Dr. Sok-Ja K Janket

United States

Dr. Sok-Ja Janket received the doctor of dental medicine degree from the University of Connecticut. She received a geriatric dental fellowship from the Harvard School of Dental Medicine and a master of public health degree from the Harvard School of Public Health. She researched at the Preventive Medicine Division of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School. After these trainings, she taught and researched at Boston University and is now retired.

Her research interests include oral health contributions to systemic inflammatory diseases comprising cardiovascular disease, autoimmune disease and cancer.

Michael P. Lisanti

United Kingdom

Prof. Michael P. Lisanti began his education at New York University, graduating Magna Cum Laude in Chemistry. He obtained his MD-PhD degrees at Cornell University Medical College in Cell Biology and Genetics. From 1992 to 1996, he was a Fellow at the Whitehead Institute at MIT. After several distinguished appointments at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the Kimmel Center, he joined the Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Unit in 2012 as Professor of Cancer Biology at The University of Manchester in the United Kingdom (UK).

Following his appointment to the Kimmel Cancer Center in 2006, he was selected to lead the Program in Molecular Biology and Genetics of Cancer. In 2009, he became the Chair of the Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University. He also served as the former Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of Pathology. In Manchester, he previously held the Muriel Edith Rickman Chair of Breast Oncology.

Areas of Research

• Cancer Stem Cells
• Cancer Metabolism
• Tumor Recurrence and Metastasis
• Drug Resistance
• Clinical Trials

Previously, he lectured in various MD and PhD-level graduate courses in Biochemistry, Cell Biology, Pharmacology, Pathology, Clinical Medicine, among others.

Heidi McIntosh

USA

Heidi McIntosh, MSW, is the Chief Operating Officer at the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), renowned for designing strategic programs that enhance policies impacting organizations and vulnerable populations. With 30+ years in health and human services nationally and internationally, she focuses on racial justice, combating bias, and advancing social equity. Previously CEO of First Place for Youth, she directed national strategies for transition-age foster youth, emphasizing Race, Equity, and Inclusion. Heidi also led NASW's programs for 750,000 social workers, served as Senior Policy Advisor in the Obama Administration, and Deputy Commissioner in Connecticut. She holds degrees from UCONN in Policy and Planning, and Social Work.

Chris Reading

USA

Chris Reading received his Ph.D. from U.C. Berkeley, postdoctoral studies at U.C. Irvine, Assoc. Professor of Hematology and Tumor Biology at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. He was VP Product and Process Development at Systemix, Inc./Novartis,
Exec. VP HollisEden Pharmaceuticals, CSO Neurmedix, Inc, and now is SVP Alzheimer’s Program at BioVie, Inc.  He has over 130 peer-reviewed publications.

Prof John Øvretveit

Sweden

Dr John Øvretveit is Professor of improvement, implementation and evaluation at the Karolinska Institute medical university Stockholm and recently worked for Stockholm region  as R&D officer for Stockholm healthcare system. Previously he learned the value of thermal underwear at Nordic School of Public Health where he worked for 15 years when establishing and running the quality improvement program at Bergen Medical school.