EIOC 2023 | Session Heads

Dr Shaheenah Dawood is a Consultant Medical Oncologist and Professor in Clinical Oncology in the United Arab Emirates. She was trained in medical oncology at McGill University Hospitals in Canada and subspecialized in breast cancer management at MD Anderson Cancer Center. During her training, she was awarded multiple scholar training awards besides ASCO merit awards. Dr Shaheenah has served as an editorial fellow at the New England Journal of Medicine and has an MPH from the Harvard School of Public Health. She has over 100 papers to her credit including 50 peer review original articles, 30 review articles, and 12 book chapters.

Having served as a reviewer for multiple journals including the Journal of Clinical Oncology she is currently leading the oncology clinical trials program at Mediclinic City Hospital, Dubai. She also serves as President of Excellence in Oncology Care (EIOC) annual congress held in Dubai and is Co-Chair of the Asia Pacific Breast Cancer Summit (APBCS), Asia Pacific Gastrointestinal Cancer Summit (APGCS) ,the international BRCA forum (iBRCAf) and Young Women Forum (YWF) from over a decade.

Dr. Bhawna Sirohi is currently a consultant medical oncologist in GI & breast cancers and Medical Director of BALCO Medical Centre. She started her oncology career at Tata Memorial centre (TMC), Mumbai in 1994 and completed training at Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, UK. Her research interest is focused on breast and HPB cancers, survivorship, young women with breast cancer and delivering quality care in Low- and middle-income group countries (LMICs). She received the Royal Marsden award for excellence in 2000 for enhancing trusts reputation, the TMC-Women’s Cancer Initiative award in 2011, LBF Visionary award for excellence in 2011, Maulana Ilyasi Jameel Award in August 2013, Aadhi Abadi women achievers award in 2014 and Barts Heroes award for education in 2018.

She is an honorary consultant with Queen Mary’s University, London. She was previously working at The Barts Health NHS Trust, London. She started her oncology training in India in 1994 at the Tata Memorial Centre, Mumbai and completed at Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, UK.

Dr. Mordani is an experienced interventional radiologist with many years of UK-based experience in both diagnostic and interventional radiology. He has a keen interest in vascular and non-vascular intervention and he regularly performs procedures such as peripheral vascular angioplasties and stents, hepato-biliary drainages and stents, selective celiac/mesenteric and renal embolisations, ultrasound and CT-guided biopsies and drainage and trans-jugular liver biopsies. Dr. Mordani attained a Fellowship in Interventional Radiology from the University Hospitals Network in Toronto, Canada and, among others, is a member of the British Society of Interventional Radiologists.

Khaled Al Qawasmeh qualified with Master’s Degree in Clinical Oncology Nursing from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA. He is an Oncology Certified Nurse (OCN) since 2009. Khaled has gained the prestigious Clinical Research Certification from USA and become a Certified Clinical Research Professional (CCRP) 2015. Khaled is the Adult Hemophilia Clinical Nurse Specialist. Khaled has published in national and international peer-reviewed journals. He is a researcher his main research interest is in the field of oncology/Hematology. Khaled is an official reviewer for the prestigious Cancer Nursing Journal. Khaled is currently a Clinical Research Nurse Coordinator at Tawam Hospital and actively involved in the Management of Hemophilia patients.

Dr. Mona Tareen is a Consultant in Palliative, Geriatric and Internal Medicine. She obtained her basic medical degree from Dhow Medical College, Karachi, Pakistan and completed her US Board Certification in Internal Medicine, Geriatrics Board Certification and Hospice and Palliative Medicine. She has worked as Palliative Medicine Consultant and Medical Director of Hospice and Palliative Care Program in the US and also served the Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, as Consultant Geriatrician.

Dr. Nitesh Rohatgi is a Senior Director Medical Oncology at Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Gurugram, who was till recently working at the prestigious London Oncology Clinic (Leaders in Oncology care), Harley Street, London. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of medicine and has much publication to his name. He was trained in medical oncology, palliative medicine, and teenage young adult’s cancers in the United Kingdom, completing his CCT in 2009.

He was leading the Breast Medical oncology team at the Mid-Yorkshire NHS trust affiliated to Leeds Teaching Hospitals, where he previously trained, working alongside the likes of Prof. Peter Selby world-renowned for his work in psycho-oncology and Renal cell cancer. He has a specialist interest in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer, and his major research interests lie in understanding mechanisms of endocrine resistance in breast cancer. He is actively involved in facilitating the interface between basic and applied research, and is chief investigator of several phase II/III trials of novel therapeutic approaches in advanced disease, including new endocrine therapies and targeted signal transduction inhibitors. One of his key areas of interest is QOL “Quality of life” of cancer patients and the effects of chemotherapy on the same. At LOC he is leading the QOL group along with Dr. Peter Harper to bring about a new dimension to the management of chemotherapy-related toxicity amongst cancer patients. He has also floated guidelines on various aspects of cancer care including anti-emesis, neutropenic sepsis, and management of anaphylaxis, and recently on the role of Vitamin D deficiency in oncology. His work beckoned him to return to India with a clear intent of translating critical aspects of patient care from research to the “highest possible standards of clinical practice”, which according to him should be the mantra of healthcare.

Dr. Pankaj Chaturvedi is a Head and Neck Cancer Surgeon at Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai. Dr. Chaturvedi did his medical schooling and post-graduation in General Surgery at Banaras Hindu University. He was adjudged the best Intern (1991) and the best Post Graduate (1995) during his tenure in Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University. Later, he decided to work in the field of surgical oncology and received his formal training at Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai. He is part of the Indian Council of Medical research Taskforce on Carcinoma of Oral cancer. He is a founding member of the SAARC Federation of oncology.

Dr. Kumar is a professor and medical oncologist in Tata Memorial Hospital and has more than two decades of experience.He is the present President and convener of Indian Cooperative Oncology Network (ICON).He has so far published over a hundred research and review articles/papers in journals of national and international repute.He has so far undertaken over 80 projects as Principal Ivestigator and Co-Investigator.He is a member of many international and national scientific societies and associations and has delivered talks in several conferences.

These days he is proactive in increasing awareness about lung cancer and has successfully conceptualized Lung Cancer Consortium Asia ,he has significantly contributed in translational and clinical research work in the field of lung cancer and has published 17 papers in recent years.He is dedicated to create awareness about lung cancer with utmost importance to patient care and to strengthen future research.

Dr. Shailesh V. Shrikhande, is Deputy Director at Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai. He is also Professor & Head, Division of Cancer Surgery and Chief of GI and HPB Surgical Oncology at the Tata Memorial Hospital. After completing his MS from Mumbai University where he was ranked first in 1997, he proceeded to Switzerland where he worked with one of the leading pancreatic surgeons in the world, Professor Markus Buchler. During his 15 month stay there, he was actively involved in basic science research in tropical chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer.

On his return to India, he worked as a fellow in GI Surgery at the Tata Memorial Hospital from July 2001 till October 2002. He was then appointed as consultant GI and HPB surgeon of Tata Memorial Hospital in November 2002. In 2005, he became the first Asian to be awarded the Kenneth Warren Fellowship of the International Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association (IHPBA) – and was on special deputation from Tata Memorial for a year in the University of Heidelberg in Germany – perhaps the highest volume center for pancreatic resectional surgery in the world. He was awarded the “Doctor Med” (MD) degree by the University of Heidelberg with the excellent grade in January 2006 for his work on pancreatic cancer and chronic pancreatitis. He has been invited for over 80 lectures in India and abroad in Switzerland, Germany, Egypt and China and Russia. He has more than 70 clinical and basic science research papers in indexed international and national peer reviewed journals. He has contributed more than 30 book chapters to various national and international books and is the editor of the book “Surgery of Pancreatic tumors” released in October 2007. He has given live operative demonstrations on pancreatic, gall bladder and rectal cancer, is on the review board of many national and international journals, and is the Associate Editor of Indian Journal of Colorectal Diseases.

Dr. Shona Nag is currently Director of Oncology at Sahayadri Group of Hospitals in Pune. She is known for her work in women’s health – especially breast cancer, cervical cancer & developmental theraputics. With over 27 years of practice, Dr. Shona Nag, who studied medicine in Pune’s BJ Medical College, followed by an oncology fellowship at Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai has been Principal Investigator for over 40 Phase I, II, III global clinical Trials in Breast cancer, Ovarian cancer, lung cancer, Renal cell carcinoma, colorectal cancer.

Dr. Sudeep Gupta is a Professor of Medical Oncology at Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai, India. Dr. Gupta obtained his MBBS degree from All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi in 1992. He completed his Postgraduate (MD degree) in internal medicine in 1994 and his Medical Oncology training in 2000 at the same Institute. Following his Medical Oncology training, Dr. Gupta joined Tata Memorial hospital in Mumbai as an Assistant Professor in Medical Oncology and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2003 and Professor in 2010.

Dr. Gupta is extensively involved as principal- and co-investigator in many clinical trials (more than 100). He is a member of the task force of the Indian Council of Medical Research for guideline formulation on cervical cancer in India. Dr. Gupta has been both a primary author and collaborator of over 60 peer-reviewed publications in national and international journals. In collaboration with other authors he has written numerous books. Currently he is the Editor-in-Chief of Indian Journal of Medical and Pediatric Oncology, and the General-Secretary of the Women’s Cancer Initiative (a non-governmental organization dedicated to helping women with malignancies in India). He has been an invited speaker and expert panelist on cancer at many international, regional and national congresses.

Professor Hendrik Tobias Arkenau is a prominent medical oncologist in London who specialises in the treatment of gastrointestinal cancer, stomach cancer, liver cancer, pancreatic cancer, bowel cancer and immunotherapies.

He was awarded his medical degree from Hanover Medical School in Germany in 2000. He then completed his specialist training in oncology across numerous centres of excellence, including the Royal Marsden Hospital. He was awarded a Fellowship by the Royal College of Physicians and he plays a crucial role in his field of gastrointestinal cancers, drug development and immunotherapy thanks to his research contributions.

Professor Arkenau was the Executive Medical Director of the Sarah Cannon Research Institute UK and is currently the CMO and Global Head of Drug Development at Ellipses Pharma. He is a chief and principal investigator of numerous clinical trials of new anti-cancer drugs, including immunotherapies and cellular therapies.

He is a professional research associate at the University College London Hospital. Throughout his career, he has published numerous peer-reviewed articles and book chapters and regularly contributes at international and national meetings.

Dr. Wafaa Helmi Ayesh, Consultant Clinical Nutrition Masters in Food Science & Nutrition (Clayton University, USA), Diploma Holder in Clinical Nutrition & Metabolism (ESPEN, France), Diploma Holder in Nutrition (American Association of Continuing Medical Education AACME); Consultant, Public Health Protection Department (Dubai Health Authority, UAE). Her areas of expertise are Pediatric to geriatric nutrition, Diabetes nutrition, Renal nutrition, Oncology nutrition, Baristric surgery nutrition & General and parenteral nutrition.

Dr. Yasser Farahat currently serves as Professor of Urology at Tanta University, Egypt, a Clinical Tutor at Edinburg University, UK, and a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, UK. He is a Consultant Urologist at the Ministry of Health and Prevention UAE and a Fellow of the European Board of Urology (FEBU). He is acting as a Senior Consultant of Urology at Sheikh Khalifa General Hospital (SKGH-UAQ), UAE.

His special interests & research include minimally invasive surgery, Endo-urology, Robotic Assisted FURS, Reconstructive Urology, and Andrology. He completed his MD in 2004 at Tanta University, Egypt. He had been awarded several prizes including the Best Research and Presentation at The First Eastern Mediterranean Meeting of European Association of Urology in 2007 and The Best Research Poster Presentation at the 25th annual EAU Congress in 2010. He is one of the worldwide initiators of using the robotic-assisted RIRS since the invention of the Roboflex and improving the utilization of flexible ureteroscopy in renal calculi management. He is also, a reviewer of several international journals. He has published over 35 international and local publications and has presented at 90 conferences worldwide. Dr. Farahat is an active member of many international urological associations and societies including, The European Association of Urology (EAU), Société Internationale D’Urologie (SIU), Endourological Society and he is currently the head of the scientific committee of Emirates Urological Society (EUS), Cochair of the scientific committee of Urological Association of Asia (UAA), Secretary-General of Arab Association of Urology (AAU) and Chairman of Arab School of Urology.

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