Legends of Science Industry and Academia Oncology Symposium speakers
Join us on Friday, Aug. 14, for the second Annual Legends of Science Industry and Academia Oncology Symposium, which brings together internationally recognized experts discussing leading-edge cancer research. Explore next generation drug discoveries, breakthrough clinical trials, the game-changing role of artificial intelligence in healthcare and more.
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Meet the speakers
Meet the globally recognized experts leading the charge in transforming cancer treatment and shaping the future of science.
Session 1 | Preventing Cancer Before It Starts: Early Detection, Risk and Precision Prevention
Moderator: Samir Gupta, MD, MSCS
Professor of Medicine, Moores Cancer Center, UC San Diego
Diane M. Simeone, MD
Director, Moores Cancer Center
Koman Family Presidential Director’s Chair
Professor of Surgery and Pharmacology, Moores Cancer Center, UC San Diego Health
Mark Garner
Director, Translational and Clinical Research Segment, Agilent Technologies
Rachid Karam, MD, PhD
Vice President, Research & Development
Ambry Genetics
Damon McCune, PhD, RDN, LD
Medical Affairs Director
Guardant
Session 2 | AI and Computational Oncology: Predicting, Diagnosing, and Understanding Cancer
Moderator: Lee Stein
UCSD Medical Advisory Board Science and Technology Committee, XPRIZE Foundation Trustee8
Aaron Boussina
Illumina - Moores Cancer Center Fellow in AI and Precision Oncology
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Biomedical Informatics, Affiliate Faculty in the Joan & Irwin Jacobs Center for Health Innovation, UC San Diego
Donavan Cheng, PhD
Chief Technology Officer, Diagnostics
Tempus AI
Johannes Schöneberg, PhD
Roger Tsien Chancellor’s Faculty Fellow
Assistant Professor of Pharmacology and Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics, UC San Diego
Hani Goodarzi, PhD
Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Investigator
Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics
UC San Francisco
Next-Generation Technologies Driving Precision Oncology
Moderator: Gregory Botta, MD, PhD
Medical Oncologist
Associate Professor of Medicine
UC San Diego
Michael Previte
CTO and SVP of Advanced Research,
Co-Founder, Element Biosciences
Miguel Reina-Campos, PhD
Assistant Professor, La Jolla Institute of Immunology
Moores Cancer Center
Kiana Aran, PhD
2026 College of Fellows of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE)
Associate Professor of Bioengineering and Medicine, UC San Diego
Alexey Aleshin, MD
General Manager, Oncology and Early Cancer Detection
Corporate Chief Medical Officer, Natera
Session 4 | Drugging the Undruggable: New Therapeutic Platforms in Oncology
Moderator: Bob Abraham, PhD
CSO, Engine Biosciences
Fleur Ferguson, PhD
Assistant Professor, Dept of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, and Dept of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Moores Cancer Center, UC San Diego
Jennifer Venable, PhD
Executive Director, Site Head Discovery Chemistry La Jolla, Global Discovery Chemistry, J&J Innovative Medicine, Therapeutics Discovery, Discovery, Product Development & Supply
Philip Chamberlain, DPhil
Co-founder, President and CEO, Neomorph
Richard Smith, PhD
Vice President, Drug Discovery
Site Head, Kite Foster City
Kite Pharma, a Gilead Company
Keynote Session
Kevan M. Shokat, PhD
Professor, UC San Francisco
Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Session 5 | The Next Era of Clinical Trials: Accelerating Innovation and Improving Outcomes
Moderator: Peter Vu, MD
Associate Clinical Professor, Medicine
Moores Cancer Center, UC San Diego
Sherief Gamie, MD, PhD
Chief and Medical Director, Nuclear/Molecular Imaging and Theranostics Program
Clinical Professor of Radiology, UC San Diego Health
Lana Kulyk, PhD
Executive Director of Chemistry, Iambic Therapeutics
Silvio Gutkind, PhD
American Cancer Society (ACS) Research Professor
Distinguished Professor and Chair, Department of Pharmacology
Associate Director of Basic Science
Moores Cancer Center, UC San Diego
Jeff Settleman, PhD
Chief Scientific Officer, Oncology Research and Development, Pfizer
Session 6 | Making San Diego a National Destination for Oncology Drug Development and First-in-Human Clinical Trials
Moderator: Bill Koman
Chairman & Co-Founder, Koman Holdings, LLC
Philanthropist and Community Leader
Mary Walshok, PhD
Associate Vice Chancellor for Public Programs, University of California San Diego; Co-Founder, CONNECT
Rich Heyman
Venture Partner, ARCH Venture Partners
Vice Chair, Board of Trustees, Salk Institute for Biological Studies
Tim Scott
President and CEO, Biocom
Session 7 | Bringing Innovation to the Community – AI and Skin Cancer Detection: Expanding the Reach of Early Detection Through Innovation
Jennifer Lin, MD
Associate Professor of Dermatology, UC San Diego
Director, Melanoma Risk and Prevention Clinic
Session 8 | Why We Do This Work: Community Service Award Recipient
Moderator: Ramez Eskander, MD
Gynecologic Oncologist, Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences
Moores Cancer Center, UC San Diego
Tyler Callaway
Coach, UC San Diego Surf Team
Cory Reynolds
Thriver
2011 Co-Chair
Leukemia Survivor (CML)
Dino Degenis
Thriver
Sea Apparel, Inc.
“Swag Guy”
Michael “Scooter” Leonard
Thriver
Izzy Tihanyi
Thriver
CEO/Co-owner of Surf Diva, Inc.
Jennifer Sedeno
YMCA