DAVA Oncology

Faculty

​Piyush K. Agarwal, MD
Professor of Surgery and Urology, Director, Bladder Cancer Program Fellowship, Director, Urologic Oncology Comprehensive Cancer Research Center, The University of Chicago
Chicago, IL

​Hamed Ahmadi, MD
Assistant Professor University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, MN

​Omar Alhalabi, MD
Assistant Professor Department of Genitourinary Medical Oncology Division of Cancer Medicine UT MD Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, TX

​Gustavo Ayala, MD
Professor Vice Chair, Outreach Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine UT Health Houston
Houston, TX

Mark W. Ball, MD
Associate Research Physician Urologic Oncology Branch Associate Director, Urologic Oncology Fellowship National Cancer Institute
Bethesda, MD

Arnab Basu, MD
Assistant Professor The University of Alabama at Birmingham
Birmingham, AL

​David J. Benjamin, MD
Medical Oncologist
Hoag Family Cancer Institute
Newport Beach, CA

​Jacqueline T. Brown, MD
Assistant Professor, Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Emory University School of Medicine Genitourinary Oncologist Winship Cancer
Institute of Emory University
Atlanta, GA

Manojkumar Bupathi, MD, MS
Medical Oncologist Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers Executive Co-Chair GU Research- Sarah Cannon Research Institute
Aurora, CO ​

​Maria Carlo, MD
Assistant Attending Physician, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
New York, NY

​Monica S. Chatwal, MD
Assistant Member, Medical Oncology, Department of Genitourinary Oncology Lead Researcher, Precision Oncology in Prostate Cancer Program, James A. Haley VA, Tampa, FL Assistant Professor,  University of South Florida School of Medicine
Tampa, FL

​Jonathan Chou, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Department of Medicine University of California, San Francisco
San Francisco, CA

​​​​​​​Matthew Dallos, MD
Genitourinary Oncologist
Assistant Attending Physician
Department of Medicine
Solid Tumor Genito-Urinary Service
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
New York, NY

​Siamak Daneshmand, MD
Professor of Urology and Medicine (Oncology) -Clinical Scholar Director of Urologic Oncology Director of Clinical Research Urologic Oncology Fellowship Director USC/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center

​​​Eleni Efstathiou, MD, PhD
Professor of Medicine Genitourinary Medical Oncology Section Chief Houston Methodist Oncology Partners Founder and Director Department of Genitourinary Medical Oncology - Research The Stanford Alexander Tissue and Derivatives Laboratory with the David Koch Center Director of Center of Excellence for Genitourinary Malignancy Treatment Athens Medical Center Athens Greece , Sister Institute to University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, TX 

​David Einstein, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Boston MA

Scott Eggener, MD
Bruce and Beth White Family Professor of Surgery
Vice Chair, Section of Urology Director, High Risk and Advanced Prostate Cancer Clinic
The University of Chicago
Chicago, IL 

Hamid Emamekhoo, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Director of Clinical Cancer Research Informatics, University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center
Madison, WI

​Benjamin Garmezy, MD
Associate Director, Genitourinary Research Program
Co-Chair, GU Executive Committee, SCRI Network Sarah Cannon Research Institute GU Medical Oncologist and Investigator SCRI Oncology Partners
Nashville, TN

Yasser Ged, MBBS
Co-Director, Kidney Cancer Research Program
Assistant Professor of Oncology Johns Hopkins
Baltimore, MD

​​​​​Giannicola Genovese, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Genitourinary Medical Oncology - Research, Division of Cancer Medicine, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, TX

​​​​​Saby George, MD, FACP
Professor of Oncology
Director of Network Clinical Trials
Department of Medicine
Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center
Buffalo, NY

Julie Graff, MD
Staff Oncologist, VA Portland Health Care System Director of PATCH (Prostate cancer Analysis for Therapy CHoice) Professor, Hematology & Medical Oncology OHSU Knight Cancer Institute
Portland, OR

​Michael C. Haffner, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor, Pathology Human Biology, Division Clinical Research, Division Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Assistant Professor, Pathology, University of Washington School of Medicine
Seattle, WA

​Scott Haake, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor, Division of Hematology & Oncology Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University
Medical Center
Nashville, TN

​Raquibul Hannan, MD, PhD
Professor, Radiation Oncology, Urology and Immunology Chief, Genitourinary Radiation Oncology UT Southwestern Medical Center
Dallas, TX

​Michael R. Harrison, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine Member of the Duke Cancer Institute, Duke University
Durham, NC

Jim C. Hu, MD, MPH
Ronald P. Lynch, Professor of Urologic Oncology Professor of Urology Weill Cornell Medicine
New York, NY

​Gopa Iyer, MD
Section Head, Bladder Cancer Associate Attending, Genitourinary Oncology Service, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
New York, NY

​​​​​Eric Jonasch, MD
Professor Department of Genitourinary Medical Oncology Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, TX 

​Joseph W. Kim, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine (Medical Oncology), Yale School of Medicine Director of Prostate Cancer Research for GU DART, Yale Cancer Center
New Haven, CT

​Manish Kohli, MD
Professor, Division of Oncology, School of Medicine
Jack R. and Hazel M. Robertson Presidential Endowed Chair Huntsman Cancer Institute
Salt Lake City, UT  

​Elaine Lam, MD
Professor of Medicine​ School of Medicine​, Department of Medicine,​ Division of Medical Oncology,​ University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus​
Aurora, CO 

​Andrew T. Lenis, MD
Assistant Professor of Urology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center New
York, NY

​Seth Paul Lerner, MD, FACS
Professor of Urology, Beth and Dave Swalm
Chair in Urologic Oncology,  Director of Urologic Oncology Director of the Multidisciplinary Bladder Cancer Program Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, TX 

​Paul Lin, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
UT MD Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, TX

​Charlene Mantia, MD
Lank Center for Genitourinary Oncology Center for Cancer Therapeutic Innovation Department of Medical Oncology Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Boston, MA

​Nataliya Mar, MD
HS Associate Clinical Professor Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine,  School of Medicine,  Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center,  UCI Health
Orange, CA 

​​​Vitaly Margulis, MD
Professor of Urology Paul C. Peters, M.D.,
Chair in Urology
UT Southwestern Medical Center
Dallas, TX

​​​Catherine Handy Marshall, MD, MPH
Assistant Professor, Department of Oncology Sidney Kimmel Cancer Comprehensive Cancer Center
Attending Physician, Oncology Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD

Hannah Dzimitrowicz McManus, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Duke University School of Medicne
Durham, NC

​Richard A. Miller, MD
CEO Corvus Pharmaceuticals Inc
Burlingame, CA

​​​Matthew I. Milowsky, MD, FASCO
The George Gabriel and Frances Gable Villere Distinguished Professor of Medicine Section
Chief, Genitourinary Oncology
Vice Chief for Research & Education UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center
The University of North Carolina
Chapel Hill, NC

​Alicia Morgans, MD, MPH
Medical Director, Survivorship Program, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Associate Professor of Medicine Harvard Medical School
Boston, MA

​David M. Nanus, MD
Mark W. Pasmantier, Professor of Hematology and Oncology in Medicine, Professor of Urology, Weill Cornell Medical College
New York, NY

​Mohit Narang, MD
MOH chairman for P and T committee Maryland Oncology Hematology
Columbia,MD

Peter H. O’Donnell, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine Section of Hematology / Oncology, Committee Chair, Committee on Clinical Pharmacology and Pharmacogenomics, The University of Chicago
Chicago, IL 

​David Oh, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor, Medicine Principal Investigator Assistant Professor In Residence, University of California San Francisco
San Francisco, CA

​​Chandler Park, MD, FACP
President, Kentucky Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Co-Director, Genitourinary Oncology Clinical Trials, Norton Cancer Institute,  Advisory Dean and Clinical Professor, University of Louisville School of Medicine  ASCO Faculty, Genitourinary Oncology for ASCO CME/ASCO University
Louisville, KY

Akash Patnaik, MD, PhD
Associate Professor of Medicine Deputy Section
Chief for Translational Research Section of Hematology/Oncology Program Leader, Clinical & Experimental Therapeutics Program
University of Chicago Comprehensive Cancer Center
Chicago, IL

​​Arlene Siefker-Radtke, MD
Professor, Genitourinary Medical Oncology
UT MD Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, TX

Melissa A. Reimers, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine, Clinical Director of Genitourinary Malignancies, Division of Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine Washington, University in St. Louis Saint
Louis, MO

​​Charles Ryan, MD
President and CEO Prostate Cancer Foundation

Sarmad Sadeghi, MD, PhD
Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine and Urology Division of Medical Oncology USC Institute of Urology Keck USC School of Medicine
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA 

Amirali Salmasi, MD
Associate Professor, Department of Urology
Urologic Oncology UC San Diego Health
San Diego, CA

John Sarantopoulos, MD
Associate Professor Peggy & Lowry Mays
Distinguished Chair, Hematology Oncology UT Health San Antonio
San Antonio, TX

​​A. Oliver Sartor, MD
Director Radiopharmaceutical Trials
Mayo Clinic
Minnesota, FL

Kerry Schaffer, MD
Assistant Professor,  Department of Medicine Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN

​​​​​​Laura Anne Sena, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor of Oncology
Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD

​​Samer A. Srour, MB ChB, MS
Assistant Professor, Department of Stem Cell Transplantation, Division of Cancer Medicine
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Houston, TX

​Walter Stadler, MD, FACP
Fred C. Buffett Professor, Depts of Medicine & Surgery Dean for Clinical Research, Senior Advisor to the Director, Comprehensive Cancer Center
UChicago Medicine 
Chicago, IL

​​Cora N. Sternberg, MD
Clinical Director, Englander Institute for Precision Medicine,  Professor of Medicine,  Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center
Weill Cornell Medicine
New York, NY

​Tyler F. Stewart, MD
Assistant Professor Medical Oncology,  University of California, San Diego
La Jolla, CA

​​​Russell Szmulewitz, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine Program Leader, Genitourinary Oncology Section of Hematology/Oncology, Dept. of Medicine,
The University of Chicago
Chicago, IL

​​​Nizar M. Tannir, MD, FACP
Professor Ransom Horne, Jr.
Professor for Cancer Research RMC Alliance,
Founder and President
Department of Genitourinary Medical Oncology Division of Cancer Medicine
UT MD Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, TX

Karine Tawagi, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology and Oncology, University of Illinois Chicago
Chicago, IL

​Benjamin A. Teply, MD
Associate Professor Division of Oncology & Hematology University of Nebraska Medical Center
Omaha, NE

​​​Hong Truong, MD
Assistant Professor
Penn State Health
Hershey, PA

​​Mark Tyson, II, MD, MPH
Urologist Oncologist
Mayo Clinic
Phoenix, AZ

Yuanquan Yang, MD, PHD
Assistant Professor, The Ohio State University Columbus, OH
Phoenix, AZ

​Samir Zaidi, MD, PhD
Louis V. Gerstner Jr. Physician Scholar Assistant Attending, Genitourinary Oncology Service Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
New York, NY 

​Kevin K. Zarrabi, MD
Assistant Professor, Thomas Jefferson University Philadelphia, PA   

​Tian Zhang, MD, MHS
Associate Professor, Division of Hematology & Oncology Department of Internal Medicine
UT Southwestern Medical Center,  Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center
Dallas, TX  

​Alexandre R. Zlotta, MD, PhD
Professor and Howard Sokolowski
Chair in Uro-Oncological Research, Department of Surgery (Urology), University of Toronto, Director, Uro-Oncology, Mount Sinai Hospital, Associate Scientist,  Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Staff, Division of Surgical Oncology, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network
Toronto, Canada 

Junior Faculty

Amy Taylor, MD
Fellow Physician
Madison, WI

Qian Qin, MD
Assistant Professor,  Department of Internal Medicine
UT Southwestern Medical Center
Dallas, TX

Daniel Sentana Lledo, MD
Instructor in Medicine,  Harvard Medical School
Dana Farber Cancer Institute
Boston, MA

​Piyush K. Agarwal, MD
Professor of Surgery and Urology, Director, Bladder Cancer Program Fellowship
Director, Urologic Oncology Comprehensive Cancer Research Center, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL

Piyush K. Agarwal, MD, is a highly respected urologic surgeon who specializes in the multidisciplinary management of bladder cancer, using complex surgical techniques, such as robotic and open radical cystectomy and continent urinary diversions, to treat his patients. Along with bladder cancer, Dr. Agarwal is also an expert in all urologic cancers, including prostate, testicular and penile carcinoma. Dr. Agarwal’s clinical and laboratory research focuses primarily on bladder cancer, specifically BCG-unresponsive disease, the urinary microbiome, molecular targeted therapy and immunotherapy. He has conducted several original, investigator-initiated clinical trials and has presented his research at national and international meetings. Dr. Agarwal has served on the FDA’s oncologic drug advisory committee and has authored six book chapters and over 90 manuscripts. In addition to his clinical and research work, Dr. Agarwal is also committed to teaching. He is an associate editor for two medical journals with a focus in urothelial cancers and has mentored over 50 trainees at various levels to successful careers in academic medicine.

​Omar Alhalabi, MD
Assistant Professor Department of Genitourinary Medical Oncology Division of Cancer Medicine,  UT MD Anderson Cancer Center,  Houston, TX

After graduating medical school in Syria, scientific research seemed impossible and out of reach. Eight years later, he was very fortunate to have joined the faculty at MD Anderson as a clinical investigator in July 2020 and to have developed the following research interests: 1) Defining the genomic and metabolic drivers of resistance to immunotherapy in bladder cancer. 2) Developing the urine metabolome as an accessible biomarker reflective of bladder cancer immunity. 3) Developing effective novel therapies guided by understanding the biology of bladder cancer. His first funded grant was in 2019, when he received the Young Investigator Award (YIA) from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Conquer Cancer Foundation (CCF) for the investigation of triple-agent combination therapy with pemetrexed, adenosine inhibitor, and anti-PD-L1 in methylthioadenosine phosphorylase (MTAP) deficient bladder cancer. This award had a significant impact on me as a researcher and allowed to witness the transition of bench findings to patients and vice versa. He became interested in studying MTAP deficiency in 9p21-loss bladder cancer because those patients (consist 25% of bladder cancer population) have significantly poorer prognosis (Alhalabi et al. European Urology Oncology, 2021) Furthermore, his group’s work (Han et al. Nature Communications, 2022) has shown that loss of 9p21 confers a cold tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) and primary resistance to immunotherapy. Therefore, he has been exploring the therapeutic vulnerabilities created by MTAP loss. His YIA project showed that MTAP deficiency creates an exploitable target for antifolate therapy in 9p21-loss cancers (Alhalabi et al. Nature Communications, 2022). Using these findings, his team has launched an investigator-initiated clinical trial (NCT05335941) using the triplet combination of antifolates, antiadenosine and antiPD1 against MTAP deficient bladder cancer. In this P01 application, he will co-lead project 3 and aim to test the hypothesis that pemetrexed plus anti-PD-(L)1 + adenosine 2A/B receptor inhibitor combination therapy will effectively modulate the TIME to favor killing of 9p21-loss bladder cancer.

Arnab Basu, MD
Assistant Professor,  The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL

Dr. Arnab Basu is an academic genitourinary oncologist focusing in the care of patients with Kidney Cancer & Bladder Cancer. Dr. Basu originally obtained his medical degree from the Medical College, Kolkata, the oldest medical school in Asia. He then completed a fellowship at the Indian Council of Medical Research and a Masters in Epidemiology and Biostatistical Methods in Clinical Research from the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore , Maryland. He then completed his Internal Medicine training at the Johns Hopkins University & Sinai Hospital of Baltimore program. Dr. Basu also has fellowship training from the University of Southern California and the Cleveland Clinic Foundation where he focused on the care of patients with genitourinary malignancies Following his Training , Dr. Basu has joined UAB as a Associate Scientist with the Comprehensive Cancer Center and a Tenure Track Assistant Professor at the UAB School of Medicine. He holds a Alabama Drug Discovery Alliance award for the development of novel therapeutics for Kidney Cancer. Dr. Basu also has published on the role of circulating DNA analysis for the early detection and management of disease. Dr. Basu is experienced in the use of immunotherapy and targeted therapies in these diseases and has performed research in resistance mechanisms to immunotherapy. Dr. Basu is developing translational research programs in the genitourinary malignancies at UAB. In addition to kidney and bladder cancer , he also specializes in testicular, adrenal and prostate cancers.

​David J. Benjamin, MD
Medical Oncologist, Hoag Family Cancer Institute, Newport Beach, CA

Dr. David J. Benjamin is a genitourinary medical oncologist at Hoag Family Cancer Institute (Newport Beach, CA). He has co-authored over 50 publications in journals such as JAMA Oncology and Nature Reviews Urology. He received the 2022 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium Merit Award from Conquer Cancer, the ASCO Foundation, and received the 2022 UCI School of Medicine Outstanding Fellow/Resident Research Award for excellence in clinical/translational research.

Jacqueline T. Brown, MD
Assistant Professor, Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Emory University School of Medicine, Genitourinary Oncologist Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University Atlanta, GA

Dr. Jacqueline T. Brown is an Assistant Professor at the Emory University School of Medicine and specializes in the management of genitourinary malignancies at the Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University. She is actively involved in clinical trials in genitourinary cancers and the Phase I clinical trials unit at Winship. She is interested in improving clinical outcomes for older patients with bladder and prostate cancer and is passionate about improving oncology medical education at Emory and beyond.

​Maria Carlo, MD
Assistant Attending Physician, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY

Dr. Maria Carlo is an Assistant Attending Physician in Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. She earned her medical degree from Harvard Medical School, completed her residency in Internal Medicine from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, andfellowship in Hematology and Oncology from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. She is a medical oncologist who specializes in caring for people with advanced kidney cancer. She also provide clinical counseling and genetic testing for people who may have an inherited predisposition to genitourinary cancers, such as kidney and prostate cancers, and other cancers.

Monica S. Chatwal, MD
Assistant Member, Medical Oncology, Department of Genitourinary Oncology Lead Researcher, Precision Oncology in Prostate Cancer Program, James A. Haley VA, Tampa, FL,  Assistant Professor University of South Florida School of Medicine, Tampa, FL

Dr. Chatwal earned her MD at Florida State University School of Medicine. She completed her Internal Medicine Residency at Emory University School of Medicine, followed by a Hematology Oncology Fellowship at Moffitt Cancer Center and the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine. Dr. Chatwal’s clinical focus is the medical oncology management of patients with genitourinary malignancies, particularly prostate cancer. Her research focus is on prostate cancer clinical trials and outcomes. Dr. Chatwal also has a practical and research interest in the important issue of provider burnout. She has published data on approaches to improve individual resiliency and will explore both individual and system-dependent approaches to help combat and alleviate this ongoing issue. Dr. Chatwal has a part-time appointment at the James A. Haley VA in Tampa as the lead for PoPCaP, the precision oncology in prostate cancer program, to help expand clinical trial access for prostate cancer patients.

​Jonathan Chou, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA

Dr Jonathan Chou is a physician-scientist in the Division of Hematology/Oncology and an attending physician in the Genitourinary Medical Oncology Clinic at UCSF. Dr Chou earned his medical degree and a doctorate in biomedical sciences from UCSF. He also completed a residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in oncology at UCSF. Dr. Jonathan Chou cares for patients with cancers affecting the genital and urinary organs, including prostate, bladder, kidney and testicular cancers. His areas of research include developing more precise ways to treat cancer. He studies molecular subtypes of cancer and uses genome-editing technology to engineer cell models in the lab, seeking to understand how specific mutations affect cancer properties. He also uses genetic and drug screening to find new ways of killing cancer cells, and incorporates patient-derived tumor xenografts (models in which cells from a patient’s tumor are implanted in an animal) to investigate drug resistance.

​Siamak Daneshmand, MD
Professor of Urology and Medicine (Oncology) -Clinical Scholar Director of Urologic Oncology Director of Clinical Research Urologic Oncology Fellowship Director USC/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center

Dr. Sia Daneshmand is currently Professor of Urology and Medicine (Oncology) with Clinical Scholar designation and serves as director of urologic oncology, as well as the urologic oncology (SUO) fellowship director at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. His main clinical interests include bladder cancer, testicular cancer, and advanced kidney cancer. He is a leading authority in the management of complex germ cell tumors and nerve-sparing retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (RPLND) following chemotherapy for advanced testicular cancer and is one of the highest volume surgeons for this disease in the country. His main research interests focus on the use of pathways to improve peri-operative outcomes following radical cystectomy and post-chemo RPLND, use of serum and molecular markers and new technologies in diagnosis and management of bladder and testicular cancers, as well as functional outcomes following orthotopic urinary diversion. He serves on the AUA Guidelines panel for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer, as well as the AUA Guidelines panel for Testicular cancer. He currently serves as the chair of bladder section of the SUO Clinical Trials Consortium (SUO-CTC), is on the scientific steering committee of several bladder cancer clinical trials and has led over a dozen clinical trials in bladder cancer and a pivotal trial in testicular cancer (SEMS). He was recently appointed. He is current secretary of the Western Section of the AUA. He is a member of Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society and has been designated one of the “America’s Top Cancer Doctors” for the past 12 consecutive years. He has been a career leader in academic investigations in bladder cancer and germ cell tumors and was recently appointed as the chair of the SWOG local bladder committee. He has been a visiting professor at more than 25 institutions around the world. He has presented over 500 abstracts at scientific meetings and has authored over 375 peer-reviewed articles, reviews, and book chapters.

​David Einstein, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston MA

Dr. Einstein is an academic medical oncologist specializing in genitourinary (GU) cancers. He care for patients with prostate, bladder, kidney, and testicular cancer. He spend approximately half of my time on genitourinary oncology research, particularly focusing on immunotherapy and targeted approaches in prostate, bladder, and kidney cancers, with support from the Prostate Cancer Foundation, NIH, DoD, BIDMC, and industry partners. He is interested in clinical trial development, serving as overall Principal Investigator (PI) and site PI of several Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center (DF/HCC) clinical trials that investigate immune-based, targeted, and radioligand therapies for GU cancers. In addition, he is the Director of GU Oncology Clinical Research for the Beth Israel-Lahey Health network and PI of the DF/HCC GU Rapid Autopsy program, a component of the Pathology core of the DF/HCC Prostate SPORE. He is passionate about teaching: He is a two-time author of the American Society of Clinical Oncology Self-Evaluation Program GU chapter and a two-time winner of the annual teaching award from our fellowship program. Finally, he has developed tools to improve quality of life, physician communication, and end-of-life decision-making, especially as it relates to patients with GU cancers, and to promote patient wellbeing outside of my clinic, He serves as medical advisor to the Boston Prostate Cancer Support Group and the Massachusetts Prostate Cancer Coalition.

​Hamid Emamekhoo, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Director of Clinical Cancer Research, Informatics University of Wisconsin, Carbone Cancer Center, Madison, WI

Dr. Hamid Emamekhoo is an Associate Professor in the Division of Hematology, Medical Oncology and Palliative Care and Director of Clinical Cancer Research Informatics at University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center . He is a medical oncologist with clinical and research focus on genitourinary malignancies. He received his medical degree from Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, residency in Internal medicine from Good Samaritan Hospital and fellowship in Hematology and Oncology from Cleveland Clinic. His previous research in gene targeting has evolved into an interest in a personalized approach to cancer treatment and precision oncology. He focuses on immunotherapy innovations in cancer treatment and currently serves as the principal investigator, or co-investigator, on multiple ongoing clinical trials using immunotherapy and targeted therapies in different stages of kidney, bladder and prostate cancer at UW-Madison. Dr. Emamekhoo is a member of the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) and the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).

​​Yasser Ged, MBBS
Co-Director, Kidney Cancer Research Program, Assistant Professor of Oncology, Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD

​Dr. Yasser Ged is an Assistant Professor of Oncology and Co-Director for Kidney Cancer Research Program at Johns Hopkins. He is a medical oncologist dedicated to the care of patients with genitourinary malignancies. His clinical and research focus is on the management of renal cell carcinoma (RCC). He completed his Medical Oncology Higher Specialist Training with Royal College of Physicians in Ireland and subsequently completed Advanced Medical Oncology Fellowship at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York.

​​Giannicola Genovese, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Genitourinary Medical Oncology - Research
Division of Cancer Medicine, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center,  Houston, TX

Dr. Giannicola Genovese is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Genitourinary Medical Oncology at UT MD Anderson Cancer Center. He earned his medical degree from University of Rome, PhD from Catholic University of Sacred Heart, Rome. He completed his Clinical Fellowship in Internal Medicine/Oncology from Catholic University of Rome. His research program aims to develop cutting-edge tools to elucidate tumor plasticity and to characterize the functional drivers that underlie treatment resistance. Overall, he conducts research in a manner that produces results with immediate translational potential. While his laboratory focuses on renal and pancreatic malignancies, students are encouraged to consider building hypotheses that address the challenges with treating all solid tumors.

​Michael C. Haffner, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor, Pathology Human Biology Division Clinical Research Division Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center Assistant Professor, Pathology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA

Dr. Michael Haffner is a physician-scientist who specializes in genitourinary cancers. As a pathologist, he diagnoses patients’ tumors. As a research scientist, he studies the cellular changes that allow tumor cells, particularly prostate tumor cells, to metastasize, or spread through the body. Dr. Haffner focuses on the cytoskeleton, the protein network that gives cells their shape and size and is involved in nearly every cellular process, from division to movement. The shape and size of cancer cells often differs from normal cells and these changes may be due to changes in how cells build and organize their cytoskeletons. But how cytoskeletal changes may promote tumor progression, including metastasis, remain unclear. Through understanding the connection between the cytoskeleton and cancer, Dr. Haffner aims to identify new targets for future therapies designed to halt advanced prostate cancer.

​Scott Haake, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor, Division of Hematology & Oncology, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN

As a kidney cancer-focused investigator, Dr Haake leads a research team focused on the study of basic mechanisms of kidney cancer development and progression and seek to actively translate this knowledge into interventions that improve the lives of kidney cancer patients. For example, they have a DOD-funded project that seeks to develop RNAseq-based biomarkers that match approved first-line therapies to the unique biology of an individual patient’s tumor, thus testing the hypothesis that this tailored therapy will result in superior clinical outcomes. In addition, they have a new study that will seek to translate this tissue-based biomarker into a liquid-based biomarker that utilizes RNA sequencing of circulating tumor cells to assign tumor to these predictive clusters. Other DOD funding seeks to train artificial intelligence to correlate spatial patterns derived from multiplex immunofluorescence in papillary renal cellc carcinoma tissues with clinical outcomes. The focus of his NCI K08 award is to study the role of extracellular matrix (ECM) and integrin signaling in cancer. He demonstrated that cancer cells exhibit constitutive, ligand-independent activation of ECM receptors, and this signaling is required for tumor initiation. His research has been published in peer-reviewed journals including Cell, The New England Journal of Medicine, Cancer Cell, Cancer, Clinical Cancer Research, and others. As a board-certified medical oncologist, he cares for patients at both Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the Nashville VA Hospital.

​​Michael R. Harrison, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine, Member of the Duke Cancer Institute, Duke University Durham, NC

​Dr. Michael Harrison is an Associate Professor in Duke University. He earned his medical degree from Tulane University School of Medicine, residency in Internal Medicine from Tulane University and fellowship in Medical Oncology from University of Wisconsin. He specialize in treating people with genitourinary (GU) cancers, such as bladder, prostate, testicular and kidney cancer.  

​Jim C. Hu, MD, MPH
Ronald P. Lynch, Professor of Urologic Oncology, Professor of Urology, Weill Cornell Medicine New York, NY

Dr. Jim Hu is a urologic oncologist with his undergraduate degree in Economics, his Master’s in Public Health in Health Policy and Management from Johns Hopkins University, and his Medical Degree from Baylor College of Medicine. He completed his Urology Residency at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and his Robotic Surgery/Urologic Oncology Fellowship in 2004 at City of Hope National Medical Center. He began his career as the Director of Robotic and Minimally Invasive Surgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Instructor at Harvard Medical School and was quickly promoted to Director of the Prostate Cancer Program at Dana Farber/Harvard Cancer Center and Associate Professor. He was then recruited back to the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA as the Henry Singleton Chair of Robotic and Minimally Invasive Surgery, where he led the minimally invasive prostate cancer, kidney cancer, and kidney donor nephrectomy programs. He was promoted to Professor before joining the faculty at Weill Cornell Medical College in 2015 as the Director of the LeFrak Center for Robotic Surgery and the Ronald P. Lynch Chair in Urologic Oncology. He currently serves as the Vice-Chair of Clinical Research, Chair of Quality and Patient Safety, and the Course Director for Urology Grand Rounds. Dr. Hu is an internationally renowned surgical innovator and health services researcher. His comparative effectiveness research interests have been funded by the Department of Defense, the National Cancer Institute, and the Livestrong Foundation. He is currently the contact principal investigator on two National Cancer Institute R0-1 randomized clinical trials investigating novel, potentially practice-changing approaches to prostate biopsy and radical prostatectomy. He is also the contact principal investigator on two Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) awards investigating prostate biopsy and comparative effectiveness of focal therapy, stereotactic body radiation therapy vs. conventional prostate cancer therapies. He has been awarded more than $12 million in peer-reviewed funding, and he has authored more than 300 peer-reviewed papers. His discoveries have been published in the most prestigious and exclusive medical journals, such as the New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of the American Medical Association, and the Journal of Clinical Oncology, as well as featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Boston Globe. In addition, Dr. Hu has published the most advances/videos of technical modifications internationally in European Urology Surgery in Motion to improve prostate and kidney cancer surgical outcomes. Dr. Hu has performed over 4000 laparoscopic, robotic and open procedures.

​​Gopa Iyer, MD
Section Head, Bladder Cancer, Associate Attending, Genitourinary Oncology Service, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY

Dr. Iyer is a medical oncologist who specializes in research in and treatment of patients with genitourinary cancers, including bladder, prostate, kidney, and testis cancers. He received his medical degree from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. He completed his residency in internal medicine from University of Michigan followed by obtaining his fellowship in hematology and oncology from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Dr. Iyer research focuses on defining the genetic aberrations that characterize bladder cancer, thereby identifying mutations that may serve as targets for novel therapies in this disease. Specifically, alterations within the PI3 kinase/Akt/mTOR pathway are commonly found in bladder cancer, and efforts are under way to understand the biologic effects of pharmacologic inhibition of this pathway. He is currently involved in elucidating the mechanisms underpinning drug sensitivity and are defining the pattern of co-alterations with TSC1 loss in bladder cancer using next-generation sequencing techniques.

​Elaine Lam, MD
Professor of Medicine​ School of Medicine​, Department of Medicine​, Division of Medical Oncology,​ University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus​, Aurora, CO

Dr. Lam is a Professor in the Department of Medicine/Division of Medical Oncology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, Anschutz Medical Campus. She is a GU medical oncologist and clinical researcher at the University of Colorado Cancer Center. Dr. Lam is the Cancer Research Medical Director at UCHealth Cancer Center at Highlands Ranch Hospital and directs the Medical Oncology Kidney Cancer Program at the University of Colorado Cancer Center. She is also a voting member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Kidney Cancer Panel. She has been involved with numerous phase 1, 2, and 3 clinical trials for patients with genitourinary cancers.

​Andrew T. Lenis, MD
Assistant Professor of Urology, Columbia University, Irving Medical Center, New York, NY

Andrew T. Lenis, MD MS, is an Assistant Professor of Urology at CUIMC. He specializes in treating patients with bladder, kidney, prostate, testis, and penile cancers. Dr. Lenis graduated from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio, with a dual MD MS degree and Honors Distinction in Research. He then completed his surgical internship and urology residency at UCLA in Los Angeles, California. After residency, Dr. Lenis completed a fellowship in Urologic Oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. Dr. Lenis joined CUIMC as a surgeon-scientist with an interest and specialization in urothelial cancer (tumors of the bladder, ureter, and renal pelvis). In the laboratory, Dr. Lenis works and collaborates with Michael Shen, Ph.D., who is an expert in bladder and prostate developmental and molecular biology and a pioneer in bladder tumor organoids. The American Urological Association, the American Cancer Society, and the American Society for Clinical Oncology have funded Dr. Lenis' research. His work on urologic malignancies has been published in JAMA, the Journal of Urology, European Urology, the Journal of Clinical Oncology Precision Oncology, and Urologic Oncology.

​​Seth Paul Lerner, MD, FACS
Professor of Urology, Beth and Dave Swalm, Chair in Urologic Oncology,  Director of Urologic Oncology,  Director of the Multidisciplinary Bladder Cancer Program, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX

Seth P. Lerner, MD, is Professor of Urology and holds the Beth and Dave Swalm Chair in Urologic Oncology, in the Scott Department of Urology, Baylor College of Medicine. He is Director of Urologic Oncology and the Multidisciplinary Bladder Cancer Program and Faculty Group Practice Medical Director for the Urology Clinic. He earned his medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine, completed a surgical internship at Virginia Mason Hospital in Seattle, and returned to Baylor for his residency training. He completed a two-year fellowship at the University of Southern California in urologic oncology and reconstructive surgery under Peter Jones and Don Skinner before returning to join the full-time Baylor faculty in 1992. His clinical practice, education, and research activities are devoted to urologic oncology and particularly lower and upper tract urothelial cancer. Dr. Lerner is author of over190 peer-reviewed articles, and co-editor of a comprehensive Textbook of Bladder Cancer. He is the founding co-editor-in-chief of the Bladder Cancer journal. He established and directs the multi-disciplinary Bladder Cancer Research Program at Baylor and his research interests include use of selective estrogen receptor modulators for treatment of bladder cancer, gene therapy, integrated genomic analysis of bladder and upper urinary tract cancers, and outcomes of radical cystectomy and pelvic lymphadenectomy. He has 26 years experience as a clinical investigator for both NCI and industry funded clinical trials. He is the PI of the ongoing SWOG NCI Phase III trial comparing extended vs. standard pelvic lymphadenectomy at time of radical cystectomy. He is active in the leadership of several national bladder cancer research enterprises including chair of the Local Bladder Cancer committee of SWOG, founding and former co-chair of the NCI Bladder Cancer Task Force and current co-chair of the NCI CTEP Genitourinary Steering Committee, and he has co-chaired the Analysis Working Group of The Cancer Genome Atlas Project for muscle invasive bladder cancer for the past 7 years. He is very active in the Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network (BCAN) as a member of the Board of Directors, past chair of the Bladder Cancer Think Tank and co-chair of the management committee of the Bladder Cancer Research Network. Dr. Lerner is an active member of the prestigious American Association of Genitourinary Surgeons and is listed routinely among “America’s Top Doctors” and “Best Doctors in America.

​Catherine Handy Marshall, MD, MPH
Assistant Professor, Department of Oncology, Sidney Kimmel Cancer Comprehensive Cancer Center, Attending Physician, Oncology Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD

Dr. Marshall is an Assistant Professor of Oncology at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine where she is a medical oncologist specializing in the care of men with advanced prostate cancer

​Hannah Dzimitrowicz McManus, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Duke University School of Medicne, Durham, NC

Dr. Hannah McManus is a medical oncologist and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Duke Cancer Institute in Durham, North Carolina. She specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of people with genitourinary cancers. In addition to her work caring for patients, she is a clinical investigator focusing on clinical trials for patients with GU cancer and utilization of real-world data to understand patterns of care and outcomes for patients. She completed medical school at Yale University and internal medicine residency and hematology/oncology fellowship training at Duke University.

Richard A. Miller, MD
CEO Corvus Pharmaceuticals Inc, Burlingame, CA

​Matthew I. Milowsky, MD, FASCO
The George Gabriel and Frances Gable Villere, Distinguished Professor of Medicine, Section Chief, Genitourinary Oncology, Vice Chief for Research & Education UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC

Dr. Matthew I Milowsky, MD, serves as Professor of Medicine and Clinical Professor of Urology at the University of North Carolina (UNC) School of Medicine in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Dr Milowsky also serves as Section Chief of the Genitourinary Oncology Service, and Co-Director of the Urologic Oncology Program at UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. He joined UNC to lead the Genitourinary Oncology Research program with a focus on translational science and clinical trials for patients with urologic cancers. He earned his medical degree from the State University of New York (SUNY) Downstate College of Medicine in Brooklyn, New York, and completed his medical residency at New England Medical Center-Tufts in Boston, and hematology/oncology fellowship at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City. Dr Milowsky has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals and written several chapters including serving as an author on the Genitourinary Cancers section and as Associate Editor for the ASCO Medical Oncology Self-Evaluation Program (ASCO SEP). He has received several honors and awards including an NIH Institutional Research Fellowship Award in Hematology and DOD Physician Research Training Award, amongst others.

​Alicia Morgans, MD, MPH
Medical Director, Survivorship Program, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA

Dr. Alicia Morgans is a Genitourinary Medical Oncologist and the Medical Director of the Survivorship Program at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. A clinician and investigator, she has expertise in clinical trials and patient-reported outcome measures, as well as incorporating patient preferences and beliefs into clinical decision making. Her research has investigated complications of systemic therapy for prostate cancer survivors, including the study of skeletal, cardiovascular, diabetic, and cognitive complications. Her work has been funded by grants from the Prostate Cancer Foundation and the Department of Defense. She is a member of the advanced and localized prostate cancer treatment guidelines committee of the American Urologic Association, and is a member of the cardio-oncology committee of the American Heart Association. Since 2016, she has been President of the Medical Advisory Board for ZERO, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting education and research funding for prostate cancer research.

​David M. Nanus, MD
Mark W. Pasmantier, Professor of Hematology and Oncology in Medicine, Professor of Urology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY

Dr. Nanus is an internationally recognized leader in the treatment and care of patients with genitourinary (GU) cancers, including cancers of the prostate, kidney, bladder and testes. He is actively involved in clinical, translational and basic research in GU malignancies, serving as principle or co-investigator on a variety of clinical research trials that incorporate novel targeted therapies for his patients. Since 2004, Dr. Nanus who is The Mark W. Pasmantier Professor of Hematology and Oncology in Medicine, has served as Chief of the Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology at Weill Cornell Medical College. He is the recipient of numerous awards including membership in the American Society for Clinical Investigation and the American Association of Physicians. Dr. Nanus is a graduate of the University of Illinois and the Chicago Medical School. After completing clinical training in Medicine at Albert Einstein and Medical Oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and research training at the Sloan Kettering Institute, he was invited to join the faculty at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in 1989. Developing a program in GU cancer, he made several important contributions to clinical and basic research in kidney and prostate cancer. He was recruited to the full-time faculty of Weill Cornell Medical College in 1998. At Weill Cornell, Dr. Nanus helped develop the Genitourinary Oncology Research Program focused on understanding the events that contribute to the progression of urologic cancers, and on developing new and more effective therapies to treat advanced prostate, kidney and bladder cancer. He was the first Weill Cornell faculty member to obtain a Mid-Career Development Award (K24) from the National Institutes of Health, in support of fostering faculty development and patient-oriented clinical and translational research in the Genitourinary Oncology program. As Director of the Genitourinary Oncology Research Laboratory, he leads a unique interdepartmental team of world class clinical researchers seeking to translate research on the molecular basis of GU cancers into improved cancer treatment.

​Peter H. O’Donnell, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine, Section of Hematology / Oncology,  Committee Chair, Committee on Clinical Pharmacology and Pharmacogenomics, The University of Chicago Chicago, IL

Dr. Peter O'Donnell, specializes in the treatment of genitourinary malignancies, including prostate, kidney, and testicular cancers — with particular expertise in bladder cancer. Dr. O'Donnell is a well-published researcher with advanced training in pharmacology and pharmacogenomics (the study of genetic traits that cause differences between patients in drug responses and side-effects). He has an interest in the study of personalized medicine, which involves considering each patient's genetic profile when determining chemotherapy and other therapeutic decisions. Dr. O'Donnell has several ongoing research projects. Currently, he is investigating how genetic factors affect chemotherapy drug outcomes — specifically for patients receiving treatment for bladder cancer, and for patients receiving the widely used chemotherapy drugs cisplatin and capecitabine. Additionally, Dr. O'Donnell serves as principal investigator of numerous clinical trials, including the "1200 Patients Project," a clinical study operated through the Center for Personalized Therapeutics at the University of Chicago. In this role, he leads an initiative exploring the benefit of incorporating broad pharmacogenomic testing into routine clinical practice for patients with any type of disease. Dr. O'Donnell is also a member of the University of Chicago Committee on Clinical Pharmacology and Pharmacogenomics. This committee aims to expand the educational mission of conducting research and training the next generation of scientists in clinical pharmacology, principles of therapeutics, molecular pharmacology, and pharmacogenomics.

​David Oh, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor, Medicine Principal Investigator, Assistant Professor In Residence University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA

Dr. David Oh is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco. He received his MD and PhD from Stanford, completed Medicine and Oncology housestaff training and a post-doctoral fellowship at UCSF, and has been on the faculty since 2018. He leads early-phase immunotherapy trials for solid tumors, with a particular focus on prostate, bladder, and kidney cancers, in the UCSF Cancer Immunotherapy Program. As the leader of the translational UCSF Cancer Immunotherapy Laboratory, he directs deep immune monitoring and functional validation of samples from immunotherapy-treated patients with genitourinary malignancies, to understand how immune fitness and specific novel immune functional states are linked to clinical response and toxicity with these agents. His work has been extramurally supported by the NIH, the Prostate Cancer Foundation, the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, the V Foundation, and the Department of Defense.

​Chandler Park, MD, FACP
President, Kentucky Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), Co-Director, Genitourinary Oncology Clinical Trials, Norton Cancer Institute, Advisory Dean and Clinical Professor, University of Louisville School of Medicine,  ASCO Faculty, Genitourinary Oncology for ASCO CME/ASCO University, Louisville, KY

Dr. Chandler Park is the President of Kentucky Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).  He is the Co-Director of Genitourinary (GU) Oncology clinical trials at Norton Cancer Institute. He serves as the oncologist advisor for Doximity Medical Advisory Board.  He is a clinical professor of medicine at the University of Louisville School of Medicine and also serves as an advisory dean for the medical students.  His training includes undergraduate at University of Illinois, medical school at the University of Louisville, internship at Cleveland Clinic Foundation Healthcare Systems, residency training at Indiana University School of Medicine, and Fellowship training at West Virginia University and specialized immunotherapy training at University of Pittsburgh .  He is interested in clinical trials in GU malignancies including prostate cancer, bladder cancer, and kidney cancer.  He has published as an author in leading medical journals including New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), Journal of Clinical Oncology, and Lancet Oncology.  He has also been one of the highest enrollers as a Principal Investigator for ARASENS, VISION, TROPHY-U-01, and EV-301 clinical studies.  Lastly, he is passionate about medical education as he is a ASCO Faculty for GU oncology where he helps develop new medical content and reviews medical content for CME publication. He has also served on the American Board of Internal Medical Oncology medical board task force, where he was responsible for developing questions for the medical board exam that all medical oncologists must pass to be board certified and re-certified in medical oncology. 

Arlene Siefker-Radtke, MD
Professor, Genitourinary Medical Oncology, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX

Arlene Siefker-Radtke, MD is a Professor of Genitourinary Medical Oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Her research focus is on developing effective therapies in the treatment of urothelial cancer and other rare tumors of the bladder and upper tract. She is well-known for her novel clinical trial designs, development of novel agents and targets including immunotherapy and cytokine analogues, FGFR inhibitors, development of neoadjuvant chemotherapy, and expertise in treating even those most rare tumors of the bladder.

​Melissa A. Reimers, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine, Clinical Director of Genitourinary Malignancies, Division of Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, Saint Louis, MO

Dr. Melissa Reimers is a genitourinary medical oncologist focusing on novel clinical trial design integrating precision medicine approaches, particularly in advanced prostate cancer. She works as an Associate Professor of Medicine and clinical director at Washington University School of Medicine. She earned her medical degree from Saint Louis University. She completed her residency in internal medicine from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill followed by fellowship in hematology and oncology from University of Michigan. Her clinical focus lies in treatment of patients suffering from prostate, bladder, and kidney cancers.

​Charles Ryan, MD
President and CEO, Prostate Cancer Foundation

Charles J. Ryan, MD, is the CEO of the Prostate Cancer Foundation. Dr. Ryan is an internationally recognized genitourinary (GU) oncologist with expertise in the biology and treatment of advanced disease as well as the supportive care of all men with prostate cancer. He was most recently the Director of the Hematology, Oncology and Transplantation Division in the Department of Medicine at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. He also served as the Associate Director for Clinical Research in the Masonic Cancer Center and held the B.J. Kennedy Chair in Clinical Medical Oncology. Dr. Ryan earned a BA in Philosophy, magna cum laude, from Marquette University and graduated from the University of Wisconsin Medical School. He trained at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics, serving as Chief Resident, and at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. Prior to moving to the University of Minnesota, he was on the faculty of the University of California, San Francisco, where he served as Program Leader for Genitourinary Medical Oncology and held the title of Thomas Perkins Distinguished Professor in Cancer Research. He has published over 200 articles and chapters in the world’s leading medical journals. He is the author of the book The Virility Paradox: The Vast Influence of Testosterone on Our Bodies, Minds, and the World We Live In, released in February 2018. Dr. Ryan is also the Leader of the Advanced Prostate Cancer Cadre in the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology, a national clinical trials group, and past Chair of the NCI GU Steering Committee’s Prostate Cancer Task Force.

​Amirali Salmasi, MD
Associate Professor, Department of Urology, Urologic Oncology, UC San Diego Health,
San Diego, CA

Amirali Salmasi, MD, is a urologist with expertise in the management of genitourinary cancers in men and women, including bladder, prostate, kidney, ureteral, testicular, adrenal, and penile cancers. He provides a personalized, multidisciplinary approach to deliver the best possible treatment options (active surveillance, focal therapy, surgery, radiation, systemic treatments, or clinical trials) for his patients. Dr. Salmasi performs advanced minimally invasive and complex open surgeries, such as robotic-assisted laparoscopic cystectomy, nerve-sparing prostatectomy, retro-peritoneal lymph node dissection, adrenalectomy, and partial nephrectomy. He is also interested in translational research and clinical trials in urologic oncology, and his hope is to bridge the gap between the bench and clinical research. He has published over 50 articles in peer-reviewed journals. Dr. Salmasi completed a urologic oncology fellowship at University of California, Los Angeles and a urology residency at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. As a first step towards a career in academic medicine and research, he also did a postdoctoral fellowship at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. He earned his medical degree from Tehran University of Medical Sciences and holds a master's degree in clinical research (MSCR) from UCLA Clinical and Translational Science Institute. He is a member of the American Urological Association, the Society for Urologic Oncology and the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

​​John Sarantopoulos, MD
Associate Professor, Peggy & Lowry Mays, Distinguished Chair, Hematology Oncology UT Health San Antonio, San Antonio, TX

Dr. John Sarantopoulos is a clinical research investigator and medical oncologist, with a full-time faculty appointment as associate professor of medicine in the division of hematology-oncology at The University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio. His clinical interests and expertise are in early antineoplastic drug development and evaluation for human solid tumors including genitourinary malignancies of renal, prostate, bladder and melanoma. At Mays Cancer Center, home to UT Health San Antonio MD Anderson Cancer Center, he is involved with the early therapeutics phase I program, and is a member of the experimental developmental therapeutics program. Dr. Sarantopoulos completed an advanced drug development fellowship and is presently focusing on early phase I/II trials. He has been a co-principal investigator and principal investigator in over 54, phase I solid tumor studies, including first in human studies or first in class compounds, food effect or bioequivalence studies, drug interaction studies, QTc effect studies, and organ dysfunction studies, including renal and hepatic impairment. Studies have included National Cancer Institute cancer therapy evaluation program studies and the NCI organ dysfunction working group and cooperative group trials including the Southwest Oncology Group, where he is a member of the early therapeutics and genitourinary committees, as well as industry-sponsored and cancer center investigator-initiated trials. In addition, he has been a sub-investigator in over 139 trials in this area at the Mays Cancer Center over the last several years. Dr. Sarantopoulos’ education, clinical and research experiences place him in a select group of investigators that can complete complex early phase trials that are important to the development of new treatments for patients with cancer.

​A. Oliver Sartor, MD
Director, Radiopharmaceutical Trials, Mayo Clinic, Minnesota, FL 

Dr. Sartor received his MD from Tulane University School of Medicine with honors in 1982. After an internship at the University of Pennsylvania, he trained in internal medicine at Tulane Medical School. After completing a fellowship at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in Bethesda, Maryland in 1989, he served until 1993 as a senior investigator at the NCI and began focusing on novel therapeutics for advanced prostate cancer patients. Dr. Sartor returned to Louisiana in 1993 to serve as an Associate Professor at the LSU Medical School in Shreveport and then moved to the LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans in 1998 as the Patricia Powers Strong Professor of Oncology, the Stanley S. Scott Cancer Center Director, and the Hematology/Oncology Section Chief. He was the Co-Director of the Louisiana Cancer Research Consortium, starting at its legislative inception in 2002. In March 2006, he left LSU to join the Lank Center for Genitourinary Oncology at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and the Harvard Medical School. In January 2008, Dr. Sartor joined Tulane University as the C. E. and Bernadine Laborde Professor of Cancer Research in the Departments of Medicine and Urology. An internationally recognized expert in prostate cancer, Dr. Sartor’s interests have focused broadly on prostate cancer, predominantly in those patients who failed initial therapies. His publications range from genetic studies on prostate cancer to clinical trials involving novel agents. He has been a lead author on two studies pivotal for FDA drug approval in prostate cancer and has been the PI or co-PI on a number of prospective international clinical trials evaluating new therapies for patients with advanced prostate cancer. Having published over 500 scholarly articles and having served as the past Chairman of the Department of Defense Prostate Integration Panel, Dr. Sartor, in addition to being the C.E. and Bernadine Laborde Professor of Cancer Research in the Departments of Medicine and Urology, is the Medical Oncology Chair of the GU Committee of the NRG, the Assistant Dean for Oncology at Tulane University School of Medicine, the Medical Director of the Tulane Cancer Center, and the Editor-in-Chief of the peer-reviewed journal, Clinical Genitourinary Cancer. In addition, he is currently a member of the NCI Board of Scientific Counselors (Clinical Sciences and Epidemiology).

​Kerry Schaffer, MD
Assistant Professor,  Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN

Kerry Schaffer MD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center.  She received her medical degree from University of Virgina School of Medicine, residency in Internal Medicine and fellowship in Hematology and Oncology from University of Rochester Medical Center. She is a clinician researcher and medical oncologist with an interest in prostate cancer genetics and developing novel prostate cancer therapeutics.   Outside of direct patient care, her research works to address gaps in health care delivery. 

​​Samer A. Srour, MB ChB, MS
Assistant Professor, Department of Stem Cell Transplantation, Division of Cancer Medicine
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center,  Houston, TX

Dr Srour is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Stem Cell Transplantation, Division of Cancer Medicine at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. He received his medical degree from Beirut Arab University. ​

​Walter Stadler, MD, FACP
Fred C. Buffett Professor, Depts of Medicine & Surgery Dean for Clinical Research, Senior Advisor to the Director, Comprehensive Cancer Center UChicago Medicine,  Chicago, IL

Dr. Stadler is a clinical trialist who has focused on the development of novel therapies and biomarkers in genitourinary cancers. In this context, he has contributed to the development of gemcitabine in bladder cancer, VEGFR and PD1 checkpoint inhibitors in renal cancer, and various hormonal and other targeted therapies in prostate cancer. He has also explored novel trial designs for growth inhibitory agents, considered the necessary clinical characteristics of both molecular and imaging predictive biomarkers, co-authored consensus statements on prostate cancer clinical trial methodology, and is currently addressing novel pharmacologic approaches to mitigating the cost of care and patient financial toxicity. Because of his experience, he is a member of several data safety monitoring boards for international phase 3 trials. He has also built and led various clinical trial endeavors including leading the renal cancer cadre in the Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB), building an infrastructure for coordinating multi-institutional clinical trials at the University of Chicago, leading a consortium of institutions to participate in the NCI Early Therapeutics Clinical Trial Network (ETCTN), leading the institutional effort as a lead site in the DOD funded Prostate Cancer Clinical Trials Network, and being the institutional lead for a collaborative multi-institutional Prostate Cancer SPORE. As the former Comprehensive Cancer Center Deputy Director and Program Leader for Clinical and Experimental Therapeutics, he has had a major role in growing clinical trial accrual to over 800 patients annually (of which 20% are underrepresented minorities), and contributed to planning and building outreach and population based research necessary for comprehensive status. As Dean for Clinical Research, he has been responsible for expanding clinical trials and clinical research activities throughout the enterprise across departments and centers as well as across the health system. He has enhanced the infrastructure and support, including informatics support, to provide the tools for faculty to conduct innovative clinical and translational research activities. These have, for example, led to the University of Chicago being a major site for accrual to COVID-19 vaccination studies with one of the highest accrual rates for underserved minorities in the nation.

Tyler F. Stewart, MD
Assistant Professor Medical Oncology,  University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA

Tyler Stewart is a genitourinary medical oncologist at the UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center and Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology and Oncology at the UC San Diego School of Medicine. His research focuses on clinical trials and translational studies in urologic malignancies, with a special focus in bladder/upper tract cancer. He serves as principal investigator for trials investigating novel therapeutics for advanced and locally advanced urothelial carcinoma. He also serves as principal investigator for multiple investigator initiated and industry-led trials investigating novel biomarkers in plasma and urine to detect minimal residual disease for genitourinary malignancies. He is an active member of the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology cooperative group, and currently sits on the NCCN guidelines panel for bladder and penile cancer. Dr. Stewart is board certified in Medical Oncology and Internal Medicine. He received his medical degree from the University of Vermont College of Medicine and completed Internal Medicine Residency at UT Southwestern and Fellowship in Hematology and Medical Oncology at Yale University School of Medicine.

​Russell Szmulewitz, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine, Program Leader, Genitourinary Oncology, Section of Hematology/Oncology, Dept. of Medicine, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL

Dr. Szmulewitz is a physician scientist whose primary academic focus is on characterizing and controlling the process of metastatic progression in men with prostate cancer. He received his medical degree from The University of Chicago, completed his residency from New York University Medical Center and fellowship from University of Chicago. He has a laboratory working with proteins called “metastasis suppressors” to slow down the growth of disseminated tumors in models of metastatic prostate cancer. In addition, Dr. Szmulewitz’s translational laboratory is using novel techniques to isolate and characterize prostate cancer cells from the blood of men with advanced prostate cancer. It is his goal to use these techniques to better personalize targeted therapies for metastatic prostate cancer.

​Karine Tawagi, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology and Oncology, University of Illinois, Chicago Chicago, IL

Dr. Karine Tawagi is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine at University of Illinois Chicago. She earned her medical degree from St. George’s University School of Medicine, completed her residency in Internal Medicine from St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor Hospital and fellowship from Ochsner Clinical Foundation — New Orleans. Dr. Tawagi's clinical focus is the treatment of genitourinary cancers including but not limited to bladder, kidney, testicular and prostate cancer. Her research interests focus on clinical trials in genitourinary cancers, in addition to the use of immunotherapy in cancer treatment while developing strategies to diagnose, treat, and minimize side effects related to immunotherapy.

​Yuanquan Yang, MD, PHD
Assistant Professor, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH

Dr. Yang is a medical oncologist who specializes in treating genitourinary malignancies, including prostate, bladder, kidney and testicular cancer. He received his medical degree at Tongji Medical College in Wuhan, China, and doctorate at the State University of New York. He then completed his residency in internal medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York and his hematology/oncology fellowship at the Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo. As a member of the Translational Therapeutics Program at the OSUCCC – James, his research is focused on the development of immunotherapy, particularly as it relates to genitourinary cancer, and has been published in several well-respected journals, including Journal for ImmuoTherapy of Cancer, American Journal of Hematology, JAMA and PLoS One. Additionally, he serve as an assistant professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at The Ohio State University and as a member of professional organizations like the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

​Samir Zaidi, MD, PhD
Louis V. Gerstner Jr. Physician Scholar Assistant Attending, Genitourinary Oncology Service Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center,
New York, NY

Dr. Zaidi is a medical oncologist and Assistant Attending physician at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. He is focused on providing care for patients with genitourinary malignancies. Dr. Zaidi also is dedicated to utilizing biological and computational tools to understand mechanisms underpinning oncologic and developmental disorders—a commitment that has been shaped by his prior training and experience. Dr. Zaidi worked first in the laboratory of Dr. Rudolf Jaenisch at MIT, where he studied stem cell reprogramming, and thereafter, in the laboratory of Dr. Richard Lifton at Yale during his MD/PhD, where he focused on the genetics of complex human diseases, notably congenital heart disease and neurodevelopmental disorders, as well as pulmonary, skin and skeletal diseases. During his medical oncology fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) in Sawyers lab, he investigated the mechanisms of lineage plasticity, a process by which tumor cells acquire different lineages to drive prostate cancer resistance, currently a therapeutic challenge. Dr. Zaidi has functionally and computationally analyzed its molecular underpinnings in dynamic models of lineage transition, including genetically–engineered mouse models (GEMMs) and murine and human tumor organoids. He has also analyzed the molecular architecture of biopsies from metastatic tumor undergoing lineage plasticity. Zaidi and colleagues found that the progression of plasticity depends on JAK/STAT and FGFR signaling, which is reversed by co-inhibition with FDA–approved drugs, ruxolitinib (JAK inhibitor) and erdafitinib (FGFR inhibitor). Zaidi continues to pursue his passion to explore the mechanisms of resistance in prostate cancer.

​​Kevin K. Zarrabi, MD
Assistant Professor, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA 

​​Dr. Kevin Zarrabi is an Assistant Professor in Thomas Jefferson University. He graduated from St George's University School of Medicine in 2015. He completed his residency in Internal Medicine from Stony Brook University Hospital and fellowship in Hematology/Oncology from Fox Chase Cancer Center. Dr. Zarrabi specializes in genitourinary oncology. He has a strong interest in clinical trial development and integrates research developments into his practice to improve patient outcomes.Dr. Kevin Zarrabi is an Assistant Professor in Thomas Jefferson University. He graduated from St George's University School of Medicine in 2015. He completed his residency in Internal Medicine from Stony Brook University Hospital and fellowship in Hematology/Oncology from Fox Chase Cancer Center. Dr. Zarrabi specializes in genitourinary oncology. He has a strong interest in clinical trial development and integrates research developments into his practice to improve patient outcomes.  

​Tian Zhang, MD, MHS
Associate Professor, Division of Hematology & Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine
UT Southwestern Medical Center, Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center
Dallas, TX

Dr. Tian Zhang is an Associate Professor at UT Southwestern Medical Center. She specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of genitourinary malignancies, including kidney, prostate, bladder, and testicular cancers. Dr. Zhang earned her medical degree from the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology (HST) program at Harvard Medical School. She completed a residency in internal medicine at Duke University, where she also received advanced training through a hematology-oncology fellowship. In addition, she earned a Master of Health Sciences in the Clinical Research Training Program at Duke in 2019. She is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in medical oncology and joined the UT Southwestern faculty in 2021. Dr. Zhang is a clinical trialist and translational researcher focused on evaluating clinical development of novel therapeutics and evaluating biomarkers for genitourinary malignancies. She partners closely with a multidisciplinary team at UT Southwestern to provide data-driven clinical care for her patients. She has gained an international reputation developing clinical trials in kidney, prostate, and bladder cancers. She serves as the study chair for PDIGREE, a phase III trial in metastatic renal cell carcinoma. Dr. Zhang is a member of several professional organizations, including the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), and the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO). She serves on numerous committees, including as Co-chair of the National Cancer Institute Genitourinary (GU) Steering Committee Renal Task Force and as Chair of the Chinese American Hematologist and Oncologist Network (CAHON) Academic Committee. She is a member of several ASCO clinical management guidelines committees as well as the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology, GU Oncology, and Immuno-Oncology Committees. She brings a track record of research and mentoring to UT Southwestern. She has received multiple peer-reviewed grants, a Resident Research Mentoring Award from Duke, and, notably, the 2021 Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) Scholar Rising Stars Award.

​Alexandre R. Zlotta, MD, PhD
Professor and Howard Sokolowski Chair in Uro-Oncological Research,  Department of Surgery (Urology), University of Toronto, Director, Uro-Oncology, Mount Sinai Hospital, Associate Scientist,  Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Staff, Division of Surgical Oncology, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, Canada

Dr. Alexandre Zlotta received his MD from the Free University of Brussels in 1989 and completed his Urology specialization as well as his PhD in Immunology in the same University. He worked as a Uro-Oncologist in the Department of Urology, Erasme Hospital, University Clinics of Brussels until 2006. In 2006, Dr. Zlotta was recruited to Toronto where he was appointed, and is currently, Professor in the Department of Surgery (Urology), University of Toronto, Director of Uro-Oncology, Mount Sinai Hospital, and surgeon at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network. He is also the Director of the Uro-Oncology Fellowship Program, University of Toronto and Director of the Bladder Cancer Research Program. Dr. Zlotta has served as Associate Editor to European Urology and is currently Consulting Editor for European Urology. He is also on several international editorial boards. In addition to being a surgeon, Dr. Zlotta is a translational research scientist with an extended research career that boasts success in both translational research and multi-institutional, international studies. He has a special interest in bladder and prostate cancer research where he has authored over 200 scientific papers. Dr. Zlotta is recognized with numerous awards, the most prestigious being the EAU Matula Award in 2000 and the EAU Platinum award in 2012.