2025 Conference Speakers
Overview of Neuroendocrine Cancer
What is Neuroendocrine Cancer?
Bhavana Konda, MD, MPH
Medical Oncologist, Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center (OSUCCC)
Dr. Bhavana Konda is a Medical Oncologist with expertise in neuroendocrine tumors and endocrine-related cancers. She leads the Neuroendocrine Tumor and Endocrine Medical Oncology Section at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center. Her research is dedicated to advancing treatment options to patients with these rare cancers through innovative clinical trials.​
Understanding Matters About Biomarkers & Blood Tests
Thorvardur Halfdanarson, MD
Medical Oncologist, Mayo Clinic
Thor R. Halfdanarson, M.D., is a medical oncologist and Professor of Oncology at Mayo Clinic who specializes in the management of patients with neuroendocrine neoplasms, gastrointestinal malignancies and unknown primary malignancies. His specific research interests include the epidemiology, risk factors and treatment of neuroendocrine tumors and neuroendocrine carcinoma and improving outcomes for pancreatic adenocarcinoma and rare types of pancreatic tumors. He is a principal investigator and co-investigator for multiple industry-sponsored and cooperative group clinical trials.
Dr. Halfdanarson holds several leadership positions within Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center. He is chair of the Hepato-Pancreatico-Biliary Cancer Disease Group and co-chair of the Pancreatic/Neuroendocrine Tumor Board. He is associate medical director of the Cancer Clinical Trials Office in Rochester, Minnesota, co-chair of the Feasibility Committee, and a member of the Clinical Research Leadership Committee. He also represents Mayo Clinic on the Neuroendocrine Tumors Guidelines Panel of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN). Dr. Halfdanarson is President Emeritus of the North American Neuroendocrine Tumor Society (NANETS) as well.
What Matters About Scans
Nadine Mallak, MD
Radiologist & Nuclear Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University
Nadine Mallak, M.D. is a double boarded Associate Professor of Diagnostic Radiology at OHSU, in the divisions of Body Imaging, and Molecular Imaging & Therapy. She received her M.D. degree from Saint Joseph University Medical School in Beirut, Lebanon, followed by a Diagnostic Radiology residency at Hotel Dieu de France, Beirut. Subsequently, she finished fellowships in Neuroradiology and Abdominal Imaging, and a residency in Nuclear Medicine at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.
Dr. Mallak is the clinical director of the PET/MRI program at OHSU. The scope of her clinical practice encompasses all aspects of molecular imaging and therapy, in addition to abdominal and pelvic imaging with modalities including ultrasound, CT, and MRI. Her research interests focus on molecular and hybrid imaging, particularly for prostate cancer, neuroendocrine tumors and pheochromocytoma/paraganglioma. In addition to her research projects, she’s passionate about education. She was voted by the radiology residents "outstanding teacher of the year" for the year 2019-2020, and by the graduating senior residents “outstanding board reviewer” for the year 2021-2022
In her free time, she enjoys painting, mostly with acrylic and watercolors, reading, hiking, and exploring the gorgeous nature in the Pacific Northwest.
What Matters About Symptom Management
Vineeth Sukrithan, MD
Medical Oncologist, Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center (OSUCCC)
Dr. Vineeth Sukrithan is a medical oncologist who specializes in the study and treatment of neuroendocrine cancer, thyroid cancer and adrenocortical cancer. He utilizes traditional chemotherapy, molecularly targeted oral medications, novel immunotherapy and peptide-receptor radiotherapies in the treatment of these unique cancers.
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As a comprehensive cancer center, the OSUCCC – James has unrivaled experience and expertise in the treatment of neuroendocrine, thyroid and adrenal tumors. Their world-renowned faculty are leaders in the study and treatments of these rare cancers, and as such, they are able to provide their patients with options beyond standard therapies that may not be available anywhere else.
The strong focus on translational research at The James means that the treatment breakthroughs of tomorrow are being discovered in their laboratories today. Dr. Sukrithan is part of a tight-knit team of surgical oncologists, radiation oncologists and interventional radiologists who work together to provide cutting-edge care for our patients with neuroendocrine tumors.
In addition to his clinical work, Dr. Sukrithan is a member of the Translational Therapeutics Program at the OSUCCC – James and the co-director of the Adrenal Tumor Clinic. He was recently selected to lead an externally funded effort through the International Thyroid Oncology Group to operationalize a multi-institutional registry database for patients with medullary thyroid cancer.
Dr. Sukrithan also serves as an assistant professor in the Division of Medical Oncology at The Ohio State University and has completed postdoctoral fellowships in clinical research at Johns Hopkins University. His research has been published in numerous peer-reviewed journals, including Cancer Research, American Journal of Clinical Oncology and Clinical Lung Cancer.
As every individual’s cancer is molecularly unique in countless ways, Dr. Sukrithan believes in tailoring therapies to the individual with the precision made available through cutting-edge scientific research. He feels it is a privilege to make a difference in the lives of patients as we work together to achieve a cancer-free world.
Surgery & Local Regional Therapies
What Matters About Liver Surgery
Julie Hallet, MD, MSc., FRCSC
Surgical Oncologist, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center
Dr. Hallet is an Associate Professor of Surgery at the University of Toronto and a Surgical Oncologist with a clinical practice devoted to hepato-biliary, pancreatic and upper gastrointestinal malignancies at the Odette Cancer Centre - Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. Her practice further focuses on neuroendocrine tumors as part of the Susan Leslie Multidisciplinary Clinic for Neuroendocrine Tumors, as well as minimally invasive therapies for cancer treatment. She completed general surgery residency and MSc in clinical epidemiology at Université Laval in Québec City, followed by a Surgical Oncology and hepato-pancreatico-biliary clinical fellowship at the University of Toronto, and additional training in advanced minimally invasive surgery at the Institut de recherche contre les cancers de l’appareil digestif (IRCAD) in Strasbourg, France.
Dr. Hallet holds leadership roles in National and International societies. Among those roles, she
serves as the Vice-Chair of the Hepato-Pancreatico-Biliary Disease Site Group of the Society of
Surgical Oncology, the Chair of the Early Career Group the International Hepato-Pancreatico-Biliary Association, and a member of the Guidelines Committee of the North American Neuroendocrine Tumors Society, as well as on the executive committees of the Canadian Society of Surgical Oncology and the Canadian Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association. She is a founding member of the Society of Surgical Ergonomics for which she also chairs the Research and Applied Ergonomics Committee. She also is Associate Section Editor for the Annals of Surgical Oncology, and is part of the Editorial Board of HPB, the World Journal of Surgery, and the British Journal of Surgery.
Dr. Hallet’s research focuses on health services research to examine processes of care and outcomes in oncology, with a focus on patient-centred and patient-reported outcomes. To support her research, she has received over $10 millions in operating grants, including from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Ontario Institute of Cancer Research. Dr. Hallet has over 200 peer-reviewed publications, including high-impact papers in JAMA Surgery, JAMA Oncology, the Journal of the NCCN, and Annals of Surgery.
What Matters About Liver-Directed Therapy
Alejandro Gabutti, MD
Interventional Radiologist, National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition Salvador Zubirán (INCMNSZ)
University Hospital and National Reference Center for Liver Diseases
Dr. Alejandro Gabutti, born in southern Mexico and moved to Mexico City for medical school. He received his medical degree from the UNAM (National University of Mexico) in 2008. After a year working as a general doctor in the mountain region of Chiapas, Mexico, he decided to continue his medical education as a Radiologist. By the year 2006 Alejandro was accepted in the INCMNSZ and completed a 4-year radiology program. Since the very beginning during his radiology training Alejandro showed a special interest in the interventional radiology procedures. He successfully completed a two-year interventional radiology fellowship at the INCMNSZ. At the conclusion of his fellowship, Alejandro was hired as part of the INCMNSZ radiology staff. In 2019 Dr. Gabutti moved to Milan Italy and completed a 1-year internship at the Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, with special emphasis in oncological liver directed therapies. By his return to Mexico, Alejandro continues working as an Interventional Radiologist at the INCMSNZ, became the Interventional Radiology program professor (UNAM) and keeps working to improve liver malignancies imaging and treatments.
Expert Panel: What Matters Most in Making Decisions About Surgery & Local Regional Therapies
Daneng Li, MD
Medical Oncologist, City of Hope
Daneng Li, M.D., is an associate professor in the Department of Medical Oncology & Therapeutics Research at City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, specializing in treating gastrointestinal cancers. Dr. Li currently leads the liver tumors program and is also the co-director of the Neuroendocrine Tumor Program at City of Hope. Dr. Li embraces a multidisciplinary approach to treatment of patients with neuroendocrine tumors. He leads several clinical trials focused on improving outcomes for patients with NETs and works closely with scientists in the development of the next generation of novel therapeutics.
Nationally, he has served on several NET committees including the NANETS Research Committee, NANETS Continuing Medical Education Committee, and the Patient-Physician Communication Task Force for the Healing NET Foundation, allowing him to work closely to support NET patient advocacy programs. For all his efforts, he was honored as a recipient of the inaugural 40 Under 40 in Cancer Award during the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting in 2018.
Callisia Clarke, MD
Surgical Oncologist, Medical College of Wisconsin
Dr. Clarke is Chief of Surgical Oncology and Associate Professor of Surgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin with a focus on tumors of the upper gastrointestinal tract, sarcomas, melanomas and regional therapies for advanced malignancies. She specializes in hepato-pancreatic-biliary malignancies, primary and metastatic neuroendocrine tumors, melanoma and sarcoma. Her research efforts focus on personalized cancer care and targeted approaches in pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors.
Dr. Clarke also serves on the Executive Committee of the Association for Academic Surgery and is the Chair of the North American Neuroendocrine Tumor Society (NANETS) Mentoring and Early Career Development Committee. President Biden recently announced she will be appointed as a Member of the National Cancer Advisory Board. Dr. Clarke will play a key role in guiding the Director of the National Cancer Institute in setting the course for the national cancer research program and help advance breakthroughs to prevent, detect, and treat diseases like cancer.
Osman Ahmed, MD
Interventional Radiologist, University of Chicago
Osman Ahmed, MD, is an expert vascular and interventional radiologist who diagnoses and treats a wide range of conditions. Using image-guided technology and small, sophisticated instruments, Dr. Ahmed performs minimally invasive procedures for acute and chronic deep vein thrombosis, benign prostatic hyperplasia, peripheral vascular disease, liver/bone/lung/kidney cancer, spinal fractures, uterine fibroids and more. He also implants inferior vena cava (IVC) filters, which prevent a blood clot from traveling around the body or creating a blockage.
In addition to his clinical expertise, Dr. Ahmed researches novel treatment options that improve outcomes for patients. His research on liver cancer, IVC filters and venous diseases has been published in several high-impact, peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology, Radiology, Chest, Journal of American College of Radiology, and Journal of Surgical Oncology.
Dr. Ahmed also believes in the importance of educating medical students, residents, fellowships and peers in order to enhance health care across the world. He has been invited to speak at a number of symposiums, practicums and national/international meetings about the newest advancements in interventional radiology.
William C. Chen, MD
Radiation Oncologist, University of California San Francisco
Dr. William C. Chen is a radiation oncologist and translational researcher. Dr. Chen received his undergraduate degree from Johns Hopkins University and completed medical school at the University of California, San Francisco. He completed his internal medicine preliminary internship at Kaiser San Francisco, followed by a residency in Radiation Oncology at UCSF. He is a Chan Zuckerburg Biohub Physician Scientist Fellow and a Helen Diller Family Cancer Center Physician Scientist Program in Clinical Oncology (PSPCO) Fellow. His research focuses on biomarker development, informatics, and clinical trial development with a focus on meningiomas and other malignancies of the central nervous system and beyond.
Medical Management & Sequencing Treatments
What Matters About Systemic Treatments
Jennifer Chan, MD, MPH
Medical Oncologist, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Jennifer Chan, MD, MPH is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Institute Physician in the Division of Medical Oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, MA.
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​Dr. Chan focuses her clinical practice on the care of patients with neuroendocrine tumors and gastrointestinal cancers. She is the Director of the Program in Neuroendocrine and Carcinoid Tumors and Clinical Director for the Gastrointestinal Cancer Center at the Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center. Dr. Chan has been principal investigator of multiple clinical trials investigating novel therapies for neuroendocrine tumors and has been involved in studies examining factors associated with clinical outcomes in patients with neuroendocrine tumors.
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She is a past chair of the Guidelines Committee of the North American Neuroendocrine Tumor Society (NANETS) and President of NANETS. Dr. Chan serves on the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Neuroendocrine Tumors Guidelines Panel. She is a member of the Neuroendocrine Tumor Taskforce of the National Cancer Institute and the Board of Directors of NANETS.
What Matters About PRRT: What is PRRT & How Does It Work?
Cecilia Carreras Velázquez
Nuclear Medicine, Hospital Ángeles Lomas
Dr. Cecilia Carreras Velázquez is a board-certified specialist in Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, based in Mexico City. Graduated with honors from Centro Médico ABC (UNAM) in 2010 and completed a fellowship in Molecular Imaging in 2011. From 2012 to 2024, she served as Head of the Nuclear Medicine and PET/CT Department at Hospital Angeles Lomas, where she led the integration of advanced technology and the expansion of radionuclide-based diagnostic and therapeutic services. Pioneer in Mexico in implementing Lutetium-177 therapy for patients with Neuroendocrine Tumors and metastatic prostate cancer. In June 2024, Dr. Carreras assumed the position of Medical Director of Nuclear Medicine at the National Center for Radiology and Imaging within the Angeles Health System Hospitals in Mexico.
Dr. Carreras has international experience, having collaborated with the research team at PET-Zentrum of Zentralklinik Bad Berka in Germany, focused on radionuclide therapies for neuroendocrine tumors. Since 2020, she has been a member of the Patient Safety and Quality Committee at Hospital Angeles Lomas, and in 2022, she was appointed Mexico Ambassador for the Oncidium Foundation, advocating for innovations in cancer treatment through nuclear medicine. For over a decade, she has actively participated in educational initiatives, specialty dissemination efforts, and patient-focused forums to enhance understanding and access to nuclear medicine advancements.
What Matters About PRRT: Preventing and Managing Toxicities & Latest Advances
Aman Chauhan, MD
Medical Oncologist, University of Miami Health System
Aman Chauhan, MD, earned his medical degree from the Kasturba Medical College in Manipal, Karnataka, India, followed by a dual residency in internal medicine and pediatrics at Louisiana State University in New Orleans. Dr. Chauhan completed his fellowship in hematology and oncology at the University of Kentucky, especially focusing on neuroendocrine tumor (NETs). Additionally, Dr. Chauhan completed a Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program (CTEP) physician externship at the National Cancer institute (NCI) that focused on designing clinical trials and clinical research projects.
His clinical interests include treating NETs, including carcinoid tumors, high-grade neuroendocrine carcinomas, and small and large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma. Dr Chauhan leads the University of Miami Neuroendocrine Cancer Program and co-leads Sylvester Theranostics Drug Development Program. He is national principal investigator on several investigator initiated neuroendocrine cancer clinical trials. He has authored over 70 scientific publications and book chapters and has received a career development award from NCI CTEP. Dr Chauhan also serves on AJCC and ASCO NET guideline committees and is an active member of NANETS communication committee.
Dr. Chauhan is board certified in internal medicine and medical oncology. He is a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology as well as the American Association of Cancer Research and the North American Neuroendocrine Tumor Society.
What Matters About Clinical Trials
Pamela Kunz, MD
Medical Oncologist, Yale Medicine
Dr. Pamela Kunz is an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Oncology at Yale School of Medicine where she also serves as the Director of the Center for GI Cancers and Division Chief of GI Medical Oncology at Yale Cancer Center and Smilow Cancer Hospital. She received her medical degree from the Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine. Her postgraduate training included a medical residency, chief residency, and oncology fellowship at Stanford University School of Medicine.
Dr. Kunz is an international leader in the treatment and clinical research of patients with GI malignancies and neuroendocrine tumors (NETs). She holds several key leadership positions in the field including past President of the North American Neuroendocrine Tumor Society, recent past Chair of the Neuroendocrine Tumor Taskforce of the NCI and standing member of FDA’s Oncology Drug Advisory Committee. Dr. Kunz was recently appointed Editor-in-Chief of JCO Oncology Advances. In addition to her focus on NETs, she is a leading voice for promoting diversity, equity and inclusion in medicine. She served as the Vice Chief of DEI for the Section of Medical Oncology at Yale School of Medicine and in 2021. Dr. Kunz was awarded ‘Woman Oncologist of the Year’ by Women Leaders in Oncology for her work in promoting gender equity and received the 2024 'Distinguished Mentor Award' by the North American Neuroendocrine Tumor Society. X @PamelaKunzMD
Expert Panel: What Matters Most in Making Decisions About Systemic Therapies & Sequencing Treatments
J. Randolph Hecht, MD
Medical Oncologist, UCLA Health
Dr. Hecht is a Professor of Clinical Medicine in the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA School of Medicine. He holds the Carol and Saul Rosenzweig Chair for Cancer Therapies Development and is the Director of the UCLA Gastrointestinal Oncology Program.
Dr. Hecht attended medical school at Eastern Virginia Medical School. He took his internal medicine residency at Northwestern and completed fellowships in gastroenterology research at the University of Chicago, and in gastroenterology and medical oncology at UCLA. Dr. Hecht is an internationally known clinical and translational researcher in the field of gastrointestinal cancers. He has published widely on the molecular biology, early detection, and treatment of gastrointestinal malignancies. He has lead and is currently directing small trials with new molecules as well as large international randomized trials. Current ongoing research includes preclinical models of therapy with biological agents, early studies with gene therapy vectors and tyrosine kinase inhibitors, and leading phase II and phase III trials with novel agents.
Alexandra Gangi, MD
Division Director of Surgical Oncology, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Dr. Alexandra Gangi is a board-certified surgical oncologist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Dr. Gangi completed a general surgical residency at Cedars-Sinai and completed her surgical oncology fellowship at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida.
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She currently serves as the Division Director of Surgical Oncology and Director of the Gastrointestinal Tumor and Cancer Regional Therapies Programs with specialization in Pancreatic and GI Neuroendocrine tumors, Metastatic colorectal cancer, and Peritoneal Surface Malignancies. Her research focuses on understanding GEPNET heterogeneity between and within tumors subtypes and mechanisms of chemotherapy induced liver injury.
Eric Mittra, MD, PhD
Nuclear Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University
Dr. Mittra received his medical and graduate training through the MSTP (joint MD/PhD) program at Stony Brook University in New York in 2005. His master’s degree was in Anatomical Sciences, and his PhD in Biomedical Engineering. He subsequently completed a Nuclear Medicine residency and fellowship at Stanford University. He was faculty in Radiology at Stanford for 8 years, until moving to OHSU in 2018.
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Dr. Mittra is interested in all aspects of Nuclear Medicine imaging, therapy, and research. This includes adult and pediatric general nuclear medicine imaging with gamma camera and SPECT, PET imaging for oncology, cardiac, and neurologic applications, as well as bone densitometry (DXA imaging). Targeted Radioisotope Therapies (TRT) are of particular interest; including various applications in oncology and he is a nationally-recognized expert in this area. His research interests are primarily focused on the clinical translation of novel radioisotopes for imaging and therapy. He very involved with the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI), the North American Neuroendocrine Tumor Society (NANETS), and is the current Medical Director of the Healing NET Foundation (HNF).​
David B. Zhen, MD
Medical Oncologist, Fred Hutch Cancer Center
Dr. David Zhen is a medical oncologist who specializes in treating patients with gastrointestinal cancers. His research centers around the development of clinical trials evaluating new therapies and combination approaches for the treatment of patients with gastrointestinal cancers, particularly pancreatic and gastroesophageal cancers. He is also conducting research to understand the interactions of the immune system in gastrointestinal cancers and how this can be manipulated to improve upon the response to immunotherapy drugs called checkpoint inhibitors, which block a braking system that cancers use to tamp down the immune response.
Moderators:
MARY DONLEVY
NCF Board member and NET Patient Advocate
Mary Donlevy joined the NCF Board in 2020. She brings the patient perspective as she has been thriving despite living with pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor since 2005. She has been close friends with LACNETS Founder Giovanna Joyce since 2010 and involved with LACNETS since then.
Mary has served as a NET CONNECT mentor and Advisory Committee member. She has been actively involved in the monthly meetings and virtual NET support groups.
Mary received her Bachelor's Degree in Communications from University of San Diego and has over 10 years of medical and sales training. Her passion is to help those dealing with this difficult diagnosis and still enjoy a very full and active life. She is the mother of four children, two of which are identical twins, born after her cancer diagnosis. Mary enjoys ocean swimming, yoga and traveling with her husband and children in her free time.
Andrew Hendifar, MD
Medical Oncologist, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
The current research focus of Andrew Hendifar, MD, is on developing new therapies for pancreatic cancer and neuroendocrine tumors. Dr. Hendifar has helped form multidisciplinary teams that specialize in the treatments of pancreatic cancer, and carcinoid and neuroendocrine tumors. Dr. Hendifar is the primary investigator for several groundbreaking therapies, including radioimmunotherapy for neuroendocrine tumors, anti-inflammatory therapy for pancreatic cancer and novel approaches to cancer cachexia. His national roles include SWOG GI Committee Member and a member of NIH Neuroendocrine Tumor Task Force. He also serves as the steering committee member for the Precision Promise Consortium and chairs the associated Supportive Care Committee. At Cedars-Sinai, he leads the Gastrointestinal Disease Research Group and is the founding Director of the Hematology and Oncology Fellowship Program.