The University of Illinois Cancer Center, in collaboration with the American Cancer Society and Genentech, hosted a successful UNITY Summit, featuring a panel of leading national cancer experts discussing equity in precision prevention oncology.
Cancer Center Associate Director for Community Outreach and Engagement Yamile Molina, PhD, moderated the May 31 event held at Reggie’s Chicago.
Summit Panelists and Topics
The Value of Equitable Precision Prevention and Oncology
Julie R. Gralow, MD, FACP, FASCO, is the Chief Medical Officer and Executive Vice President of ASCO and brings to her role deep expertise in patient care, research, education and global health.
Kathy Goss, PhD, is the Senior Vice President of Partnerships and Capacity Building at the American Cancer Society.
VK Gadi, MD, PhD, is Cancer Center Deputy Director and a UI Health Medical Oncologist. As an academic investigator, he develops and conducts clinical trials of new medicines, diagnostic tools and supportive care to improve outcomes for patients with breast cancer or other types of cancers.
Equity-Driven Approaches for Risk Identification and Risk Prediction
Melissa B. Davis, PhD, is the newly appointed Director of the Institute of Translational Genomic Medicine at Morehouse School of Medicine. She also serves as Scientific Director of the International Center for the Study of Breast Cancer Subtypes (ICSBCS), (Interim) Director of Health Equity for the Englander Institute of Precision Medicine and Associate Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology in the Department of Surgery and at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York, NY.
Clayton Yates, PhD, is recognized for his international expertise in addressing cancers with African Ancestry and is currently appointed as the John R. Lewis Professor of Pathology, Oncology, and Urology and Director of Health Disparities and Global Health Equity at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
Katherine Y. Tossas, PhD, MS, is an assistant professor at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Population Health, as well as founding director at VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Office of Catchment Area Data Alignment.
Natalie Reizine, MD, is a Cancer Center member and assistant professor and clinical investigator at the University of Illinois College of Medicine Chicago, with an academic focus on genitourinary cancers. She is also a physician and researcher in the Division of Hematology and Oncology at UI Health.
Scaling Equitable Delivery of Risk-Appropriate Care: Precision Prevention and Oncology
Pamela Ganschow, MD, is the Cancer Center Director for Cancer Prevention and Survivorship Clinical Programs.
Ruben A. Mesa, MD, FACP, is the president and executive director of Atrium Health Levine Cancer, vice dean for cancer programs and professor of medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine.
Larry Kessler, ScD, is professor in the Department of Health Systems and Population Health at the University of Washington School of Public Health. He also serves as Deputy Chair of the Multi-Cancer Early Detection Consortium.