Dwai Banerjee

Dwai Banerjee is an Associate Professor of Science, Technology, and Society (STS) at MIT and author of 'Enduring Cancer: Life, Death, and Diagnosis in Delhi'. His research is guided by a central theme: how do various kinds of social inequity shape medical, scientific and technological practices? In turn, how do scientific and medical practice ease or sharpen such inequities?

Dr. Jim Cleary

MD

An international leader in palliative care, Dr. Cleary a professor and director of the Walther Center in Global Palliative Care and Supportive Oncology at Indiana University School of Medicine and IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center. An Australian-trained medical oncologist and palliative care physician, Jim, who has been in the United States for 25 years, is recognized globally for his expertise in palliative care medicine and cancer pain. Prior to Indiana University, he was professor of medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison, Wisconsin and a palliative care physician with the UW Health palliative care program, which he started in 1996. In 2011, he stepped down as medical director of the clinical program to commit more of his efforts to improving global palliative care. He has been director of the Pain and Policy Studies Group, a World Health Organization Collaborating Center for Pain Policy & Palliative Care at the UW Carbone Cancer Center, for the past seven years. Dr. Cleary has consistently been named to Castle Connolly’s America’s Top Doctors and America’s Top Doctors for Cancer guides, and he has been repeatedly named to Madison Magazine’s top doctors list. The American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, of which he was president in 2004, recently named Cleary in its second list of individuals who have made impactful contributions to the field of hospice and palliative medicine.

David Collingridge

Editor-in-Chief, The Lancet Oncology;
Publishing Director, The Lancet Group;
Visiting Professor of Global Oncology, King’s College London, UK

Marie Fallon

MD FRCP(Glas) FRCP(E) MRCGP DCH DRCOG

Marie Fallon leads the largest portfolio of multicentre clinical trials in Palliative Care in the UK, specializing in symptoms,including cancer cachexia and cancer pain control; assessment and treatment, including both drug trials and complementary therapies, e.g. TENS and acupuncture. Marie Fallon has embedded clinical biomarkers in her research programme with the aim of moving towards efficient prediction of the most effective treatments for individual patients.

She has an active PhD programme, with palliative medicine, oncology,neurology and anaesthetic trainees having been awarded higher degrees.

Professor Fallon is a joint editor of the Oxford Textbook of Palliative Medicine (4th, 5th and 6th editions) and has served as editor of the ABC of Palliative Care (two editions) the ABC of Pain and the Textbook of Cancer Pain. She is a member of the grant committees for the CSO PhDships, the Melville Trust for the Care and Cure of Cancer, and the Columba Trust. Sits on Editorial Board of BMJ Supportive and Palliative Care. She is a Co-Director of the European Palliative Care Research Centre, based in Oslo, Norway. She is on the Scientific Committees for several international conferences, including EAPC, EPCRC,Cachexia Society and ESMO. She has practical experience, both clinical and teaching, in South America and is part of a thriving research programme in LMICs.

Dr. Satish Gopal

M.D., M.P.H

Satish Gopal, M.D., M.P.H. was appointed Director of the Center for Global Health (CGH) at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in February 2020. In this role, he oversees the development of initiatives and collaborations with other NCI divisions, NCI-Designated Cancer Centers, and countries to support cancer research and cancer research networks, promote cancer control planning, and build capacity in low- and middle-income countries. Previously, Dr. Gopal has provided leadership and expertise on NIH working groups, and review committees and boards. In 2018 he was selected to advise the NCI Director on the NCI global portfolio as Co-Chair of the NCI Advisory Board Ad Hoc Global Health Working Group. Before coming to NCI, Dr. Gopal was the Cancer Program Director for the University of North Carolina (UNC) Project-Malawi, in collaboration with the Malawi Ministry of Health.

Richard Harding

Herbert Dunhill Chair;

Director, Cicely Saunders Institute of Palliative Care, Policy & Rehabilitation;

Vice Dean (International), Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery & Palliative Care

Professor Richard Harding is the Herbert Dunhill Professor of Palliative Care & Rehabilitation, Director of the Cicely Saunders Institute & Vice Dean (International) of the Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery & Palliative Care, King’s College London, United Kingdom. At the Cicely Saunders Institute Richard directs the WHO Collaborating Centre for Palliative Care. He is a Board Member of the World Hospice Palliative Care Alliance and is founding Director of the Centre for Global Health Palliative Care. Richard was awarded the African Palliative Care Association prize for leading publications in palliative care and is co-Chair of the African Palliative Care Research Network. He holds a visiting Chair in Palliative Care at the University of Cape Town. Richard has a background in social science, HIV care management and health services research. His research focuses on person-centredness for people living with serious health conditions. He has a particular interest in patient-reported assessment of physical, psychological social and spiritual wellbeing in routine to ensure people are empowered to identify what matters to them in their care. He has developed simple tools to enable this. His global programme promotes person-centredness across the life course. This includes methods to enable children to identify their concerns to health care professionals, and optimising wellbeing at the end of life.

Dr. André Ilbawi

Dr André Ilbawi is the acting cancer team lead for the World Health Organization and is responsible for supporting implementation of WHO initiatives in cancer in more than 50 countries. Prior to joining WHO in 2015, he was a cancer surgeon from the United States.

Stein Kaasa

Professor of Oncology and Palliative Medicine, University of Oslo;
Head of Department, Department of Oncology, Oslo University Hospital;
Director of the European Palliative Care Research Centre, PRC, Oslo University Hospital and Oslo University, Norway;
Chair of the ESMO Designated Centers Working Group

Professor Kaasa has been an important advocate for evidence-based practice and has worked extensively to get palliative care research on the agenda, both nationally and internationally. He is also present involved in several research collaborative and international partnerships on research and policy development.

Dr. Christian Ntizimira

MD, MSc

Executive Director, African Center for Research on End-of-Life Care (ACREOL)

Dr. Christian Ntizimira is Founder/Executive Director of the African Center for Research on End-of-Life Care (ACREOL), a non-profit organization to bring socio-cultural equality through “Ubuntu in End-of-life Care” in Africa. He is a Fulbright Alumni and graduated from Harvard Medical School, department of Global Health and Social Medicine.

Dr. Ntizimira is the winner of the prestigious Tällberg-Stervos Niarcos Foundation-Eliasson Global Leadership Prize 2021, for his passionate advocacy for palliative care in Rwanda and elsewhere in Africa, based on his deeply held belief that dignified end-of-life care is a human right.

MD Groesbeck Parham

Professor

University of North Carolina

Groesbeck Parham, MD, is a U.S. board certified gynecologic oncologist and Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In Zambia, his home since 2005, he co-founded the Cervical Cancer Prevention Program and presently serves as Honorary Consultant and Lecturer at the University Teaching Hospital of Zambia where he sees patients, does research, and trains gynecologic oncologists. He also serves as Senior Clinical Expert for the World Health Organization's Cervical Cancer Elimination Initiative in the Office of the Director General.

Lisa Stevens

Ph. D.

Lisa Stevens joined the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in June of 2019 as the Director, Division of Programme of Action for Cancer Therapy (PACT). Her experience in partnership building and National Cancer Control Plan development drew her to this position. Prior to joining the Agency, Ms. Stevens spent 24 years in various roles at the US National Cancer Institute (NCI).

Ms. Stevens’ desire to facilitate and promote science is what brought her to the Office of the Director, NCI, in 2000. She joined the Center for Global Health (CGH) as the Deputy Director for Planning and Operations in 2012. In support of NCI, she fostered collaborations, created decision-making tools, and oversaw the development of strategic plans.

While at CGH, Lisa focused on gathering input—both internal and external—to facilitate the development of the strategic priorities for the Center. As the Senior Lead of the International Global Cancer Control Program Lisa worked with Ministries of Health and other multi-sectorial groups in all WHO Regions to include evidence-based policies in cancer control and/or NCD control plans. In addition, Lisa co- founded the International Cancer Control Partnerships to organize multiple global partners working with stakeholders in cancer control. This partnership focused on collating published cancer control and NCD plans as well as other tools that individuals charged with developing, implementing, or evaluating national plans can utilize. In September of 2018 a global review of plans was published in Lancet Oncology.

Prior to joining CGH, Ms. Stevens worked on many strategic planning activities across NCI. She facilitated interactions among the NCI Divisions, Offices, and Centers, as well as other NIH Institutes and Centers. Ms. Stevens guided the creation and communication of the long-range plan of the Institute, the yearly plan and budget request, and highlights of scientific progress.

Dr. Camilla Zimmermann

Dr. Camilla Zimmermann is Head and Lederman Chair, Department of Supportive Care at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Head of the Division of Palliative Care at the University Health Network, and a Senior Scientist and Chair of Supportive Care Research at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre Research Institute in Toronto. She is also Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto, where she was the inaugural Director of the Division of Palliative Care. She is internationally known for her research on palliative and supportive cancer care, particularly in testing novel models of early, integrated palliative care for patients with advanced cancer.