Cancer External Advisory Board

Executive Director of Research & Business Administration, Siteman Cancer Center, Washington University School of Medicine and Barnes Jewish Hospital

At Siteman, Nicholas Fisher oversees all administrative, operational, human resource and fiscal responsibilities for the research arm of the center. As a member of Siteman’s senior leadership team, he is critical to helping the center realize its mission of preventing cancer in the community and transforming cancer patient care through scientific discovery while maintaining and continually renewing Siteman’s status as an exceptionally ranked NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center. Prior to his current role he served as both the director of clinical research, where he was responsible for the center’s clinical research operations, and as the director of operations, where he represented Siteman’s interests throughout the medical center and held responsibility for all research administration operations.

Professor, Department of Public Health Sciences, MUSC, and Associate Director, Community Outreach and Engagement, MUSC Hollings Cancer Center (HCC)

Marvella Ford, Ph.D., is a tenured a professor and the vice chair of departmental excellence and engagement in the Department of Public Health Sciences at the Medical University of South Carolina. She is an associate director at the Hollings Cancer Center. She holds a SmartState Endowed Chair in Cancer Population Health with South Carolina State University. She completed her undergraduate training at Cornell University, and her graduate and postdoctoral fellowship training at the University of Michigan. As a member of the MUSC-HCC’s Cancer Prevention and Control Program, she is a behavioral scientist with a strong commitment to cancer health research. She currently co-leads the MUSC HCC-funded Minority/Underserved NCI Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP), one of only 14 institutions in the US. She is also the MPI of a multi-state, multi-institutional Stand Up to Cancer grant. Ford is the author or co-author of more than 140 peer-reviewed scientific papers. She co-edited the 2017 and 2020 Advances in Cancer Research volumes titled “Cancer Disparities” and “Cancer Health Equity,” respectively, and has published nine book chapters. Over the past three years, Ford has received numerous awards, including a 2022 MUSC Earl B. Higgins University Leadership in Diversity Award, a 2022 Remarkable Woman of the Lowcountry Award, a 2023 Top 25 Diversity Leader in Healthcare in the US award, a 2024 National Immunization Champions Award, and a 2025 Diamond of the Community Award for Service in the field of Medicine from the Charleston Alumni Chapter of the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.

President & CEO, the M&T Bank Presidential Chair in Leadership, and Professor of Oncology, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center

Joining Roswell Park in 2002, Candace S. Johnson, Ph.D., became its first female leader in 2015, driving major advancements in immunotherapy, cellular therapies, and community outreach. She earned her Ph.D. in immunology from The Ohio State University and completed postdoctoral fellowships at the Michigan Cancer Foundation. Her research focuses on translational cancer therapies, particularly the anti-proliferative effects of vitamin D. She has authored nearly 200 publications and holds patents in cancer treatment innovations. A respected voice in oncology, she chaired the NCI Frederick National Laboratory Advisory Committee for the last six years and serves on multiple editorial boards and scientific societies. Her leadership has earned her numerous accolades, including the Woman of Distinction and Lifetime Achievement awards.

Senior Vice President and Physician in Chief at City of Hope, Orange County Lennar Foundation Cancer Center

Edward S. Kim, M.D., is an internationally recognized physician executive, scientist and medical oncologist known for his trailblazing discoveries, leadership and advocacy for equity in clinical study participation. Kim’s leadership at City of Hope has significantly improved patient outcomes and access to nationally ranked cancer research and treatment, including more than 730 cancer-focused clinical trials each year. He is among the country’s foremost champions for eliminating outmoded clinical trial participation criteria that often impacts underserved populations, resulting in serious gaps in care and research integrity. He has served as a principal/co-principal investigator on numerous clinical studies and protocols and authored/co-authored more than 250 published articles, book chapters, and reviews in top-tier journals such as The Lancet, The Lancet Oncology, Journal of Clinical Oncology, Cancer Discovery, Cancer, Nature Medicine, and Cancer Prevention Research. Kim is renowned for his seminal BATTLE (Biomarker-integrated Approaches of Targeted Therapy for Lung Cancer Elimination) study, which revolutionized lung cancer by introducing effective personalized therapies. He is one of only 15 oncologists worldwide to be recognized as a 2024 “Giant of Cancer Care” by OncLive, oncology’s most prestigious honor. He has twice been honored by Modern Healthcare as one of the nation’s Top 25 Diversity Leaders, recognized as one of the top cancer leaders in the nation by Friends of Cancer Research and honored as a U.S. News & World Report “Top Doctor.” In addition, he has been repeatedly recognized as one of Orange County’s most influential people by The Orange County Register and Orange County Business Journal.

Chair and Professor, Department of Neurosurgery, MD Anderson

Frederick Lang, M.D., is a professor and chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery at MD Anderson. He is also an adjunct professor of neurosurgery at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston. Lang is frequently requested as a national and international lecturer. He is a leader in the field of neurosurgery with particular focus on deep-seated brain tumors located in eloquent brain regions. Lang is an NIH-funded translational researcher who has published extensively on gene, viral and cellular therapies for brain tumors and is principal investigator on multiple clinical trials that investigate these new approaches. He is also the principal investigator of the multi-disciplinary SPORE in Brain Cancer Program grant. He has served on the executive committee of the AANS/CNS Section on Tumors and is the past chair of this section. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Society for Neuro-Oncology (SNO), and is a past president of SNO. He is board certified in neurosurgery and is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. Lang is an Associate Editor of Neurosurgery and on the Editorial Board of Neuro-Oncology and Translational Oncology. He served on the Developmental Therapeutic Study Section within the NIH until his tenure ended in 2011; he has continued as an ad hoc reviewer for NIH. He has published more than 200 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. He received his medical degree from Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT. He completed a residency in neurosurgery at New York University Medical Center and a fellowship in neurosurgical oncology at MD Anderson.

Marion N. Rowley Professor of Cancer Research, Ohio State University; Director, Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, College of Medicine; Professor, Division of Epidemiology, College of Public Health; Deputy Director, Population Sciences and Community Outreach, OSU Comprehensive Cancer Center; Founding Director, Center for Cancer Outreach and Engagement, James Cancer Hospital; Director, Center for Cancer Prevention and Survivorship, OSUCC

Electra D. Paskett, Ph.D., became the Marion N. Rowley Professor of Cancer Research at The Ohio State University (OSU) in 2002. Paskett’s 500+ peer-reviewed publications showcase her work in intervention research directed at cancer prevention, early detection and survivorship issues. Her studies use multi-level interventions in transdisciplinary teams with community-based participatory research to identify and intervene on factors causing disparities among underserved populations such as social and ethnic minority groups and rural/underserved populations. Paskett was the principal investigator of the Ohio Patient Navigator Research Program and has received funding from the Breast Cancer Research Foundation since 2001. She continues to work with the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) and was one of the multiple PIs of the WHI Cancer Survivor Cohort, and currently is the PI of the WHI Midwest Regional Coordinating Center. She had funding for a UG3 to improve colorectal cancer screening through implementation science and a P01 that was looking to improve cervical cancer prevention services in Appalachia. Paskett was elected as a Fellow to the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2004. She is a past-president of the American Society of Preventive Oncology, a past deputy editor of the journal Cancer, Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, and Section Editor of the journal, Cancer, and currently serves as editor in chief of the journal Preventive Oncology and Epidemiology. She is director of the Cancer Control Program in Alliance. She served on the National Cancer Institute’s National Cancer Advisory Board. Paskett became a member of the Ohio Commission on Minority Health (OCMH) in 2020 and was appointed chair in 2023. In 2024, Paskett was elected to a 3-year term on the Board of Directors of AACR (American Association for Cancer Research). Paskett was named a Fellow of the American College of Epidemiology in 2024 and elected in the Fellows Academy of the AACR in 2025. She also became a fellow of the American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in 2025. Paskett is also an American Cancer Society Distinguished Professor.

Deputy Director, Population Science; Professor of Epidemiology, Fred and Pamela Buffett Cancer Center, University of Nebraska Medical Center

Thomas A. Sellers, Ph.D., brings decades of leadership experience from institutions including the University of Minnesota, Mayo Clinic, Moffitt Cancer Center and OHSU Knight Cancer Institute. A genetic epidemiologist, Sellers has led pioneering research on inherited and modifiable risk factors for breast, ovarian and prostate cancers, supported by over $100 million in peer-reviewed funding. His work has produced more than 400 publications and over 40,000 citations. He is an elected Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors and has served on numerous national boards and advisory committees, including the AACR and NCI. Sellers is deeply committed to mentorship, team science and advancing diversity, equity and inclusion in cancer research.

Enterprise Chair, Department of Radiation Oncology, Cleveland Clinic Cancer Institute; Professor of Radiation Oncology, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University; Staff Physician, Rose Ella Burkhardt Brain Tumor and Neuro-oncology Center

John Suh, M.D., completed his internship, residency and fellowship at Cleveland Clinic. His clinical, research and educational interests include brain, spine and ocular tumors, stereotactic radiosurgery, and stereotactic body radiation therapy. He has been the editor of Applied Radiation Oncology since 2012 and on the Board of Trustees for the American Board of Radiology since 2020.