Dr. Hope Rugo, M.D., is a medical oncologist and hematologist specializing in breast cancer research and treatment. A clinical professor of medicine, Dr. Rugo joined the UCSF Carol Franc Buck Breast Care Center in 1999 after a decade of experience at UCSF in malignant hematology and bone marrow transplantation fo variety of diseases, including breast cancer. She entered the field of breast cancer in order to incorporate novel therapies based on an understanding of the biology of cancer, providing an excellent quality of care to women with breast cancer. Dr. Rugo is the director of UCSF’s breast cancer clinical trials program and the principal investigator of multiple clinical trials focusing on combining novel targeted therapeutics with standard treatment to improve the treatment of both early and late-stage breast cancer. She is an active member of the national Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB) cooperative group and is a founding member of the Breast Cancer Research Consortium, as well as serving as an investigator in the UCSF Breast Bay Area Specialized Program of Research Excellence in Breast Cancer (SPORE).
Dr. Sara Tolaney, M.D., M.P.H., is the Chief of the Division of Breast Oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and is internationally recognized for her research and educational leadership in breast cancer. Dr. Tolaney also serves as Associate Director of the Susan F. Smith Center for Women's Cancers and is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Tolaney’s research focuses on the development of novel therapies in breast cancer and developing more effective and less toxic treatment approaches. Her work has demonstrated that a relatively low-risk regimen is beneficial in women with early-stage node-negative HER2-positive cancers, and this work has been incorporated into national and international guidelines. Dr. Tolaney has developed several follow-up studies looking at novel approaches to early-stageHER2-positive disease and has also played a significant role in the development of CDK 4/6 inhibitors, antibody-drug conjugates, and immunotherapy in breast cancer.
Dr. Pasi Jänne, M.D., Ph.D., MMSC., is the director of the Lowe Center for Thoracic Oncology, the director of the Belfer Center for Applied Cancer Science, and the director of the Chen-Huang Center for EGFR Mutant Lung Cancers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. In addition, Dr. Jänne also serves as a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and leads the Jänne Lab, which is located at Longwood Center in Boston, where his research in mutations and disease guides the field in pursuit of precision medicine. Dr. Jänne’s main research interests include studying the therapeutic relevance of oncogenic alterations in lung cancer. He was the co‑discoverer of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations and has led the development of therapeutic strategies for patients with EGFR mutant lung cancer.
Dr. Helena A. Yu, M.D., is the research director and section head of targeted therapy and thoracic oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering, NY and associate attending physician of medical oncology, at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Dr. Yu is a translational researcher whose research focuses on improving the survival of patients with EGFR mutations in their lung cancer. She oversees the clinical and translational research program for EGFR-mutant lung cancers at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK), and cares for patients with lung cancer in her medical oncology practice. Her aim is to develop effective new therapies for lung cancer, and is interested in identifying biomarkers that predict response and resistance to targeted treatments.
