Working Group Chairs

Brian J. Druker, MD
Professor of Medicine
Oregon Health & Science University
Director
Oregon Health Sciences University Leukemia Center

Dr. Druker is the Director of the Leukemia Center at Oregon Health Sciences University (OHSU). He is also a Professor of Medicine, with joint appointments in the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology and the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Dr. Druker received his degree in medicine from University of California School of Medicine in San Diego and completed his internship and residency in internal medicine at Barnes Hospital, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri. He then trained in Oncology at Harvard's Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Dr. Druker's research has been instrumental in the development and clinical application of Gleevac, the first therapy of its kind for patients with chronic myeloid leukemia. He has received many awards, including the American Society of Clinical Oncology's David A. Karnofsky Award from and Harvard Medical School's Warren Alpert Prize.

Patrick Kleyn, PhD
Director of Scientific Planning
Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT

Dr. Patrick Kleyn is the Director of Scientific Planning at the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT (Previously the Whitehead Institute/MIT Center for Genome Research). He is responsible for scientific strategic leadership of the Institute and oversees scientific planning, initiatives and collaborations. Previously, Dr. Kleyn served as Chief Scientific Officer at Gemini Genomics, a biotechnology company focused on the discovery and validation of novel drug targets and diagnostics relevant to common diseases. Prior to Gemini, he spent five years at Millennium Pharmaceuticals, initially as a genomics scientist and subsequently in several senior scientific management roles, including Director of Genomics at Millennium Predictive Medicine. He holds a B.A. (Genetics) from Cambridge University, a Ph.D. from University College London, and carried out postdoctoral research in neuromuscular disease genomics at Columbia University.

Target/Compound Validation and Prioritization Working Group Chairs

Kenneth Anderson, MD
Chief, Division of Hematologic Neoplasia
Director, Jerome Lipper Multiple Myeloma Center
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Dr. Anderson graduated from Johns Hopkins Medical School. He trained in internal medicine at Johns Hopkins Hospital and completed hematology, medical oncology, and tumor immunology training at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Dr. Anderson is the Kraft Family Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and serves as Chief of the Division of Hematologic Neoplasia, Director of the Jerome Lipper Multiple Myeloma Center, and Vice Chair of the Joint Program in Transfusion Medicine at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. His translational research focuses on the development of novel therapeutics targeting the myeloma cell in its microenvironment. He serves on the Board of Directors and as Chairman of the Scientific Advisors of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation and is a Doris Duke Distinguished Clinical Research Scientist.

Ellen Feigal, MD
Vice President of Clinical Sciences and Deputy Scientific Director
Translational Genomics Research Institute

Dr. Feigal is the Vice President of Clinical Sciences and Deputy Scientific Director for the Translational Genomics Research Institute in Phoenix. She is the former Acting Director of the Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis at the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Before joining the NCI, she was faculty at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). She was appointed Deputy Director of the Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis at the NCI in 1997 and appointed Acting Director in 2001. Dr. Feigal received her BS and MS from the University of California, Irvine and her degree in medicine from the University of California, Davis. She completed her residency in Internal Medicine at Stanford University and her fellowship in Hematology/Oncology at UCSF.

Clinical Trials and Correlative Science Working Group Chairs

Alison Hannah, MD
Consultant

Dr. Alison Hannah received her medical degree from the University of Saint Andrews in Scotland. She performed post-graduate work in the Department of Pathology, specializing in hepatitis and its role in hepatocellular carcinoma at the Columbia-Presbyterian College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City. In 1990, Dr. Hannah joined Quintiles, an international contract research organization, where she focused on the development of novel antineoplastic drugs, running multiple Phase I, II, and III oncology trials. In early 1995, she joined SUGEN to work on experimental receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors, designing the supporting preclinical studies and overseeing their clinical development. In 2000, Dr. Hannah became a consultant to the pharmaceutical industry, working with biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, as well as the Cancer Therapy and Evaluation Program/NCI. As such, she supports the clinical development program of various investigational antineoplastic compounds, including several being developed for the treatment of multiple myeloma.

Sundar Jagannath,MD
Chief of the Multiple Myeloma Center
Saint Vincent's Comprehensive Cancer Center

Dr. Sundar Jagannath, MD is currently Chief of the Multiple Myeloma Center at Saint Vincent's Comprehensive Cancer Center in New York, New York. He is Professor of Medicine at New York Medical College, and Chief of the Bone Marrow and Blood Stem Cell Transplantation Center at Saint Vincent's Hospital. Dr. Jagannath received his medical degree at Maharaja Sayajirao University in Baroda, India, and continued his medical training with a fellowship in Immuno-Virology at McMaster University Medical Center in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. His residency was completed at The Bronx-Lebanon Hospital in Bronx, New York, and Harper-Grace Hospital, Wayne State University, in Detroit, Michigan. Dr. Jagannath also completed a medical oncology fellowship at UTSCC-M.D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute in Houston, Texas. Dr. Jagannath has published extensively on topics concerning multiple myeloma and bone marrow transplantation is a reviewer for several journals, including the American Journal of Hematology, Blood, Bone Marrow Transplantation, and Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Project Lead

Kathy Giusti
Founder and President
Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium
Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation

Ms. Giusti co-founded the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation in 1998, after she was diagnosed with multiple myeloma. Ms. Giusti graduated from Harvard Business School with an MBA in general management. She began her career in 1980 with Merck & Co. and later joined the Gillette Company. In 1993, Ms. Giusti joined GD Searle & Co., where she later served as Executive Director of Searle's worldwide arthritis franchise and Searle's Midwest operations. Ms. Giusti received the 1998 Healthcare Businesswomen's Association's Woman of the Year Award, the 2001 Harvard Business School Entrepreneurial Award, the 2002 McCarty Cancer Foundation Humanitarian Award, and the 2002 Joseph Michaeli Award from the Weill Medical College of Cornell University. In 2003, Ms. Giusti founded the Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium. She serves on the Institute of Medicine's National Cancer Policy Board, the National Cancer Institute's Director's Consumer Liaison Group, and the Cancer Leadership Council and is a member of the Board of Directors for IMS Health.