SPCC - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Head of Oncology at Pure
- London / Scientific Clinical Advisor
Aleksandra Filipovic is the Head of Oncology at PureTech Health, a clinical stage biopharma dedicated to developing novel therapies for challenging indications in oncology and other disease areas.
She is a medical oncologist practicing at Imperial College London where she also holds an honorary lecturer position. She acquired her PhD and completed post-doctoral studies at Imperial College, in the area of cancer cell biology and from there worked at and with Brystol Myers Squibb and AstraZeneca, before joining PureTech. In addition to her clinical and scientific/drug development roles, Aleksandra is a trained and certified holistic clinical therapist, integrating whole patient centered approach into all areas of her practice.
Andreas Charalambous, BSc, MSc, PGCert (Research), PhD (Oncology Nursing), started his nursing career in 1995. He obtained his BSc in Nursing Science in 1999 by the Northumbria University (U.K), his MSc (Nursing Science) in 2002 and his PhD (Oncology Nursing) in 2008 from Middlesex University (UK). He has a proven track in academia since 2004.
Dr. D'Cruz MS, DNB, FRCS(Hon) is Director Oncology Apollo Hospitals. He is well-recognised as a global leader, clinician, researcher and teacher in Head and Neck Oncology. He was Director of Tata Memorial Hospital and Chief of Head Neck Services Mumbai India. Dr. D'Cruz has held leadership positions and is on the board of numerous professional organisations universities, research organisations and cancer institutions across the country and abroad. He is the Immediate Past President (October 2020-2022) of the Union International for Cancer Control, President of the Indian Society of Thyroid Surgeons, Chairman Governing board of the Foundation of Head Neck Oncology India and Past President Asian Society of Head Neck Oncology. Dr. D'Cruz has more than 500 peer-reviewed publications and chapters to his name and is a member of the Editorial Board of many reputed national and international journals. His landmark contribution in management of neck in early oral cancers awarded the plenary at the American society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2015 and published in the New England journal of Medicine. He has delivered more than 1000 invited lectures and nearly 150 named lectures, key note and orations both nationally and internationally.
Job Titles:
- Chief Operating Officer
- Milan / Chief Operating Officer
Daniela Mengato from Milan, more than twenty years' experience in organisational oncology management in international environment, was appointed Chief Operating Officer in 2020 with the task of coordinating the head office, the organisation and implementation of the day-to-day activities of the association as agreed by the Executive Board of which she is a member.
She is an internationally recognised expert in liver pathology, has vast expertise in clinico-pathological research and has authored 200 peer-reviewed scientific articles and chapters in pathology textbooks. Her main research interests are fatty and autoimmune liver disease and hepatocarcinogenesis. She is currently involved in several projects on Artificial Intelligence in liver pathology. Dina is leading/co-leading several European liver histopathology consortia and has served as external assessor for international research institutes, academic departments of pathology and grant awarding bodies. She is Past President of the European Society of Pathology (2019-2021) and Chair, Equality & Diversity Group, United European Gastroenterology (2020-2023).
Professor Dorothy Keefe is the CEO of Cancer Australia, Australia's national cancer agency. Prior to this she had a long and distinguished career as a medical oncologist at the Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH), and as Professor of Cancer Medicine at the University of Adelaide, where she remains an Honorary Clinical Professor.
Her long term research interest has been Supportive Care in Cancer. She has a Master's degree in Medical Leadership and a strong interest in advocacy, career development and mentoring. She is committed to patient-centred care, reducing unnecessary variation in cancer outcomes, and to improving outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people affected by cancer. During her tenure as CEO, she has led the enquiry into Lung Cancer Screening and the development of the first national Australian Cancer Plan.
Job Titles:
- President of the Board of Directors
- Genolier / President
Dr Matti S. Aapro is President of SPCC and Past-President of the European Cancer Organisation. He is also a Board member of UICC, President of All.Can, and a director at the Genolier Cancer Center in Switzerland. He is a medical oncologist, having received his medical degree from the University of Geneva, Switzerland. He was the founding chair of the Medical and Radiation Therapy Department at the European Institute of Oncology in Milan. He has published over 350 articles, and his main interests are: new drug development, breast cancer, cancer in the elderly, and supportive care. He is member of several editorial boards including Cancerworld. He has received several prestigious awards, amongst them the 2012 ASCO B.J. Kennedy prize and the MASCC Distinguished Services Award (2016).
Job Titles:
- Head of the Croatian Cooperative Group for Clinical Research
- Professor and Head of the Oncology Centre at the Clinical Hospital in Split, Croatia
Eduard Vrdoljak, MD, PhD, is Professor and Head of the Oncology Centre at the Clinical Hospital in Split, Croatia and, at present, visiting Professor at the Medical School in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina and at University of Skopje Faculty of Medicine, Republic of Macedonia.
Prof. Vrdoljak is currently Head of the Croatian Cooperative Group for Clinical Research in Oncology (CCGCRO), the South-Eastern European Research Oncology Group (SEEROG) and the Croatian Society of Oncology. He is active member working as the faculty of European School of Oncology.
During his professional career, Prof. Vrdoljak has authored numerous publications in peer-reviewed journals, and is the author or co-author of many oncology related books.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Job Titles:
- Head of Breast Surgical Oncology at Clinica Universidad
Isabel T. Rubio is the Head of Breast Surgical Oncology at Clinica Universidad de Navarra and Professor of Surgery at the University of Navarra in Madrid, Spain.
She trained for two years as a Breast Surgical Oncology Fellow at The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and the Arkansas Cancer Center at Little Rock, USA and for one year at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, USA. She completed her PhD in 2000. She is the director of the Breast Surgery Fellowship program at her Institution.
Dr. Rubio is active in many societies, as President (2022-2024) of the European Society of Surgical Oncology (ESSO), President of EUSOMA (European Society of Breast Cancer Specialists) (2020-2023), member of the Executive Committee at the European Cancer Organization (2020-2024), founding member and past President of the Spanish Association of Breast Surgeons (AECIMA), Board member of EUBREAST, and member of the SSO and the American Society of Breast Surgeons.
She is associate editor in Breast of the Journal of Surgical Oncology, and reviewer for The Breast, the European Journal of Surgical Oncology and the Annals of Surgical Oncology. She obtained the European Board of Surgery Qualification in Breast Surgery and is officer at the UEMS Breast Surgery Division and participates as an examiner in the EBSQ Examinations in Breast Surgery.
Dr. Rubio has published over 130 peer review manuscripts and many book chapters. Her interest is in sentinel lymph node biopsy, neoadjuvant treatments, surgical management of BRCA mutation carriers, and the role of prognostic markers (genomic profiles, liquid biopsy). Also her interest is focused on the standardization of surgical oncology training, certification of Cancer Centers and Breast units.
Job Titles:
- Professor of Medical Oncology at the University
Joseph Gligorov is Professor of Medical Oncology at the University of the Sorbonne and Medical Practitioner in the Department of Medical Oncology at Tenon Hospital, Paris (AP-HP). He is currently the executive director of the University Institute of Cancerology AP-HP Sorbonne University, grouping treatment, education, and research on. Regarding his clinical activity, he is co-chairing the Breast Cancer Expert Center at Tenon Hospital and is mainly involved in breast cancer treatment.
Julie R. Gralow, MD, is Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer for the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Munich / Basic Science Advisor
Job Titles:
- Communication and Cancerworld Manager
Job Titles:
- Tokyo, Japan / Department of Breast Oncology and Breast Oncology Center, Juntendo University Hospital / Japan
Job Titles:
- CEO
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Turin / Chief Executive Officer
CEO of SPCC, Pietro Presti is a dynamic, creative and goal-oriented senior manager with a broad experience in business strategy and development, leadership and innovation in Healthcare and Life Sciences sectors. Dr Presti is board member of several organisations operating in cancer advocacy, education, innovation and research in Healthcare and Life Sciences, especially in the field of cancer care continuum.