Ms. Melissa Adde
Ms. Melissa Adde serves as the director of the Clinical Trials Office for INCTR where she has coordinated multi-institutional clinical research studies in a variety of malignancies, including acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), Burkitt lymphoma, breast cancer, cervical cancer, and retinoblastoma in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Prior to this she joined the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 1978 and worked as a clinical nurse in the Pediatric Oncology Branch. She served in both the in-patient ward and out-patient clinic and developed a special interest in childhood ALL and non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas (NHL).
Ms. Adde focuses on protocol and case report form design, data management, including teaching basic skills required for conducting clinical research according to the principles of Good Clinical Practice, database design, and data analysis. She earned her bachelors of science degree from the University of Virginia and her masters of science degree from the Catholic University of America, both in nursing. Ms. Adde has made major contributions to several publications related to work, conducted in both the USA and in low- and middle-income countries about the treatment of NHLs and ALL.
Elmer Huerta, M.D.
Elmer Huerta, M.D., has been the director of the Cancer Preventorium at the Washington Cancer Institute at the Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C. since 1994 and is President and founder of Prevención, Inc. With over 30 years of patient care and educational experience, Dr. Huerta is recognized as a very reliable source of medical information in the Hispanic American community and media. He is a prominent figure on Spanish-language radio and television, with shows that reach approximately 75% of Hispanic/Latinos in the USA and even extend into Latin America.
He earned his doctorate of medicine from the University of San Marcos, Peru in internal medicine and medical oncology in 1981. He was a research fellow in oncology at Johns Hopkins Oncology Center, Johns Hopkins University and a fellow in cancer prevention and control at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institutes of Health (NIH). He serves on the board of many cancer foundations and councils, including Cancer Research and Prevention Foundation and Intercultural Cancer Council. Dr. Huerta is a published cancer research and is currently the principle investigator for the Latin American Cancer Research Coalition, a NCI-funded program in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. His work with the Cancer Preventorium was noted by the Department of Health and Human Services is one of the models for The Patient Navigator, Outreach, and Chronic Disease Prevention Act of 2004 (H.R. 918/S453).
Lawrence Lessin, M.D.
Lawrence S. Lessin, M.D., MACP, is the medical director of Washington Hospital Center Department of Continuing Medical Education and Quality Training (DCMEQT) and former medical director of The Washington Cancer Institute from 1993-2007. He is one of the founding members of Open Educational Resources in Cancer (OERC) and serves as chair of its Executive Committee. His professional path has continued for more than 40 years in distinguished roles such as professor, division head, and medical director within prominent hospitals including Duke University Medical Center, Veterans Administration Hospital, and The George Washington University Medical Center (GWUMC) and its Cancer Center. His research has dealt with anemias, leukemias, myelodysplastic syndromes and other aspects of hematologic malignancies, resulting in over 150 journal articles, book chapters, and monographs.
Dr. Lessin received his doctorate in medicine in 1962 from the University of Chicago School Of Medicine and completed postgraduate training in hematology and oncology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. He was awarded a special fellowship from the National Institutes of Health in the Institute for Cell Pathology at the University of Paris for advanced research training.
Madhavan Pillai, M.D.
Madhavan V Pillai, M.D., FACP, is a professor of oncology at Kimmel Cancer Center, Thomas Jefferson University. Dr. Pillai is triple board certified in internal medicine, hematology, and medical oncology. He has previously served as clinical professor of medicine at George Washington University and also as Lieutenant Colonel in U.S. Air Force Medical corps and Chief of Hematology / Oncology at Malcolm Grow, U.S. Air Force Medical Centre in Washington D.C. He is a principal investigator of studies on pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. He is currently the chairman of India Task force for Open Educational Resources in Cancer (OERC) and was instrumental in incorporating OERC in the First Indian Cancer Congress in New Delhi.
Dr. Pillai has given invited lectures on gastrointestinal cancers at many centers in the USA and abroad. He has been published extensively in peer reviewed medical journals, served as reviewer of prestigious scientific publications and contributed chapters to text books in Medicine. The Jeffrey Kemmerer Foundation established a lecture on gastric cancer at Kimmel Cancer Centre in appreciation of his services to the Kemmerer family.
Ms. Jean Rawlings
Ms. Jean Rawlings focuses on vision and strategy for new technologies, combining technical talent and business expertise to enable the Advanced Computations Lab to quickly connect information and functionality to invent ground-breaking analytic capabilities and technologies. Ms. Rawlings has nearly 30 years of experience solving business and technical challenges in the healthcare industry. Her experience includes specialized Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) training, negotiating provider network contracts analyzing local and national legislation and trends to discern their healthcare industry impact, and medical expense management and consulting. She serves as a Member of Advisory Council at Qualcomm Life, Inc.
Dr. Anurag Saksena
Dr. Anurag Saksena is the Executive Managing Director and Chief Risk Officer of Berkeley Point Capital LLC, where he is responsible for leading enterprise-wide risk strategy for the firm. He is an affiliate of the Blue Ribbon Advisory Council, PRMIA (Professional Risk Manager’s International Association) and the Editorial Board for the Journal of Risk in Financial Institutions, Henry Stewart Publications. Prior to his current position, Mr. Saksena founded and served as the President of Global Risk & Capital Advisors, LLC, an independent risk consulting firm. He served as the Chief Enterprise Risk Officer from 2005 to 2010 for Freddie Mac and led the development and management of a firm-wide framework for managing a full range of financial and non-financial risks. Prior to that, Mr. Saksena held risk and portfolio management positions at GMAC (financial services arm of General Motors), Societe Generale, Royal Bank Financial Group, and Great-West Life Assurance Company.
Mr. Saksena received his bachelors of science in physics with honors and a master’s of science in theoretical physics from the University of Delhi, and a Ph.D. in theoretical physics from the University of Manitoba, Canada.
Aziza Shad, M.D.
Aziza Shad, M.D., joined the Division of Pediatric Hematology Oncology, Georgetown University as an assistant professor in pediatrics in November 1995. Dr. Shad is board certified in pediatrics and pediatric hematology oncology. She is currently the professor of pediatrics and oncology and chief of the Division of Pediatric Hematology, Oncology, Blood and Marrow Transplantation of the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, MedStar Georgetown University Hospital. She is also the director of the Leukemia Lymphoma Program and Director of the Cancer Survivorship Program. She has recently established the Pediatric Palliative Care and Cancer Nutrition Programs at Georgetown.
Dr. Shad graduated with honors from Dow Medical College, Karachi, Pakistan and obtained a Post-Graduate Diploma in Child Health (DCH) from the University of Karachi, Pakistan. She received additional training in Pediatrics and Oncology in London followed by a Fellowship in Pediatric Hematology/ Oncology at the National Cancer Institute, NIH, MD. Dr. Shad has been honored with the Georgetown University School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, and Teacher of the Year Award. She was the first recipient of the John Eisenberg Memorial Career Development Award and has been listed as one of the “Top Doctors of Washington” since 2002 by the Washingtonian Magazine.
Mr. Mehul Shah
Mr. Mehul Shah is the Principal at ICF International where he helps to develop and build the strategic direction and delivery of ICF’s health informatics management consulting and implementation services. His areas of expertise include IT infrastructure and operations, program and project management, business and technology strategy, global delivery management, and quantitative analysis and problem solving. Currently serving on the Audit and Compliance Committee at Bon Secours Health System, Mr. Shah has also served on the boards of CTIS, Inc. and Teevra Technologies.
He has extensive experience in professional services and software products in the computer field within the domestic and international markets, and has over 16 years’ experience working with multiple Fortune 50 companies in the Information Technology (IT) field, focusing on the healthcare, manufacturing, and finance industries. His corporate experience includes leading multidisciplinary teams across the globe, with specific focus on thought leadership and strategic planning, business modeling, product design and development, application integration, technical and operations management. Mr. Shah has achieved his Six Sigma black belt certification and has enabled companies achieve CMMI Level 5 and PCMM Level 5 ratings. He attained his bachelor of engineering degree in Computer Engineering from Mumbai University.
Deborah O’Shea, Esq.
Deborah O’Shea, Esq., is the founder and owner of O’Shea Legal & Professional Services, where she provides business and transactional legal services counseling, particularly for healthtech and greentech companies. Her skills and expertise include civil litigation, business strategy, concept generation and evaluation, strategy development, due diligence, risk management, mergers and acquisitions, private equity, business development, corporate law, and dispute resolution. Her bar admissions include the New York State Bar, the U.S. Federal Court – Western NY District, U.S. Court of Appeals – 2nd Circuit, and the U.S. Court of International Trade. Prior to opening O’Shea Legal & Professional Services, she worked at Viroporo, Inc. as the COO and General Counsel. Other positions include COO/Chief Legal Officer/Chief Compliance Officer at Advantage Home Telepath, Inc.; Chief Networking Officer and in-house Counsel at Ai3, Inc.; and co-founder and President of Atlantic Corridor.
Ms. O’Shea studied economics/urban planning at McGill University, and earned her bachelor’s degree in economics and sociology and her juris doctorate in law from the State University of New York at Buffalo and its Law School, respectively. She has held numerous director/officer/advisor positions with local organizations and foundations. Ms. O’Shea is the recipient several awards such as the International Peace Prize for Outstanding Personal Achievements to the Good of Society as a Whole from the United Cultural Convention in 2006.
Elizabeth E. Stern
Elizabeth E. Stern is a partner in Mayer Brown’s Washington, D.C. office and is a member of the Employment & Benefits group. She has over 25 years of experience advising on U.S. and global immigration, HR and mobility services, and is consistently ranked as a leading business immigration lawyer by national and local publications. Ms. Stern regularly speaks and writes about global immigration policies and contributes to major news agencies and publications, including Legal Times and Global Employer.
Ms. Stern earned her bachelor’s degree in political science and her juris doctorate in commercial law from the University of Virginia and its School of Law, respectively. Prior to Mayer Brown, she held partnerships with Baker & McKenzie, Pillsbury and Shaw Pittman. Her bar admissions include the District of Columbia, Virginia, the U.S. Court of Appeals – District of Columbia Circuit, and the Supreme Court of Virginia. A Fellow of the American Bar Association, she is also a member of the District of Columbia Bar, National Women’s Law Center, and the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
