Group 4A: Breast Cancer; Immunotherapy; Clinical Trials (DO NOT BOLD)
Thursday, Jun 13
10:00 am – 11:30 am Eastern Time (US/New York)
Mentor: Christine Hodgdon, M.S.
Christine Hodgdon was a conservation biologist before her metastatic breast cancer (MBC) diagnosis in April 2015. Her advocacy career began when she launched TheStormRiders.org, an educational resource for MBC patients that includes a searchable clinical trial database. She later co-founded GRASP – Guiding Researchers & Advocates to Scientific Partnerships which empowers patients, clinicians, and researchers to exchange ideas and learn from each other. She spearheads the Breast Cancer Brain Metastasis (BCBM) Initiative: Marina Kaplan Project with the goal to address the unmet research needs of breast cancer patients living with central nervous system (CNS) metastasis. She was also a founding committee member of MBCBrainMets.org, a resource hub for breast cancer patients living with brain metastasis. She is the Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center patient advocate representative for the Translational Breast Cancer Research Consortium (TBCRC) and she co-leads the Hopkins INSPIRE (Influencing Science through Patient-Informed Research & Education) Advocacy Program. Her advocacy work is inspired and driven by the loss of many friends to MBC.
Twitter: @christeeny513
Scientist: Dionisia Quiroga, Ph.D.
Dionisia Quiroga is an Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine and medical oncologist at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center. Her clinical expertise is in treating all types of breast cancer. Her laboratory and clinical research focuses on breast cancer immunology and immunotherapy as well as how obesity/fat tissue can affect breast cancer outcomes. She is also passionate about racial/ethnic disparities in cancer care and improving diverse representation in clinical research. She has presented her work at several national and international conferences. She has received multiple national grants for her research and serves on an American Society of Clinical Oncology advisory board to improve opportunities for trainees and early-career oncologists. During her free time, she loves to cook new dishes, go for runs, and explore parks with her husband and son.
Twitter: @quirogad
