SPEAKERS
Douglas Adkins, MD
Professor of Medicine, Director, Section of Head and Neck and Thyroid Medical Oncology, Division of Medical Oncology, Washington University School of Medicine, Robert Ebert and Greg Stubblefield Head and Neck Tumor Center, Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center, and Barnes Jewish Hospital, St. Louis, MO
Neal S. Akhave, MD
Assistant Professor, Director of Head and Neck Clinical Research, Associate Medical Director of Head and Neck Service Line, Department of Head and Neck Medical Oncology, University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Christine Auberle, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Sections of Thoracic, Head, Neck and Thyroid Medical Oncology, Division of Medical Oncology, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO
Binav Baral, MBBS
Instructor of Medicine and Oncology, Mayo Clinic School of Medicine, Rochester, MN
R. Bryan Bell, MD, DDS, FACS, FRCS(Ed)
Executive Medical Director,, Providence Cancer Institute, Member and Director, Earle A. Chiles Research Institute, Walter J. Urba Chair for Cancer Research, Providence Cancer Institute, Portland, OR
Marcelo Bonomi, MD
Professor of Internal Medicine, Division of Medical Oncology, Director of Head and Neck Medical Oncology Section, The Ohio State University Comprehensive , Cancer Center, Columbus, OH
Jimmy Caudell, MD, PhD
Senior Member, Department of Radiation Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL
Renata Ferrarotto, MD
Professor, Thoracic Head and Neck Medical Oncology, University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Robert I. Haddad, MD
Chief, Division of Head and Neck Oncology, McGraw Chair in Head and Neck Oncology, Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston MA
Alan L. Ho, MD, PhD
Chief, Head and Neck Oncology Service, Attending Physician, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY
Faye M. Johnson, MD, PhD
Faculty, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Professor, Thoracic, Head and Neck Medical Oncology, University of Texas, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Hyunseok Kang, MD, MPH
Professor of Medicine (Oncology), Standord University, Palo Alto, CA
Saad A. Khan, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine (Oncology), Stanford Head and Neck Cancer Program, Stanford Medicine, Palo Alto, CA
Jochen Lorch, MD
Professor, Medicine (Hematology and Oncology), Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL
Ross Merkin, MD
Assistant in Medicine, Division of Medical Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Assistant Surgeon, Department of Otolaryngology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Instructor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
Krzysztof J. Misiukiewicz, MD
Associate Professor, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY
Yvonne Marie Mowery, MD, PhD, DABR
Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
Jong Chul Park, MD
Medical Oncologist, Division of Head and Neck Oncology, Center for Cancer Therapeutic Innovation (CCTI), Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Assistant Professor , Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
Krupal Patel, MD, MSc, FRCS(C), FACS
Assistant Professor, Division of Head & Neck Surgery, City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, Duarte, CA
Nabil Saba, MD, FACP
Professor and Vice Chair for Quality and Safety, Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Emory University School of Medicine, Co-Director, Head and Neck Cancer Multidisciplinary Program, Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, Atlanta, GA
Vassiliki Saloura, MD, PhD
Earl Stadtman Investigator, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Johns Hopkins, Bethesda, MD
Khaled Sanber, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor, Thoracic, Head and Neck Medical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Jonathan Schoenfeld, MD, MPhil, MPH
Director, Melanoma Radiation Oncology, Director, Head and Neck Radiation Oncology, Senior Physician, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Professor of Radiation Oncology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
Kartik Sehgal, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Director, Thyroid Cancer Center, Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA
Luana Sousa, MD
Assistant Professor, Thoracic Head and Neck Medical Oncology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Lova L. Sun, MD, MSCE
Assistant Professor of Medicine (Hematology-Oncology) , Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
Paul Swiecicki, MD
Clinical Associate Professor, Internal Medicine – Hematology / Oncology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Harold Nathan Tan, MD, MBA, MS
Assistant Professor, Department of Head and Neck Medical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Jacob Thomas, MD
Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine, USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, Division of Medical Oncology – Head & Neck / Thoracic, Phase I Program, LA General Medical Center Service Chief – Medical Oncology, Keck School of Medicine of USC, Los Angeles, CA
Victoria M. Villaflor, MD
HS Clinical Professor , Director, Head and Neck Oncology, Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, UCI Health , Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, Orange, CA
Everett E. Vokes, MD
John E. Ultmann Distinguished Service Professor, Chair, Department of Medicine, Physician-in-Chief, University of Chicago Medicine and Biological Sciences, Chicago, IL
Deborah J. Wong, MD, PhD
Associate Professor of Medicine, Hematology/Oncology, Director, Head and Neck Oncology Program, Division of Hematology/Oncology, University of California, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, CA
Deborah J. Wong, MD, PhD
Associate Professor of Medicine, Hematology/Oncology, Director, Head and Neck Oncology Program, Division of Hematology/Oncology, University of California, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, CA
Francis Worden, MD
Attending Physician, Head and Neck Medical Oncologist, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Professor, Weill Cornell Medical College, Cornell University, New York, NY
Francis Worden, MD
Clinical Professor, Internal Medicine -Hematology/Oncology, Nancy Wigginton Oncology Research Professor of Thyroid Cancer, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Sue S. Yom, MD, PhD, MAS, FASTRO, FACR, FAAWR
Professor of Clinical Radiation Oncology, Jacobs Distinguished Professor in Head and Neck Cancer, Contact Principal Investigator, NRG Oncology at UCSF, Chair, Head and Neck Cancer Committee of NRG Oncology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
Dan P. Zandberg, MD
Professor of Medicine, Tom W. Olofson Chair in Head and Neck Cancer Research, Associate Director for Clinical Research, UPMC Hillman, Cancer Center, Associate Division Chief for Clinical Research, Division of Malignant Hematology and Oncology, Co-Leader of the UPMC Hillman Head and Neck Cancer Program, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
Douglas Adkins, MD
Professor of Medicine
Director, Section of Head and Neck and Thyroid Medical Oncology
Division of Medical Oncology. Washington University School of Medicine
Robert Ebert and Greg Stubblefield Head and Neck Tumor Center
Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center, and Barnes Jewish Hospital, St. Louis, MO
Dr. Douglas Adkins is a clinician-investigator at Washington University in Saint Louis, Missouri, USA, where he has been a faculty member since 1995. As a clinician, he cares for patients with head and neck and thyroid cancers. His clinical research focuses on developing improved therapeutics for patients with locally advanced and recurrent/metastatic head and neck squamous-cell carcinoma. Major themes of his investigator-initiated clinical research program include evaluation of inhibitors of PD-1, CDK4/6, VEGFR, and PARP, and evaluation of nanoparticle albumin-bound paclitaxel. In collaboration with his colleagues in radiation oncology and otolaryngology, he is also evaluating strategies to de-intensify adjuvant (chemo)radiation therapy for patients with resected locally advanced human papillomavirus-positive oropharynx cancer.
Neal S. Akhave, MD
Assistant Professor
Director of Head and Neck Clinical Research
Associate Medical Director of Head and Neck Service Line
Department of Head and Neck Medical Oncology
University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, TX
Dr. Akhave graduated from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine in 2013 (B.A., Liberal Arts) and 2014 (M.D.). He completed his internal medicine residency at Washington University/Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis in 2017 and then participated in a post-doctoral research fellowship with Lukas Wartman, MD understanding the role of epigenetic modifiers in lung adenocarcinoma. He then completed his Hematology/Oncology fellowship at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in 2022. In 2022, Dr. Akhave was appointed Assistant Professor in the Department of Thoracic/Head & Neck Medical Oncology. As a clinical investigator, Dr. Akhave designs and oversees clinical trials to improve the available treatments for patients. He has a particular focus on skull base tumors, including those involving the anterior and lateral skull base. Further, Dr Akhave has a specific focus on the management of non-melanoma skin cancers, including advanced basal cell carcinomas, squamous cell carcinoma, and Merkel cell carcinoma.
Christine Auberle, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Sections of Thoracic, Head, Neck and Thyroid Medical Oncology
Division of Medical Oncology
Washington University School of Medicine
Saint Louis, MO
Dr. Christine Auberle is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Oncology at Washington University in St. Louis. Her clinical practice focuses on thoracic malignancies and cancers of the head and neck. In fellowship and as faculty, she has developed and completed an investigator-initiated trial examining arginine-deprivation in combination with chemotherapy in previously treated non-small cell lung cancer. Publication of these results is anticipated in 2027. She also developed an investigator-initiated trial, under the guidance of Dr. Douglas Adkins, evaluating two dosing regimens of 5-fluorouracil in previously treated head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Enrollment to this trial is currently underway. Her current research aims are examining systemic treatments in the neoadjuvant space with the goal of increasing response rates prior to definitive therapies and thus limiting toxicities. Her overall research goals are to develop clinical trials which will expand therapeutic options for patients with lung or head and neck squamous cell carcinomas, as treatment options for these patients, thus far, has been limited.
Binav Baral, MBBS
Instructor of Medicine and Oncology
Mayo Clinic School of Medicine
Rochester, MN
Binav Baral, M.B.B.S., is an Instructor of Medicine and Oncology at Mayo Clinic School of Medicine in Rochester, Minnesota, where he practices as a medical oncologist specializing in head and neck cancer. He earned his medical degree (MBBS) from B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences in Nepal, completed his internal medicine residency at John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County in Chicago, and finished a Hematology/Medical Oncology fellowship at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, where he served as Chief Fellow.
Dr. Baral’s clinical and research interests center on treatment outcomes in head and neck cancer, therapeutic advances in salivary gland tumors, and clinical trials of novel therapeutics in head and neck tumors, alongside a focus on preventative and global oncology. He is board certified in Hematology, Medical Oncology, and Internal Medicine by the American Board of Internal Medicine, and he holds a 2025 grant from the Head and Neck Disease Group at the Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center to study HPV vaccination awareness and uptake in clinic and community populations. He is an active member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the American Society of Hematology, and serves on several Mayo Clinic committees, including the Medical Oncology Practice Committee and the Division of Medical Oncology Education Committee.
R. Bryan Bell, MD, DDS, FACS, FRCS(Ed)
Executive Medical Director, Providence Cancer Institute
Member and Director, Earle A. Chiles Research Institute
Walter J. Urba Chair for Cancer Research
Providence Cancer Institute
Portland, OR
Dr. R. Bryan Bell is Executive Medical Director of Providence Cancer Institute and Director and Member of the Earle A. Chiles Research Institute in Portland, Oregon, where he holds the Walter J. Urba Chair for Cancer Research. He earned his BS in biology from Stephen F. Austin State University and his DDS from Creighton University, then completed his MD along with residencies in oral and maxillofacial surgery and general surgery at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He went on to complete fellowship training in craniomaxillofacial trauma and head and neck oncologic surgery at Legacy Emanuel Hospital and Health Center, joining Providence Cancer Institute in 2009, where he previously founded and directed the Providence Head and Neck Cancer Program and Clinic.
Dr. Bell is an internationally recognized head and neck surgical oncologist whose research bridges basic, translational, and clinical science, with a focus on integrating immunotherapy into the neoadjuvant and perioperative treatment of head and neck cancer. He has pioneered clinical applications of virtual surgical planning and was among the first surgeons on the U.S. West Coast to perform transoral robotic surgery for oropharyngeal and laryngeal cancer. His work has produced more than 350 scientific articles and book chapters, including co-authorship of the textbook Oral, Head and Neck Oncology and Reconstructive Surgery, and he has served on the National Institutes of Health’s Head and Neck Steering Committee. In his current leadership role, appointed in late 2024, he oversees oncology services and research across Providence’s network of 32 clinics and eight Oregon hospitals.
Marcelo Bonomi, MD
Professor of Internal Medicine
Division of Medical Oncology
Director of Head and Neck Medical Oncology Section
The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center
Columbus, OH
Marcelo Bonomi, MD, is a Professor of Internal Medicine in the Division of Medical Oncology at The Ohio State University and serves as Director of the Head and Neck Medical Oncology Section at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center–James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute in Columbus, Ohio. He is a medical oncologist specializing in head and neck cancers, including oral cavity, oropharyngeal, laryngeal, skull base, and recurrent/metastatic head and neck malignancies. Dr. Bonomi received his medical training at the University of Buenos Aires School of Medicine, completed fellowship training at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, and also served as a resident at the University of Paris XI in France, with additional training experience in London, Argentina, and the United States.
Dr. Bonomi’s clinical and research interests focus on multidisciplinary treatment strategies for head and neck cancers, including chemo-radiation approaches, immunotherapy, supportive care, patient outcomes, and cancer immunology. As a member of the Translational Therapeutics Program at OSUCCC–James, his work includes research on checkpoint blockade combined with low-dose chemotherapy and radiation for difficult-to-treat populations, including older patients and those with poor performance status. He has contributed to peer-reviewed publications in journals such as Journal of Clinical Oncology, Cancer, The Oncologist, Clinical Cancer Research, and Head & Neck, with recent work addressing recurrent/metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, circulating HPV DNA, biomarkers, and treatment outcomes.
Jimmy Caudell, MD, PhD
Senior Member
Department of Radiation Oncology
Moffitt Cancer Center
Tampa, FL
Jimmy Caudell, MD, PhD, is a Senior Member in the Department of Radiation Oncology at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida, where he specializes in the treatment of head and neck cancers and serves as Director of Clinical Trials for Radiation Oncology. He earned his PhD in Human and Molecular Genetics from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and his medical degree from the University of Texas Medical School at Houston. He subsequently completed his radiation oncology residency at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Dr. Caudell’s research focuses on predicting radiation sensitivity, developing novel radiosensitizers and radioprotectants, reducing treatment-related toxicity, and applying advanced radiation technologies to improve outcomes in head and neck cancer. His work has addressed treatment planning, dysphagia prevention, reirradiation, HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancer, and personalized radiation dosing. He has contributed to national cooperative-group studies and professional guideline panels, including NRG Oncology and the NCCN Head and Neck Cancers Panel. Recent achievements include leading a prospective phase 2 study of personalized radiation therapy for head and neck cancer and contributing to a 2026 international consensus defining the role of stereotactic ablative radiotherapy in head and neck malignancies.
Renata Ferrarotto, MD
Professor
Thoracic Head and Neck Medical Oncology
University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, TX
Dr. Ferrarotto is a Professor and Director of Head and Neck Oncology Clinical Research of Department of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical. In this role, she dedicates time to patient care as well as to clinical and translational research. Her work focuses on clinical development of new personalized cancer therapies for patients with head and neck malignancies, with a particular interest in salivary gland cancers and other rarer tumor subtypes. She has conducted multiple investigator-initiated trials. Dr. Ferrarotto was a recipient of the MD Anderson Jeffrey Lee Cousins Fellowship in Lung Cancer in 2013, the ASCO Career Development Award in 2016, the Khalifa grant in 2016, a Stiefel grant in 2018, an Institutional Research Grant in 2020, three pilot grants from the Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma Research Foundation in 2000, 2021, and 2022, a DOD Impact Award in 2021, R03 grant in 2022 and a R01 grant in 2024.
Robert I. Haddad, MD
Chief, Division of Head and Neck Oncology
McGraw Chair in Head and Neck Oncology
Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Boston MA
Robert I. Haddad, MD, is Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, He is the Division Chief and Institute Physician, Center of Head and Neck Oncology Program, and a member of the Department of Adult Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts.
Dr. Haddad received his medical degree from Saint Joseph University, French Faculty of Medicine, and served as intern and resident at St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital Center, New York, New York. He completed his fellowship in hematology/oncology at Greenbaum Cancer Center, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland.
Dr. Haddad is a member of several professional societies, including the American Society of Clinical Oncology, American Association for Cancer Research and the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology. Dr Haddad research is focused on identifying innovative forms of treatment in Head and Neck Cancer. His research activities involve the use of induction chemotherapy for patients with locally advanced head and neck cancer and the development of novel immunotherapeutic agents for treating locally advanced disease. He has been instrumental in the development, execution and
publication of numerous phase II and III trials in head and neck cancer. These trials have advanced the field of head and neck oncology and have resulted in new therapies for patients.
Dr Haddad is also involved in teaching oncology fellows as well as medical residents, and ENT residents through the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute outpatient clinic and Brigham and Women’s Hospital inpatient service. He lectures extensively on head and neck cancer at the local, regional, national and international levels and has been invited to lecture in prestigious institutions and at national and international forums. He has presented his work at important scientific meetings such as the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the American Head and Neck Society Meeting (AHNS) and has edited two textbooks on head and neck cancer. Dr Haddad has an active role in the national comprehensive cancer network (NCCN) where he participates as a committee member in the head and neck committee and chair of the thyroid cancer committee. In this capacity, He helps write treatment guidelines. He has authored more than 200 publications related to Head and Neck cancer.
Alan L. Ho, MD, PhD
Chief, Head and Neck Oncology Service
Attending Physician
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
New York, NY
Alan L. Ho, MD, PhD, is Chief of the Head and Neck Oncology Service and an Attending Physician at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. He is a head and neck medical oncologist and cellular therapy specialist with expertise in cancers of the oral cavity, throat, larynx, nose, sinuses, salivary glands, thyroid gland, and non-melanoma skin cancers. Dr. Ho received his MD and PhD from Washington University, completed his internal medicine residency at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, and completed fellowship training in medical oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
Dr. Ho’s research focuses on translational clinical investigation and the development of personalized therapeutic strategies for patients with head and neck malignancies, including targeted therapies, immunotherapy, and cellular therapy approaches. He serves as Program Director for MSK’s Rare Salivary Gland Cancer Program and Co-Program Director for the Rare Thyroid Cancer Program, and has led collaborative research aimed at advancing treatment options for rare and difficult-to-treat head and neck cancers. His work has been supported by NIH funding and includes a broad publication record in head and neck cancer biology, biomarkers, and novel therapeutics.
Faye M. Johnson, MD, PhD
Faculty, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
Professor, Thoracic, Head and Neck Medical Oncology
University of Texas
M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, TX
Dr. Johnson is a physician scientist whose research integrates laboratory and clinical work to define the biological and molecular effects of the modulation of signal transduction pathways in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). She has identified novel mechanisms of sensitivity and resistance to inhibitors of Aurora kinase, the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway, polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1), Src, and STAT3. Dr. Johnson has a depth of experience designing, conducting, and completing investigator-initiated clinical trials that facilitate clinical translation – including inhibitors of PI3K, Aurora kinase, and c-Src inhibitors. Dr. Johnson’s laboratory was the first study to establish a therapeutic vulnerability of NOTCH1-mutant HNSCC to any class of drug, leading to the initiation of a clinical trial testing a PI3K/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitor in NOTCH1-mutant HNSCC. Recently, Dr. Johnson has discovered that inhibition of Aurora kinase in Rb-deficient cancers, including human papillomavirus (HPV) positive cancers, leads to apoptosis and immunogenic cell death. This NIH-funded laboratory research was the basis for a recent investigator-initiated clinical trial combining the inhibition of Aurora A (alisertib) and PD-1 (pembrolizumab). Dr. Johnson’s current research will test the hypothesis that by sparing normal cells with unaltered Mad2 and Rb levels, the combination of Aurora A and TRIP13 inhibition has a wide therapeutic window, enabling the effective treatment of Rb-deficient cancers, and that the immunogenic cell death induced by this combination leads to host T-cell engagement, thereby enhancing tumor elimination. Dr. Johnson also has a track record of successful mentoring and team science.
Hyunseok “Hyu” Kang, MD, MPH
Professor of Medicine (Oncology)
Leader, Head and Neck Cancer Clinical Research Group
Leader, Head and Neck Medical Oncology
Department of Medicine • Division of Oncology
Stanford Medicine
Palo Alto, CA
Hyunseok “Hyu” Kang, MD, MPH is a medical oncologist specializing in head and neck cancers, including squamous cell carcinoma, salivary gland cancers, thyroid cancers, and other rare tumors. He serves as Leader of the Head and Neck Cancer Research Program at the Stanford Cancer Institute and Leader of Head and Neck Medical Oncology. His research focuses on developing clinical trials with novel therapies, including immunotherapy, targeted agents, and antibody-drug conjugates, with particular interest in salivary gland cancers such as adenoid cystic carcinoma.
Saad A. Khan, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine (Oncology)
Stanford Head and Neck Cancer Program
Stanford Medicine
Palo Alto, CA
Saad A. Khan, MD, is an Associate Professor of Medicine (Oncology) at Stanford University School of Medicine and a medical oncologist at Stanford Health Care. He is board certified in both medical oncology and hematology, with clinical expertise in head and neck cancers, advanced thyroid cancers, and neuroendocrine tumors. Dr. Khan earned his medical degree from Punjab Medical College in Faisalabad, Pakistan, completed his internal medicine residency at the University of Massachusetts, and pursued postdoctoral training at Temple University/Fox Chase Cancer Center followed by a fellowship in hematology and oncology at Temple University Cancer Center.
Dr. Khan’s research focuses on therapeutic clinical trials, targeted and immune-based therapies, and strategies to reduce treatment-related toxicities, particularly in patients with aggressive thyroid and head and neck cancers. He is actively involved in Stanford clinical trials evaluating novel approaches for anaplastic thyroid cancer and other advanced malignancies and serves as principal investigator of a phase II study of pembrolizumab in metastatic or locally advanced anaplastic/undifferentiated thyroid cancer. His recent scholarly work includes contributions to the 2026 NRG-HN006 phase II/III study evaluating sentinel lymph node biopsy versus elective neck dissection in early-stage oral cavity cancer, reflecting his continued involvement in advancing treatment and clinical research in head and neck oncology.
Jochen Lorch, MD
Professor, Medicine (Hematology and Oncology)
Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center
Feinberg School of Medicine
Northwestern University
Chicago, IL
Jochen Lorch, MD, is Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology and Oncology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a member of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, where he serves as Medical Oncology Director of the Head and Neck Cancer Program and the Thyroid Cancer Program. He earned his medical degree from the University of Regensburg in Germany, completed his internal medicine residency at the University of Pennsylvania/Presbyterian Medical Center, and completed a hematology/oncology fellowship at Northwestern University. Before returning to Northwestern as faculty in 2021, Dr. Lorch served as Director of Clinical Research in Head and Neck Oncology and Director of the Thyroid Center at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and was an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Lorch’s clinical and translational research focuses on head and neck and thyroid cancers, particularly the development of immunologic and targeted therapies, therapeutic vaccines, and biomarkers that can guide treatment. He has led multiple investigator-initiated clinical trials and translational research programs and is currently involved in longitudinal multi-omic biomarker profiling in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and clinical investigation of zanzalintinib in radioiodine-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer. Most recently, he co-led Northwestern research developing a spherical nucleic acid–based therapeutic vaccine for HPV-associated cancers; preclinical findings reported in 2026 demonstrated enhanced antitumor immune activity, slowed tumor growth, and prolonged survival, supporting continued development of this approach for HPV-associated head and neck cancer.
Ross Merkin, MD
Assistant in Medicine
Division of Medical Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital
Assistant Surgeon
Department of Otolaryngology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear
Instructor of Medicine
Harvard Medical School
Boston, MA
Ross D. Merkin, MD, is a medical oncologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and Massachusetts Eye and Ear, and an Instructor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School, where he practices within the Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute’s Center for Head and Neck Cancers. His clinical focus centers on cancers of the head and neck, including mucosal squamous cell carcinoma, salivary gland cancer, and non-melanoma skin cancers.
His research centers on immunotherapy and biomarker-driven approaches in head and neck cancers, with a particular emphasis on developing predictive biomarkers for treatment response and novel therapeutic strategies in the neoadjuvant and incurable settings.
Dr. Merkin earned his MD from the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University and his BS in Biology, magna cum laude, from Northeastern University. He completed his internal medicine residency and chief residency at Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, followed by a fellowship in Hematology and Medical Oncology at Yale Cancer Center. He is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in Internal Medicine, Hematology, and Medical Oncology.
Krzysztof J. Misiukiewicz, MD
Associate Professor
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
New York, NY
Krzysztof J. Misiukiewicz, MD, is Associate Professor of Medicine (Hematology and Medical Oncology) at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, where he has been a member of the faculty since 2009. He earned his medical degree from Wroclaw Medical University in Poland, completed his internal medicine residency at Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center in New Jersey, and finished his fellowship in Hematology and Medical Oncology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. He also holds a master’s degree in clinical research and is board-certified in medical oncology by the American Board of Internal Medicine.
Dr. Misiukiewicz’s clinical expertise centers on the medical management of head and neck and thyroid cancers, and he serves as Clinical Director of Research in Head and Neck and Clinical Director of the Center for Personalized Cancer Therapeutics (CPCT) at The Tisch Cancer Institute, where he is also Chairman of the Oncology Pharmacy & Therapeutics Committee. As Principal Investigator of several personalized clinical trials at CPCT, his research focuses on combining traditional chemotherapy and radiotherapy with targeted agents and immunotherapy to improve outcomes and reduce side effects for patients with head and neck and thyroid cancers, with a particular interest in HPV-driven oropharyngeal cancer. He has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed publications and is widely cited in the field.
Yvonne Marie Mowery, MD, PhD, DABR
Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology
UPMC Hillman Cancer Center
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA
Yvonne M. Mowery, MD, PhD, DABR is a physician scientist and Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology at UPMC Hillman Cancer Center/University of Pittsburgh. She specializes in treating head and neck cancer, cutaneous malignancies, and sarcoma with radiation therapy. She received her MD/PhD from Duke University, followed by Radiation Oncology Residency at Duke. In 2017, Yvonne joined the faculty at Duke University, where her research was supported by a K08 Career Development Award, Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator Award, and Butler-Harris Assistant Professorship. Yvonne moved to UPMC in 2023, where she leads an NIH-funded laboratory that studies head and neck cancer biology, radiation normal tissue toxicity, and novel combinations of radiation with immunotherapy. She developed novel genetically engineered and carcinogen-induced mouse models of oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma and sarcoma, which she has leveraged for preclinical studies that supported development of early-phase clinical trials. She has been PI for multiple investigator-initiated clinical trials and published over 100 peer-reviewed publications including in the Journal of Clinical Oncology and The Lancet.
Jong Chul Park, MD
Medical Oncologist
Division of Head and Neck Oncology
Center for Cancer Therapeutic Innovation (CCTI)
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Assistant Professor
Harvard Medical School
Boston, MA
Dr. Jong Chul Park is a medical oncologist in the Division of Head and Neck Oncology and the Center for Cancer Therapeutic Innovation (CCTI) at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. He received his M.D. from Seoul National University College of Medicine and completed a postdoctoral research fellowship in the Division of Head and Neck Cancer Research at Johns Hopkins University before pursuing residency training in Internal Medicine at East Carolina University and hematology/oncology fellowships at Georgetown University and Johns Hopkins University. He subsequently joined the faculty at Massachusetts General Hospital, where he served as an investigator in the Center for Head and Neck Cancers and the Termeer Center for Targeted Therapies, leading early-phase clinical trials of novel cancer therapeutics, before joining Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
Dr. Park’s clinical and research interests focus on the development of novel therapeutics for head and neck cancers, with an emphasis on translational research, biomarker-driven drug development, and early-phase clinical trials.
Krupal Patel, MD, M.Sc, FRCS(C), FACS
Assistant Professor
Division of Head & Neck Surgery
City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center
Duarte, CA
Krupal Patel, M.D., M.Sc., FRCS(C), FACS, is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Head & Neck Surgery at City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center in Duarte, California, and a board-certified otolaryngologist. He earned his medical degree at the University of Saskatchewan, then completed a residency in Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery and a Master of Surgery at Western University in London, Ontario, followed by a fellowship in head and neck oncology and microvascular reconstructive surgery at The Ohio State University.
In the clinic, Dr. Patel treats patients with melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers of the head and neck, skull base cancers, head and neck cancers, and thyroid and parathyroid diseases, with expertise spanning endoscopic skull base surgery, transoral robotic surgery, and reconstructive surgery. His research focuses on patient outcomes, the use of virtual health care, and genomic biomarkers that help predict how certain therapies affect a patient’s quality of life. He has published on telemedicine adoption in cancer care, cancer screening uptake and genetic testing, and pre-surgical education and discharge planning for head and neck cancer patients, in journals including Telemedicine Journal and e-Health, Journal of Community Genetics, and Cancer Control.
Nabil Saba, MD, FACP
Professor and Vice Chair for Quality and Safety,
Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology
Emory University School of Medicine
Co-Director, Head and Neck Cancer Multidisciplinary Program
Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University
Atlanta, GA
Nabil F. Saba, MD, FACP, is an internationally recognized expert in the treatment of head and neck cancers. Dr. Saba is professor and vice chair in the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, and the Inaugural Lynne and Howard Halpern Chair in Head and Neck Cancer Research. He holds a joint appointment as professor in the Department of Otolaryngology at Emory University School of Medicine. He serves as director of the Head and Neck Cancer Medical Oncology Program and is co-leader of the Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Program at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University. Dr. Saba earned his Medical Degree from the American University of Beirut Medical School. He completed a Residency in Internal Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston, and a Clinical Fellowship in Hematology and Oncology at Brown University School of Medicine. He subsequently completed a Bone Marrow Transplant Fellowship at the University of Toronto Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto, Canada.
Dr. Saba is a well-recognized expert in immunotherapy for head and neck cancer and upper aero-digestive malignancies. His work is focused on translational research and the study and development of novel therapeutic agents and modalities in these diseases. He has been principal investigator in more than 50 clinical trials and chairs national as well as investigator initiated multi-institution studies focusing on novel approaches for treating head and neck and esophageal cancer. Dr Saba has been instrumental in establishing the head and neck cancer research working group at Winship Cancer Institute and is the contact principal investigator of the Lead Academic Participating Site (LAPS) grant of the NCI’s National Clinical Trials Network (NCTN).
Vassiliki Saloura, MD, PhD
Earl Stadtman Investigator
Center for Cancer Research
National Cancer Institute
National Institutes of Health
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Johns Hopkins
Bethesda, MD
Dr. Saloura is a Stadtman Investigator/medical oncologist at the National Cancer Institute and Adjunct Assistant Professor at Johns Hopkins. She received her MD/PhD from the University of Athens/Greece and completed her hematology/oncology training at the University of Chicago. She has a special interest in caring for patients with human-papilloma-virus (HPV)-negative head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) with the goal to translate basic scientific discoveries into novel therapeutic strategies for patients with HNSCC. Current and future work in the Saloura laboratory concentrates on the mechanisms through which chromatin modifiers, particularly protein methyltransferase and demethylases, mediate oncogenesis, immune evasion, tumor evolution, heterogeneity and therapy resistance in HPV-negative HNSCC. In the clinic, she is pursuing the development and translation of novel inhibitors/degraders targeting epigenetic modifiers with the ultimate goal to introduce these in rationally designed combination clinical trials for HPV-negative HNSCC patients with epigenetic vulnerabilities.
Khaled Sanber, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor
Thoracic, Head and Neck Medical Oncology
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, TX
Khaled Sanber, MD, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Thoracic Head and Neck Medical Oncology, Division of Cancer Medicine, at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. He earned his medical degree from the University of Jordan and subsequently completed a PhD in research at University College London. Dr. Sanber completed internal medicine residency and research-track training at MD Anderson, followed by a medical oncology fellowship at Johns Hopkins University, where he also participated in the Physician Scientist Training Program.
Dr. Sanber’s research focuses on tumor immunology and the development of immune-based therapeutic strategies, particularly in head and neck and thoracic malignancies. His work has examined tumor-specific T-cell responses, immune checkpoint blockade, and mechanisms influencing response to immunotherapy, including HPV16-reactive CD8+ T cells in HPV-associated cancers and immune outcomes in KRAS-mutant lung cancer. He received a Conquer Cancer Foundation/ASCO Young Investigator Award to study T-cell responses against human endogenous retroviruses in lung adenocarcinoma and serves as a co-investigator for MD Anderson’s HPV-related Cancers Moon Shot. In 2026, he co-authored research in Cancer Discovery evaluating intratumoral HPV16-reactive CD8+ T cells and published work in the Journal of Clinical Oncology addressing induction immunotherapy in HPV-driven oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma.
Jonathan Schoenfeld, MD, MPhil, MPH
Director, Melanoma Radiation Oncology
Director, Head and Neck Radiation Oncology
Senior Physician
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Professor of Radiation Oncology
Harvard Medical School
Boston, MA
Dr. Jonathan Schoenfeld is a Professor of Radiation Oncology at Harvard Medical School and an MGB Endowed Cancer Chair. He serves as Director of Head and Neck, Cutaneous, and Melanoma Radiation Oncology at Dana-Farber Brigham Cancer Center, Senior Physician at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Associate Director of Clinical Research in the Department of Radiation Oncology.
Dr. Schoenfeld earned his medical degree from Harvard Medical School following a research fellowship as a Gates Scholar at the University of Cambridge. He completed his medical internship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and residency in radiation oncology within the Harvard Radiation Oncology Program. He also holds a Master of Public Health in Clinical Effectiveness from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
His research involves clinical trials involving radiation and integration with immunotherapy and other novel systemic therapies and innovative radiation techniques. Additionally, he leads trials integrating biomarkers such as circulating tumor DNA that predict response to radiation or immune therapies.
Kartik Sehgal, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Director, Thyroid Cancer Center
Department of Medical Oncology
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Boston, MA
Dr. Kartik Sehgal is a medical oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, specializing in thyroid and head & neck cancers. He is the Director of the Thyroid Cancer Center and the Director of Clinical Research within the Division of Head and Neck Oncology at Dana-Farber. His research spans drug development clinical trials and translational work on antibody-drug conjugates, immuno-oncology and RAS therapeutics.
Eric J. Sherman, MD
Attending Physician
Head and Neck Medical Oncologist
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Professor
Weill Cornell Medical College, Cornell University
New York, NY
Dr. Eric J. Sherman is a Member/Attending on the Head and Neck Solid Tumor Service in the Department of Medicine at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and a Professor at the Weill Cornell Medical College. His research interest has focused on thyroid cancers and head and neck squamous cell cancers. He has been the Principal Investigator of 2 completed cooperative group studies. One is the first study focusing on anaplastic thyroid in the Radiation Oncology Therapy Group (RTOG 0912), the largest completed randomized study in anaplastic thyroid cancer to date. The other is the first clinical study focusing on Hurthle Cell (now oncocytic) thyroid cancer in the Alliance cooperative group (A091302).
Luana Sousa, MD
Assistant Professor
Thoracic Head and Neck Medical Oncology
University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, TX
Dr. Luana G. Sousa is currently serving as an Assistant Professor in the Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology Department at MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC). Her clinical focus revolves around exclusively treating patients with Head and Neck malignancies, and her dedicated time is committed to advancing research in this field. Her expertise in clinical research is underscored by her participation in the ACCR/ASCO Methods in Clinical Cancer Research and the MDACC Endowed Fellowship Award. She is honored to have received two prestigious awards, namely The Young Investigator Award (Conquer Cancer – ASCO) and the Pilot Grant (AHNS), both granted in 2022. Currently, she is the principal investigator for a phase 2 study evaluating the impact of BALSTILIMAB (anti-PD1) on viral clearance in HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer patients with persistent HPV detection in plasma cfDNA. In 2024, she was awarded the Prioritizing Research Innovation and Mentoring (PRIME) Excellence Award.
She is also the principal investigator of an investigator-initiated phase II clinical trial entitled “Cemiplimab and Cetuximab Prior to Salvage Surgery in Patients with Recurrent Oral Cavity Squamous Cell Carcinoma.” Additionally, she serves as co-PI for a non-randomized, open-label study of intralesional nivolumab for high-risk oral premalignant lesions. In translational research, her focus is on expanding and enriching her experience and skills in cancer genomics, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy in Head and Neck Malignancies. Beyond squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN), her clinical and research achievements extend to salivary gland cancers, specifically adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC). Based on her clinical observations and previous clinicopathologic/genomic studies, her research group was the first to report a high expression of B7-H4 in the most aggressive ACC subtype, indicating a poor prognosis and potential responsiveness to B7-H4 ADC (Sousa LG R, et al, CCR, 2023). These findings established B7-H4 as a promising therapeutic target in ACC, leading to a phase II clinical study currently accruing patients with ACC in her institution (NCT05194072).
Lova Sun, MD, MSCE
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Division of Hematology Oncology, Dept of Medicine
Perelman School of Medicine
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
Lova Sun, MD, MSCE is a head and neck/thoracic medical oncologist at the University of Pennsylvania. Her research aims to improve clinical outcomes in patients with airways malignancies using a combination of translational, clinical, and observational data. Her main areas of focus are (1) using real-world evidence to define optimal treatment strategies in advanced airways cancers, and (2) clinical trials to evaluate novel therapeutic strategies in patients with lung and head and neck cancer.
Dr. Sun completed her MD at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, internal medicine residency at Massachusetts General Hospital, and oncology fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania. During fellowship, she also completed a Masters in Clinical Epidemiology.
Paul Swiecicki, MD
Clinical Associate Professor
Internal Medicine – Hematology / Oncology
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI
Dr. Swiecicki is an associate professor at the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center. He attended medical school at Michigan State University after which he completed his internal medicine residency at the Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN). From there, he completed his fellowship in Hematology/Oncology at the University of Michigan and subsequently stayed on as faculty. His clinical and research interests focus on head and neck cancers, particularly developmental therapeutics in patients with advanced disease. He is the PI of several clinical trials open through the NCTN and also has active leadership roles at the University of Michigan including Associate Chief of Clinical Research for the Division of Hematology/Oncology.
Harold Nathan Tan, MD, MBA, MS
Assistant Professor
Department of Head and Neck Medical Oncology
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, TX
Harold Nathan Tan, MD, MBA, MS, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. His clinical and research interests focus on head and neck cancers, early-phase drug development and precision oncology with particular interest in emerging therapeutic platforms including antibody-drug conjugates, bispecific antibodies and novel immunotherapy agents. He completed advanced drug-development training at the Drug Development Unit of The Royal Marsden Hospital and Institute of Cancer Research in London, followed by a fellowship in Investigational Cancer Therapeutics at MD Anderson, where he worked on first-in-human and biomarker-driven clinical trials. His academic work spans immuno-oncology, ADCs, bispecifics, targeted therapies, novel drug combinations, and translational biomarker development, with the goal of advancing innovative treatment strategies for patients with head and neck cancers.
Jacob Thomas, MD
Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine
USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center
Division of Medical Oncology – Head & Neck / Thoracic
Phase I Program
LA General Medical Center Service Chief – Medical Oncology
Keck School of Medicine of USC
Los Angeles, CA
Jacob Stephen Thomas, MD, is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California and a medical oncologist at USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center in Los Angeles. He serves as Service Chief of Oncology at LAC+USC/Los Angeles General Medical Center and is affiliated with the Division of Medical Oncology, with a clinical focus in head and neck and thoracic malignancies as well as early-phase oncology trials. Dr. Thomas earned his MD from the University of Illinois College of Medicine, completed internship and residency training in internal medicine at UCLA Medical Center, and completed fellowship training in medical oncology at LAC+USC Medical Center.
Dr. Thomas’s research interests include early-phase drug development, thoracic oncology, head and neck cancer, immunotherapy, DNA damage response–targeted strategies, and equitable access to clinical trials across academic and safety-net cancer care settings. His recent publications include a phase I study of the ATR kinase inhibitor ceralasertib in combination with durvalumab for recurrent or metastatic NSCLC or HNSCC, a phase II CD8 PET imaging study in solid tumors, and an analysis of outcomes for patients treated on phase I clinical trials within a comprehensive cancer center’s private and safety-net hospitals.
Victoria M. Villaflor, MD
HS Clinical Professor
Director, Head and Neck Oncology
Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine
UCI Health
Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center
Orange, CA
Victoria M. Villaflor, MD, is a board-certified medical oncologist and Health Sciences Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine. She serves as Director of the Head and Neck Oncology Program within the Division of Hematology/Oncology at UCI Health Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center in Orange, California. Dr. Villaflor earned her medical degree from Rush Medical College of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, where she subsequently completed her internal medicine residency and fellowship training in hematology and medical oncology.
Dr. Villaflor’s clinical and translational research focuses on integrating immunotherapy and targeted therapies into the treatment of head and neck cancers across metastatic and curative-intent settings. Her work aims to improve the efficacy and tolerability of systemic therapy when combined with surgery or chemoradiation, supporting personalized treatment strategies that enhance survival and quality of life. She is the principal investigator of a phase II neoadjuvant study evaluating cemiplimab with or without the CD40 agonist CDX-1140 in patients with resectable stage III–IV head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. She also led a phase I basket study presented at the 2026 ASCO Annual Meeting that demonstrated promising activity with an antibody-based therapy in advanced or recurrent squamous cell head and neck cancer.
Everett E. Vokes, MD
John E. Ultmann Distinguished Service Professor
Chair, Department of Medicine
Physician-in-Chief,
University of Chicago Medicine and Biological Sciences
Chicago, IL
Everett Vokes, MD, is the John E. Ultmann Distinguished Service Professor and Chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Chicago, and physician-in-chief at the University of Chicago Medicine
Dr. Vokes earned his medical degree at the University of Bonn Medical School in Bonn, Germany. He completed his clerkship at St Luke’s Hospital in Sydney, Australia, and an internship at Malteser Hospital in Bonn. He completed his internship and residency in internal medicine at the Ravenswood Hospital Medical Center in Chicago, a senior residency in internal medicine at the University of Southern California-Los Angeles County Hospital, and a fellowship in hematology-oncology at the University of Chicago.
A clinical and translational investigator, Dr. Vokes focuses on the biology and treatment of lung and head and neck cancers and the interaction of chemotherapy and radiation and integration of targeted and immune-based agents. He established the intellectual and clinical basis of national trials investigating concomitant chemoradiotherapy and other approaches to providing multispecialty care and leads clinical and translational investigations both at the university and nationally.
Dr. Vokes is a member of professional organizations including the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the American Association for Cancer Research, and the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer, among others. He is an elected member of the American Society of Clinical Investigation and American Association of Professors and serves on the editorial boards of several oncology journals and is a reviewer for various publications.
To his credit are more than 80 book chapters and 500 papers published in such journals as New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of Clinical Oncology, Annals of Oncology, and Journal of Thoracic Oncology, to name a few. Dr. Vokes has presented his work at numerous medical congresses.
Deborah J. Wong, MD, PhD
Associate Professor of Medicine, Hematology/Oncology
Director, Head and Neck Oncology Program
Division of Hematology/Oncology
University of California, Los Angeles
Santa Monica, CA
Deborah J. Wong, MD, PhD is an Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology-Oncology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). She completed her MD and PhD degrees at the University of California Irvine, and her Internal Medicine residency and Hematology/Oncology fellowship training at UCLA, where she served as Chief Resident and Chief Fellow. At UCLA, she serves as the Director of the Head and Neck Medical Oncology program and the Co-Lead of the Head and Neck Disease Site Group for the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. Her clinical research focuses on identifying and developing novel therapeutics for patients with advanced head and neck cancer.
Francis Worden, MD
Clinical Professor
Internal Medicine – Hematology/Oncology,
Nancy Wigginton Oncology Research Professor of Thyroid Cancer
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI
Dr Frank Worden is a Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center. Dr Worden earned a degree in pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences from Purdue University and is a graduate from the Indiana University School of Medicine. He then completed a residency in Medicine and Pediatrics at the Detroit Medical Center. Following residency, Dr Worden completed a fellowship in hematology and oncology at the University of Michigan and joined the faculty in 2000.
Dr Worden is the director of the Michigan Medicine Head and Neck Clinical Research Team and lead endocrine oncologist for the Michigan Medicine Endocrine Oncology Program. He is the former fellowship program director for hematology/oncology at Michigan Medicine. In 2019, Dr Worden was named the Nancy Wigginton Endowed Chair for Thyroid Cancer Research. His clinical interests include organ preservation strategies for locally advanced, HPV-related head and neck cancers and clinical trials research for thyroid cancers.
Sue S. Yom, MD, PhD, MAS, FASTRO, FACR, FAAWR
Professor of Clinical Radiation Oncology,
Jacobs Distinguished Professor in Head and Neck Cancer
Contact Principal Investigator, NRG Oncology at UCSF
Chair, Head and Neck Cancer Committee of NRG Oncology
University of California, San Francisco
San Francisco, CA
Dr. Sue S. Yom, MD, PhD, MAS, FASTRO, FAAWR, FACR is the Vice Chair of Strategic Advisory and the Irwin Mark Jacobs and Joan Klein Jacobs Distinguished Professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology, co-appointed in the Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery at the University of California San Francisco. As the Vice Chair of Strategy for the Department of Radiation Oncology, she co-directs strategic planning for the Department of Radiation Oncology and is a member of the Helen Diller Family Cancer Center Clinical Governance. At UCSF, she is the institutional Contact PI for NRG Oncology, Vice Chair of the head and neck research program run through the Oral Head and Neck Site Committee, and a Member in Molecular Oncology for the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Dr. Yom is the Chair of the NRG Oncology Head and Neck Cancer Committee which guides federally funded trials in head and neck cancer in the US. Previous to this position, she conducted extensive research in HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancer serving as the PI of NRG Oncology trials NRG-HN002 and NRG-HN005. She is currently quality of life co-chair on the nasopharyngeal carcinoma study NRG-HN001 and co-PI of the radioprotectant trial NRG NCORP CC013 and the developing deintensification concept RTOG 2436. She is a Board Member of the RTOG Foundation and the Head and Neck Cancer International Group. She serves a member of the NCCN Head and Neck Cancers panel, AJCC HPV+ Oropharynx Cancer Expert Panel on staging, the ASCO guidelines for Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma, Management of the Neck, and Transoral Surgery, and the Annual Meeting scientific committees at ASTRO and the American Radium Society. Recent awards include the Arleo Advocacy Award from the American Association for Women in Radiology and being named a Giant of Cancer Care by OncLive.
Dan P. Zandberg MD
Professor of Medicine
Tom W. Olofson Chair in Head and Neck Cancer Research
Associate Director for Clinical Research, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center
Associate Division Chief for Clinical Research, Division of Malignant Hematology and Oncology
Co-Leader of the UPMC Hillman Head and Neck Cancer Program
University of Pittsburgh,
Pittsburgh, PA
Dan P. Zandberg, MD, is Professor of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, the Tom W. Olofson Chair in Head and Neck Cancer Research, Associate Director for Clinical Research at UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Associate Division Chief for Clinical Research in the Division of Malignant Hematology and Oncology, and Co-Leader of the UPMC Hillman Head and Neck Cancer Program. His clinical expertise encompasses head and neck cancers, thyroid cancers, and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma. Dr. Zandberg earned his BA from the University of Delaware and his MD from Jefferson Medical College. He completed his internal medicine residency at George Washington University Medical Center and his hematology/oncology fellowship at the University of Maryland.
Dr. Zandberg is a translational and clinical investigator whose research focuses on developing novel immunotherapy strategies to improve outcomes for patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and other head and neck malignancies. His work also explores mechanisms of immune resistance and biomarkers of treatment response. Recent contributions include leading a randomized phase II study evaluating concurrent versus sequential pembrolizumab with chemoradiation for locally advanced head and neck cancer and serving as study chair of the Alliance A091802 phase II trial evaluating avelumab plus cetuximab in advanced cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma. He also contributed to the 2026 ASCO guideline on systemic treatment of thyroid cancer.