Gamechangers: Innovations and Advances in Cancer Treatment

Sophia Shalhout, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery at Harvard Medical School and a Principal Investigator, Assistant Professor in the Mike Toth Cancer Research Center at Mass Eye and Ear. Dr. Shalhout’s research focuses on applying novel artificial intelligence (AI) and big data analytics to multi-scale biomedical clinical data. This research aims to advance personalized medicine for high-risk cancer patients. In addition, Dr. Shalhout also leverages AI to discover novel cancer therapies and treatments targeting traditionally undruggable proteins by optimizing drug-like properties and molecular interactions, significantly accelerating the drug discovery process. Her innovative approach bridges computational biology with experimental validation to overcome the limitations of conventional drug discovery and provide new treatment options for deadly cancers.

Dr. Oladapo Yeku is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and the Director of Translational Research for the Gynecologic Oncology Program at the Massachusetts General Hospital. He is an associate editor at NEJM Evidence. Dr. Yeku completed his Medical Oncology fellowship training at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) and is an expert on immunotherapy for gynecologic cancers. Dr. Yeku is actively involved as a Principal Investigator in early-phase drug development, immunotherapy clinical trials, and adoptive cellular therapy clinical trials. His laboratory studies the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment in Gynecologic Cancers and develops immunotherapeutic approaches such as antibody drug conjugates (ADCs), bispecific T-cell engagers (BiTEs), and Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-cells to overcome these obstacles.

Dr. Andreas Varkaris obtained his medical degree from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. He pursued graduate and postdoctoral studies at MD Anderson Cancer Center, working under the mentorship of Dr. Gary Gallick and Dr. Christopher Logothetis. His research focused on growth factor signal transduction and tumor-microenvironment interactions. In 2015, Dr. Varkaris relocated to Boston to complete his residency and oncology fellowship. During this time, under the guidance of Dr. Steven Balk, he investigated the modulation of apoptosis by growth factor signaling and explored synthetic lethality using BH3 mimetics. Upon completing his oncology fellowship, Dr. Varkaris joined the Termeer Center for Targeted Therapies at Mass General Cancer Center — one of the nation's largest investigational therapeutic programs. 

Presently, as part of the Termeer Center for Targeted Therapies at Mass General Cancer Center, a significant portion of his efforts is dedicated to patient care and early clinical trials for investigational agents targeting growth factor receptor signaling and apoptosis. The remainder of his time is focused on translational research, particularly examining mechanisms of resistance to novel targeted agents that we use in the clinic.