top six most cited person in history.  Bob has collected 220 awards and 34 honorary doctorates, and been elected to the National Academy of Medicine, the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Inventors.  Where does Bob get his inspiration?  He loves to attend magic shows. Or he makes his own magic shows. Literally.

At age 16, Sangeeta Bhatia’s parents outlined three future career choices for her:  doctor, engineer, or entrepreneur.  Questioning the basic assumption of choice, Sangeeta simply became all three – and each at world-class level.  As the Director of MIT’s Marble Center for Cancer Nanomedicine at the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, she produces world-class research and entrepreneurial ventures on the intersections of biotech, medicine, nanotechnology, engineering, and computer science.  This broad scope made her one of the youngest persons in history to be elected to all three National Academies for Sciences, Medicine, and Engineering.  Then, Sangeeta continued with the National Academy of Inventors and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, for the complete set.

Now, she is working on the miniaturization of medical devices combined with synthetic biology.  She has founded 8 companies, among them Glympse Bio, an innovative synthetic cancer sensor technology (merged with Sunbird), Satellite Bio, a cell therapy company, and Impilo Therapeutics, focused on targeted RNA delivery.

Before all that, however, Sangeeta’s first love story was… the liver.  Her PhD work was about keeping liver cells functioning outside of the body, so one of her team’s inventions is a human “microliver” that models liver disease and allows testing responsive engineered nanoparticles to diagnose, study, and treat diseases.

Today, Sangeeta’s love stories go beyond the liver, and also include her husband Jagesh, and her two daughters.

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At age 16, Sangeeta Bhatia’s parents outlined three future career choices for her:  doctor, engineer, or entrepreneur.  Questioning the basic assumption of choice, Sangeeta simply became all three – and each at world-class level.  As the Director of MIT’s Marble Center for Cancer Nanomedicine at the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, she produces world-class research and entrepreneurial ventures on the intersections of biotech, medicine, nanotechnology, engineering, and computer science.  This broad scope made her one of the youngest persons in history to be elected to all three National Academies for Sciences, Medicine, and Engineering.  Then, Sangeeta continued with the National Academy of Inventors and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, for the complete set.

Now, she is working on the miniaturization of medical devices combined with synthetic biology.  She has founded 8 companies, among them Glympse Bio, an innovative synthetic cancer sensor technology (merged with Sunbird), Satellite Bio, a cell therapy company, and Impilo Therapeutics, focused on targeted RNA delivery.

Before all that, however, Sangeeta’s first love story was… the liver.  Her PhD work was about keeping liver cells functioning outside of the body, so one of her team’s inventions is a human “microliver” that models liver disease and allows testing responsive engineered nanoparticles to diagnose, study, and treat diseases.

Today, Sangeeta’s love stories go beyond the liver, and also include her husband Jagesh, and her two daughters.

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Phil Greenberg leads the Program in Immunology at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle.  He has been instrumental in the discovery of the principles of T-cell and tumor interactions and translating key insights to cancer therapies with genetically engineered T cells. Phil is also the scientific co-founder of Juno Therapeutics, which was acquired for $9B by Celgene in 2018. He served as an elected member of the Board of Directors of the American Association for Cancer Research, and currently is an Editor-In-Chief of the journal Cancer Immunology Research. As frequently as possible, Phil escapes to the slopes in Whistler or Crystal Mountain for skiing.

Phil Greenberg leads the Program in Immunology at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle.  He has been instrumental in the discovery of the principles of T-cell and tumor interactions and translating key insights to cancer therapies with genetically engineered T cells. Phil is also the scientific co-founder of Juno Therapeutics, which was acquired for $9B by Celgene in 2018. He served as an elected member of the Board of Directors of the American Association for Cancer Research, and currently is an Editor-In-Chief of the journal Cancer Immunology Research. As frequently as possible, Phil escapes to the slopes in Whistler or Crystal Mountain for skiing.

Padmanee “Pam” Sharma went from a poor childhood in Guyana to Queens/NY, to Boston, to become the Scientific Director of the Immunotherapy Research Platform at MD Anderson, working with – and married to – Jim Allison. She works with tumor samples before, during and after treatment to understand why immune oncology drugs work for some but not all patients, using a “reverse translation” process with studies on human immune responses to generate hypotheses related to mechanisms of tumor rejection. In 2018, she received the Cancer Research Institute’s highest scientific honor, the William B. Coley Award, followed by the Women in Science with Excellence (WISE) award in 2020. She tries to combine all this as much as possible with hanging out on the beach with her family, good friends and adorable dog.

Padmanee “Pam” Sharma went from a poor childhood in Guyana to Queens/NY, to Boston, to become the Scientific Director of the Immunotherapy Research Platform at MD Anderson, working with – and married to – Jim Allison. She works with tumor samples before, during and after treatment to understand why immune oncology drugs work for some but not all patients, using a “reverse translation” process with studies on human immune responses to generate hypotheses related to mechanisms of tumor rejection. In 2018, she received the Cancer Research Institute’s highest scientific honor, the William B. Coley Award, followed by the Women in Science with Excellence (WISE) award in 2020. She tries to combine all this as much as possible with hanging out on the beach with her family, good friends and adorable dog.

Lee Hartwell is the former President of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle.  He received the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 2001 for his work on the genetics of cell division and checkpoint genes.  Lee describes his own biggest strength as the ability to ask good questions.  In addition to his own science work, Lee is focused on creating an environment for middle school and college students to do authentic science experiments, with the goal of helping them become life-long learners. But his most favorite laboratory is the kitchen, where he experiments with simple healthy dishes with lots of flavor. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Lee does not follow recipes.

Lee Hartwell is the former President of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle.  He received the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 2001 for his work on the genetics of cell division and checkpoint genes.  Lee describes his own biggest strength as the ability to ask good questions.  In addition to his own science work, Lee is focused on creating an environment for middle school and college students to do authentic science experiments, with the goal of helping them become life-long learners. But his most favorite laboratory is the kitchen, where he experiments with simple healthy dishes with lots of flavor. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Lee does not follow recipes.

Charlie Rudin is the Chief of the Thoracic Oncology Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where he also co-directs the Druckenmiller Center for Lung Cancer Research. As a physician-scientist, he is focused on developing novel treatment options for lung cancer, including discovery of epigenetic changes that lead to therapy resistance, and development of a new strategy for in vivo genome editing of patient-derived cancer models. Charlie also chairs the NCI Small Cell Lung Cancer Research Consortium. The son of two prominent mathematicians, Charlie determined he lacked the math gene, and settled for working on curing cancer instead.

Charlie Rudin is the Chief of the Thoracic Oncology Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where he also co-directs the Druckenmiller Center for Lung Cancer Research. As a physician-scientist, he is focused on developing novel treatment options for lung cancer, including discovery of epigenetic changes that lead to therapy resistance, and development of a new strategy for in vivo genome editing of patient-derived cancer models. Charlie also chairs the NCI Small Cell Lung Cancer Research Consortium. The son of two prominent mathematicians, Charlie determined he lacked the math gene, and settled for working on curing cancer instead.

Alan Ashworth is the President of the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, and the Sr. Vice President for Cancer Services with UCSF Health. He was on the team that identified the BRCA2 breast cancer susceptibility gene, and a decade later, discovered how to kill related tumor cells with PARP inhibitors.  Four different PARP inhibitors have now been approved by the FDA for the treatment of ovarian, breast, pancreatic and prostate cancer based on his work.  Beyond driving serious progress, Alan prefers to stay on the British-humorous side, with a cat at home named Jonesy after the cat in the film Alien.

Alan Ashworth is the President of the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, and the Sr. Vice President for Cancer Services with UCSF Health. He was on the team that identified the BRCA2 breast cancer susceptibility gene, and a decade later, discovered how to kill related tumor cells with PARP inhibitors.  Four different PARP inhibitors have now been approved by the FDA for the treatment of ovarian, breast, pancreatic and prostate cancer based on his work.  Beyond driving serious progress, Alan prefers to stay on the British-humorous side, with a cat at home named Jonesy after the cat in the film Alien.

Judy Garber is the Chief of the Division for Cancer Genetics and Prevention at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.  Judy comes from a family with multiple instances of cancer, among them her mother and grandmother with breast cancer. With this personal sense of mission, Judy is leading key research into various topics, such as the characteristics and treatment of triple negative or basal-like breast cancer, the most common form in women with BRCA1 mutations.  Beyond that, Judy supports cancer research at the national and international levels, as the past president and current member of the Foundation Board of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), on the Advisory Board of the National Cancer Institute, and as Chair of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF) Scientific Advisory Board.

Judy Garber is the Chief of the Division for Cancer Genetics and Prevention at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.  Judy comes from a family with multiple instances of cancer, among them her mother and grandmother with breast cancer. With this personal sense of mission, Judy is leading key research into various topics, such as the characteristics and treatment of triple negative or basal-like breast cancer, the most common form in women with BRCA1 mutations.  Beyond that, Judy supports cancer research at the national and international levels, as the past president and current member of the Foundation Board of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), on the Advisory Board of the National Cancer Institute, and as Chair of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF) Scientific Advisory Board.

Marty Pomper has a unique view of who he is:  “a product of the space race, the Civil Rights Movement and public education.” Obviously, that directly leads to becoming the Director of the Division of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging at Johns Hopkins Medical School, the Co-leader of Cancer Molecular Imaging at the Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, and the “Most-influential Radiology Researcher of 2022” according to the Society of Nuclear Medicine & Molecular Imaging.  Ok, there might have been a few steps in between, such as developing the first small-molecule imaging agents targeting PSMA, and the first radiometalated agents to fight prostate cancer. Then he went on a twenty-year entrepreneurial journey to widely propagate their use in clinics for patients. That perseverance has also really helped Marty as an inveterate Chicago Cubs fan.  Lastly, Marty is an expert at “delivering reasonably interesting talks,” during which he dresses “slightly better than the audience” (check slide 8 of his talk).

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Marty Pomper has a unique view of who he is:  “a product of the space race, the Civil Rights Movement and public education.” Obviously, that directly leads to becoming the Director of the Division of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging at Johns Hopkins Medical School, the Co-leader of Cancer Molecular Imaging at the Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, and the “Most-influential Radiology Researcher of 2022” according to the Society of Nuclear Medicine & Molecular Imaging.  Ok, there might have been a few steps in between, such as developing the first small-molecule imaging agents targeting PSMA, and the first radiometalated agents to fight prostate cancer. Then he went on a twenty-year entrepreneurial journey to widely propagate their use in clinics for patients. That perseverance has also really helped Marty as an inveterate Chicago Cubs fan.  Lastly, Marty is an expert at “delivering reasonably interesting talks,” during which he dresses “slightly better than the audience” (check slide 8 of his talk).

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Mark Jacobstein is the former Chief User Engagement Officer at Guardant Health, where he developed and implemented successful market entry and commercialization strategies for cancer detection via liquid biopsies.  Mark is a serial entrepreneur always on the edge of seismic platform shifts, with multiple companies in the online and mobile worlds, including a stint at Qualcomm after the acquisition of his mobile VoIP company iSkoot. Next, he identified the intersection of biology and software as the next fundamental opportunity for change. Now he supports and invests in multiple companies in this field. As for his own invention of the world's first online fantasy sports business in1994, he attributes it to his long-suffering fate as a Red Sox fan.

Mark Jacobstein is the former Chief User Engagement Officer at Guardant Health, where he developed and implemented successful market entry and commercialization strategies for cancer detection via liquid biopsies.  Mark is a serial entrepreneur always on the edge of seismic platform shifts, with multiple companies in the online and mobile worlds, including a stint at Qualcomm after the acquisition of his mobile VoIP company iSkoot. Next, he identified the intersection of biology and software as the next fundamental opportunity for change. Now he supports and invests in multiple companies in this field. As for his own invention of the world's first online fantasy sports business in1994, he attributes it to his long-suffering fate as a Red Sox fan.

Adam Bass had recently founded Columbia University’s Center for Precision Cancer Medicine, after spending ten years translating new oncology science to the clinic at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard, as leader of the Gastrointestinal Malignancies Program.  He was also enjoying his work with the Broad Institute.  Then Novartis’s Institute for BioMedical Research called, and he settled to become its Global Head of Oncology Translational Research. Adam has always liked to push the boundaries. After college, he and his friends turned a 1960’s school bus into an RV and drove as far West as they could.  The bus broke down in the middle of Utah, but the trip was great.

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Adam Bass had recently founded Columbia University’s Center for Precision Cancer Medicine, after spending ten years translating new oncology science to the clinic at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard, as leader of the Gastrointestinal Malignancies Program.  He was also enjoying his work with the Broad Institute.  Then Novartis’s Institute for BioMedical Research called, and he settled to become its Global Head of Oncology Translational Research. Adam has always liked to push the boundaries. After college, he and his friends turned a 1960’s school bus into an RV and drove as far West as they could.  The bus broke down in the middle of Utah, but the trip was great.

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Most people see liquid biopsies and deep-profiling individual cancers as exciting new science. Yet Alex Parker already has years behind him working on commercialization strategies for them.  At Thrive Earlier Detection he was the SVP in charge of bringing early cancer detection blood tests to clinics and the market, and at Foundation Medicine he led Business Development and Process Technology for personalized cancer companion diagnostics that allow for more effective, highly targeted treatment. Interestingly, hiding behind Alex’s strategic business savvy is actually a Molecular Genetics scientist with various stints at Amgen and Millenium Pharmaceuticals. But as a scientist, he of course also likes to methodically remodel his whole house wall by wall, cabinet by cabinet, with the proper lab tools (aka hammer, nails, electric saw). Alex says he's easily distracted; accordingly, he has an irresponsible number of hobbies, including bicycle racing, remodeling houses, and studying military history. He also forages for edible plants and mushrooms. No reliable information on their use is available.

Most people see liquid biopsies and deep-profiling individual cancers as exciting new science. Yet Alex Parker already has years behind him working on commercialization strategies for them.  At Thrive Earlier Detection he was the SVP in charge of bringing early cancer detection blood tests to clinics and the market, and at Foundation Medicine he led Business Development and Process Technology for personalized cancer companion diagnostics that allow for more effective, highly targeted treatment. Interestingly, hiding behind Alex’s strategic business savvy is actually a Molecular Genetics scientist with various stints at Amgen and Millenium Pharmaceuticals. But as a scientist, he of course also likes to methodically remodel his whole house wall by wall, cabinet by cabinet, with the proper lab tools (aka hammer, nails, electric saw). Alex says he's easily distracted; accordingly, he has an irresponsible number of hobbies, including bicycle racing, remodeling houses, and studying military history. He also forages for edible plants and mushrooms. No reliable information on their use is available.