Honoring Our Women of Research

Dr. Alice Berger | Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center 

Position: Associate Professor 

Research Focus: Genetic drivers in never-smokers 

Career Stats: Multiple breakthrough discoveries in lung cancer genetics 

Signature Move: Identifying new therapeutic targets

In the News: Searching for the ‘smoking gun’ that explains lung cancer in never-smokers 

Dr. Triparna Sen | Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Position: Associate Professor

Research Focus: Small cell lung cancer therapies

Career Stats: 15+ awards, 35 publications, 2 patents

Signature Move: Developing novel treatments for SCLC

Key Achievement: 40 Under 40 in Cancer Emerging Leaders Award

Dr. Kellie Smith  | Johns Hopkins University 

Position: Assistant Professor 

Research Focus: Neoantigen discovery and immune monitoring 

Career Stats: Pioneering personalized immunotherapy approaches 

Signature Move: Developing novel immune monitoring techniques

Key Achievement: Received $4M NIH MERIT Award for personalized cancer immunotherapy research

Dr. Jarushka Naidoo  | Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, Ireland

Position: Consultant medical oncologist

Research Focus: Immunotherapy side effects and management

Career Stats: Pioneer in immune-related toxicity research

Signature Move: Making immunotherapy safer for patients

Dr. Julie Wu | Palo Alto Veterans Institute for Research | VA National Oncology Program

Position: Staff Physician

Research Focus: Translational research from lab to clinic

Career Stats: Advancing immunotherapy for veterans’ cancer

Signature Move: Bridging lab research and clinical care

Dr. Christine Lovly  | Vanderbilt University 

Position: Associate Professor 

Research Focus: Molecular mechanisms of targeted therapies 

Career Stats: Leading expert in precision medicine 

Signature Move: Developing personalized treatment strategies

Dr. Jessica Donington | University of Chicago

Position: Professor and Chief of Thoracic Surgery

Research Focus: Surgical outcomes and biomarker development

Career Stats: Pioneer in minimally invasive techniques

Signature Move: Improving surgical treatment strategies

Key achievement: Co-authoring influential guidelines on lung cancer staging and treatment

Dr. Aparna Sharma | Department of Medical Oncology, National Cancer Institute (Jhajjar)

Position: Thoracic medical oncologist

Research Focus: Targeting a protein called LSD1 in small cell lung cancer (SCLC)

Career Stats: Developing novel combination therapies

Signature Move: Using special methods to target LSD1 and help treatments work better against SCLC

Dr. Kathryn Beckermann | Vanderbilt University

Position: Assistant Professor Research 

Focus: Novel targeted therapy combinations 

Career Stats: Developing new treatment strategies 

Signature Move: Precision medicine optimization