Napoleone Ferrara, M.D.
Chair – Scientific Advisory Board
Dr. Ferrara has served as a director since June 22, 2018. Dr. Ferrara is currently a distinguished professor of pathology and a distinguished adjunct professor of ophthalmology and pharmacology at the University of California, San Diego. Previously, he held increasingly senior positions at Genentech, Inc., over a 24-year period, including fellow, staff scientist and senior scientist. He is a pioneer in the study of angiogenesis biology and identification of its regulators. Dr. Ferrara’s lab is responsible for discovering the isolation and cDNA cloning of VEGF and demonstrated that VEGF was a major mediator of tumor angiogenesis leading to the development of Avastin® (bevacizumab). Additionally, his lab’s studies led to the clinical development of an anti-VEGF antibody fragment, Lucentis® (ranibizumab), as a highly effective therapy preventing vision loss in intraocular neovascular disorders. Dr. Ferrara has been the recipient of over 60 awards/honors, given more than 300 presentations, authored over 70 patents, and written more than 300 articles, reviews/editorials and published book chapters. He received his fellowship training and postdoctoral research from the University of California, San Francisco, his M.D. (cum laude) and residency training from the University of Catania Medical School, and his Maturita’ Classica from Liceo Classico Mario Cutelli.
Dr. John de Groot
Dr. John de Groot is a Professor, and Chairman ad interim, in the Department of Neuro-Oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. He is an expert in the fields of glioma angiogenesis and molecularly targeted therapy. He completed his medical education at The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, and pursued internship and residency at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Following a clinical fellowship at MD Anderson, Dr. de Groot joined the faculty in 2004. His translational research program has produced critical insights into how gliomas respond to and resist killing by anti-angiogenic agents and illuminated therapeutic approaches employed in clinical trials to overcome this resistance. Dr. de Groot has also significantly contributed to the discovery of biomarkers of response and progression in glioblastoma patients treated with anti-angiogenic therapy, and as a result has opened multiple biomarker-driven clinical trials. Dr. de Groot has served as the principal investigator (PI) or co-investigator on multiple funded National Cancer Institute, foundation, and industry-sponsored grants. He is the PI of numerous clinical trials involving novel agents being tested in patients with glioblastoma and is a leader of MD Anderson’s Glioblastoma Moon Shot. Dr. de Groot has eighty peer reviewed articles. He is or has been a peer reviewer for 23 scientific journals, both national and international, and is on four editorial review boards.
Dr. David Reardon
Dr. David Reardon serves as clinical director of the Center for Neuro-Oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and is a Professor of Medicine at the Harvard Medical School. Dr. Reardon previously served as associate deputy director of the Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke University. He completed his residency at the Johns Hopkins Hospital and a fellowship at the University of Michigan. His expertise includes the design and implementation of clinical trials for neuro-oncology and the preclinical evaluation of promising therapeutics. His work includes evaluation of innovative clinical therapeutics with particular focus on immune therapeutics. Dr. Reardon has published over 200 peer-reviewed manuscripts and received the R. Wayne Rundles Award for Excellence in Cancer Research.
Dr. Timothy Cloughesy
Dr. Timothy Cloughesy is a professor of neurology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles and a member of the UCLA Brain Research Institute and Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. He also serves as the director of UCLA’s Neuro-Oncology Program, co-director of the UCLA Brain Tumor Center, and the director of the Henry Singleton Brain Cancer Research Program. Dr. Cloughesy’s research includes therapeutic, imaging, translational and basic investigations. His experience with clinical trials includes therapeutic approaches such as small molecule inhibitors, antibodies, antibody drug conjugates, chemotherapies, vaccines, viral gene transfer, and immune check point therapies. He has experience in leadership roles for first in human, PK/PD, and more traditional Phase I through Phase III studies. His focus on clinical trials in brain cancer involves novel clinical trial design, incorporation of biomarkers, and development of new biomarkers. He provided principal leadership for the accelerated approval and the conversion to full approval of the drug bevacizumab for recurrent glioblastoma. Dr. Cloughesy received his B.A. degree with honors from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and his M.D. from Tulane University. He completed his neurology residency and fellowships in clinical neurophysiology at University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. Cloughesy is board certified in neurology and clinical neurophysiology and has the UCNS Neuro-Oncology Certification.
Dr. Nicholas Butowski
Dr. Nicholas Butowski is a neuro-oncologist practicing at UCSF Medical Center in San Francisco, CA. Dr. Butowski serves as director of translational research in neuro-oncology and a researcher at the Brain Tumor Center. He specializes in brain tumors, neuroimaging, cognitive and rehabilitative neurology, and complementary therapies for neurological disorders. In his research, Dr. Butowski focuses on developing treatments for primary brain tumors as well as methods to ensure good quality of life for patients and to assist them in recovering from, or coping with, brain injury. Dr. Butowski earned his medical degree at the University of Illinois at Chicago and completed a residency in neurology and a fellowship in neuro-oncology at UCSF. He is a member of the American Academy of Neurology, American Society of Clinical Oncology, and Society for Neuro-oncology.