Chairman, Taussig Cancer Institute and M. Frank Rudy and Margaret D. Rudy Distinguished Chair in Translational Cancer Research, Cleveland Clinic
Keynote Lecture | Saturday, 4 November

Alex Adjei, MD, PhD, FACP is Chairman of the Taussig Cancer Institute and the M Frank Rudy and Margaret D Rudy Distinguished Chair in Translational Cancer Research at Cleveland Clinic. In this role, Dr Adjei oversees cancer care and research across all Cleveland Clinic locations in Ohio, Florida, London, and Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Dr Adjei has focussed his research on experimental therapeutics, regulatory science, and clinical drug development and has led NCI-funded drug development teams. Other research interests include health disparities, global oncology, and pharmacogenetics. Dr Adjei has served on a number of NCI and professional association committees. He was Chair of the NIH Study Section NCRR Clinical Research Review Committee, reviewing CTSAs. He was the President of the Minorities in Cancer Research Council of AACR, a member of the Board of Directors of IASLC, and is currently Faculty Co-ordinator for Developmental Therapeutics and member of the Gender Medicine Task Force of ESMO. He served on the Committee on Diagnosing and Treating Adult Cancers of the US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, tasked with providing a report to the US government (Social Security Administration). He is a member of the NCI Board of Scientific Counsellors. He has published more than 300 peer-reviewed articles. He is editor-in-chief of the Journal of Thoracic Oncology and established JTO Clinical and Research Reports, as the inaugural Editor-in-Chief.

Among numerous awards and honours, Dr Adjei has received the Adi F Gazdar Merit Award from the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer for Distinguished Achievement in Lung Cancer Research and Mentorship, the ESMO Lifetime Achievement Award, and the ASCO Drug Development Research Professorship for his work in drug development, regulatory science, and for his mentorship.

Director, Center for Global Health, NCI
Opening Remarks | Opening Ceremony | Friday, 3 November

Satish Gopal, MD, MPH, was appointed Director of the Center for Global Health (CGH) at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in February 2020. In this role, he oversees the development of initiatives and collaborations with other NCI and NIH partners, NCI-designated cancer centers, and other governmental and non-governmental organizations to support cancer research, promote cancer control, and build capacity in low- and middle-income countries. Before coming to NCI, Dr Gopal was the Cancer Program Director for the University of North Carolina collaboration with the Malawi Ministry of Health.

Dr Gopal completed his Master of Public Health degree in 2000 at UNC-Chapel Hill and earned his medical degree from the Duke University School of Medicine in 2001. He then completed training in internal medicine and pediatrics at the University of Michigan, lived and worked in Tanzania from 2007 to 2009, then returned to the United States to pursue medical oncology and infectious disease training at the University of North Carolina. After this, he lived with his family in Malawi from 2012 to 2019, when he was the only certified medical oncologist in a country of ~18 million people and treated public sector cancer patients at the national teaching hospital in the capital alongside his Malawian colleagues. He also returned frequently to provide clinical service at the North Carolina Cancer Hospital.

As an extramural physician-scientist, his NIH-funded research program focused on epidemiologic, clinical, and translational studies of lymphoma and HIV-associated malignancies in Africa and he oversaw a broad, multidisciplinary cancer research portfolio addressing many of the commonest cancers in the region, including cervical, breast, and esophageal cancer. He has authored more than 100 publications and mentored more than 30 early-career U.S. and African pre- and post-doctoral cancer researchers, many of whom hold academic positions in global oncology at NCI-designated cancer centers, African academic institutions, and other international organizations. He has spoken widely about global oncology and provided leadership and expertise on various working groups, review committees, and boards. He previously served as the Associate Chair for African International Sites for the NCI AIDS Malignancy Consortium (AMC) with oversight responsibility for the network’s African clinical trials. He currently serves as the US representative on the Scientific Council for the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).

Professor of Urology, University Cheikh Anta DIOP and Chair, Urology, Hospital General de Grand Yoff
Welcome and Keynote Address | Opening Ceremony | Friday, 3 November

Serigne Gueye is Professor of Urology at University Cheikh Anta DIOP, Dakar, Senegal and Chair of Urology, Hospital General de Grand Yoff. He currently serves as Director General of the “Campus Franco-Senegalais.” He is a former Fulbright Senior Scholar, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia. Dr Gueye is Director of IFRU-SF, a non-profit organisation dedicated to building capacity and developing research in urology and reproductive health throughout Africa. He is an active clinician with a focus on urologic oncology, male sexual and reproductive health, and urogenital reconstructive surgery. He serves on the BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH) Board of Directors, is a former member of the Board of Directors of the SIU at the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), and is President of the West African College of Surgeons (WACS). He is past President of the Pan African Urological Surgeons Association (PAUSA).

Dr Gueye is involved in the UNFPA-led End Fistula campaign. He runs training workshops in many sub-Saharan African countries. He has served as an expert on the steering committee of the FIGO-led, competency-based fistula training manual. He has served as an expert for accreditation of training centres for obstetric fistula for FIGO. Dr Gueye is a member of many professional associations and has published more than 120 papers in peer-reviewed journals. Dr Gueye is one of the experts and senior surgeon for the development of the Fistula Video trainer in collaboration with Medical Simulation International, Red Llama, and FIGO.

He served as a field surgeon for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Rwanda (UNAMIR II) during the Rwandan Genocide. For his work, Dr Gueye has received national and international awards, including the United Nations Medal for Peace in Rwanda (1994), as well as the medals of Officer of the Order of Merit of France, Officer of the Order of Lion Order, Senegal, and Officer of the Order of Merit of Senegal.

Medical Oncologist, St. Michael’s Hospital and University of Toronto
What Does “Workforce 2030” Look Like in Africa? | Opening Ceremony | Friday, 3 November

Nazik Hammad is a Sudanese-Canadian medical oncologist at St. Michael’s Hospital, and Professor of Medical Oncology in the Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto. Her academic work and research interests include medical education and workforce development in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, and competency-based medical education in Canada and LMICs. Other research and academic interests include value-based cancer care, global and local inequities and disparities in cancer, global health and global oncology, and women as healthcare professionals. Together with colleagues in Africa she led the first “Choosing Wisely Africa” initiative. She is a co-author in the Lancet Oncology commission for Cancer in Sub-Saharan Africa and is a commissioner in the Lancet Commission on Women and Cancer.