Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation's Podcast: Recent Episodes
Cure Mesothelioma
In this "Meet the Experts" series, the Meso Foundation invites experts in the field of mesothelioma to discuss their current research interests as well as promising developments in the treatment of mesothelioma. More information is available at www.curemeso.org/meettheexperts
In this installment, Melinda Kotzian, CEO of the Meso Foundation, is joined by William A. Franco and Julie P. Pawelczyk to discuss how you can make a difference through advocacy. Mr. Franco has more than 30 years of experience working with the federal government, national trade associations and corporate government affairs programs in both state and federal relations. Ms. Pawelczyk has more than 20 years of experience in Washington, D.C. and currently serves as a legislative advocate on behalf of multiple nonprofit and corporate clients.
During the teleconference, Mr. Franco and Ms. Pawelczyk provide an inside look into Capitol Hill and an update on the mesothelioma patient registry bill.
Our guests on behalf of Aduro Biotech will be Natalie Sacks, MD, the chief medical officer at Aduro, and Evan Alley, MD, PhD, the chief of the Division of Hematology and Oncology at Penn Medicine. In this interview, they will discuss Aduro Biotech's upcoming clinical trial, which seeks to evaluate the effectiveness of their CRS-207 vaccine in combination with pembrolizumab (Keytruda) in previously treated patients with pleural mesothelioma. CRS-207 is a weakened form of the Listeria bacteria modified to reduce its ability to cause infections, but still able to stimulate the immune system. Pemborlizumab (Keytruda) is a checkpoint inhibitor. Both drugs have singularly demonstrated activity in mesothelioma and preclinical data suggests a synergy in using a combined approach.
Dr. Sterman of the New York University Langone Medical Center joins us to discuss his work in the field of mesothelioma treatment and research as it pertains to targeting the immune system.
Marjorie Zauderer, MD, a medical oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), discusses her work in an interview with Mary Hesdorffer, the Meso Foundation's executive director and expert nurse practitioner. Dr. Zauderer specializes in the care of patients with lung cancer and mesothelioma. Her practice aims to provide personalized care to patients throughout the course of their treatment. She also conducts clinical trials focused on novel therapies for the treatment of mesothelioma and lung cancer. Several trials with novel agents and new approaches are ongoing in MSKCC's multidisciplinary Mesothelioma Program and Thoracic Oncology Service.
Dr. Bueno is chief of thoracic surgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, MA. He joined the faculty in 1996 after completing his residency in thoracic and cardiac surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital. His main research interests center on the molecular events that lead to malignancy in mesothelioma and lung cancer, the development of prognostic tests and identification of biomarkers. Dr. Bueno’s clinical research efforts center on developing new technologies for thoracic surgery.
Welcome to the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation’s Meet the Mesothelioma Experts series. We are pleased to open the 2016 season with a program covering our 2015 grants which funded five new research projects focusing on mesothelioma. As always, our nurse practitioner and executive director, Mary Hesdorffer, is the moderator.
Drs. Alley and Simone are the co-directors of the Penn Mesothelioma and Pleural Program. Dr. Alley is a medical oncologist and is the leading investigator in the PD-1 inhibitor trial that has recently made big news in mesothelioma. Read more about the trial here. Dr. Simone treats patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma with photon and proton radiation therapy and photodynamic therapy (PDT). He is a National Institutes of Health and Department of Defense funded investigator who performs clinical and translational research investigating the novel use of proton therapy and PDT as definitive therapy and as part of multi-modality therapy for mesothelioma.
Dr. Kindler will discuss her work in an interview with Mary Hesdorffer, the Meso Foundation's executive director and expert mesothelioma nurse practitioner. Dr. Kindler is the Director of Mesothelioma and Gastrointestinal Programs at the University of Chicago Medicine. She is an internationally recognized cancer expert who specializes in the medical management of pleural and peritoneal mesothelioma. Her research focuses on the investigation of novel agents for mesothelioma, and she designs and leads many innovative clinical trials for this disease.
The focus of the interview is Aduro BioTech’s experimental therapy for malignant pleural mesothelioma, known as CRS-207. CRS-207 is a weakened form of the Listeria bacteria modified to reduce its ability to cause infections, but still able to stimulate the immune system.
On May 14, 2014, at 8 PM Eastern time, the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation will be holding a new installment of its “Meet the Mesothelioma Experts” series featuring Dr. Evan Alley of the University of Pennsylvania, who will discuss his new clinical trial available to pleural mesothelioma patients. The clinical trial will look into an agent that would inhibit the PD-L1 protein. Read more on our blog.
Dr. Alley will discuss trial details in an interview with Mary Hesdorffer, Meso Foundation’s executive director and expert mesothelioma nurse practitioner. The interview can be listened to “live” by calling into a conference-call number.
Dr. Alley is part of the Penn Mesothelioma and Pleural Program team and the interim chief of the Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center. Made possible by a generous educational grant provided by The Edgar Lomax Company.
On April 8 at 9 PM Eastern time, the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation (Meso Foundation) held a new installment of its ‘Meet the Mesothelioma Experts’ series, featuring Dr. Joanna C. Horobin, the Chief Medical Officer at Verastem, Inc., who discussed the company’s latest investigational agent, defactinib, which is being developed for use in patients with pleural mesothelioma. Those interested in attending via telephone can RSVP by visiting http://www.curemeso.org/experts. Dr. Horobin will be interviewed by Mary Hesdorffer, Meso Foundation’s executive director and experienced nurse practitioner. The goal of this “Meet the Experts” installment is to learn more about this novel agent, the purpose of which is to delay the time to progression after having a response or stabilization with first-line therapy. Currently, defactinib is available only through its clinical trial. Dr. Horobin, M.B., Ch.B. has been the Chief Medical Officer at Verastem, Inc. since October 2012. The Meet the Experts series is a live podcast created by the Meso Foundation with the goal of providing patients, their family members, and other interested parties with the most up-to-date information on mesothelioma treatment and research, directly from the physicians pioneering these advances. Past teleconferences have featured: Dr. Lee Krug – Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center Dr. Dan Sterman – University of Pennsylvania Dr. Raffit Hassan – National Cancer Institute Dr. Julie Brahmer – Johns Hopkins Dr. Tobias Peikert – Mayo Clinic Dr. Joseph Friedberg – University of Pennsylvania Dr. Valerie Rusch – Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center Melissa Culligan, RN – University of Pennsylvania The topics, which have included immunotherapy, gene therapy, drugs, clinical trials, and biomarkers, are usually discussed through an informal interview, focusing on questions important to patients, in particular.
Join us as we welcome Dr. Brahmer and discuss with her an exciting new drug trial, currently enrolling pleural mesothelioma patients in the United States and Europe.
Dr. Brahmer is the Associate Professor of Oncology at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Click here to learn more about Dr. Brahmer.
Teleconference hosted by the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation with Dr. Raffit Hassan of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) discussing "Mesothelin: A New Target for Immunotherapy".
March 6. 2012 at 9 PM Eastern "Recent Advances in Mesothelioma Gene Therapy at the University", presented by Dr. Dan Sterman.
Dr. Sterman is the Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center.