About the Event

About Dr. Dunleavy

Kieron Dunleavy, MD is a Professor of Medicine, Director of the Lymphoma Program and Co-Director of the Microbial Oncology Program in the Division of Hematology & Oncology and the GWU Cancer Center.

Dr. Dunleavy is a medical oncologist who completed fellowships in Dublin, Ireland and subsequently at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), Bethesda. Following his fellowship at the NCI, he remained on staff as an attending physician and over the past few years, has been the Clinical Director of the Lymphoid Malignancies Branch at the NCI.

Dr. Dunleavy is an expert in lymphoid malignancies and his work has focused on the biology and treatment of lymphoid diseases. His interests include aggressive and indolent lymphomas and viral/microbial associated lymphoid diseases such as those associated with EBV and HIV. He serves on the scientific advisory board of the Lymphoma Research Foundation and on the editorial board of several journals including Blood, Haematologica and Leukemia and Lymphoma. Dr. Dunleavy has published over 100 manuscripts and textbook chapters and frequently presents his work nationally and internationally.

About Professor Gribben

Professor Gribben holds the Gordon Hamilton Fairley Chair of Medical Oncology at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary, University of London. His doctoral studies were performed at University College London as the recipient of a Wellcome Trust Fellowship Award. He continued post-doctoral training with Professor Lee Nadler at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School.

In 1992, Professor Gribben was appointed to the Faculty at Harvard Medical School, where he remained as Associate Professor of Medicine and an Attending Physician at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, until returning to London in 2005. He is a founding member of the CLL Research Consortium, Associate Editor of Blood and was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Science.

Professor Gribben’s research group focuses on immunological approaches to the treatment of haematological cancers. In particular, they are interested in understanding: The molecular mechanisms whereby cancer cells induce changes in the host immune system; the use of allogeneic stem cell bone marrow transplant to induce a graft versus leukaemia effect; identification of the antigenic targets expressed by cancer cells; and the use of agents that will make tumour cells more susceptible to immune cell mediated killing, without impacting on the host immune system.

About Dr. Lonial

Sagar Lonial, MD, FACP, is internationally recognized as a leading authority in multiple myeloma treatment and research. As a medical oncologist at the Winship Cancer Institute, Dr. Lonial treats patients with multiple myeloma and is a lead member of the bone marrow transplantation team and clinical trials team. He is board certified in hematology and medical oncology.

Dr. Lonial is involved in numerous professional organizations including American Society of Clinical Oncology, American Society of Hematology, and American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation. He serves Vice Chair of the Finance Committee of the International Myeloma Society, and serves as Vice Chair of the Myeloma Committee in the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group. He also serves as President and Chair of the Society of Hematologic Oncology. Additionally, he is on the Scientific Advisory Board for the International Myeloma Foundation.

Dr. Lonial’s research focus is with combinations of novel agents as therapy for myeloma and lymphoma, particularly evaluating combinations that may result in synergistic inhibition of the PI3-K/Akt pathway.