Dr. Pisters is a thoracic medical oncology at UT MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX. Dr. Pisters is involved with clinical research in all areas of thoracic malignancies.
Steven Dubinett, M.D., Professor of Medicine and Pathology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Dr. Dubinett’s research has primarily focused on translational investigations in the immunobiology of lung cancer. His laboratory has made translational contributions related to the tumor microenvironment, inflammation and epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) in the pathogenesis of lung cancer. Building on his original discovery that cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) is constitutively over-expressed in human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), he has developed a translational research program which utilizes these laboratory-based studies in the clinical setting. His laboratory has identified inflammation-dependent genes and proteins mediating angiogenesis, apoptosis resistance, invasion and immune suppression in NSCLC. He has translated these findings to clinical trials for patients with lung cancer as well as for those at risk of developing lung cancer. He has received peer-reviewed federal funding for lung cancer research for the past 19 years.
His most recent work finds linkage in inflammation, EMT and stem cell biology in the pathogenesis of lung cancer. His laboratory has found that the zinc-finger transcriptional repressor Snail induces EMT-mediated early lung cancer development and promotion of migration and expansion of stem cell populations. This continuum of events in lung tumorigenesis includes the Snail-mediated induction of pro-angiogenic chemokines which he has recently found to be responsible for angiogenesis at the primary tumor site as well as invasive properties and metastasis. He has been invited to present aspects of these new findings at a meet-the-expert session at the AACR Annual Meeting in April 2009. His presentation for the AACR meeting is titled, “The Continuum of Inflammation, EMT and the Stem Cell Niche in the Pathogenesis of Lung Cancer.”
Dr. Dubinett is Professor of Medicine and Pathology, Chief, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. He is Director of the Lung Cancer Research Program in the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and the UCLA SPORE in lung cancer. He has served on numerous study sections and special emphasis panels for the NIH including chair of the study section for the Lung SPOREs, reviewer for PO1s, the EDRN, Clinical Oncology and Tumor Microenvironment study sections and site review teams for the NCI intramural programs. Dr. Dubinett serves on numerous committees for professional societies including the ASCO Education Committee, the AACR – Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention Awards Selection Committee, the ATS Clinical Problems Program Committee and the organizing committee for the IASLC World Conference on Lung Cancer. He currently serves on the External Advisory Boards (EABs) for the Lung Cancer SPOREs at Colorado and Vanderbilt and the mesothelioma PO1 at the University of Pennsylvania. He served as a member of the NCI TRWG. He has received competitive awards for lung cancer research including the Cecile Lehman Mayer Research Award, the Helen Neufeld Award and the Career Investigator Award from the American Lung Association. In 2008 Dr. Dubinett received the American Thoracic Society Award for Scientific Achievement. He is the Scientific Program Chairperson for the Seventh Annual AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research to be held in Washington D.C. in November 2008.