Souvick Roy

University of California, San Diego, USA

Dr. Souvick Roy is a post-doctoral researcher at Moores Cancer Center, University of California, San Diego (UCSD), USA. He has completed his M.Sc and PhD in Biotechnology from the School of Biotechnology, KIIT University, Bhubaneswar, India. During his doctoral study, he studied the role of cancer stem-like cells (CSCs) in promoting chemo-resistance in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. He explored therapeutic strategies by targeting EGFR and Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathways to abrogate CSC-mediated chemo-resistance. His research interest underlies integrated genetic and epigenetic analyses to identify molecular targets implicated in neoplastic progression and therapeutic resistance in solid tumors. Simultaneously his vision is to develop readily available, cost-effective diagnostic tools that can be used for early diagnosis of patients with solid tumors. His current research at UCSD is primarily focused on exploring the interaction of the immune system with chemotherapy and radiotherapy in HPV-positive Head and neck cancer and the development of therapeutic strategies to improve treatment efficacy. 

Chinmoy Ghosh

Philips Institute for Oral Health Research, School of Dentistry, Virginia Commonwealth University, USA

Dr. Chinmoy Ghosh earned his M.Sc. and PhD in Biotechnology from the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT University) in Bhubaneswar, India. During his doctoral study, he explored the relationship between DNA damage response. He sustained free radical stress in macrophages during bacterial infection and screening of triterpenoid compounds for their potential antimicrobial activity. In addition, he developed a cost-effective diagnostic kit for urinary tract infections and submitted for patent in India, which is currently pending clearance. After completing his PhD, Dr. Ghosh joined Dr. Yue Sun's group as a postdoctoral researcher at Virginia Commonwealth University. His current research focuses on the aberrant signaling events and micro-environmental regulation in neoplastic progression with the primary aim of identifying novel regulators controlling tumor initiation, metastasis, and immunotherapy response, leading to the development of novel anti-cancer therapies.

Viktor Hlavac

Charles University, Pilsen, Czech Republic

Dr. Viktor Hlavac, Ph.D., is a Junior Scientist at the Department of Pharmacogenomics, Biomedical Center, Faculty of Medicine in Pilsen, Charles University, Czech Republic. He also holds a Junior Scientist position at the Toxicogenomics Department at the National Institute of Public Health in Prague, Czech Republic. His research focuses on discovering biomarkers of patient prognosis and chemotherapy response in solid tumors. His primary interests are using multi-omics technologies in cancer resistance and studying drug metabolism and transport genes, cytochromes P450, and ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters in precision oncology. Dr. Hlavac received an M.S. in Molecular Biology from Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Rep., and a Ph.D. in Biomedicine from Charles University in Prague under Dr. Pavel Soucek. He was the recipient of a prestigious Fulbright Fellowship under the mentorship of Prof. Ajay Goel. Duarte researched gastrointestinal cancer at the Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope.

Keisuke Okuno

Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan

Dr. Keisuke Okuno is an assistant professor at the Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery at Tokyo Medical and Dental University. He has completed his MD and PhD from the Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery at Tokyo Medical and Dental University. He is currently working as an upper gastrointestinal surgeon in Tokyo. During his doctoral study, he studied the role of PRMT6 and histone methylation in gastric cancer progression. From the time of his enrollment at City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, California, USA, to the present, his research focuses on the development of non-invasive and cost-effective biomarkers relevant to treatment, prognosis, and survival in gastrointestinal cancers. Simultaneously, he focuses on the efficacy and feasibility of minimally invasive surgery, including robotic and laparoscopic surgery, for upper gastrointestinal cancers.