Partner, Hematology Oncology of Indiana, a Division of American Oncology Network and President and CEO, Indy Hematology Education Inc. Clinical Professor, Marian University College of Osteopathic Medicine (Indianapolis, Indiana)

Ruemu E. Birhiray, MD is an attending physician in medical oncology, hematology, and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation at Hematology-Oncology of Indiana, and at St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis, Indiana. After completing his internal medicine residency at Columbus Hospital in Chicago where he also served as Chief Medical Resident in 1994, he was a postgraduate fellow in bone marrow transplant at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and in medical oncology at the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland where his research included gene therapy and adoptive cellular immunotherapy strategies in bone marrow transplantation. Dr. Birhiray’s professional experience has also included serving as an attending physician, and Director of bone marrow transplantation and a member of Marshfield Clinic, Wisconsin and a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin from 1998 to 2001. Additionally Dr. Birhiray was appointed an Associate Professor of bone marrow transplantation at Rush University, Chicago, Illinois in 2001, prior to joining Hematology Oncology of Indiana. Subsequently, Dr. Birhiray, served as and director of Bone Marrow Transplantation and Institutional Principal Investigator for the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project of the National Cancer Institute at St. Vincent’s Hospital, Indianapolis. Currently, he is also, Clinical Professor, Marian University School of Osteopathic Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, and an Editorial Board Member of The Journal of Blood Transfusion and Hematopathology. Projects for which Dr. Birhiray is principal investigator include reduced intensity allogeneic transplantation in hematologic malignancies, and a trial of Interferon A, CHOP, and rituximab therapy in advanced-stage follicular lymphoma, and neoadjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer. Additional collaborations have included major phase III clinical trials. Additionally Dr. Birhiray founded the Clinical research program at Hematology Oncology of Indiana. His awards include, “Intern of the year” from Columbus Hospital, Hope award from the Indiana Wellness community and named “best physician” by the Indianapolis monthly magazine and “top doctor” by Castle Connelly. In 2002, Dr. Birhiray founded and has served as Chair of the annual “Indy Hematology Review”, a nationally respected program providing education for hematologists and oncologists nationally and regionally, and he is also President and CEO of Indy Hematology Education, Inc. A member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the American Society of Hematology, and the American Medical Association, Dr Birhiray has published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Leukemia, Gene Therapy and Therapeutic Apheresis, Journal of Blood Transfusion and Hematopathology, Human Immunology, Familial Cancer, Annals of Pharmacotherapy, American Journal of Health System Pharmacists, Pharmacotherapy, in addition to multiple abstracts. Dr. Birhiray is married to Donna Marie (nee Baynard) since 1995, and they are blessed with 3 children, a daughter, Maya, born in 1999, and a son, Dirin, born in 2003, and an older daughter Meaghan who was born in 1990.

University of California San Francisco Health

Dr. Arie Perry, director of neuropathology at UCSF, specializes in diagnosing benign and cancerous tumors of the nervous system, including those of the brain, spinal cord and peripheral nerves. He is also a specialist in classifying the molecular genetics of the tumors, which can be used to help determine the best treatment. He maintains an international consultation service for challenging cases involving brain tumor diagnosis.

Perry's research focuses on developing biomarkers (substances that indicate a condition) to enhance diagnosis, prognosis and management of patients with brain tumors. He played a leading role in setting the agreed-upon diagnostic guidelines for benign and cancerous nervous system tumors published by the World Health Organization.

Perry earned his medical degree and completed a residency in pathology at the University of Texas Southwestern. He completed fellowships in surgical pathology and neuropathology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

Perry serves as director of UCSF's fellowship training program in neuropathology. He has won numerous teaching awards and authored various publications, including the textbook Practical Surgical Neuropathology. He is a member of several professional organizations, including the American Association of Neuropathologists, International Society of Neuropathology, Canadian Association of Pathologists and Society for Neuro-Oncology.

Northwestern Medicine: Feinberg School of Medicine

Dr. Roger Stupp is an internationally recognized medical oncologist with a special focus on innovative cancer treatments and drug development, notably for brain tumors and brain metastases. At Northwestern, he is leading the Division of Neuro-Oncology, and serving as the Co-Director of the Malnati Brain Tumor Institute and Associate Director for the Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Dr. Stupp has been the lead investigator for numerous clinical trials from first-in-human phase 1 to pivotal phase 3 registration studies. In the brain tumor field, he is best known for his contributions of temozolomide (Temodar®) and radiation in the first line treatment of brain tumors (the “stupp protocol”), and establishing MGMT as a predictive marker for benefit from alkylating agent chemotherapy. He was also the lead investigator establishing Tumor Treating Fields (Optune®) as an innovative treatment modality. Two novel treatments that based on his research received FDA approval and are today standard of care for patients suffering from glioblastoma.

Progress in brain tumors treatment have been lagging other cancers for a variety of reasons. The brain is physiologically surrounded by a special barrier that protect it from toxins and damage, however, often also protects tumor cells from medical treatment. We are investigating innovative strategies to open the blood-brain barrier selectively, temporarily, and reversibly, thus facilitate novel medicines (including immunotherapy) to reach tumor in higher concentrations. When treating brain tumors and developing novel treatments, early evaluation of treatment response it of utmost importance and allows to rapidly adapt treatment strategy as needed. Cutting edge imaging technology paired with specialized expertise are available to accurately evaluate tumor growth and tumor response. Numerous clinical trials led by Dr. Stupp and his colleagues provide access to cutting edge brain tumor treatments and care.

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

I am a neuro-oncologist who specializes in treating primary brain tumors, such as glioma (including glioblastoma, astrocytoma, oligodendroglioma, ependymoma) and central nervous system lymphoma. I see patients at Memorial Sloan Kettering in Manhattan and at MSK Bergen, in New Jersey.

I work with a specialized team of physicians, nurses, research, and administrative staff to stay on the cutting edge of cancer therapeutics. At the same time, I am committed to supporting my patients and their caregivers through this challenging period of their lives. My goal is to help patients continue to enjoy the things they love to do while providing them with the reassurance that they have a team of experts working on their side

Duke Cancer Institute

I am a physician-scientist with a background in medical oncology and neuro-oncology, with affiliations to multiple departments, research, and training programs at Duke.

I lead a Tumor Immunobiology Laboratory where we use various wet and dry lab techniques to understand the interactions between tumors and the immune system. Our goal is to identify vulnerabilities that can be targeted for novel therapies.

I serve as the Deputy Director of the Center for Cancer Immunotherapy at the Duke Cancer Institute where we are tasked to facilitate clinical research and translate promising discoveries made by scientists across various departments and cancer types at Duke, particularly in the field of immune and T cell-based therapies.

My team and our laboratory operate in an environment that enables the transition from bench-side basic scientific discoveries to clinical trials, and back to the bench ensuring the evaluation of new treatments for cancer patients.

John Hopkins Medicine

Christopher Jackson, M.D., is a neurosurgeon who sees patients at the Johns Hopkins Outpatient Center. Dr. Jackson specializes in brain tumors and cerebrovascular disorders, including glioma, meningioma, acoustic neuroma, trigeminal neuralgia, brain metastasis, arteriovenous malformation and aneurysms.

Dr. Jackson earned his medical degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where he also completed his neurosurgical residency. During his residency, Dr. Jackson was honored with multiple distinctions, including the Frank L. Coulson Jr. Award for Clinical Excellence, the Irving J. Sherman Award for Resident Achievement, the Harvey Cushing Hunterian Research Award, and was elected to Alpha Omega Alpha.

Dr. Jackson is an active researcher who has published over 35 peer-reviewed articles on brain tumor and cerebrovascular immunology. His laboratory focuses on how brain tumors evade the immune system and become resistant to immunotherapy. Additionally, Dr. Jackson’s laboratory explores the formation of cerebral aneurysms and inflammatory complications of cerebral aneurysm rupture.

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Dr. Lakshmi Nayak serves as Director of the Center for CNS Lymphoma at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. She is an Associate Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School. She received her medical degree at Grant Medical College in Mumbai, India. She completed her residency at New York Presbyterian Hospital/ Cornell, and fellowship at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. Her research includes development of novel therapies through preclinical and clinical studies for management of primary brain tumors including glioblastoma and primary central nervous system lymphoma, with particular focus on molecular targeted agents and immunotherapeutics, including CAR T-cell therapy. She leads the international neurologic assessment in neuro-oncology (NANO) effort for evaluation of neurologic function in patients with brain tumors.

Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital

Dr. Batchelor’s primary field of clinical expertise relates to the therapy of malignancies of the central nervous system and neurologic complications of cancers. He has published extensively on the subject and has been a primary investigator on innovative clinical trials, both nationally and internationally. His research relates to the understanding of aberrant angiogenesis and signaling in brain cancers. Dr. Batchelor is the principal investigator of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center (DF/HCC) SPORE grant, as well as of the K12 neuro-oncology training fellowship for DF/HCC. In addition, Dr. Batchelor holds R01 funding from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and he currently serves as the co-chair for the NCI Brain Malignancies Steering Committee. He has held and holds numerous leadership positions within the American Academy of Neurology and the Society for Neuro-Oncology.

Dr. Batchelor received his medical degree from Emory University School of Medicine and a master’s in public health from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He completed his medicine internship, neurology residency and neuro-oncology fellowship at Yale-New Haven Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, respectively.

He has received multiple accolades for his excellence and leadership in the field, including awards from the American Academy of Neurology and the Society for Neuro-Oncology. He was awarded the Raymond D. Adams Award for excellence in mentoring by the MGH in 2018. Dr. Batchelor will be proposed to Harvard Medical School as the next incumbent of the Miriam Sydney Joseph Professorship in Neurology at Harvard Medical School.

Goodman Campbell Brain and Spine

Charles G. Kulwin, MD, is a board certified neurosurgeon with Goodman Campbell Brain and Spine. His practice has a special focus on complex cranial conditions and neurosurgical diseases, as well as numerous spine disorders. Dr. Kulwin graduated from Harvard University magna cum laude as a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and also earned membership into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. He then completed his neurosurgical residency with the Indiana University Department of Neurosurgery, followed by a cerebrovascular and skull base fellowship with Troy Payner, MD.

His clinical research interests include surgical treatment of stroke, neurotrauma, tumors and vascular lesions of the brain and spine, minimally invasive and subcortical cranial surgery, degenerative spine conditions, and neurosurgical education. Dr. Kulwin is a board-certified neurological surgeon.

In his free time, Dr. Kulwin enjoys spending time with his family, playing soccer and squash, and running.