The Landscape of Cancer Research 2023

Nikhil Gupta is the Principal Scientist at Functional Genomics Centre, a joint venture between Cancer Research UK’s (CRUK) drug discovery engine, Cancer Research Horizons, and AstraZeneca. His focus here is the development of new CRISPR based technologies to enable/accelerate target gene identification to advance cancer therapeutics. He earned an M.Sc. in Molecular and Human Genetics from Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India, where he got interested in Epigenetics and Chromatin Biology. Nikhil did his PhD with Prof. M.R.S. Rao from Chromatin Biology Laboratory, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bangalore, India. During his PhD, he characterized post-translational modifications of transition proteins TP1 and TP2 to understand the incorporation of transition proteins that facilitate the establishment of the sperm epigenome. From here on, he delved into stem cell research. He completed his first postdoc at the Department of Biochemistry, Purdue University, USA, where he looked at the mechanisms for repression of pluripotency genes after initiation of differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs). Subsequently, he joined the Pierre-Antoine Defossez team for his second postdoc at CNRS UMR7216 Epigenetics and Cell Fate Unit, University of Paris. Here, he conducted genome-wide CRISPR screens to identify novel epigenetic regulators involved in DNA methylation regulation in mESCs and identify host factors responsible for HIV latency using Jurkat T cells.

Dr. Irene Lobon is a bioinformatician researching cancer genomics. During her PhD at the University of Barcelona and the Institute of Evolutionary Biology Irene studied somatic mutations in healthy brain and neurodegeneration. Irene started her postdoctoral work at the Francis Crick Institute in London in 2020, where she study the evolution of metastatic melanoma, especially under the selective pressure of immune checkpoint inhibitors.

Amicia Elliott is a scientist and product leader working at the intersection of life sciences, technology development, and entrepreneurship. At Form Bio, Dr. Elliott leads product strategy for biological computing, workflow development, user experience for scientific platform features, and laboratory validation of machine learning models. Prior to this role, she was a Research Fellow at the NIH in behavioral neuroscience and high-resolution optical imaging. Dr. Elliott’s scientific expertise is in genetics, light microscopy and optical engineering, and computer vision machine learning. She has experience in academia and government leading science policy efforts in biomedical research and ethical AI, and is a 2x Founder and Scientific Advisor. Dr. Elliott completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the NIH/NIGMS, received her Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University in the Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, and earned her B.S. in Genetics at Purdue University.

Dr. Yan Leyfman has been recognized as one of the top international researchers in oncology by the American Society of Hematology and American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). He has contributed to the development of several anti-cancer therapies that have recently entered clinical trials and new treatment recommendations of care. His successes have been recognized by the Goldwater Research Foundation, Sigma Xi, New York Times, and Harvard Medical School. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he was recruited to join the Global COVID-19 Taskforce to serve as Director of the Immunology Division, which produced one of the first mechanisms for SARS-CoV-2 and COVI-Flu along with therapeutic interventions for both. In June 2021, Dr. Leyfman presented the first mechanism to explain the interplay between cancer and COVID-19 at the 2021 ASCO Annual Meeting, which was recently published in BMC’s Journal of Hematology & Oncology. His work has been published as the cover article in the journal, Shock, and in the textbook, Insights on a Post-COVID World. Over the past year, Yan was recognized as the 2020 iCHEM Emerging International Scholar in Immunology & Immunotherapy, 2020 New York State & City Manhattan Hero for his community service and research contributions during the COVID-19 pandemic and by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center for research excellence. Dr. Leyfman was recognized as a 2021 & 2022 Hero in Healthcare for research contributions to cancer & COVID-19 at the Lymphoma, Leukemia & Myeloma Congress and amongst the top 6 early career scientists for 2022 in recognition of his contributions to cell and immunotherapy with a 2023 Phacilitate Advanced Therapies Young Scientist Award.

Ljubica Harhaji-Trajkovic is a distinguished scientist and Principal Research Fellow at the University of Belgrade, renowned for her groundbreaking contributions in the field of cancer biology. With expertise in cancer metabolism, autophagy, lysosomal cell death, and nanoparticles, she has made significant advancements in understanding the mechanisms underlying tumor cell death. Throughout her career, Ljubica has demonstrated exceptional research prowess, as evidenced by her remarkable citation number of 8371 and an impressive Hirsch index of 33, illustrating the impact and significance of her work in the scientific community. Notably, she served as the Principal Investigator of the project "The role of autophagy in tumor cell death" from 2011 to 2019, which was funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia. Ljubica's dedication and expertise have earned her prestigious recognition and awards. In 2011, she was honored with the L'Oréal-UNESCO "For Women in Science Awards" in Paris, France, for her exceptional project on the role of autophagy in growth, metastasis, and chemotherapy. Additionally, in 2000, she was bestowed the Kingdom of Norway's award for being among the 1000 best students in Serbia. Ljubica Harhaji-Trajkovic's unwavering commitment to advancing cancer biology and her remarkable contributions to the field make her a highly respected and influential figure in the scientific community. Her dedication to research, project management, international collaborations, and academic excellence has propelled her as a leading expert in cancer biology, with her work significantly contributing to the global fight against cancer.

Tracy Zhao is the West Coast Field Application Scientist at ACROBiosystems. She worked as a staff scientist in PerkinElmer for 3+ years, with rich experience in the development of IVD Immunoassay diagnostic kits. At ACROBiosystems, Tracy is working with leaders in both industry and academia to support their research needs. Tracy is part of a team that helps to guide the use and development of recombinant proteins that can be used for COVID-19, CAR T-cell therapy, as well as many other immune and auto-immune conditions. As a member of ACRO, she is highly interested in leveraging the company’s resources and state-of-the-art technology to help our partners and clients develop next-generation therapies.

Martin Michaelis received his Pharmacy Degree (Approbation, 1998) and his PhD (2001) from the Goethe-University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany. He then worked as a postdoc and later a deputy group leader in the research group of Professor Jindrich Cinatl at the Institute of Medical Virology (Goethe-University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany) and the Dr Petra Joh-Haus, a private research institute run by the Frankfurter Stiftung für krebskranke Kinder in Frankfurt am Main. In 2011, Martin joined the School of Biosciences at the University of Kent (Canterbury, UK) as Professor of Molecular Medicine). He runs a joint wet/ dry laboratory research group together with Mark Wass (Professor of Computational Biology at Kent).

Dr. Trevor Pitcher has served as the Sr. Director of Medical Affairs with Biodesix Inc. since 2017. Prior to joining Biodesix, he worked as the Director of Scientific Affairs for Laboratory Sciences at The Binding Site (USA). Dr. Pitcher received his Ph.D in experimental pathology from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas and conducted his post-doctoral work in clinical chemistry and toxicology at the University of Louisville, Kentucky. Dr. Pitcher is also a board-certified clinical chemist through the American Board of Clinical Chemistry.