Medical Advisors
Dr. Robert Seeger
The late Robert Seeger, M.D., Ph.D., was Professor of Pediatrics at the Keck School of Medicine, Director of Cancer Research Program of the Saban Research Institute, and Division Head for Basic and Translational Research of the Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. Dr. Seeger is considered one of the leaders in the fight against neuroblastoma. He has been involved in every major advancement in treating neuroblastoma. Dr. Seeger’s current therapeutic research deals with immunotherapy strategies that seek to maximize natural killer (NK) cell activity with tumor cell targeting antibodies and with agents that modify the tumor microenvironment milieu to minimize NK suppressive effects of monocytes/macrophages producing IL-6 and TGFβ1.
Dr. Malcolm K. Brenner
Malcolm K. Brenner, M.D., Ph.D., is the director of the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy at Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children’s Hospital and The Methodist Hospital. He is also director of the Shell Center for Gene Therapy at BCM and a professor in the Departments of Pediatrics and Medicine, Section of Hematology-Oncology.
Before coming to Baylor, he was one of the pioneers in the field of gene therapy at St. Jude Children’s Cancer Research Center in Memphis. Dr. Brenner is a co-editor of the journal Molecular Therapy, a member of the American Society of Gene Therapy and a principal investigator or co-investigator on five NIH grants. He is the author or co-author of more than 200 professional articles in his field. He was the first to cure a child with
neuroblastoma using T cells.
Dr. Paul Sondel
Paul Sondel, M.D., Ph.D., is the Reed and Carolee Walker Professor in Pediatric Oncology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Dr. Sondel has been a leader in scientific policy through multiple national committee roles, including the National Institutes of Health, the American Cancer Society, the Children’s Oncology Group (COG), and the National Cancer Institute, where he was a member of the Board of Scientific Counselors, and St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, where he was the Chair of their Scientific Advisory Committee and is now chair of their cancer center’s external advisory board. Due to his extensive background in genetics and tumor immunology, Dr. Sondel led his team to dramatically change the treatment for neuroblastoma, and, in turn, the survival rate for children with this high-risk disease.
Dr. Philip Landrigan
Dr. Philip Landrigan, is a pediatrician and epidemiologist at Boston College. Dr. Landrigan is considered the leading expert in understanding the connections between toxic chemicals and human health, especially the health of infants and children. His landmark research in the ’70s prompted the EPA removing lead in gasoline and household paint. In the 1990’s at the National Academy of Sciences, he also defined children’s unique susceptibilities to pesticides and other toxic chemicals and catalyzed fundamental revamping of US pesticide policy. He served for 15 years as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer and medical epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). His leadership of a National Academy of Sciences Committee on pesticides in children’s diets secured passage of the Food Quality Protection Act in 1996, a major U.S. federal pesticide law and the first environmental statute to contain specific protections for infants and children.
Dr. Shakeel Modak
Dr. Shakeel Modak, M.D., Ph.D., joins us from the Department of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology, Immunotherapy, Neuroblastoma at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York. Dr. Modak is a pediatric oncologist who specializes in the treatment of children and young adults with neuroblastoma.
Dr. Modak along with his colleague Dr. Brian Kushner just recently reported the results of their groundbreaking clinical trial in which a vaccine was utilized. They reported an 80% reduction in relapse rates (or increased survival from a 30% survival rate to a 54% survival rate) for children fighting neuroblastoma. This number has been holding - six years out. Not only was the increased efficacy huge, but just as important, they used a vaccine a non-invasive, non-toxic treatments with no short term and long term life-threatening side effects.
Dr. FERNANDO STEIN
Dr. Stein, is the former President of the American Academy of Pediatrics. He is a founding member of the Section of Critical Care, the Council of Sections Management Committee and the Committee on Membership of the AAP. As a member of the technical advisors of the Pan American Health Organization for the Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses (IMCI), he has been extremely active in advocacy for children in impoverished environments at the global level. He is a leader in the area of chronically-ill children as survivors of intensive care. More than 1300 residents have rotated through the unit he has directed for the past 35 years. Residents under Dr. Stein's Progressive Care Unitlearn the intricacies of caring for children with technological dependency and the complexities of chronic care, re-imbursement and social and educational re-incorporation of this ever-increasing group of patients.
Dr.RENE’BRAVO,M.D.,F.A.A.P.
Dr. René Bravo is a pediatrician, having lived and practiced pediatrics here on the Central Coast of California since 1986. A graduate of the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine, Dr. Bravo did his internship and residency at Stanford University Medical Center. A longtime advocate for children and families, Dr. Bravo is currently in private practice in San Luis Obispo. Active in many community endeavors, he has served as the Chief of Pediatrics at Sierra Vista and French Hospitals. He was the past Chief of Staff at SLO General Hospital.
DR. CHRYSTAL LOUIS
Dr. Chrystal Louis is a pediatric hematologist and oncologist who is passionate about bringing novel therapeutics to patients with serious conditions. She is currently Senior Vice President of Clinical Development and Medical Affairs at Zentalis Pharmaceuticals, where she oversees the hematology franchise and medical affairs functions within the organization. Prior to joining Zentalis, she was the Vice President, Head of Medical Affairs at CRISPR Therapeutics. Her team worked on CASGEVY, the first CRISPR/Cas9 gene-edited cell therapy is now approved for the treatment of sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent Beta-thalassemia, as well as the allogeneic CAR-T programs in oncology.
While at Celgene, Dr. Louis was the US Medical Affairs lead for the solid tumor, myeloid and non-malignant hematology programs. She obtained her undergraduate degrees in Chemistry and Political Science from Southwestern University at Georgetown, TX, and her MD and MPH from Tulane University.
Dr Louis completed her general pediatrics residency at the University of California at Davis and her pediatric hematology and oncology fellowship at Texas Children’s Cancer Center. She worked at the Texas Children’s Cancer Center and the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy at Baylor College of Medicine prior to her industry career.
