Conference Proceedings

View Meeting Video

Friday, January 31, 2025

CME/CNE-accredited
patient & caregiver program

7:00 am - 4:00 pm EST

In person or virtually
Law Auditorium | Jordan Medical Education Center
Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine
3400 Civic Center Boulevard
Philadelphia, PA 19104

Syllabus

7:00 am

IN-PERSON: Check In, Continental Breakfast, Visit Exhibits and Experts

7:15 am

VIRTUAL: Log in to Virtual Conference

7:30 am

Educational Meeting Begins – Welcome and Introduction

Nduka M. Amankulor, MD  |  Activity Director  |  Neurosurgery
Steven Brem, MD  |  Activity Director  |  Neurosurgery
Robert H. Vonderheide, MD, DPhil   |  Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania
Daniel Yoshor, MD  |  Neurosurgery

SCIENTIFIC SESSION I: NEW CONCEPTS AND INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES

MODERATOR:  Steven Brem, MD  |  Activity Director  |  Neurosurgery

7:40 am

The Year in Review – Are We At a Turning Point in the War Against Brain Cancer?

Nduka M. Amankulor, MD  |  Activity Director  |  Neurosurgery
Steven Brem, MD  |  Activity Director  |  Neurosurgery

8:00 am

KEYNOTE ADDRESS: Laser Interstitial Thermal Therapy (LITT) for Brain Tumors: Preclinical Findings and Clinical Applications

Ganesh Rao, MD  |  Neurosurgery  |  Baylor College of Medicine

8:30 am

Integrated Diagnostics in Gliomas: The Role of Molecular Profiling and AI/ML

MacLean Nasrallah, MD, PhD  |  Pathology & Laboratory Medicine

8:45 am

Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) in Glioblastoma: Clinically relevant genomics

Jennifer J.D. Morrissette, PhD  |  Pathology & Laboratory Medicine

9:00 am

RANO 2.0 and Advances in Neuroimaging: Impact on clinical trials and clinical practice

Suyash Mohan, MD, PDCC  |  Activity Co-Director  |  Radiology

9:20 am

Radiomics and Imaging Biomarkers in Neuro-Oncology

Ali Nabavizadeh, MD  |  Radiology

9:35 am

Q & A Panel Discussion

MODERATOR: Steven Brem, MD  |  Activity Director  |  Neurosurgery

PANEL: 

Suyash Mohan, MD, PDCC  |  Activity Co-Director  |  Radiology
Jennifer J.D. Morrissette, PhD  |  Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
Ali Nabavizadeh, MD  |  Radiology
MacLean Nasrallah, MD, PhD  |  Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
Ganesh Rao, MD  |  Neurosurgery  |  Baylor College of Medicine

9:50 pm

Stories of Patient Survivors: Navigating the Health Care System, Finding Information, Clinical Trials, Innovation, and Hope

Kaileen M. Bevenour, PA-C  |  Neuro-Oncology
Elizabeth Heisler, PA-C  |  Neurosurgery
Meghan O'Neill, CRNP  |  Medical Oncology

10:20 am

Special Town Hall Meeting with Drs. Steven Brem and Nduka Amankulor for Patients, Caregivers, and Family Members         

Nduka M. Amankulor, MD  |  Activity Director  |  Neurosurgery
Steven Brem, MD  |  Activity Director  |  Neurosurgery

10:35 am

Break

SCIENTIFIC SESSION II: NEURO-ONCOLOGY 2.0

MODERATOR: Nduka M. Amankulor, MD  Activity Director  |  Neurosurgery

10:50 am

CAR T Cell Immuno-Oncology Program: From First in Human to Current and Future Studies- The Clinical Trial Pipeline

Zev Binder, MD, PhD   |  Neurosurgery
Stephen Bagley, MD, MSCE  Activity Co-Director  |  Hematology Oncology
Donald M. O’Rourke, MD  |  Activity Co-Director  |  Neurosurgery

11:20 am

Glioblastoma: Six Emerging Technologies in Search of a Cure

Steven Brem, MD  |  Activity Director  |  Neurosurgery

11:40 am

Optimizing Surgery and Immunotherapy for Gliomas using Advances in Genomics

Nduka M. Amankulor, MD    |  Activity Director  |  Neurosurgery

12:00 pm

Q & A Panel Discussion

MODERATORS: Nduka M. Amankulor, MD  Activity Director  |  Neurosurgery
Steven Brem, MD  |  Activity Director  |  Neurosurgery

PANEL: 

Stephen Bagley, MD, MSCE  |  Activity Co-Director  |  Hematology Oncology
Zev Binder, MD, PhD   |  Neurosurgery
Christina Jackson, MD   |  Neurosurgery
Donald M. O’Rourke, MD  |  Activity Co-Director  |  Neurosurgery

12:15 pm Lunch / Visit Exhibits / Chat with Experts

SCIENTIFIC SESSION III: PROGRESS IN THE TREATMENT OF MALIGNANT BRAIN TUMORS

Moderator: Suyash Mohan, MD, PDCC  |  Activity Co-Director  |  Radiology

1:00 pm

KEYNOTE ADDRESS - The INDIGO Trial and a Paradigm Change in the Treatment of IDH-mutant Low-Grade Gliomas

Ingo K. Mellinghoff, MD, FACP  |  Neuro-Oncology  | Memorial Sloan Kettering

1:30 pm

Medical and Symptom Management of Patients with Brain Tumors

Amy A. Pruitt, MD  |  Neurology

1:50 pm

Seizure Management for Brain Tumor Survivors: Current Concepts

2:05 pm

Q & A Panel Discussion

MODERATOR:  Suyash Mohan, MD, PDCC  Activity Co-Director  |  Radiology

PANEL: 
Amy A. Pruitt, MD  |  Neurology
Ingo K. Mellinghoff, MD, FACP  |  Neuro-Oncology  | Memorial Sloan Kettering
Saurabh R. Sinha, MD, PhD   |  Neurology

SCIENTIFIC SESSION IV: ADVANCES IN PRECISION SURGERY, MEDICAL AND RADIATION ONCOLOGY

MODERATOR: Harper Hubbeling, MD  |  Radiation Oncology

2:20 pm

Updates in Liquid Biopsy for Brain Tumors

Stephen Bagley, MD, MSCE |  Activity-Co-Director  |  Hematology Oncology

2:35 pm

Biomarkers in Immuno-Oncology: Road to Personalized Immunotherapy

Christina Jackson, MD   |  Neurosurgery

2:50 pm

Advances in Radiation Therapy for Patients with Brain Tumors

Emily Lebow, MD  |  Radiation Oncology

3:05 pm

Updates in the Targeted and Immunological Treatment of Brain Metastases: Melanoma

 Tara C. Mitchell, MD  |  Hematology Oncology

3:20 pm

mRNA Technology to Develop Vaccines for Brain Tumors: Preliminary Experience and Prospects for Future Development

Peter J. Madsen, MD, MBE   |  Neurosurgery  |  Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

3:35 pm

Advances in Intraoperative Molecular Imaging of Brain Tumors: Visualizing the Invisible

John Y.K. Lee, MD, MSCE  |  Neurosurgery

3:50 pm

Q & A Panel Discussion

MODERATOR: Harper Hubbeling, MD  |  Radiation Oncology

PANEL: 
Stephen Bagley, MD, MSCE |  Activity-Co-Director  |  Hematology Oncology
Christina Jackson, MD   |  Neurosurgery
Emily Lebow, MD  | Radiation Oncology
John Y.K. Lee, MD, MSCE  |  Neurosurgery
Peter J. Madsen, MD, MBE   |  Neurosurgery
Tara C. Mitchell, MD  |  Medical Oncology

4:00 pm Conference Adjourns