MESO FOUNDATION - Key Persons

Job Titles:

• Member of the Board of Directors
• Board of Directors
• Mayo Clinic
• Medical Oncologist

Aaron Mansfield, MD is a medical oncologist who specializes in thoracic malignancies and early phase clinical trials at Mayo Clinic. His overall goal is to improve care for patients with mesothelioma through the investigation of novel therapeutics and the development of prognostic and predictive biomarkers. He was the first to assess PD-L1 expression in mesothelioma and has written clinical trials for mesothelioma, one of which is sponsored by the NCI and is activating internationally. He enjoys working with the Meso Foundation to advocate for the needs of mesothelioma patients and their caregivers.

Job Titles:

• Member of the Board of Directors
• Board of Directors
• FASCO Is a Medical Oncologist and Treats Thoracic Oncology Cases
• Member of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer
• University of Pittsburgh

Antoinette J. Wozniak, MD, FACP, FASCO is a medical oncologist and treats thoracic oncology cases. Dr. Wozniak is a member of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer, American College of Physicians, Southwest Oncology Group, American Society of Clinical Oncology, and American Association of Cancer Research.

Job Titles:

• Member of the Board of Directors

Cheryl Bruner is a wife, mother, attorney, active volunteer in her community, and daughter of a mesothelioma warrior. She first became acquainted with the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation in 2014, at the time of her mother's diagnosis. Although her mother passed away two years later, Cheryl has remained committed to the Foundation and joined the Community Advisory Board upon its inception in 2020 and the Board of Directors in 2021. Cheryl's professional background includes working in both law firm and in-house corporate settings, in various practice areas including employment law, litigation, contracts, construction, and real estate. She currently also serves on the Board of Directors for the YMCA of Greater Louisville (Kentucky). Cheryl and her husband have two children in college and two dogs at home. She graduated from Transylvania University with a bachelor's degree in business administration and from the Brandeis School of Law at the University of Louisville with her juris doctor.

Daniel Sterman, MD, evaluates patients at NYU Langone Pulmonary and Critical Care Associates and Perlmutter Cancer Center, diagnosing and treating people who have lung cancer, malignant pleural mesothelioma, and pleural effusion, which is a buildup of fluid between those membranes. He diagnoses and manages cancers and benign disorders affecting the large airways of the lungs: the trachea and bronchi. Dr. Sterman also performs staging procedures to determine the degree of advancement of a person's condition. In addition to offering a variety of chest services across the hospital, Dr. Sterman participates in novel research and clinical trials. He has spent the last 18 years studying ways to use gene therapy and immunotherapy to control tumors of the chest, treat people with both lung cancer and malignant pleural mesothelioma, and improve and prolong the quality of patients' lives.

Job Titles:

• Treasurer of the Board of Directors

Job Titles:

• Associate Professor

Dr. Boris Sepesi is an Associate Professor in the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Sepesi was born in former Czechoslovakia and earned his medical degree with honors from Jagiellonian University Medical College in Krakow, Poland.

Job Titles:

• Cleveland Clinic
• Staff Physician and Vice - Chairman of the Hematology and Medical

Jamie Stevenson, MD, is a Staff Physician and Vice-Chairman of the Hematology and Medical Oncology Department of the Taussig Cancer Institute at the Cleveland Clinic. He has been a thoracic medical oncologist and clinical investigator for over 20 years and an active participant in collaborative efforts to advance treatment options for patients with mesothelioma and their families. He is a member of the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation Scientific Advisory Board as well as the National Comprehensive Cancer Network's Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma Guidelines Panel.

Job Titles:

• Member of the Board of Directors
• Board of Directors
• University of Nebraska

Jason M. Foster, MD trained in general surgery at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Following his residency, Dr. Foster completed surgical oncology training at Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York. After finishing this SSO-accredited fellowship, he joined the staff at Creighton University in the Surgical Oncology Division in 2005. In 2010, he joined the University of Nebraska Medical Center in the Division of Surgical Oncology. Dr. Foster treats a broad range of malignant diseases including cancer of the gastrointestinal tract, endocrine organs, soft tissue sarcomas, skin tumors, and peritoneal-based malignancies. Although he performs general surgery, he limits his practice to oncologic diseases, except for general surgery conditions that arise in his oncology patients or by special requests for complex general surgery conditions of the GI tract, such as pancreatic pseudocysts, benign biliary strictures, and advanced laparoscopy and endoscopy. Dr. Foster is also actively involved in clinical and basic science research for peritoneal surface malignancies and gastrointestinal cancer. Dr. Foster is one of a very small number of surgical oncologists in the United States practicing HIPEC, or hot chemotherapy, which is used to treat cancers of the appendix, ovaries, and colon, as well as mesothelioma.

Job Titles:

• Member of the Board of Directors

Jessica Blackford-Cleeton is a peritoneal mesothelioma patient, mom, blogger, writer, and advocate. She graduated cum laude from Southern Illinois University with her Bachelor of Science in University Studies/Museology and a minor in history. She is also a multi-time graduate of the National Fire Academy. Jessica has worked extensively with nonprofits, having chaired the boards for Illinois Risk Watch and Illinois Remembering When, both public safety programs. She is a previous member of the National Fire Information Council and Community Advisory Board for the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation. She currently serves as a precinct committeeperson for her county (Springfield, Illinois), is a member of the National Honor Society and as of 2021, on the Board of Directors for the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation. Her background includes work as the National Fire Incident Reporting System Manager for the State of Illinois, working closely with the National Fire Protection Association and the United States Fire Administration under FEMA. She has also worked as a consumer reviewer for the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs. Jessica enjoys travel, history, and spending time with her family. She has been a Big Sister with Big Brothers, Big Sisters for over a decade and is also a mentor for Imerman Angels.

Job Titles:

• Executive Director

has spent the last 25 years in the nonprofit sector, most recently as the Senior Director, Patient Advocacy with the Aplastic Anemia and MDS International Foundation. Julie is an alumna of Alma College (Michigan) and is an active community volunteer, serving as an appointed Commissioner in Montgomery County, Maryland where she lives with her rescue dog, Maggie. Julie is passionate about supporting patients, family members, and caregivers throughout their journey.

Job Titles:

• Special Projects Manager
• CAE / Special Projects Manager
• Minnesota State MATHCOUNTS Director
• MnSPE Associate Director

As Special Projects Manager, Katie focuses on the creation of a community board to guide and advise the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation in its services and direction. Katie also spearheads community engagement among patients, caregivers, family members, and others directly affected by mesothelioma. Katie is passionate about nonprofits, the communities they reach and their impact on people's lives. Katie's nonprofit experience includes community building and engagement, program management, event planning, and fundraising leadership. She has spent years working with the engineering community through the Minnesota Society of Professional Engineers, its Foundation and Minnesota MATHCOUNTS. MATHCOUNTS is a locally managed nation-wide program that provides engaging math programs to middle school students of all ability levels. Its goal is to build confidence and improve student attitudes about math and problem solving. In her dual role as Minnesota State MATHCOUNTS Director and MnSPE Associate Director, Katie has overseen the entire MATHCOUNTS program across Minnesota. She connects the groups that make up the community - students and families, teachers, volunteers and donors. She has also led collaborative fundraising, managed continuing education programs for licensed professional engineers, administered volunteer recruitment and engagement, and built STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) outreach efforts. Katie has a BA in Business & Communications and a minor in French from the University of Minnesota and is a Certified Association Executive through the American Society of Association Executives.

Job Titles:

• Member of the Board of Directors
• Associate Professor and Director of the Photodynamic Therapy Program
• Board of Directors

Keith Cengel, MD, PhD, is an Associate Professor and Director of the Photodynamic Therapy Program in the Department of Radiation Oncology. He is a board-certified radiation oncologist and living in the 17th additional year provided to him by his cancer treatment team. His clinical practice and research focus on improving outcomes for patients with thoracic and neuroendocrine cancers using photodynamic therapy and ionizing radiation.

Job Titles:

• Director of Communications and Operations

Maja's work at the Meso Foundation encompasses the management and development of all aspects of the organization's operations and its online and offline communications. These include online marketing components such as website development, writing for the blog about scientific advances, SEO, mass emails, and social media; and offline components such as development of press releases, newsletters, direct mail pieces, brochures, and annual reports. Prior to joining the Meso Foundation in 2006, Maja worked with several non-profit organizations, including the Young Storytellers Foundation and AIDS Project Los Angeles. Maja holds a bachelors degree in Mass Communications from Colorado State University and an MBA from Purdue University.

Job Titles:

• Chairman of the Board of Directors
• Chairman Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Marjorie G. Zauderer, MD, MS, FACP is co-director of the MSK Mesothelioma Program and Associate Attending on the Thoracic Oncology Service in the Department of Medicine at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. She received her medical degree from Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons, completed her residency in Internal Medicine at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital Columbia University Medical Center, and completed fellowship and chief fellowship in medical oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. As a faculty member at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Dr. Zauderer cares for patients with mesothelioma and other thoracic malignancies. Her practice aims to provide personalized care to patients throughout the course of their treatment based not only on the type of cancer and its genetics but the individual priorities of each and every patient and family. She is also an active translational and clinical researcher and focuses on the development of new therapies for the treatment of mesothelioma and lung cancers. She has received several awards for her research including a Department of Defense Career Development Award. She is the principal investigator for numerous mesothelioma clinical trials and spearheads the MSK BAP1 program to investigate inherited mutations in the BAP1 gene (BRCA associated protein-1) that predispose patients to malignant pleural mesothelioma and uveal melanoma, as well as renal cell carcinoma, lung cancers, and meningiomas. She also works on developing therapeutics for somatic BAP1 loss and other common molecular alterations as well as novel immunotherapies and biomarkers that may predict response to these new treatments. She has previously served on the Scientific Advisory Board for the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation and is a member of the NCI-CTEP Thoracic Malignancy Steering Committee Mesothelioma Working Group. She has been an active peer reviewer for the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs sponsored by the Department of Defense and is active within the American Society of Clinical Oncology. At Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, she is the Thoracic Disease Management Team Lead for the MSK Alliance and is a Core Physician for the MSK-IBM Watson decision support tool for oncology. Dr. Zauderer has lectured and presented her work throughout the United States and international mesothelioma community and has authored/co-authored more than 30 peer-reviewed oncology manuscripts.

Job Titles:

• Development Coordinator

Job Titles:

• Member of the Board of Directors
• Board of Directors
• Johns Hopkins University

Patrick Forde, M.B.B.Ch., treats patients with lung cancer, mesothelioma and other thoracic cancers. He completed training in internal medicine and oncology in Ireland prior to undertaking a further fellowship at Johns Hopkins. He is currently Associate Member of the Bloomberg-Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy and Director of Clinical Research for lung cancer, mesothelioma, and other thoracic cancers at Johns Hopkins. He has led development of a clinical-translational research program focused on the immuno-oncology of upper aerodigestive malignancies. Dr. Forde's research examines the role of immunotherapy for earlier stage lung cancer and his work has led to the development of several ongoing phase 3 trials. He leads several international phase 2 and 3 clinical trials of novel immunotherapy approaches for lung cancer and mesothelioma that are currently active in Europe, Asia and North America while also serving as principal investigator for the thoracic cancer immunobiology biospecimen repository at Johns Hopkins. He is focused on providing compassionate, state of the art care for his patients in conjunction with a team of oncology specialist nurses, nurse practitioners and dedicated staff.

Job Titles:

• Secretary Baylor University

Board-certified by the American Board of Thoracic Surgery, R. Taylor Ripley, MD, serves as the Director of the Mesothelioma Treatment Center at Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center. He joined the Lung Institute and Dan L. Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center at Baylor St. Luke's as a dedicated mesothelioma expert, complementing the established multidisciplinary team. In addition to mesothelioma, Dr. Ripley specializes in thoracic surgical oncology including lung, thymic, chest wall and esophageal cancers. He is an expert in robotic thoracic surgery and approaches most diseases minimally-invasively. Dr. Ripley was recruited by the late Dr. David J. Sugarbaker to join Baylor College of Medicine after serving as an associate professor of surgery and a principal investigator at the National Cancer Institute (NIH). While at NIH, Dr. Ripley started the Thoracic Robotics Program and the NIH Foregut Team. His laboratory efforts focus on the metabolic reprogramming of cancer cells to determine whether it will increase the susceptibility to therapeutics. His laboratory is developing whether the clinically relevant assay called ‘Dynamic BH3 Profiling' can predict the most appropriate therapy to enhance the precision-medicine based approach to patient care. Prior to his faculty position at the National Cancer Institute, he completed his Thoracic-Track Fellowship at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. During that time, he was a visiting thoracic fellow in the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. He completed a research fellowship in Surgical Oncology in the Surgery Branch, National Cancer Institute, NIH. He completed Residency in General Surgery at the University of Colorado Denver. He received his medical degree from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and a bachelor of science in biochemistry from Boston College graduating as Summa Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa.

Job Titles:

• Co - Director for the NIHR London South Clinical Research Network
• Professor

Professor Sanjay Popat is a Consultant Thoracic Medical Oncologist at the Royal Marsden Hospital and Professor of Thoracic Oncology at the Institute of Cancer Research. His research interests include the development of novel drug strategies for the treatment of thoracic cancers through clinical trials, the identification of DNA variants that influence thoracic cancer development and their impact on clinical behavior, as well as the identification of biomarkers predictive of therapeutic effect. Dr. Popat is co-director for the NIHR London South Clinical Research Network (CRN) Cancer Division and chair of Cancer for the West London Genomic Medicine Centre. He chairs the British Thoracic Oncology Group (BTOG), and is immediate past chair of the UK NCRI Lung Cancer Clinical Studies Group (CSG) Advanced Disease Sub-group. He is active in the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Lung Group, the European Thoracic Oncology Platform (ETOP), and the International Thymic Malignancy Interest Group (ITMIG).

Job Titles:

• Nurse
• OCN, Patient Services Director
• Patient Services Director
• Patient Services Director / Shannon

Shannon is an oncology nurse with 14 years of experience working at a large cancer center in Ohio where she worked with a multidisciplinary team comprised of medical and radiation oncologists, surgeons, and other specialties involved in cancer care. Shannon also spent time working as an oncology clinical nurse educator for a large pharmaceutical company, where she educated providers at cancer centers and hospitals about clinical trial data, upcoming indications, immunotherapy, PARP inhibitors (a special type of a targeted cancer drug), mechanisms of action of various agents, potential adverse events, and side-effect management. Earlier in her career she was an oncology specialty pharmacy nurse educating patients, caregivers, nurses, and clinicians on oral oncolytics. She holds the Oncology Certified Nurse (OCN) certification and certification through the Oncology Nursing Society for chemotherapy, biotherapy, and immunotherapy.