Donald W. Kufe, MD - Chairman of Scientific and Clinical Advisory Board
One of the premier drug development experts in the U.S.
Dr. Kufe is a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. He received his MD in 1970 from the University of Rochester School of Medicine. After a clinical fellowship in medical oncology at Dana Farber Cancer Institute, he joined the staff in 1979. Dr. Kufe has served as chief of the Division of Cancer Pharmacology, deputy director of the Dana-Farber Cancer Center, director of the Harvard Phase I Oncology Group, and leader of the Experimental Therapeutics Program. He focuses on developing new therapeutic approaches to cancer. Dr. Kufe is currently a member of Adherex's Board of Directors.
Donald Berry, PhD
An international expert in the field of biostatistics
Dr. Donald Berry holds the Frank T. McGraw Memorial Chair for Cancer Research at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, where he is chairman of the Department of Biostatistics and Applied Mathematics. His primary interest is the prevention and treatment of breast cancer. He serves as the faculty statistician on the Breast Cancer Committee of the Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB), a national oncology group. In this role he designs and supervises the conduct and analysis of clinical trials in breast cancer. A native of Massachusetts, Dr. Berry received his Ph.D. in statistics from Yale University, and previously served on the faculty at the University of Minnesota and at Duke University, where he held the Edger Thompson Professorship in the College of Arts and Sciences. The author of 200 published articles as well as several books on biostatistics in medical research, Dr. Berry has been the principal investigator for numerous medical research programs funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.
Stephen Byers, PhD
An expert in cadherin biology and oncology
Dr. Stephen Byers is an internationally recognized cell biologist who has authored more than 80 papers and seven patents in the areas of cell adhesion and signaling. He is a Professor of oncology and cell biology at the Lombardi Cancer Center at Georgetown University. His research focuses on the area of cadherin/catenin adhesion and signaling system in breast and colon cancer and its interaction with nuclear receptors and tumor suppressor genes. Dr. Byers is Director of the Georgetown University Medical Scientist Training Program (MD/PhD Program) and Member of the Interdisciplinary Program of Tumor Biology.
Harold F. Dvorak, MD
An expert in cancer vasculature
Dr. Harold Dvorak is the Chief of the Department of Pathology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Mallinckrodt Professor of Pathology at Harvard Medical School. He was awarded the 2002 Rous-Whipple Award by the American Society of Investigative Pathology for his distinguished career in research. His prodigious research has produced some of pathology's fundamental contributions to the understanding of inflammation as well as of cellular immunity. He is best known for his groundbreaking work in the field of angiogenesis research, having discovered an angiogenic factor known as VPF (vascular permeability factor, now also known as vascular endothelial growth factor or VEGF) in 1983. This discovery was the first to provide a fundamental explanation for how tumors induce new blood vessel growth, and help explain how the blood vessels of malignant tumors differ from those of normal tissue with respect to organization, structure and function.
Merrill J. Egorin, M.D.
A world-renowned expert in cancer pharmacology
Merrill J. Egorin, M.D. is a Professor of Medicine and Pharmacology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, where he serves as co-director of the Molecular Therapeutics/Drug Discovery Program and director of the Clinical Pharmacology Analytical Facility Core at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI).
Dr. Egorin’s research focuses on rational development and application of antineoplastic agents. He serves as principal investigator on a National Cancer Institute-funded contract evaluating the pharmacokinetics, metabolism and pharmacodynamics of antitumor agents being considered for clinical trials, is the principal investigator of a National Cancer Institute-funded cooperative agreement for conducting Phase I studies at UPCI, and is the principal investigator on grants to serve as the pharmacology core for Cancer and Leukemia Group B and for the Gynecologic Oncology Group. Key concepts regularly addressed in Dr. Egorin’s research involve the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamic relationships of investigational and licensed antineoplastic agents and how those relationships can be assessed and modeled.
Dr. Egorin is editor-in-chief of Cancer Chemotherapy and Pharmacology and serves on the editorial boards of several medical journals. Dr. Egorin has authored or co-authored numerous book chapters and more than 250 articles in peer-reviewed journals. His professional accomplishments resulted in his being awarded the Joseph H. Burchenal Award for Clinical Research in 2006 by the American Association for Cancer Research and the inaugural Michaele Christian Award in Oncology Drug Development from the National Cancer Institute in 2007.
Emil Frei, III, MD
The pioneer in the use of combination chemotherapy
Dr. Emil (Tom) Frei is the Director and Physician-in-Chief Emeritus and the first Richard and Susan Smith Distinguished Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. He is the inaugural recipient of the American Academy of Cancer Research Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research, having been presented the honor in March 2004. In 1983, Dr. Frei was co-recipient of the prestigious Charles E. Kettering Prize for Cancer Research from the General Motors Cancer Research Foundation, a prize shared with Dr. Emil Freireich. Drs. Frei and Freireich developed the world's first treatment leading to a complete cure for leukemia patients. Their team was the first to devise the revolutionary approach of combination chemotherapy using several drugs in combination to treat patients, a practice which has gained widespread acceptance. The method is credited by other specialists as the single most important advance in the past quarter century in saving the lives of persons with cancer. Dr. Frei previously served as a member of Adherex's Board of Directors.
Robert Herfkens, MD
An expert in MRI imaging, a critical tool for effective drug development
Dr. Robert Herfkens is a Professor of Radiology and Director of Magnetic Resonance Imaging at Stanford University. His background includes training in internal medicine, nuclear medicine and radiology. He has published over 200 papers, most in relationship to Magnetic Resonance Imaging. He is past president of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance Imaging. His current research interests include cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging, fast imaging techniques and development of techniques for image-guided therapies, as well as cardiovascular and Body CT.
William P. Petros, Pharm.D.
An expert in cancer pharmacology
Dr. Petros is a Professor of Basic Pharmaceutical Sciences in the School of Pharmacy and Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Pharmacology in the School of Medicine at West Virginia University. He is also Associate Director for Anti-Cancer Development at WVU’s Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center and on adjunct faculty at Duke University Medical Center where he led the Cancer Center’s Clinical Pharmacology Lab in addition to being an active investigator in various therapeutic oncology areas. He has published over 100 papers/book chapters primarily in the areas of his research interests which involve pharmacokinetics, pharmacogenomics and early phase studies of anti-cancer drugs.
Youcef M. Rustum, PhD
An expert in cancer drug pharmacology and animal model development
Youcef Rustum received his BA (1964) in chemistry and his PhD (1970) in Biochemical Pharmacy at the State University of New York at Buffalo (SUNY/B). His long career in clinical cancer research began at Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) in 1970 where he was instrumental in the development of new and novel standard therapy for colon cancer patients. More recently, he has been actively involved in the development of a number of scientifically based phase I/II clinical trials at RPCI and in collaboration with other Institutions in the U.S. and abroad. He currently is Senior Vice President for Science Administration and Graduate Education at RPCI and Chair of the Institute Department of Cancer Biology and Head of the Translational Research Laboratory at RPCI. Academically, Dr. Rustum is a Professor of Oncology and Director of the Institute thirteen (13) Scientific Core Facilities. Dr. Rustum was appointed as a Member to the Institute of Medicine serving on a committee to develop strategy for health care delivery to low and middle income countries. Dr. Rustum’s distinguished academic career includes over 300 publications, 50 book chapters, editor of 3 books and training of medical and surgical oncology fellows from the U.S. and abroad. His research interest is primarily focused on the development of new and novel drugs and treatment for cancer patients (translational research bench to bedside) with major focus on GI, Lung and Prostate cancers. Dr. Rustum is a member of numerous scientific organizations, including the American Society for Clinical Oncology, the American Association for Cancer Research, and the American College of Clinical Pharmacology and serves on several national and international academic and pharmaceutical company advisory boards.
Ann Thor, MD
A leader in identifying molecular targets in immunohistochemistry
Dr. Ann Thor is a Professor and Edith B. Todd and James C. Todd, M.D. Chair of Pathology at the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center, Anschutz Medical Campus, in Aurora, Colorado. Her more than 150 published works primarily focus on investigating the link between hormones and the development of breast cancer. Dr. Thor's research has included pivotal work involving various diagnostic, prognostic and predictive markers for breast cancer.
Daniel D. Von Hoff, MD
One of the world's most experienced developers of cancer drugs
Dr. Daniel Von Hoff serves as Professor of Pathology, Molecular and Cellular Biology, and Director of the Arizona Health Science Center's Cancer Therapeutic Programs at the University of Arizona in Tucson. He is also Chief Scientific Officer for US Oncology. Dr. Von Hoff's major interest is in the development of new anticancer agents. He and his laboratory are concentrating on the discovery of new targets in pancreatic cancer. Dr. Von Hoff has published more than 490 papers, 122 book chapters, and more than 830 abstracts. He is also the past President of the American Association for Cancer Research, a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, and a member and past board member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
Margaret J. Wheelock, Ph.D.
An expert in cadherin biology and cellular signaling
Dr. Margaret Wheelock is a Professor in the Department of Oral Biology, a Member of the Eppley Institute for Cancer Research and Director of the Nebraska Center for Cellular Signaling at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Dr. Wheelock has worked in the field of cadherin biology for more than 25 years, and her current research focuses on the role of cadherin switching in tumor progression. She has more than 100 publications focused on cadherins and their role in cellular signaling and cell behavior.
