Medical Oncology, Mayo Clinic

Thorvardur R. Halfdanarson, MD, is a medical oncologist focusing on gastrointestinal malignancies, especially neuroendocrine tumors and hepatobiliary tumors. His clinical focus includes: Management of neuroendocrine malignancies (carcinoid tumors included) of all types and origins; Treatment of hepatobiliary and pancreatic cancers, especially in the setting of multidisciplinary care; Management of patients with colorectal cancer including locally recurrent rectal cancer; Diagnosis and management of patients with cancers of unknown primary site; Thoracic malignancies, especially neuroendocrine tumors (lung carcinoid tumors)

In addition to his clinical activities, Dr. Halfdanarson is active in both research and education. His research focus is primarily on neuroendocrine tumors ranging from epidemiology to therapy including novel therapeutics in clinical trials. Dr. Halfdanarson is an assistant program director for the Hematology/Oncology fellowship program at Mayo Clinic. He has received numerous awards for teaching residents and fellows.

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Medical Oncology, Yale School of Medicine

Pamela Kunz, MD, is a medical oncologist and international expert in neuroendocrine tumors, or NETs. NETs are rare cancers originating in neuroendocrine cells. NETs most often originate in the small intestine, pancreas and lungs.

Dr. Kunz serves as the director of the Center for Gastrointestinal Cancers at Smilow Cancer Hospital and Yale Cancer Center. She’s also the division chief of GI medical oncology and the vice chief for diversity, equity, and inclusion in Medical Oncology.

She received her medical degree from the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth and did her residency and fellowship at Stanford University. Dr. Kunz is an associate professor of internal medicine (medical oncology) at Yale School of Medicine.

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Medical Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center

Dr. Strosberg is a medical oncologist in the Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology, section head of the Neuroendocrine Division and chair of the Gastrointestinal Department Research Program at Moffitt Cancer Center.

 He is a professor at the University of South Florida College of Medicine’s Department of Oncologic Sciences. Dr. Strosberg’s clinical interest centers on neuroendocrine malignancies, specifically carcinoid tumors and pancreatic endocrine (islet cell) tumors. His research focus includes the development of novel biomarker-driven therapeutic treatments. Collaborative research has led to the identification of new molecular prognostic markers associated with malignant progression of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. His data on the treatment of metastatic pancreatic endocrine tumors with the novel combination of capecitabine and temozolomide was internationally recognized.

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Medical Oncology, University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine, Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center

Dr. Emily Bergsland is Professor of Clinical Medicine, UCSF; Associate Director for Education, Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center and holds the Ernest Rosenbaum, MD, Endowed Chair in Medical Oncology, UCSF.

Dr. Bergsland is a specialist in gastrointestinal oncology. Her expertise extends to the treatment of gastrointestinal cancers, with an emphasis on colorectal and neuroendocrine malignancies. In her research, she focuses on developing and testing novel cancer therapies. She has also written extensively on the evolution of neuroendocrine tumor treatment. Dr. Bergsland has led numerous clinical studies in patients with gastrointestinal malignancies. Her current efforts are focused on clinical and translational research related to neuroendocrine tumors. At a national level, Dr. Bergsland is a member of the NCCN (National Comprehensive Cancer Network) NET guidelines panel and past Chair of the Neuroendocrine Tumor (NET) Task Force for the National Cancer Institute. She is also the study chair for a national study of a novel treatment for patients with carcinoid tumors performed by the ALLIANCE for Clinical Trials and funded by the National Cancer Institute.

Dr. Bergsland earned her medical degree from the University of Minnesota and completed an internship, residency, and chief residency in internal medicine at UCSF. She subsequently completed a fellowship in Medical Oncology and was a Molecular Medicine fellow before joining the UCSF faculty in 1998. 

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Dr. Kulke joined the staff of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) in 1997 and is currently an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. He is also the Director of the DFCI's Program in Neuroendocrine and Carcinoid Tumors.

He received an MD from the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine in 1992. He completed a residency in internal medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital and went on to work as a fellow in medical oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Dr. Kulke also holds a masters degree in medical science from Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Kulke has led numerous clinical and translational studies in patients with gastrointestinal malignancies and neuroendocrine tumors. He has served as study chair for a national study of pancreatic cancer therapies performed by the Cancer and Leukemia group B and funded by the National Cancer Institute. His current efforts have focused on clinical and translational research in carcinoid and pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. Dr. Kulke is the recipient of the George Canellos Award for Clinical Investigation and the Ruth Brufsky Award for Pancreatic Cancer Research. Dr. Kulke is the Immediate Past Chair of the NANETS Board of Directors. He is also chair of the Neuroendocrine Tumor Task Force for the National Cancer Institute and also serves on the advisory board for the European Neuroendocrine Tumor Society.

Surgical Oncology, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine

Dr. Howe earned his medical degree from the Vermont College of Medicine. He completed a surgical research fellowship at Washington University, St. Louis and a second clinical fellowship in surgical oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

Dr. Howe is a Professor of Surgery at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine. He is the co-director of the neuroendocrine cancer clinic and the director of the Division of Surgical Oncology and Endocrine Surgery.

Dr. Howe specializes in treating patients with cancers of the pancreas, liver, GI tract, soft tissue sarcoma, melanoma, thyroid, parathyroid, and adrenal glands. His research expertise is in Familial Cancer Syndromes, genetic linkage, gene discovery, and gene expression studies. Dr. Howe’s current research efforts are focused on the study of gene expression profiles in pancreatic and small bowel NETs to identify new targets for imaging and treatment, and collection of families to search for predisposing genes.

He is currently serving as a member of the NANETS Executive Board and is the President Emeritus of the North American Neuroendocrine Tumor Society (NANETS). Dr. Howe is President of the Society of Surgical Oncology.

Dr. Metz is a Professor of Medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

After earning his MD from the University of the Witwatersrand's Medical School, Dr. Metz was a resident at both the Albert Einstein Medical Center and the Johannesburg General Hospital. He went on to complete fellowships at Georgetown University Hospital as well as the National Institutes of Health.

Dr. Metz's clinical efforts and academic research focus on acid-peptic disorders, swallowing and esophageal disorders, gastrointestinal cancers, and Eosinophilic Esophagitis. He is currently the Gastrointestinal Division's Associate Chief for Clinical Affairs, director of the Acid-Peptic program and, co-director of both the Esophagology and Swallowing Program and the Neuroendocrine Tumor Center at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Kvols is a consultant in neuroendocrinology at Kvols Consulting in Placitas, New Mexico.

He graduated from Baylor College of Medicine with his MD in 1970 and went on to do an internship, residency and fellowship at John Hopkins School of Medicine. From 1973-1975 Dr. Kvols completed a fellowship in hematology and oncology at Baltimore Cancer Research Center.

From 1975-1993 was a professor of oncology at Mayo Clinic before becoming the director of clinical research at Mallinckrodt. In 1996 Dr. Kvols became the director and CEO of cancer research and treatment at the University of New Mexico. Later in his career, he joined Moffitt Cancer Center as the director of neuroendocrine cancer research until he opened his own consulting company, Kvols consulting, in 2013.

According to his colleagues, Dr. Kvols personalizes his professional interest in patients with his excellent care and bedside manner.

Dr. James Yao is a Professor of Medical Oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. He also holds the Deputy Department Chair of the MD Anderson Cancer Center Department of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology.

He earned his medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine in 1995 and completed a clinical fellowship in clinical oncology at MD Anderson Cancer Center in 2001.

Dr. Yao’s research focuses on treatment modalities for neuroendocrine tumors.

He is a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the NCI Investigational Drug Steering Committee. Dr. Yao is also the Vice Chair of the NCI Neuroendocrine Task Force Committee and the NANETS Chair Emeritus.

Dr. William Maples is the Chief Medical Officer for Professional Research Consultants, Inc. Following his appointment to PRC, Dr. Maples led the creation of The Institute for Healthcare Excellence, a PRC company providing a collaboration of industry experts and thought leaders focused on healthcare improvement solutions to create a culture of excellence. The Institute’s signature element is an initiative Dr. Maples helped develop and now leads to improve quality, safety, and the patient experience through more effective communication. This initiative has successfully improved both patient and provider satisfaction scores at hospitals and health enterprises across the country.

Prior to joining PRC, Dr. Maples was responsible for quality and safety throughout Mission Health in Asheville, N.C. Named one of the Top 15 Health Systems in the United States by Thomson Reuters in 2012, and Truven Health Analytics in 2013, 2014, and 2015. Mission Health is a $1.2 billion integrated health system serving western North Carolina.

Before joining Mission in December 2010, Dr. Maples was a 25-year practicing physician/oncologist and quality leader at Mayo Clinic. He also served as an Associate Professor of Oncology at Mayo’s College of Medicine and as a Clinical Professor at Brooks College of Health at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville. At Mayo, he worked with key leadership to implement a quality program, which included the creation of the Communication in Healthcare curriculum that was integral to Mayo Clinic Florida achieving top national performance ratings in patient satisfaction during his tenure.

Dr. Maples earned his undergraduate and medical degrees at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and completed his residency and fellowship in oncology at the Mayo Graduate School College of Medicine.