Confirmed Speakers
Dietmar Siemann, Ph.D.
Titles:
Associate Chair for Research, Department of Radiation Oncology
Co-Leader, Cancer Biology Concentration, Graduate Program in Biomedical Sciences, University of Florida College of Medicine
Associate Director, Education and Training, University of Florida Health Cancer Center
The research conducted in Dr. Siemann’s laboratory emphasizes the pursuit of experimental approaches and treatment strategies that seek to enhance cancer patient care. He believes that preclinical investigations aimed at developing novel anticancer therapies will ultimately provide essential insights enabling the development of future clinical treatment regimen designed to improve cancer prognosis and survival.
Jonathan Licht, M.D.
Titles:
Director, UF Health Cancer Center
Professor, Department of Medicine, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Dr. Licht is the Director of the University of Florida Health Cancer Center, holding the Marshall E. Rinker, Sr. Foundation and David B. and Leighan R. Rinker Chair. Dr. Licht’s laboratory studies aberrant gene regulation, specifically the role of abnormal function of histone methyl transferases and histone demethyalses in diseases such as multiple myeloma and is developing small molecule strategies to normalize gene regulation and treat disease.
Duane Mitchell, M.D., Ph.D.
Titles:
Co-Director, Preston A. Wells Jr. Center for Brain Tumor Therapy
Director, UF Brain Tumor Immunotherapy Program
Dr. Mitchell is the Phyllis Kottler Friedman Professor in the Department of Neurosurgery and the State of Florida Endowed Cancer Research Chair at the University of Florida College of Medicine. He has considerable clinical and translational research experience, having served as principal investigator on nine first-in-human protocols through FDA-approved clinical trials. The goal of these trials is to see improvements in patient outcomes using novel approaches that stimulate immune responses against malignant brain tumor cells in combination with current standard treatments.
Christian Jobin, Ph.D.
Titles:
Professor of Medicine – Tenure
Program Leader, Cancer Microbiota & Host Response, UF Health Cancer Center
Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition
Dr. Jobin is interested in bacteria/host interactions and ensuring innate/immunological responses during health and diseases. Dr. Jobin has contributed to the understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanism regulating host response to bacterial colonization, and has published numerous papers on innate signaling events taking place in the intestine and how these impact intestinal homeostasis.
Rowan Milner, Ph.D.
Title: 
Hill’s Professor of Oncology and Chair, Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences
Chair and Associate Professor, Small Animal Clinical Sciences ,College of Veterinary Medicine
Dually board-certified in veterinary internal medicine and veterinary oncology, Dr. Milner received his early academic training from the University of Pretoria in South Africa. His research interests include osteosarcoma, melanoma vaccine, stereotactic radiosurgery, targeted radiotherapy and tumor suppressor genes.
Jose Trevino, M.D.
Title:
Assistant Professor, Department of Surgery, UF College of Medicine
Dr. Trevino is an assistant professor of surgery at the University of Florida College of Medicine. His clinical focus is on liver, bile duct and pancreas surgery. His research interests include pancreatic cancer biology, tumor signaling and chemoresistance. Dr. Trevino currently is investigating how pancreas cancer resists current chemotherapeutic strategies.
Betsy Shenkman, Ph.D.
Titles:
Professor and Department Chair, Health Outcomes & Biomedical Informatics
Director, Institute for Child Health Policy
Associate Director, Cancer Population Sciences, UF Heath Cancer Center
In her research, Dr. Shenkman focuses on: 1) determining which combinations of health care delivery, community, and patient factors influence quality and outcomes of care; and 2) developing and implementing corresponding evidence-based strategies to improve health outcomes, particularly among under-represented minority populations. Historically, the fields of implementation and improvement science and health disparities have not been optimally aligned to improve the health of all patients, including those at greatest risk for poor health outcomes. A significant part of Dr. Shenkman’s research combines the strengths of implementation and improvement science with those of health disparities.
Ramzi Salloum, Ph.D.
Titles:
Assistant Professor, Health Outcomes and Biomedical Informatics
Faculty, Institute for Child Health Policy
Dr. Salloum is an assistant professor in the Department of Health Outcomes & Biomedical Informatics at the University of Florida College of Medicine and a member of the UF Health Cancer Center and the Institute for Child Health Policy. He is a health services researcher whose work has consistently focused on decision making across the cancer prevention and control continuum, including prevention, screening, and treatment. His research considers the influence of guidelines and incentives on the demand for health and healthcare across the cancer control continuum.
Ting-Yuan (David) Cheng, Ph.D.
Titles: 
Assistant Professor, Department of Epidemiology, College of Public Health and Health Professions & College of Medicine
Member, Population Science Program, University of Florida Health Cancer Center
Dr. Cheng is a cancer epidemiologist. His laboratory has been devoted to understanding cancer etiology and factors that affect cancer outcomes in different racial and ethnic populations. His approaches involve molecular epidemiology and molecular pathological epidemiology. A current emphasis is to evaluate racial differences in the etiology of breast cancer subtypes. At UF, he is also devoted to developing a cancer survivor cohort in HealthStreet, a community-outreach research engagement program that has enrolled >10,000 participants in Florida.
Anne Mathews, Ph.D., R.D.N.
Title:
Assistant Professor, Food Science & Human Nutrition
Dr. Mathews’ research interests are in elucidating the relationship between adiposity, lifestyle behaviors, genetics and chronic disease. Modifying disease risk through “improvements” in nutrition and physical activity habits is a powerful treatment. Dr. Mathews’ research focuses on evaluating the effects of various approaches to enhance the adoption of healthy lifestyle behaviors and to accurately and objectively assess the physiological outcomes of these behaviors contributes to this body of work.
Stephanie Staras, Ph.D.
Titles:
Associate Professor, Health Outcomes & Biomedical Informatics
Faculty, Institute for Child Health Policy
Dr. Staras’ research program focuses on preventing sexually transmitted infections and related diseases. A main focus of her work is reducing human papillomavirus (HPV)-related cancer cases and disparities by studying risk factors and designing parent- and provider-targeted interventions to improve HPV vaccination rates. Dr. Staras’ research has increased the understanding of partner and alcohol factors important for sexual risk-taking and sexually transmitted disease prevention among adolescents.
Janice Krieger, Ph.D.
Titles:
Director, STEM Translational Communication Center
Professor, Department of Advertising
Dr. Krieger has published more than 80 peer-reviewed journal articles related to her research expertise in designing, implementing, and evaluating translational communication interventions. Dr. Krieger serves on the Editorial Board of Health Communication and the Journal of Health Communication. She is the Co-Program Leader for the Cancer Population Sciences Research Program at the UF Cancer Institute.
Christopher Cogle, M.D.
Title:
Professor, College of Medicine
Dr. Cogle is a professor of medicine, as well as a physician-scientist with clinical and research expertise in the myelodysplastic syndromes, acute leukemias, and bone marrow failure syndromes. He uses blood & marrow transplantation as a treatment option for patients who need more than chemotherapy to eradicate disease. Dr. Cogle also runs a stem cell research laboratory where he dissects the mechanisms of bone marrow-derived blood vessels.
Panel Discussion Participants
Christopher Cogle, M.D.
Title:
Professor, College of Medicine
Dr. Cogle is a professor of medicine, as well as a physician-scientist with clinical and research expertise in the myelodysplastic syndromes, acute leukemias, and bone marrow failure syndromes. He uses blood & marrow transplantation as a treatment option for patients who need more than chemotherapy to eradicate disease. Dr. Cogle also runs a stem cell research laboratory where he dissects the mechanisms of bone marrow-derived blood vessels.
Thomas J George, Jr, M.D., F.A.C.P.
Title: 
Associate Director for Clinical Investigation, UF Health Cancer Center
Dr. George is a clinical investigator and educator with a focus on gastrointestinal malignancies. As medical director of the GI Oncology Program at the University of Florida, Dr. George oversees the treatment of all patients with GI malignancies.
Mam Mboge
Title:
Graduate Student, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Medicine
Mam Mboge is a current graduate student in the College of Medicine. Her mentors are Dr. Susan Frost and Dr. Robert McKenna. Her advanced concentration is cancer biology.
Dietmar Siemann, Ph.D.
Titles:
Associate Chair for Research, Department of Radiation Oncology
Co-Leader, Cancer Biology Concentration, Graduate Program in Biomedical Sciences, University of Florida College of Medicine
Associate Director, Education and Training, University of Florida Health Cancer Center
The research conducted in Dr. Siemann’s laboratory emphasizes the pursuit of experimental approaches and treatment strategies that seek to enhance cancer patient care. He believes that preclinical investigations aimed at developing novel anticancer therapies will ultimately provide essential insights enabling the development of future clinical treatment regimen designed to improve cancer prognosis and survival.
Sarah Szurek, Ph.D.
Titles:
Assistant Research Scientist, Health Outcomes & Biomedical Informatics
Faculty, Institute for Child Health Policy
Dr. Szurek research focuses on understanding the social and cultural factors that influence health outcomes among vulnerable populations. She has worked with Mexican immigrants in Alabama to examine how personal social networks affect diabetes risk, and with African Americans in Florida on projects related to racism, cardiovascular disease, and the local food environment. Dr. Szurek currently oversees the Florida Health Kids Program evaluation, which examines the quality of care that children receive in the state.
Mai Tanaka
Title:
Graduate Student, Department of Radiation Oncology, College of Medicine
Mai Tanaka is a current graduate student in the College of Medicine and a 2016 Grinter Fellow. Her mentor is Dr. Dietmar Siemann. Her advanced concentration is cancer biology.