Scientific and Medical Advisory Board

The Scientific and Medical Advisory Board (SMAB) includes clinicians who specialize in the care of people with stomach (gastric), esophageal and GE junction cancer. The SMAB advises the organization on specific medical and clinical aspects of stomach (gastric), esophageal, and GE junction cancer as it relates to our programs. The SMAB also contributes to the content on the website.

 

Jaffer A. Ajani, MD

Professor of Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas

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James Cleary, MD, PhD

Medical Oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

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Omar H. Llaguna, MD, FACS, FSSO

Surgical Oncologist and Chief of Peritoneal Surface Malignancy Program at Memorial Healthcare System

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Rutika Mehta, MD, MPH

Dr. Rutika Mehta is a medical oncologist at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute in Tampa, Florida. She received her MD degree from Topiwala National Medical College, Mumbai, India.

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Raul J. Rosenthal, M.D., F.A.C.S., F.A.S.M.B.S.

Medical Researcher and Attending Surgeon at Cleveland Clinic Florida

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Han-Kwang Yang, MD, PhD, FACS, Hon ASA, Hon ESA & Hon JSES

DDF Scientific and Medical Advisory Board International Chair
Professor, Department of Surgery, at Seoul National University Hospital & Seoul National University College of Medicine

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Travis Grotz, M.D.

Dr. Travis Grotz, an esteemed surgical oncologist and Associate Professor of Surgery at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, brings a wealth of expertise to the Scientific Medical Advisory Board (SMAB) of Debbie’s Dream Foundation: Curing Stomach Cancer. Currently serving as a Consultant in the Division of Hepatobiliary and Pancreas Surgery, Department of Surgery at Mayo…

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Zachary J. Brown, DO

Assistant Professor of Surgery, Division of Surgical Oncology
NYU Langone Health and the Perlmutter Cancer Center

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Kohei Shitara, M.D.

Dr Kohei Shitara is the Director of the Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology, at National Cancer Center Hospital East, Kashiwa in Japan. He received his medical degree from Tohoku University School of Medicine in 2002. Dr. Shitara is an active member of ASCO and ESMO. He is working as one of the ESMO faculty members for…

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Paul F. Mansfield, M.D., F.A.C.S.

Professor, Department of Surgical Oncology, Division of Surgery, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX

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Mitsuru Sasako, MD, PhD

Mitsuru Sasako, MD, PhD, brings a wealth of expertise and experience to his role as a distinguished member of Debbie’s Dream Foundation: Curing Stomach Cancer’s Scientific Medical Advisory Board. With an illustrious career spanning over four decades, Dr. Sasako has been at the forefront of upper gastrointestinal surgery and surgical oncology. His tireless dedication to…

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Ryan H. Moy, MD, PhD

Assistant Professor of Medicine and Assistant Attending at Columbia University Medical Center

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Anil K. Rustgi, MD

Anil K. Rustgi, MD, is the director of Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center at Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC) and New York Presbyterian Hospital (CUIMC campus). He graduated from Yale College with a BS in molecular biophysics and biochemistry and earned an MD at Duke University SOM. He completed an internal medicine residency at…

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Takeshi Sano, MD, PhD, FRCS

Hospital Director, Cancer Institute of JFCR, Tokyo

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Asfaneh Barzi, MD, PhD

Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine, Medical Director
Keck School of Medicine of University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California

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Al B. Benson III, MD, FACP, FASCO

Professor of Oncology
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois

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Jordan D. Berlin, MD

DDF Medical Advisory Board Chief Scientific Officer 2016-2021
Ingram Professor of Cancer Research, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Nashville, Tennessee

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Michael Cusnir, MD

Medical Oncologist and Co-Director of Gastrointestinal Malignancies
Mount Sinai Medical Center, Miami, Florida

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Eric Van Cutsem, MD, PhD

Professor of Internal Medicine
University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

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Peter C. Enzinger, MD

Medical Oncologist, Director of the Center for Esophageal and Gastric Cancer
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts

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David H. Ilson, MD, PhD

DDF Scientific and Medical Advisory Board Chair 2016-Present
Medical Oncologist and Attending Physician at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Professor of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, New York

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Yelena Y. Janjigian, MD

DDF Scientific and Medical Advisory Board Chief Scientice Officer
Medical Oncologist
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York

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Samuel J. Klempner, MD

DDF Scientific and Medical Advisory Board Vice Chair
Medical Oncologist, Assistant Professor
Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center
Harvard Medical School,
Boston, MA

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Albert Craig Lockhart, MD

Director, Division of Hematology/Oncology
Chief, Oncology Services
Associate Director for Clinical Sciences
Hollings Cancer Center
Medical University of South Carolina

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Bruce D. Minsky, MD

Professor & Director of Clinical Research, Division of Radiation Oncology
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas

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Matthew R. Porembka, MD

Assistant Professor, Surgical Oncology, Dedman Scholar in Clinical Care
UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas

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