Jane F. Apperley, MD, FRCP, FRCPath, FMedSci

Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust

London, England

I qualified in Medicine from the University of Birmingham in 1979 and completed specialist training in haematology in Birmingham, London and Cambridge. Throughout this time I developed an interest in stem cell transplantation (SCT), and by default in chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML), which was the primary indication for SCT in the 1990s. I also spent two years as a post-doctoral fellow at the Children’s Hospital in Boston, USA, training in gene transfer and therapy. I returned to the Hammersmith Hospital in 1993, given a personal chair in Haemato-Oncology in 2002, and became the Clinical Director for Clinical Haematology at the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, and the Chair of the Centre of Haematology at the Imperial College in 2003/4. My interests remain the biology and management of CML, and my group at the Imperial College has extensive experience in the use of first, second and third generation tyrosine kinase inhibitors, particularly in the areas of molecular monitoring, mechanisms of drug resistance and adverse events. I have a long-standing interest in the impact of haematological diseases and their treatment on fertility, pregnancy and foetal outcome. I have been a member of the ELN CML Working Party since the creation of the ELN in 2004 and have been involved with the ELN Consensus Guidelines since the first recommendations in 2006, initially as the ‘expert’ in SCT. I have also been a member of the UK NCRI CML study group for >20 years. Some years ago we recognised that there were issues in the management of CML peculiar to the UK because of the influence of NICE and the need for financial restraint, and under the leadership of Graeme Smith (Leeds) developed the current BCSH guidelines.

Efrat Harlev, MD, MPA

53 years old, born and raised in Jerusalem. Mother of four sons.

Completed medical studies at the Ben Gurion University in Beer Sheva, in 1993.

In 1994 completed internship at Beilinson hospital and started the pediatric residency in the Schneider Children’s Medical Center, then continued with a fellowship in Pediatric Critical Care.

Since 2002, served as a senior critical care physician in the PICU unit. In 2005 received a position in the headquarters of Clalit HMO as a knowledge manager, and as the medical manager of the Electronic Medical Records in the hospitals of the HMO.

In 2006-7 completed an MPA degree at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in Boston, as a Wexner fellow. Since 2007, served as the Deputy Direrctor to the CEO of Rabin Medical center.

Since August 2011 served as the Deputy Director of Schneider Children’s Medical Center. Since the summer of 2016 served as Clalit’s Medical Director of the North district of Israel, and since June 2019 served as the Director of Beilinson hospital.

On October 1 2020, was appointed as the CEO of Schneider Children’s Medical Center of Israel.

Jan A. Burger, M.D., Ph.D. is a Professor of Medicine at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, USA.  Dr. Burger received his M.D./Ph.D. degree at Albert-Ludwigs-University in Freiburg, Germany, with subsequent clinical training and board certification in Internal Medicine and Hematology/Oncology at Freiburg University Hospital, before moving to MD Anderson in 2005. In 2006, Dr. Burger received the “Venia legendi” (Habilitation) for Internal Medicine at Albert-Ludwigs-University in Freiburg. Moreover, from 1996 to 1999, Dr. Burger received postdoctoral research training in Hematology and Immunology at the University of California, San Diego.

As a clinical and laboratory investigator, Dr. Burger focuses on developing new therapeutic approaches for targeting the microenvironment in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), other B cell malignancies, and acute leukemias. Laboratory research by Dr. Burger’s group characterized B cell receptor (BCR)-associated kinases, such as BTK and PI3 kinases, as therapeutic targets. Dr. Burger serves as a principal investigator on clinical trials which explore these targets in CLL, and has been leading key trials that supported the approval of the BTK inhibitor ibrutinib (Resonate 2: ibrutinib for CLL frontline therapy). For his innovative research, Dr. Burger received several awards, among them, the Arthur Pappenheim Award by the DGHO, a Kimmel Scholar Award, ASCO Young Investigator and Career Development awards, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Scholar award, and the MD Anderson Faculty Scholar Award. Dr. Burger is a regular speaker at EHA and ASH, and has published in the leading Journals in his field.

Dr. DiNardo is an academic clinical researcher with a primary focus on individualized therapy and precision oncology for myeloid malignancies, including the optimal incorporation of genomics into standard risk assessments and treatment algorithms, and the clinical evaluation of targeted therapeutics for molecularly-defined patient subgroups.  Dr. DiNardo has experience in designing, overseeing, and executing successful clinical trials; from Phase 1 dose-finding studies to innovative investigator-initiated Phase II trials, to confirmatory randomized Phase III trials.  Dr. DiNardo has served an integral role in several highly influential trials involving IDH1, IDH2 and BCL2 inhibitors, which have led to the FDA approval of three therapies in AML since 2017 (the first-in-class IDH2 inhibitor enasidenib, the IDH1 inhibitor ivosidenib, and the BCL2 inhibitor venetoclax in combination with hypomethylating agents).

Professor of Hematology, ‘Sapienza’ University of Rome. He earned his medical degree in Turin, Italy, and specialized in pediatrics and in hematology. Worked at the MRC Leukaemia Unit, Hammersmith Hospital, London between 1976 and 1979. Sabbatical at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, between 1991 and 1992.

He is part of the European Leukemia Network and referee for national and international funding agencies. Chairman of the Scientific Committee of the 4th EHA Congress, Barcelona 1999, councilor of EHA until December 2002, and member of the Education Committee of EHA until December 2005. President-Elect, President and Past-President of EHA during the years 2007-2013. Chairman Education Committee and Outreach Unit of EHA up to June 2017. Member of EHA’s Global Outreach Committee.

Chairman of the GIMEMA Working Party for chronic lymphoproliferative disorders, and member of the board of the Working Party for acute leukemias.

Has authored over 750 papers, reviews and books. Has been co-editor of Leukemia and Lymphoma, and associate editor of the British Journal of Hematology and of The Hematology Journal. Editor-in-chief of The Hematology Journal up to December 2004 and of Haematologica from January 2005 to February 2008.

Prof. Anat Gafter-Gvili is the Head of Department of Medicine A, in Rabin Medical Center and a senior physician in the Hematology Division in Davidoff Cancer Center in Rabin Medical Center, Israel. Prof. Gafter-Gvili graduated medical school with honors in Sackler School of Medicine in Tel-Aviv.  Since 2000 she is working at Rabin Medical Center.

Prof. Gafter-Gvili carries out extensive research activity, and has published over 120 original articles in the medical literature. She has experience in clinical research, large databases, basic science, and meta-analyses. Her main research topics are anemia and the metabolism of iron. She has published many original articles and reviews on the management of anemia in many different clinic settings (pregnancy, chronic kidney disease, heart failure, cancer related anemia etc), as well as the efficacy and safety of intravenous iron. Other research topics include the treatment of lymphoma, and infections in hematological and oncological immunocompromised patients.

Dr. Gertz is the Roland Seidler Jr. Professor of the Art of Medicine and Chair Emeritus of the Department of Internal Medicine, at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. He is a Master of the American College of Physicians. Undergraduate degree was awarded with highest distinction from Northwestern University graduating Phi Beta Kappa. Dr. Gertz received his medical degree cum laude from Loyola Medical School in Maywood, Illinois and was elected to Alpha Omega Alpha the medical honor society. He completed a 3-year medical residency at Rush Presbyterian St. Luke’s Hospital in Chicago, Illinois, and was voted Resident of the Year for 2 of those years. He completed training in hematology and oncology at the Mayo. He was awarded the Mayo Distinguished Clinician Award for his contributions to patient care. He was the first treasurer of the International Society of Amyloidosis and International Myeloma Society. He has authored over 700 peer reviewed publications and over 50 book chapters. He serves on the editorial boards of Amyloidosis, Acta Haematologica and Clinical Lymphoma & Myeloma. He is coeditor of Neoplastic Diseases of the Blood. In 2019 The Department of Medicine awarded him its lifetime research achievement award.

Stephan Grupp, MD PhD, is the Chief of the Cellular Therapy and Transplant Section, Director of the Cancer Immunotherapy Program, and Medical Director of The Cell and Gene Therapy Lab at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), as well as the Yetta Dietch Novotny Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine.

Dr. Grupp graduated from the University of Cincinnati after completing the MD/PhD program with a PhD in Immunology.

He completed pediatric residency at the Boston Children’s Hospital, followed by a fellowship in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and postdoctoral work in Immunology at Harvard University. He then joined the faculty at Harvard University until 1996, when he came to CHOP. His primary area of clinical research is the use of CAR T and other engineered cell therapies in pediatric cancers and other life-threatening disorders such as sickle cell disease. He led all of the pediatric ALL trials of CTL019 (now approved as Kymriah), including the largest and most successful engineered T cell therapy clinical trial conducted to date (1, 2), as well as the global registration trial for CTL019 (3). As a result of this work, he presented the Clinical Perspective at the July 2017 FDA ODAC meeting, at which reviewers voted 10-0 for recommendation of approval for Kymriah in pediatric ALL. His primary laboratory interest is the development of new cell therapy treatments for pediatric cancers. Dr. Grupp was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2019. Dr. Grupp is a reviewer for several journals and the author of over 200 peer-reviewed journal articles, as well as numerous abstracts and book chapters.

Dr. Ronit Gurion obtained an MD degree from the Tel Aviv University. She is a clinical senior lecturer.
She specialized in Internal Medicine in Meir Medical Center, and in Hematology in Rabin Medical Center.
In 2011she took a fellowship in T cell and cutaneous lymphomas in Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New –York.
In the years 2014-2018, she was in charge of the Hematology residency training program in the Institute of Hematology, Rabin Medical Center.
Since August 2015, Dr. Gurion has served as Head of the Hemato-oncology Outpatient Service in Davidoff Cancer Center, Rabin Medical Center.
Her particular field of interest is lymphomas, especially T cell and cutaneous lymphomas.
With Professor Emmilia Hodak, Head of Dermatology Department at the Rabin Medical Center, she is leading an inter- disciplinary clinic for T cell cutaneous lymphomas at the Davidoff Cancer Center.
Dr. Gurion has much experience in conducting systematic reviews and meta-analysis in the field of hemato-oncology.
She is in charge of the clinical trials in lymphoma in the Institute of Hematology at the Davidoff Cancer Center and participates as principal investigator in several international studies. She presents in national and international meetings and co-authored many peer –reviewed articles as well as chapters in books.

Timothy P. Hughes, MD, FRACP, FRCPA, MBBS, FAAHMS

Professor Timothy Hughes is the Precision Medicine Theme Leader at the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI); Beat Cancer Professor at the University of Adelaide and Consultant Haematologist at the Royal Adelaide Hospital.  He is also Chair of the International Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Foundation (iCMLf) and an inaugural Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences (AAHMS).

Professor Hughes is an international expert in the biology and treatment of leukaemia.  Professor Hughes had a significant leadership role in the establishment of the molecular response criteria and kinase domain mutation screening guidelines that are used world-wide to monitor response and resistance in chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML). He has been a principal investigator on many of the key Global and Australian CML trials that have shaped the way tyrosine-kinase inhibitors (TKIs) are selected and sequenced. He has been a leader in the area of treatment-free remission (TFR) and influential in the recent recommendations to make TFR a mainstream goal of therapy. He has published over 300 papers with over 49,000 citations.

Dr. Gilad Itchaki graduated from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and subsequently completed his Internal Medicine residency and Hematology fellowship cum laude at Rabin Medical Center, Petah Tikva, Israel. He later trained at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) in Boston in the field of CLL within the lymphoma-group, and under the mentorship of Dr. Jennifer Brown. During this period, he also trained at the Bing Center for Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia at DFCI under Dr. Jorge Castillo and Dr. Steven Treon.

Dr. Itchaki is an associate physician at the Institute of Hematology at Rabin Medical Center, where he leads the CLL clinic and treatment of patients with indolent lymphoma including Waldenström’s Macroglobulinemia. Since January 2019 he directs the Hematology fellowship training program at Rabin Medical Center. His main fields of interest include germline and somatic mutations in CLL and disease resistance mechanisms. He is the PI of several ongoing clinical trials in CLL and lymphoma and is an active member in the Israeli CLL and Lymphoma working groups ,collaborating to advance research and treatment of LPD in Israel.

Osnat Itzhaki Ben Zadok is the head of the cardio-oncology and cardiac amyloidosis clinic at the Rabin Medical Center.

Prof Shai Izraeli, Director Rina Zaizov Division of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Schneider Children’s Medical Center of Israel

Prof Izraeli is the Director of the Pediatric Hematology Oncology Division at the Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel.  He is also the Shapiro professor and the head of the Dotan center for research of hematological malignancies in Tel Aviv University. He is also a research professor at the department of systems biology at the Beckman Institute at City of Hope. He was recently elected as a founding member of the Israel National Academy of Scientific Medicine. Prof Izraeli is the Treasurer, Chair of the Research Committee and a member of the Executive Board or the European Hematology Association. His research expertise is on childhood leukemia. He published more than 180 peer reviewed scientific publications, has been supported by multiple international research grants and has many international colloaborations.

Director of the Israel national Hemophilia Center and Thrombosis Institute, Sheba Medical Center and Director of Amalia Biron Research Institute of Thrombosis and Hemostasis, Tel Aviv University (located at the Sheba Medical Center).

Gili Kenet is a Pediatric Hematologist, Professor and former Chair of the Hematology Department at the Sackler Medical School, Tel Aviv University.

Professor Kenet received her Medical Degree from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.  Her research projects have been focused on neonatal hemostasis, childhood stroke and pediatric thrombophilia, as well as the research of new therapy modes applied for people with hemophilia and severe bleeding disorders.  She was awarded national grants for pediatric hematology and cancer research, study of rFVIIa mode of action, epidemiology of inhibitor evolution in hemophilia and for personalized tailoring of bypass agent therapy, and applying global hemostasis assays. Prof. Kenet pioneered in gene therapy clinical trials in Israel and novel non replacement drugs in Hemophilia.

Professor Kenet is the author of over 200 peer reviewed scientific publications, review articles and book chapters.  An active member of the World Federation of Hemophilia, Israeli Society of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, and the American Society of Hematology, an active reviewer for high impact thrombosis journals and an editorial board member of the Haemophilia journal.  Former Chairperson of the Israeli Society of Thrombosis and Hemostasis and Chairperson of the Pediatric and Peri-natal Hemostasis Scientific Subcommittee of ISTH.  Currently co-chairs the FVIII/FIX and rare bleeding disorders of the SSC of ISTH.

PROF. RAN KORONOWSKI, MD, FACC, FESC

President of the Israel Heart Society

Chairman of the Cardiology Department of Rabin Medical Center, Petach Tikva, Full Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at Tel Aviv University, Israel

Ran Kornowski, MD, FACC, FESC is the director of the cardiology department and institute of interventional cardiology at Rabin Medical Center in Petach Tikva, Israel. He is a full Professor of cardiovascular medicine and holds an academic cathedra focusing on cardiovascular research and innovation at Tel Aviv University, the School of Medicine in Ramat Aviv, Israel. He also served as the chairman of the Israeli National Working Group on Interventional Cardiology on behalf of the Israel Heart Society (2009-2013) and as the President of the Israeli Heart Society (2017-2019).

Prof. Kornowski is a world-renowned cardiologist, scientist and a scholar. The cardiology department of Rabin Medical Center is the largest clinical and academic cardiology program in Israel and it is recognized worldwide as a leading institution. Prof. Kornowski established a cardiovascular research organization within the cardiology department conducting multiple clinical trials, translational research and innovation projects geared towards improved diagnosis and treatment and optimal cardiovascular medical practice. His main research and scientific publications focus upon improving patients’ outcomes during coronary interventions, new stents platforms, advanced coronary imaging modalities, best practices for coronary artery disease and aortic stenosis patients undergoing TAVR, and coronary therapeutic innovations.  Prof. Kornowski wrote and co-authors over 550 peer review papers and book chapters in the cardiology literature and he also co-founded several start-up companies in the cardiovascular domain.

List of publications: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=kornowski+r