Arnab Chakravarti, MD, PhD
Radiation Oncologist and Chair, Department of Radiation Oncology
The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Cente r – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC – James) 

Arnab Chakravarti, MD, is professor and chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology at Ohio State, where he also holds the Max Morehouse Chair of Cancer Research and directs the Brain Tumor Program.

As a member of the Translational Therapeutics Program at the OSUCCC – James, Dr. Chakravarti focuses his research on how to identify novel biomarkers that are predictive of treatment efficacy and survival, and on uncovering molecular and genetic mechanisms of treatment resistance to advance care of cancer patients. Under his leadership with the National Cancer Institute-supported Radiation Therapy and Oncology Group Brain Tumor/NRG Translational Research Subcommittee and Brain Tumor Committee, his team’s studies have defined the standard of care for patients with central nervous system (CNS) tumors.

Dr. Chakravarti's lab was among the first to report that the dysregulation of PI3K/AKT signaling is associated with radiation resistance in glioblastomas. It also was the first to identify that dysregulation of PI3K signaling is significantly associated with adverse clinical outcomes in GBM patients. These findings led to some of the first clinical studies to combine radiotherapy with kinase inhibitors targeting this pathway.

Dr. Chakravarti received his medical degree from the University of Virginia School of Medicine in Charlottesville, Va. He completed his internship in internal medicine at Harvard Medical School and his residency in radiation oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital, both in Boston, Mass.

Yvonne Efebera, MD, MBA
Hematologist
The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC – James)

Yvonne Efebera, MD, is a hematology expert at the OSUCCC – James who specializes in B-cell lymphoid malignancies, including multiple myeloma, amyloidosis, Waldenstrom disease, and stem cell and bone marrow transplant. She was named to the Castle Connolly list of “Regional Top Doctors” in 2019, and she was rated in the top 10% of physicians in the nation for patient satisfaction in 2014 and 2017.

Dr. Efebera is a member of the Leukemia Research Program at the OSUCCC – James, where she studies novel therapies for treating multiple myeloma and graft-versus-host disease (GVHD).

Dr. Efebera received her medical degree from Pennsylvania State University and completed her residency at the Cleveland Clinic. She completed fellowship programs in hematology/oncology at Boston Medical Center and in bone marrow transplant at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.

Anil Parwani, MD, PhD
Pathologist and Vice Chair, Division of Anatomic Pathology
The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC – James) 

Anil Parwani, MD, PhD, MBA, is a professor in The Ohio State University College of Medicine’s Department of Pathology, where he serves as vice chair of anatomic pathology. He also is a member of the Molecular Carcinogenesis and Chemoprevention Program at the OSUCCC – James, and he serves as co-director of the OSUCCC – James Comparative Pathology and Digital Imaging Shared Resource.

Dr. Parwani’s research is focused on diagnostic and prognostic markers in bladder and prostate cancer, and on molecular classification of renal cell carcinoma. He has expertise in surgical pathology, viral immunology and pathology informatics, including designing quality assurance tools, biobanking informatics, clinical and research data integration, applications of whole-slide imaging, digital imaging, telepathology, image analysis and lab automation.

Dr. Parwani has authored over 300 peer-reviewed articles in major scientificjournals, as well as several books and book chapters. He is editor-in-chief of the journal Diagnostic Pathology, and he also is an editor for the Journal of Pathology Informatics. Dr. Parwani earned his PhD at Ohio State, his MD at Case Western Reserve University and his MBA at the University of Pittsburgh. He served his medical residency in anatomical and clinical pathology at Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he also completed his fellowship training in urological pathology.

Raphael Pollock, MD, PhD, FACS
Surgical Oncologist and Director, The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center
The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC – James)

Raphael Pollock, MD, PhD, FACS, is director of The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, professor in Ohio State's Division of Surgical Oncology and holder of the Kathleen Wellenreiter Klotz Chair in Cancer Research. He also is director of the Sarcoma Research Laboratory at Ohio State.

A surgical oncologist who specializes in treating patients with soft tissue sarcomas, Dr. Pollock has expertise in gastrointestinal stromal tumors, Kaposi sarcoma, spine sarcoma and myxosarcoma. As a member of the Translational Therapeutics Program at Ohio State’s Comprehensive Cancer Center – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC – James), he focuses his research on the molecular drivers underlying soft tissue sarcoma.

Dr. Pollock has authored or co-authored more than 400 original research articles, as well as 21 books, and he has given more than 300 presentations to professional audiences in 50 countries worldwide.

Dr. Pollock received his medical degree from Saint Louis University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Mo., and his doctorate in immunology at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in Houston, Texas. He completed an internship and residency in general surgery at the University of Chicago Hospitals in Chicago, Ill., as well as a residency in general surgery at Rush Presbyterian Hospital in Chicago. His fellowship in surgical oncology was completed at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

Session chair:  Luma Ghalib, MD, FACE
Endocrinologist and Director, Pituitary Program
The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center

Luma Ghalib, MD, FACE, joined Ohio State in 2013 and is a well-respected endocrinologist and member of the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism.

Dr. Ghalib received her medical degree from the University of Baghdad College of Medicine in Baghdad, Iraq. She completed her residency at the Medical College of Ohio in Toledo, Ohio, and her fellowship at Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University in Chicago, Ill.

She is the medical director of the Pituitary Program at Ohio State and has been working closely with the Neurosurgery, Radiology and ENT teams to build the state-of-the-art Skull Base and Pituitary Programs. She has a special interest in treating acromegaly, Cushing disease, prolactinomas and other pituitary disorders.