Dr. Triparna Sen is an Associate Professor, in the Department of Oncological Sciences, and the Co-Director of the Lung Cancer PDX Platform at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York. Dr. Triparna Sen is a cancer biologist with a long-standing interest in mechanisms of tumor development, progression, and drug resistance in cancer. 

The Sen lab focuses on the development of new treatment paradigms for clinically relevant molecular subsets of lung cancer, using genetic and transcriptomic analyses; functional genomics; and patient-derived models of lung cancer. As the Co-Director of the Lung Cancer PDX program at Mount Sinai, which will acquire human samples from the clinic for the development of cancer models and assess experimental cancer therapeutics in the preclinical setting. 

Previously, Dr. Sen identified that DNA damage response (DDR) proteins are effective therapeutic targets for small cell lung cancer treatment and that targeting DDR promotes antitumor immunity through activation of innate immune signaling. In her recent work, Dr. Sen identified molecular determinants and novel therapeutic targets for lineage plasticity in lung cancer:

Dr. Sen has received several prestigious awards including- AAAS Martin and Rose Wachtel Cancer Research Award (2021); 40 under 40 in Cancer- Emerging Leaders Award (2020); AACR Women in Cancer Research Scholar Award; AACR Scholar-in-training award; Jeffrey Lee Cousins fellowship and Immuno-Oncology-Young Investigator award. Dr. Sen is invited to deliver talks and educational sessions at major national and international meetings. Dr. Sen has received independent grant funding from the National Institute of Health (NIH/NCI-R01), Department of Defense (DoD) Lung Cancer Research Program, Lung Cancer Research Foundation (LCRF), and The International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC). She is the author of several peer-reviewed scientific manuscripts, and she is an active member of the IASLC, and the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR). She has authored over 45 peer-reviewed scientific manuscripts in high-impact journals. 

Dr. Sen is very active in the lung cancer community. In addition to being an active member, she is also a core member of the Women in Thoracic Oncology working group of IASLC. She works with the Lung Cancer Research Foundation (LCRF) and Lung Cancer Foundation of America (LCFA) to raise lung cancer awareness in the broader community. She works with patient advocates and lung cancer survivors to raise awareness about inclusive clinical trials and raise funding for lung cancer research. She has been featured in Good Morning America and LCFA-Hope with Answers podcasts, where she has spoken about disparities in lung cancer research and treatment. Due to her expertise and contribution, she has been nominated to be the Conference Co-Chair of the Hot Topic: Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC) Meeting supported by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC, October 2021).

Dr. Triparna Sen is an Associate Professor, in the Department of Oncological Sciences, and the Co-Director of the Lung Cancer PDX Platform at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York. Dr. Triparna Sen is a cancer biologist with a long-standing interest in mechanisms of tumor development, progression, and drug resistance in cancer. 

Dr. Aakash Desai, MBBS, MPH is hematology and medical oncology fellow at MayoClinic, Rochester. His research focuses on evidence base in oncology, clinical trials, drug development, cancer care quality and healthcare delivery, with a special focus on Thoracic Oncology . Dr. Desai received his medical degree from the prestigious B.J Medical College in Ahmedabad, India. He holds a master’s degree in public health from the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston. Following this Dr. Desai completed his residency at the University of Connecticut. At the University of Connecticut, he also completed certification in Health Professions Education from University of Connecticut. Subsequently in 2020 he joined the fellowship program in oncology and hematology at the Mayo Clinic. Dr. Desai received the 2021 Conquer Cancer Foundation ASCO Young Investigator Award and 2021 International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer Early Career Award. He has also received the Education award at the Targeted Therapies in Lung Cancer Conference 2022 (TTLC22), and the International Cancer Foundation scholarship for the ESMO Targeted Anticancer Therapies (TAT) 2022. Dr. Desai continues to focus on clinical and patient-oriented research in thoracic malignancies with a keen interest in drug development and clinical trials. He is also one of the founding members of the grassroots consortium focusing on COVID19 in cancer patients now known as the COVID19 and Cancer Consortium. He was also the patient education ambassador for cancer GRACE in 2021-2022.

Dr. Amy Moore serves as LUNGevity Foundation’s Vice President of Global Engagement and Patient Partnerships. She is a PhD-trained virologist and cancer researcher who has spent over a decade working on large-scale initiatives to build research capacity and improve cancer outcomes. In her role with LUNGevity, Dr. Moore is working to strengthen collaborations with international partners, particularly in the areas of biomarker testing and precision medicine as well as in improving access to clinical trials, so that all patients receive optimal cancer care no matter where they live. Given her background in virology, Dr. Moore has also been a sought-after expert throughout the pandemic on issues at the intersection of COVID-19 and lung cancer and is part of a large NCI-funded grant to study the quality of the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination among patients with lung cancer. Dr. Moore serves on a number of advisory boards and frequently presents at major national and international conferences.

Postdoctoral fellow in Clinica Universidad de Navarra and Center for Applied Medical Reseach, Pamplona, Spain. My research focuses in the study of circulating tumor cells in haematological neoplasms, particularly in multiple myeloma.

Alessandro Russo, MD, PhD is a medical oncologist at the Medical Oncology Unit, A.O. Papardo, Messina, Italy. His research interest is focused on thoracic malignancies, immunotherapy and liquid biopsies. Dr. Russo degreed as M.D. at the University of Messina and there he completed his residency in Medical Oncology. He had his PhD in 2019 in Medical and Surgical Biotechnologies at the University of Messina and joined as Visiting Researcher the Division of Thoracic Medical Oncology and Early Clinical Trials at the University of Maryland Medical Center, Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center (Baltimore, USA). He is member of several national and international scientific societies. Dr. Russo is co-author of more than 70 publications in peer-reviewed international journals, three book chapters and he is actively involved in clinical research in advanced NSCLC.