Una Hopkins, DNP, MSN, BSN, FNP-BC, NE-BC, FACCC, RN, is a registered nurse with more than 30 years of experience in oncology, 25 as a nurse practitioner. Dr. Hopkins is currently the director for research and evidence-based practice at the Montefiore Medical Center in Bronx, New York, where she is responsible for the oversight and management of nurse engagement in programs of research and evidence-based practice, academic and affiliations, nursing internet and intranet development, and presentations and publications for the department of nursing. This includes the management of selected staff and operations, academic affiliations and funded educational projects, survey preparation, specialized training initiatives, education related to promotion of nursing research and evidence-based practice, oversight of project management, and funding attainment.
Dr. Hopkins has received numerous awards for her accomplishments in clinical and research work and since 1927, has published over 20 articles in various medical journals. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Nursing Science from the College of New Rochelle where she also studied to become a family nurse practitioner. She received her doctorate from Pace University in New York City. Dr. Hopkins serves on the Advisory Committee for the ACCC Institute for Clinical Immuno-Oncology.
Douglas Flora, MD, LSSBB, FACCC, serves as the Executive Medical Director of Oncology Services at St. Elizabeth Cancer Center and is a key player in developing a nationally recognized lung cancer screening program at St. Elizabeth Healthcare. Dr. Flora was named the Robert and Dell Ann Sathe Endowed Chair in Oncology. He serves on the Board of Directors for the American Cancer Society, the Association of Community Cancer Centers, and the Kentucky Society of Clinical Oncology.
Dr. Flora has a history of measurable success in managing all operations, including project management, policy development, staff engagement, budget planning, research, public education, and patient service. He applies Lean Six Sigma methodologies to improve patient experience and staff productivity. He is the Physician Leader instrumental in the development/launch of the Center for Precision Medicine & Genomic Health.
He was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, graduating from The Ohio State University College of Medicine in 1999. Dr. Flora has been named a Cincinnati Magazine “Top Doctor” in hematology and oncology for consecutive years since 2005.
Jorge García serves as an Assistant Vice President at Baptist Health South Florida with responsibility for system-wide oncology pharmacy services primarily at the Miami Cancer Institute, the Lynn Cancer Institute, and inpatient oncology pharmacy services at several acute care hospitals.
Dr. García has pioneered pharmacy charge integrity and revenue management in the health-system setting and is a thought leader and national speaker in this area, as well as in alternative payment models, biosimilars, and value-based oncology care. Dr. García leads advocacy efforts at the national level to promote evaluation of safe and effective use of biosimilars, along with stakeholder engagement to support a more just and sustainable biosimilar pharmacoeconomics model.
Dr. García obtained his Doctor of Pharmacy and MBA from Nova Southeastern University in 2010. He then transitioned to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center to pursue an ASHP-accredited PGY-1 & PGY-2 Health-System Pharmacy Administration Residency and a Master of Science in Pharmacy Administration. He also completed an MHA from Florida Atlantic University. Dr. García is a board member at the Florida Society of Clinical Oncology (FLASCO), a recipient of the FLASCO 2018 Above and Beyond Award, and a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.
A native of Louisiana, Renea Duffin is an accomplished and proven leader in the private sector and government. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Business/Public Administration from Louisiana State University and a Master of Public Administration degree from Southern University.
Upon completing her Master's degree, Renea served her state for 13 years in both the legislative and executive branches. From 1996 through 2001, Renea served in Governor Mike Foster's administration as the Undersecretary of the Department of Social Services, then Deputy Commissioner of Administration for Policy, and ultimately Secretary of the Department of Social Services during his second term. Renea joined the state's largest private health insurer, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana, in November 2001 as Senior Vice President for Member and Community Relations. She also served as the Corporate Diversity Officer and President of the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana Foundation.
In summer 2006, Renea put her professional career on pause and became a full-time caregiver to her sister who was living with cancer. This life-changing experience inspired her to seek "success with significance." Since February 2007, she has served as the Vice President of Cancer Support and Outreach at Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center. She is responsible for the oversight and strategic development of mission-based programs and services within a 30-parish service area to lessen the burden of cancer in the community. These programs include education, research, and early detection, including the management of three mobile medical clinics. She is also responsible for the Cancer Center's grants management program, which has a portfolio of grants in excess of $5 million. Renea also serves as the governmental affairs liaison for the Cancer Center at local, state, and federal levels.
Dr. Nadine Barrett holds multiple leadership roles at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and Atrium Health. She serves as Professor of Social Science and Health Policy and Population Health Sciences, Senior Associate Dean for Community Engagement and Research Equity, Associate Director of Community Outreach and Engagement, and Chief Community Engagement Officer for the Cancer Service Line at Atrium Health Wake Forest Comprehensive Cancer Center. Prior to joining Wake Forest, she held senior leadership roles as CTSI Co-Director for Equity and Stakeholder Strategy at Duke University.
A medical sociologist by training, Dr. Barrett is a health disparities researcher, expert equity strategist, and a nationally recognized leader in facilitating community/stakeholder and academic partnerships to advance health equity and developing training and methods to address implicit bias and structural and systemic racism that limits diverse participation in clinical and translational research and access to quality healthcare. Her goals are to integrate diverse stakeholder engagement in the research process and quality improvement in healthcare systems, enhance enrollment and retention of underrepresented groups in research through innovative interventions such as Just ASK™, a nationally recognized program adapted by ACCC and ASCO, and diversify the healthcare workforce, and advance health equity.
Prior to her role at Wake Forest, Dr. Barrett was the founding director of the Duke Cancer Institute's Office of Health Equity, where for eight years she led a team to create a nationally awarded community engagement model to advance health equity through patient navigation, nationally funded pipeline training programs for underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, and authentic community partnerships to inform and drive research and quality healthcare as advisors, experts, and participants. Her leadership in both nonprofit and academia spans local, national, and international partnerships to better serve and engage historically marginalized and underserved populations.
Jennifer Bires is an innovative leader in psychosocial oncology with over 15 years of experience building patient-centered supportive care programs. At Inova Schar Cancer Institute, she leads a team of oncology behavioral health therapists, social workers, nurse navigators, and oncology dieticians, ensuring patients and families have access to no-cost psychosocial care and education. She also oversees the Arts and Healing program that utilizes creative expression as a healing modality.
Her clinical specialties include sexual health, young adults with cancer, and end-of-life care. Jennifer is currently a PhD candidate in Palliative Care at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, exploring psychedelics as a behavioral health treatment for people impacted by cancer.
She earned her Master's in Social Work from Washington University in Saint Louis and her Bachelor's from Clemson University. Jennifer was named Oncology Social Worker of the Year in 2017 by the Association of Oncology Social Workers. She sits on the Leadership Council for the Association of Oncology Nurse Navigators+, the Board of Trustees for the Association of Cancer Care Centers, and is a member of the American Cancer Society National Navigation Round Table.
Dr. Michael Cavnar is a surgical oncologist, clinical trialist, and translational researcher at the University of Kentucky's Markey Cancer Center. He earned his medical degree from Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, completed his general surgery residency at New York University School of Medicine, and finished a fellowship in complex general surgical oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC). Following 14 years of medical and surgical training in New York City, Dr. Cavnar joined the University of Kentucky's Markey Cancer Center in 2017, where he now holds the rank of Associate Professor of Surgery with Tenure.
Dr. Cavnar’s clinical focus includes treating cancers of the liver, biliary tract, pancreas, stomach, small intestine, and abdominal sarcomas. His research focuses on the clinical application of hepatic artery infusion (HAI) pump therapy for liver cancer, translational studies on progression factors in gastrointestinal stromal tumors, and the evaluation of biomarkers for detecting pancreatic cancer recurrence. In 2020, he established the state’s only hepatic artery infusion (HAI) program, a specialized liver cancer treatment initiative. His current research aims to expand this therapy to underserved patients in Appalachia via telehealth and home infusion partnerships.
He is actively involved in the HAI Consortium Research Network (HCRN), a collaboration of over 70 institutions worldwide studying HAI. Dr. Cavnar is also a member of the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology and serves as site principal investigator for multiple cooperative group trials at the University of Kentucky.
Sarah Hudson-DiSalle oversees the medication assistance program and reimbursement services for infusion services at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – The James. She has extensive experience in healthcare information technology, hospitals, managed care, pharmaceutical revenue cycle management, patient access to pharmaceuticals, and healthcare management.
Dr. Hudson-DiSalle earned her Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from the University of Toledo and, after practicing pharmacy for seven years, completed her Doctor of Pharmacy at The Ohio State University. She is dedicated to improving patient access and reimbursement services for infusion medications at The James Cancer Hospital.
Dr. Edward Kim serves as Physician-in-Chief of City of Hope Orange County and Vice Physician-in-Chief of City of Hope National Medical Center. His vision focuses on strategic, team-oriented translational research and patient advocacy to increase accessibility and equity in cancer care.
Recognized as a U.S. News & World Report "Top Doctor," Dr. Kim is renowned for his oncology expertise and is positioned to drive innovation in cancer care delivery. He is developing new paradigms for translating research into clinical practice and introducing therapies throughout the Orange County clinical network.
Backed by a distinguished history of pioneering cancer research, Dr. Kim is among the country's foremost experts in molecular prognostication―which advances cancer detection and personalized therapies―for lung, head, and neck cancers. He has served as principal/co-principal investigator on numerous studies and protocols and authored over 200 publications in journals including The Lancet, Journal of Clinical Oncology, and Cancer Discovery.
Before joining City of Hope, Dr. Kim chaired Solid Tumor Oncology and Investigational Therapeutics at Levine Cancer Institute and held the Donald S. Kim Distinguished Chair for Cancer Research. He recently completed his MBA at University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School.
Dr. Barbara McAneny, a board-certified medical oncologist/hematologist from Albuquerque, became the 173rd president of the American Medical Association (AMA) in June 2018. She served on the AMA Board of Trustees from 2010 to 2020, including as chair in 2015-2016.
Dr. McAneny is a fellow and former board member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, a master of the American College of Physicians, and past president of the New Mexico Medical Society. She has also served on the boards of the Community Oncology Alliance and the Cancer Center Business Summit.
As co-chair of the OnCare Alliance board, Dr. McAneny leads a group of independent practices collaborating to deliver high-quality, high-value cancer care and develop alternative payment models based on data-driven principles. In 2012, she received a $19.8 million grant from CMS Innovation to demonstrate how oncology practices could use triage pathways to lower costs while improving outcomes—a project called COME HOME that was later incorporated into Medicare's Oncology Care Model.
Dr. McAneny co-founded New Mexico Oncology Hematology Consultants Ltd. in 1987 and built the New Mexico Cancer Center as the state's first physician-owned multi-disciplinary cancer center. She graduated magna cum laude from the University of Minnesota and with honors from the University of Iowa College of Medicine.
Dr. Lailea Noel serves as Assistant Professor and the Meadows Foundation Endowed Fellow in Quality of Life in the Rural Environment at the Steve Hicks School of Social Work at The University of Texas at Austin. At UT Dell Medical School, she holds faculty appointments in the Department of Oncology and the Department of Health Social Work, co-chairs the Health Equity in Research Workgroup, and serves on the Livestrong Cancer Institutes' Clinical and Prevention Research Workgroup.
Dr. Noel was recently appointed Director of the Institute for Collaborative Health Research and Practice at the Steve Hicks School of Social Work. She serves on the Board of Directors for both the Association of Cancer Care Centers and the Association of Oncology Social Workers.
With an extensive background in oncology health administration and non-profit management, her research connects communities most impacted by cancer disparities with cancer care services by exploring how social determinants of health affect psychosocial barriers to care. She specializes in community-based participatory research, engaging communities, social scientists, and medical professionals in collaborative research initiatives.
Anne Marie Rainey, RN, MSN, CHC, is the Director of Quality and Value-Based Care at Clearview Cancer Institute in Huntsville, Alabama. She has previous experience in government quality reporting as a contractor for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
After obtaining her Master of Nursing in Clinical Leadership and Administration, Rainey transitioned to the community oncology setting. Her work interests include quality metrics analysis, program implementation, health policy, and advocacy for community oncology.
Leigha Senter, MS, LGC, FACCC, is a licensed genetic counselor and clinical professor at The Ohio State University’s James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute where she specializes in cancer genetics risk assessment in women with gynecologic cancers. She is the Associate Director of the Division of Human Genetics.
Senter has more than 20 years of research experience in hereditary cancers with a primary focus in BRCA gene-related projects with more than 100 peer reviewed publications. She is currently a board member for the Association of Community Cancer Centers.
Senter earned a bachelor's degree in molecular genetics from The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, and a master's degree in genetic counseling from the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Dr. Afreen Shariff is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Duke University and a nationally recognized endocrinologist specializing in endocrine disease in cancer patients. As a transformational leader, she has created and led numerous successful initiatives throughout her career.
Dr. Shariff is the Founding Director of the Duke Endo Oncology Program, Associate Director for the Duke Cancer Therapy Toxicity Program, host and producer of the medical podcast series Checkpoint NOW, and founding Chair of the Onco-Endocrinology Special Interest Group through The Endocrine Society. She is also Co-founder of Citrus Oncology, a virtual consultative platform for managing side effects in cancer patients.
Her research focuses on optimizing healthcare through value-based, patient-centric programs that improve access and reduce costs while effectively managing complex oncology cases. As Principal Investigator on several studies, she developed a novel machine learning model to predict immunotherapy-related hospitalizations up to two weeks before expected events—research featured in Science magazine
Dr. Shariff received the 2023 Association of Cancer Care Centers Innovator Award, has published in numerous peer-reviewed journals, and speaks at regional and national conferences. Her career focuses on improving timely access, education, care navigation, and using AI to predict and prevent hospital admissions from treatment toxicities.
Dr. Vaddepally is a board-certified medical oncologist and hematologist with Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute (FCS) in Naples, Florida. He is committed to providing optimal patient care with compassion, using a holistic approach personalized to each individual's physical, emotional, and spiritual needs while employing state-of-the-art, precision-based cancer diagnostics and treatments.
Actively involved in community-based cancer research, Dr. Vaddepally specializes in thoracic, head and neck, and skin cancers. He has served as principal and co-investigator on numerous clinical trials, many advancing lung cancer treatment. His research has been published in clinical journals and presented at professional symposiums.
Dr. Vaddepally received his medical degree from Osmania Medical College in Hyderabad, India, completed his internal medicine residency at Trinity Health Ann Harbor Hospital in Michigan, and finished a fellowship in oncology/hematology at Henry Ford Medical Center in Detroit.
Prior to joining FCS in 2025, he served as research medical director at Lee Health in Fort Myers and as director of the lung cancer screening program for Yuma Regional Cancer Center in Arizona. Dr. Vaddepally has been actively involved in training oncology physicians through various teaching positions.