START MADRID - Key Persons
Dr. Tony Harb earned his medical degree at the Saint Joseph University in Lebanon. He then went on to complete his Internal medicine residency and a chief residency year at the University at Buffalo in New York, and a Hematology-Oncology fellowship at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ). He started his career at the Northern Light Cancer Care Center in Maine, where he was instrumental in expanding a comprehensive lung cancer program. He practiced there for more than 7 years with a focus on thoracic oncology and head and neck malignancies, and research interests in quality care and outcome metrics. He obtained a Master's in business administration from the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio.
Dr. Harb is board certified in Internal Medicine, Hematology and Medical Oncology. He is fluent in French and Arabic.
Job Titles:
- Medical Oncologist and Member
Bernard Doger M.D., PhD is a Medical Oncologist and member of the medical team of the early phase clinical trials unit, START Madrid-FJD. He completed his medical studies at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid.
From 2008-2012, he began his specialization in medical oncology at the Hospital Universitario Puerta de Hierro in Madrid.
Subsequently he worked as Regional Medical Liaison (RML) in the medical department of Celgene SL during the developmentof nab-paclitaxel, mainly focused in pancreatic cancer.
Dr. Bruce Conway completed his undergraduate pre-medical studies at East Texas State University. Choosing to be a San Antonio resident, he completed Medical School and a General Surgery residency at the University of Texas Health Science Center -San Antonio.
Board certified by the American Board of Surgery, Dr. Conway is actively involved in a variety of professional organizations. Additionally, he is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and is also a member of the Texas Medical Association and Bexar County Medical Society.
Daniel Morillo M.D., is a Hematologist consultant dedicated to clinical research at START Madrid-FJD.He obtained his Medical Degree by the University Complutense of Madrid in 2009 and completed his specialized formation in Hematology and Hemotherapy at Hospital Universitario Puerta de Hierro, Madrid during 2010 and 2014.
Before finishing his residency, he spent two months in 2013 as Observer Physician,
in the Department of Bone Marrow Trasplantation at Memorial Sloan Kattering Cancer Center, New York. Upon completing his residency in 2014, he started a new challenge, creating and developing the Hematology Service at Hospital General de Villalba, Madrid.
In 2017, Dr. Morillo decided to focus his career in hemato-oncology clinical investigation and he joined the START Program as a Clinical Researcher dedicated to Early Phase Trials.
He is currently an active Investigator in more than 30 trials (both early phase and phase-3 trials), and has been a co-author of several scientific papers published in medical journals. He is also consultant at the Lymphoma and Myeloma Unit at Oncohealth Institute, Fundación Jiménez Díaz and a member of the Spanish Society of Hematology.
Dr Brittany DeBerry earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Zoology from the University of Texas at Austin in 1997, and her medical degree from the University of Texas Medical Branch-Galveston in 2001, where she was inducted into both Alpha Omega Alpha and Phi Kappa Phi honor societies. She continued her training at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, and was chosen Intern of the Year and Resident of the Year for two subsequent years. She completed her residency in 2006.
Dr. DeBerry is a general surgeon with a special interest in caring for patients with breast cancer as well as with benign disease of the breast. She enjoys the relationship developed during this difficult time for patients. Her other clinical interests include basic laparoscopy, hernia repair and gallbladder disease.
Dr. Alexander R. Miller is an experienced surgical oncologist specializing in breast cancer, skin cancer (melanoma), pancreatic and gastric cancer, as well as sarcoma. He has devoted his career to cancer research, education, and treatment.
Job Titles:
- Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Canada
- Medical Oncologist and Co - Founder
- Member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology
Dr. Amita Patnaik is an internationally recognized Medical Oncologist and co-founder of START in San Antonio, Texas. She is the Co-Director of Clinical Research at START and is the Director of the START Fellowship program. Her clinical interests include Phase 1 drug development and malignancies of the breast and colorectum.
Dr. Patnaik is a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the American Association for Cancer Research. Dr. Patnaik is a clinical adjunct faculty member of the University of Texas at Austin and holds the title of Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine. She mentors medical students, graduate and post-graduate students and serves as a preceptor for high school students.
Dr. Patnaik is the recipient of the San Antonio Business Journal's prestigious "40 under 40" Award in 2001 and the Healthcare Heroes Award in 2012. She was Inducted into the San Antonio women's Hall of Fame in 2013 for her contribution to the field of science and technology.
Dr. Amita Patnaik is an internationally recognized Medical Oncologist and co-founder of START in San Antonio, Texas. She is the Co-Director of Clinical Research at START and is the Director of the START Fellowship program. Her clinical interests include Phase I drug development and malignancies of the breast and colorectum.
Dr. Patnaik is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Canada and a Diplomate of the American Board
of Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology. Dr. Patnaik is an alumnus of the University of Toronto in Toronto, Canada where she graduated with honors and thereafter, performed her residency in Internal Medicine and fellowship in Medical Oncology. She then performed an advanced research fellowship in Anticancer-drug development at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and subsequently spent 7 years as attending staff physician and senior clinical investigator at the Cancer Therapy and Research Center's (CTRC) Institute for Drug Development. While at the CTRC she was also Associate Director of clinical research and Fellowship program director.
Job Titles:
- Founding Board Member of ThriveWell Cancer Foundation
- Medical Oncologist
Dr. Amy Lang is a medical oncologist in practice with the START Center, treating adult patients with cancer. Dr. Lang received her B.A. in English from Duke University. She completed medical school at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and then attended Baylor University Medical Center for her internal medicine residency and oncology fellowship. Dr. Lang is board certified in oncology and is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians. She served as Chief of Staff of San Antonio's Cancer Therapy and Research Center in 2002.
Dr. Lang is a founding board member of ThriveWell Cancer Foundation, a not-for-profit foundation that provides funding for cancer research and financial assistance for cancer patients undergoing treatment. She also developed DIVA (Deriving Inspiration and Vitality through Activity), a wellness program dedicated to the improvement of breast cancer patients and survivors through exercise and nutrition. She currently serves on national and local breast cancer leadership committees for Methodist Healthcare Systems and Sarah Cannon Cancer Center.
Job Titles:
- Associate Director of Clinical Research at START
- Member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology
Dr. Drew W. Rasco is the Associate Director of Clinical Research at START. He is board-certified in both Hematology and Oncology. He completed medical school in 2003 at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in San Antonio, TX. He completed his residency in Internal Medicine at the Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, GA. He followed this with fellowships in Hematology and Oncology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, TX.
Dr. Rasco is a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). He was a recipient of the Resident Achievement Award from Emory University. He and his partners at START have led an extensive number of phase I clinical trials, including those that eventually led to the FDA approvals of pembrolizumab, cemiplimab, abemaciclib, copanlisib, and others. Most recently, he served as the principal investigator for the combination of lenvatinib and pembrolizumab, which received FDA approval for endometrial (uterine) cancer in 2019.
Dr. Gladys Rodriguez is a medical oncologist with the START Center. She received her medical degree from the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine. She completed both her internship and residency at the Veterans Administration San Juan Medical Center in Puerto Rico. She completed her fellowship at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio.
Job Titles:
- Clinical Professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center
Dr. Joaquin Mira is a board certified radiation oncologist in practice with the START Center. He received his medical degree from the University of Madrid, Spain. Dr. Mira's clinical interests include radiation therapy in general, and also cancers of the lung, breast, prostate and brain. He is proficient in gynecological and head and neck implants, intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), radiosurgery, and brachytherapy.
Dr. Joseph Karam is a native to San Antonio, Texas. He attended Health Careers High School, nurturing an early interest in medicine and the sciences. He completed graduate and medical school at UTMB at Galveston, where he was awarded the Oslerian Medicine Award and accepted into the Gold Humanism Honor Society for his compassionate and altruistic care of patients. His training in the field of general surgery was completed at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Dr. Karam took a special interest in the meticulous care of ICU patients and trauma surgery. This interest led him to complete his fellowship in trauma surgery and surgical critical care at the University of Louisville in Kentucky. He is board certified in general surgery as well as trauma and surgical critical care.
Job Titles:
- Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine
- Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center
- Co - Director of Clinical Research at START
- Reviewer
Dr. Kyriakos P. Papadopoulos is the Co-Director of Clinical Research at START in San Antonio, Texas. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine, Medical Oncology & Hematology. His clinical interests include drug development and malignancies of the upper gastrointestinal-tract and lungs. Dr. Papadopoulos completed his MBBCh and MSc (Med) at the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, and his specialty training in Internal Medicine at Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town, South
Africa. He followed this with a fellowship in Medical Oncology and Hematology at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University, NY. He served as the Florence Irving Assistant Professor of Medicine at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University, where he was co-director of the GI and Lung Tumor Clinic.
Dr. Kyriakos P. Papadopoulos is the Co-Director of Clinical Research at START in San Antonio. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine, Medical Oncology & Hematology. His clinical interests include drug development and malignancies of the upper gastrointestinal-tract and lungs.
Dr. Papadopoulos serves as a reviewer for a number of oncology journals and has authored numerous peer reviewed articles, chapters and abstracts at international meetings.
Dr. Papadopoulos was appointed Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. A senior clinical investigator at the Cancer Therapy & Research Center's (CTRC) Institute for Drug Development, San Antonio, TX , he was also a member of the CTRC's Medical Executive Committee before his departure to co-found START.
Dr. Lisa Fichtel is a medical oncologist that has been in private practice with the START Center for Cancer Care for over a decade. She received her medical degree from UT Southwestern and went on to complete her internship, residency, and fellowship at the Baylor University Medical Center. She is board certified in medical oncology, and her clinical interests include malignant brain tumors and breast cancer.
Dr. Scott Ulmer is board certified in both hematology and medical oncology. He has been the chief medical resident with the University of Utah Hospitals and clinics where he conducted research on the epidermal growth factor receptor, an active area of anticancer drug development. Dr. Ulmer joined the START Center for Cancer Care in 2003. His interests include teaching, clinical research, raising his three children, and cycling.
Job Titles:
- Clinical Investigator at START Midwest
Dr. Sreenivasa (Sree) Chandana is a clinical investigator at START Midwest and director of GI/GU medical oncology research at Cancer and Hematology Centers of Western Michigan in Grand Rapids, MI. After graduating from medical school in India, Dr. Chandana completed his Ph.D., in pharmacology from Wayne State University in Detroit, MI. He was the recipient of the Thomas B. Rumble fellowship during his graduate training. He completed his residency in Internal Medicine at McLaren Regional
Medical Center/MSU program in Flint, MI, where he also served as chief resident. He completed a combined fellowship training in Hematology/Medical Oncology at the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, in East Lansing, MI. During his fellowship, he was selected for the prestigious AACR molecular biology award in clinical oncology workshop. He was also involved in pre-clinical research for pancreatic cancer.
After graduation he practiced hematology and medical oncology and was involved in resident teaching and clinical research in Kalamazoo, MI. He was awarded the NCI silver award for clinical trial enrollment. He also received best teaching faculty award from Western Michigan University School of Medicine in 2014. Subsequently, he joined Cancer and hematology Centers of Western Michigan and START Midwest in Grand Rapids, MI in 2016. Dr. Sreenivasa specializes in the treatment of gastrointestinal and genitourinary cancers. His clinical research interests include drug development and clinical pharmacology trials for patients with advanced solid tumors. He has been the clinical investigator for several early and late phase clinical trials involving immunotherapies, targeted therapies, chemotherapy, antibody-drug conjugates, drug-drug interactions, and pharmacogenomics. He is currently an assistant professor at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, Lansing, MI and also at Western Michigan University, in Kalamazoo, MI. He has authored several peer-reviewed papers related to hematology and oncology, drug development, and is currently involved in teaching medical residents and students.
Job Titles:
- Director of START Madrid Group
- Member of the European Society for Medical Oncology ( ESMO ) Faculty Group Principles of Clinical Trials
Dr. Calvo earned his Medical Degree in 1993 at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid in Madrid, Spain and his PhD in 2003 at the Universidad de Navarra in Pamplona, Spain. He trained in Medical Oncology at the Clínica Universitaria de Navarra in Pamplona, Spain and completed his Advanced Fellowship in Drug Development at the Cancer Therapy & Research Center's Institute for Drug Development in San Antonio, Texas, from 2003 to 2005, where he was a Senior Fellow and Clinical Investigator.
While working in the Medical Oncology Department at the Hospital Vall d'Hebron in Barcelona, Spain, from 2005 to 2008, Dr. Calvo was Co-Director and Senior Researcher of the Phase I Unit and director of the Genitorurinary Tumors, Sarcoma and CNS Programs.
Dr. Calvo is the Director of START Madrid Group in Madrid, Spain and has been the Director of Clinical Research at START Madrid-Centro Integral Oncológico Clara Campal (CIOCC) hospital, in Madrid, Spain, since its launch in 2008. He is also the President of the non-profit organization Investigational Therapeutics in Oncological Sciences Foundation. In addition, he is an Associate Professor (Profesor Titular, ANECA) in Oncology, at University CEU San Pablo in Madrid, Spain, and Director of the Oncology PhD/Doctorate Program at Universidad CEU San Pablo.
Dr. Calvo is a member of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Faculty Group Principles of Clinical Trials and Systemic Therapy. He has been a member of the Scientific Committee of the ESMO annual meeting (2008, 2009, 2011, 2018-2020), also he has been a member of the Scientific Committee of the Targeted Agents Therapies (TAT) since 2018. The annual EORTC-NCI-AACR International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics appointed him as co-Chair of the Scientific Committee since 2019.
Dr. George Hsieh graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Chemistry, Biology, and Economics from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas. Subsequently, Dr. Hsieh earned a medical degree from the University of Texas Health Science Center - San Antonio. To further his medical training, Dr. Hsieh proceeded with an Internship and Residency in the Department of Surgery at Morristown Memorial Hospital in New Jersey. Additionally, Dr. Hsieh took part in a
Research Fellowship in the Department of Surgery at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles. Lastly, Dr. Hsieh completed a Residency at the University of Alabama at Birmingham in the Department of Surgery, where he was appointed Chief Resident.
Dr. Hsieh is board certified by the American Board of Surgery and has been practicing medicine since 2009. Additionally, Dr. Hsieh has been a member of the San Antonio community since 2010. As a member of the American College of Surgeons, Dr. Hsieh has written numerous articles published in peer-reviewed journals and conducted presentations at several national and international medical conferences. Dr. Hsieh has served as the chief of surgery at Methodist Hospital.
Dr. Salih received his undergraduate degree in 2003 from Baylor University, majoring in Bioinformatics. He earned a PhD in Genetics from Texas A&M University in 2008, with a research focus in genomics and computational biology. He is both a contributing author and primary author of numerous publications in genomics based sciences. Dr. Salih was awarded the Spirit of the Program Award as a resident in Internal Medicine at the University of Mississippi Medical center. After completing training in Internal Medicine, he completed fellowship training in Hematology/Oncology at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio in 2018. Dr. Salih treats both benign and malignant hematology along with all solid tumor cancer types, with a particular interest in genitourinary, lung and gastrointestinal malignancies.
Job Titles:
- Member of the European Society of Medical Oncology
Irene Moreno, M.D., is a Medical Oncologist and a Principal
James E. Mark, MD is a gynecologic surgical oncologist with the START Center. He received his medical degree from the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. He then completed an internship in obstetrics and gynecology at Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland; a residency at Brooke Army Medical Center in Fort Sam Houston, Texas; and clinical and research fellowships in gynecologic oncology at the University of South Florida College of Medicine in Tampa, Florida.
Dr. Joe Johnston earned his undergraduate degree from Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. He completed Medical School at the University of Texas Health Science Center - San Antonio and Residency at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in Morristown. Dr. Johnston completed his Critical Care Fellowship at the University of Texas Health Science Center - San Antonio.
Dr. Johnston is board certified by the American Board of Surgery. He is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and maintains a faculty appointment at The University of Texas Health Science Center - San Antonio as a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Surgery. As a member of the Board of Directors of The Methodist Healthcare Ministries and as a former Chief of Staff for Methodist Stone Oak Hospital, Dr. Johnston is actively engaged at all levels of the Methodist Healthcare System.
Justin A. Call, MD, is the Director of Clinical Research at START Mountain Region in Salt Lake City, Utah. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Utah, and his medical degree from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver, Colorado. During his academic training, Dr. Call was elected to numerous honor societies, including the Golden Key Honor Society, Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society, and the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society.
Dr. Lon Smith is a medical oncologist in private practice in San Antonio, Texas with the START Center and is also the president and CEO. He graduated from Rice University and LSU Medical School. He completed his fellowship in medical oncology at MD Anderson Hospital.
Job Titles:
- Director of Clinical Research at START Midwest
Dr. Manish Sharma is the Associated Director of Clinical Research at START Midwest and is a medical oncologist in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He graduated with honors from the University of Michigan Medical School in 2004. He completed his residency in Internal Medicine at the University of California - San Francisco, where he also served as chief resident. He completed a combined fellowship training in Hematology/Oncology and Clinical Pharmacology & Pharmacogenomics at the University of Chicago.
He subsequently spent six years on the faculty as an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Chicago, where he had a Career Development Award from the National Institutes of Health and was very involved in the teaching and mentorship of trainees. Dr. Sharma developed expertise in oncology drug development, gastrointestinal cancers, clinical pharmacology, pharmacogenomics, and pharmacometrics. He is board certified in Medical Oncology and Clinical Pharmacology.
Dr. Sharma joined START Midwest and Cancer & Hematology Centers of Western Michigan in 2018. Throughout his clinical oncology practice, Dr. Sharma has specialized in the treatment of gastrointestinal cancers. His clinical research interests include early phase drug development and clinical pharmacology trials for patients with advanced solid tumors. He has been the principal investigator on more than 25 phase I clinical trials involving immunotherapies, targeted therapies, chemotherapy, antibody-drug conjugates, drug-drug interactions, and food effect. He has co-authored more than 20 peer-reviewed papers related to oncology drug development, and has served as a reviewer for many oncology and clinical pharmacology journals.
Maria J de Miguel, M.D., Ph.D., is a Medical Oncologist and Principal Investigator of START Madrid-CIOCC. She is also a Clinical Associated Professor of Medicine at the CEU University San Pablo, Madrid, Spain.
Maria J de Miguel finished her medical training in 2007 at the Malaga University. In 2012 she completed her Medical Oncology Specialization at the Virgen del Rocío University Hospital (HUVR) with the highest qualifications.
During that time, she perfomed a Biomedical Research Master in the Biomedicine and Research Institute (IBIS Seville) and an internship in the Drug Development Unit of the Nederlands Kanker Instituut in Amsterdam, where she started being interested in Phase I clinical trials. After a couple of years working as a consultant in the Thoracic and Research Unit in the HUVR she decided to move to London in May 2014 to complete a fellowship in the Drug Development Unit of the Royal Marsden Hospital, directed by Prof. Johann de Bono. In 2015, she joined the ECCO-AACR-EORTC-ESMO workshop on methods in clinical cancer research (Flims), Switzerland. Also, in the same year she won the Bradley Stuart Merit Award for the highest-ranking abstract overall in the ASCO meeting. Back in Spain, she worked in the Gastrointestinal tumor unit of the National Research Cancer Center (CNIO) and afterwards was awarded her Phd in molecular laryngeal cancer biomarkers with Cum Laudedegree.
Job Titles:
- Director of Clinical Research at START - Midwest
Dr. Nehal Lakhani serves as the Director of Clinical research at START-Midwest and is a Medical Oncologist based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He completed his medical training at Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, India in 2000. Following the completion of his medical training, he pursued a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences focusing on Pharmacokinetics and early phase drug development of oncology drugs at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, MD. He was also a Fogarty Fellow at
the National Institutes of Health between the years 2001 through 2005. He subsequently pursued training in Internal Medicine at Michigan State University and completed a Medical Oncology/Hematology fellowship at the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD. He has also served as the National Cancer Institute - FDA Interagency Oncology Task Force Fellow for two years, which gave him the opportunity to work in the Division of Hematology/Oncology Products at the FDA and reviewed oncology drug applications submitted by pharmaceutical sponsors.
His clinical research interests include early phase drug development and clinical pharmacology trials for solid tumor malignancies. He is board certified in Internal Medicine, Medical Oncology, and Hematology. He has been involved in the development of several new anticancer therapies including immunotherapy agents, antibody drug conjugates, and targeted therapies. Dr. Lakhani has co-authored several peer reviewed publications in oncology drug development and is a reviewer of several oncology journals.
Dr. Conde is a native of Ecuador, South America. She received her medical degree from Universidad Catolica Santiago de Guayaquil (Catholic University of Guayaquil, Ecuador) in 1987. She completed her year of rural medicine service in Ecuador prior to moving to Miami, Florida to complete her clinical rotations. She completed her internship and residency in internal medicine at Temple University, affiliated Conemaugh Hospital in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Her postgraduate fellowship in medical oncology was at the University of Pittsburg, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Dr. Abbate was born and raised in Massachusetts. He attended medical school at the Mayo Clinic. After receiving his medical degree, he returned to Boston for his surgical training at the Harvard's Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). Dr. Abbate was a distinguished resident and was selected to serve as Chief of the Surgical Teaching Service after completion of his surgical training. While at MGH, under the mentoring of pioneering pancreatic surgeon, Dr. Andrew Warshaw, Dr. Abbate gained expertise in pancreatic, biliary, and complex gastrointestinal surgery.
In 2002, Dr. Abbate moved to San Antonio to serve in the United States Air Force. Dr. Abbate's military career included a tour as a combat surgeon in Iraq. He received an honorable discharge in 2006.
In 2006, Dr. Abbate began surgical practice in San Antonio. In 2010, he merged his practice with the START Center for Cancer Care. His practice encompasses surgical oncology and general surgery with special interest in breast cancer, pancreatic cancer, gastric cancer, gastroesophageal reflux and gallbladder disease. Dr. Abbate is trained on the DaVinci Robotic Surgical System and a high-volume provider of robotic surgery.
Dr. Abbate is certified by the American Board of Surgery and a Fellow of the American College of Surgery. He serves on the Cancer Governance Board for the Methodist Healthcare System and the Governing Board for Foundation Surgical Hospital. Dr. Abbate is a participating member of the Methodist Breast Network, the Methodist GI Cancer Network, and the Baptist Breast Network.
Dr. Steven Kalter is a medical oncologist and hematologist in private practice in San Antonio, Texas with the START Center. He graduated from Baylor College of Medicine. He completed his fellowship in medical oncology from MD Anderson Hospital in Houston, and completed his fellowship in hematology from Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Kalter is board certified in internal medicine, hematology, and oncology.
Job Titles:
- START Program As a Clinical Researcher
Tatiana Hernández-Guerrero M.D., is a Medical Oncologist fully dedicated to clinical research at START Madrid-FJD. She graduated as a Medical Doctor in Carabobo State University, in Venezuela in 2008, and then decided to pursue her specialist training program in Madrid, Spain. Upon completion, she entered the Medical Oncology Specialty Program at Fundación Jimenez Diaz University Hospital, where she would build the grounds for her career as a clinical researcher.
During the last year of her residency, Dr. Hernández had the opportunity to learn about DNA repair pathways and their implication in cancer biology during a 6-month stay at University of Michigan Cancer Center, under the supervision of Dr. Sofia Merajver MD PhD, where she developed a program for early detection and follow-up of patients at high risk of cancer that would later be put in practice at Fundación Jimenez Diaz UH.
Job Titles:
- Senior Clinical Investigator at START Midwest
Dr. Timothy O'Rourke is a Senior Clinical Investigator at START Midwest and a Medical Oncologist in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He graduated from the University of Michigan Medical School in 1976. He completed his residency in Internal Medicine and fellowship training in Hematology/Oncology at Madigan Army Medical Center, completing a twenty year career in the U.S. Army Medical Corps achieving the rank of Colonel in 1996. While in the military he was Chief of Medical Oncology and Director of the
Job Titles:
- Member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology and of the European Society of Medical Oncology
Valentina Boni, M.D., Ph.D., is a Medical Oncologist and Principal Investigator of START Madrid - CIOCC. She is also Clinical Associated Professor of Medicine at the CEU University San Pablo, Madrid, Spain.
Valentina Boni earned her Medical Degree cum Laude in 2005 at the Catholic University of Rome, Italy. In November 2009 she completed her trainer in Medical Oncology at the Agostino Gemelli University Hospital in Rome, Italy.
From 2009 to 2011, she joined the Garcia-Foncillas's Pharmacogenomic Program at the Center for Applied Medical Research (CIMA), in Pamplona, Spain, as a Clinical Researcher working on translational oncology centered on predictive biomarkers discovery, solid tumor expression profiling and modulation of drug response. In 2009, she was awarded PhD from the University of Navarra for her work on the role of miRNAsas predictive biomarkers in metastatic colorectal cancer. In 2013, she joined the ECCO-AACR-EORTC-ESMO workshop on methods in clinical cancer research (Flims), Switzerland.
Dr. Boni is a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology and of the European Society of Medical Oncology. She serves as an ad-hoc reviewer of various oncology journals and sits in the Scientific Advisory Board of innovative biotechnology companies. She is currently a member of the Scientific Program Committee for SOLTI Innovative Breast Cancer Research.
Victor Moreno, M.D., PhD is the Director of Clinical Research at START Madrid-FJD. He obtained this Medical Degree by the University Complutense of Madrid in 2004 and completed his specialized formation in Medical Oncology at Hospital Universitario La Paz during 2005 and 2009. During 2008-2010 he obtained his Masters Degree in Molecular Oncology by the CNIO (Spanish National Cancer Research Centre, Madrid). He obtained his PhD Doctorate, with European Mention and