Stephanie L. Lee, M.D., Ph.D.

Stephanie L. Lee, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.C.E., Endocrinologist, is Associate Professor of Medicine at Boston University School of Medicine as well as Director of the Thyroid Disease Center at Boston Medical Center. She is a graduate of the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine and earned her Ph.D. in Physiology and Pharmacology at the University of California, San Diego. Her postgraduate training included residency at the University of California, San Diego Medical Center and Clinical Fellowship in Endocrinology and a Research Fellowship in Molecular Medicine at the New England Medical Center. Her clinical and research interests are the Etiology and Treatment of Thyroid Disease. She recently participated in writing the American Thyroid Association Evidence-based Guidelines for the diagnosis and management of thyroid nodules and cancer and was named in Boston Magazine’s “Boston’s Top Doctors” and the “Guide to America’s Top Physicians.”

Paul W. Ladenson, M.D. is Director of Endocrinology and Metabolism and The Johns Hopkins Thyroid Tumor Center, as well as Medical Director of The Johns Hopkins Diabetes and Endocrinology Network. He is also Professor of Oncology at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He graduated from Harvard Medical School and was a resident in medicine, fellow in primary care medicine, and clinical and research fellow in the endocrine and thyroid units of Massachusetts General Hospital. His major research interests include thyroid carcinoma and cost-effectiveness of diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for thyroid diseases. He is on the editorial board of Thyroid and is Associate Editor-Elect (for Thyroidology) of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. In 2000 he received the Robert Graves Award from The Thyroid Society.

Bryan R. Haugen, M.D., Endocrinologist, University of Colorado School of Medicine, is Professor of Medicine and Pathology, as well as Head, Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism & Diabetes, and Chair of Endocrine Neoplasms Research. Dr. Haugen’s clinical and research interests focus on thyroid cancer, including molecular therapeutic targets. Specific areas of research include nuclear hormone receptors (RXR, TR, PPAR) and kinase signaling pathways as therapeutic targets in thyroid cancer, as well as proteomic approaches to molecular markers in thyroid neoplasms. He presented a ThyCa Webinar on Thyrogen in September 2012, available on ThyCa’s web site. Dr. Haugen is President of the American Thyroid Association.

Janis I. Halzel, Pharm.D., Biogen Idec, works in drug safety and clinical data management in the pharmaceutical industry. She is a co-moderator of ThyCa’s Medullary Thyroid Cancer E-mail Support Group and is involved in developing the Medullary Thyroid Cancer content on ThyCa’s web site. She also moderates ThyCa’s free webinar series, and represents ThyCa at medical association meetings. She earned her bachelor’s degree in pharmacy at the University of Rhode Island and her doctoral degree at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center.

Robert F. Gagel, M.D., Endocrinologist, is Director, Division of Internal Medicine, and Professor, Department of Endocrine Neoplasia and Hormonal Disorders at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, as well as Adjunct Professor at Baylor College of Medicine. A graduate of Ohio State University Medical School, he completed postgraduate training at Tufts-New England Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, and Harvard School of Public Health. He is a frequent faculty member at medical meetings, serves on numerous committees and advisory groups for professional organizations, and has authored hundreds of peer-reviewed journal articles and other publications. His studies have focused on transcriptional regulation of the calcitonin gene. He and his colleagues identified the new variant of MEN2. Dr. Gagel has also been active in studies of the development of strategies for treatment of medullary thyroid carcinoma.

Gary L. Francis, M.D., Ph.D. received his M.D. and Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Florida and completed his Pediatric Residency at the University of Florida and Yale University. He then specialized with Fellowship Training in Endocrinology, Genetics, and Metabolism at the University of Oklahoma. He joined UT Health in 2018 after holding previous faculty appointments at the National Institutes of Health, The Medical College of Georgia, the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, and Virginia Commonwealth University. He has dedicated the past 25 years to the study of thyroid cancer in children and was chair of the Pediatric Thyroid Cancer Treatment Guidelines Committee of the American Thyroid Association. He currently provides medical care to children with all forms of thyroid cancer and is actively involved in research on thyroid nodules and cancers in children.​

Jeffrey A. Cooper, M.D. is Vice President for Process and Strategic Improvement at WIRB-Copernicus Group. Jeff is a physician who trained in pediatrics, pediatric pulmonary disease, and nuclear medicine. During his academic career he was a basic science investigator, clinical investigator, IRB chair, and hospital administrator. Jeff left medical practice in 2002 to help start the Association for Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs, Inc. (AAHRPP) where he was responsible for the development and operation of the accreditation process. Prior to that Jeff was Associate Medical Director at Albany Medical Center where he was responsible for utilization management and quality improvement. Jeff’s main interest at WIRB Copernicus Group IRB is combining his management and regulatory experience to create systems that promote clinical research while meeting regulatory requirements and high ethical standards. Dr. Cooper received his undergraduate training at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and obtained his medical degree from Albany Medical College, and a Masters in Medical Management from H. John Heinz III School of Public Policy and Management at Carnegie Mellon University. He trained in pediatrics at the University of Iowa and trained in nuclear medicine at Albany Medical Center. He is board certified in pediatrics, nuclear medicine and nuclear cardiology. After completion of his post-graduate training, Dr. Cooper trained in pulmonary physiology under a National Research Service Award and has been active in basic science and clinical research.

Mark S. Chambers, D.M.D., M.S., is a professor in the Department of Head and Neck Surgery at University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, and also serves in the Department of Radiation Oncology at MD Anderson Cancer Center. A graduate of the University of Louisville School of Dentistry, he also has a degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Louisville Medical School, and in Chemical Engineering and Biology from Brescia College. He is Chief of Oncologic Dentistry, Director of the Clinical Research Program, and Director of Rotating Residents in the Surgery Division of the Department of Head and Neck Surgery. His work with the American Academy of Maxillofacial Prosthetics has led to the advancement of the field as well as the development of the Head and Neck Surgery Department at MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Kenneth D. Burman, M.D., is Director of the Section of Endocrinology at the Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C.. His appointments also include Professor of Medicine at the Uniformed Services University of the Health and Sciences, Georgetown University of Medicine, and George Washington University School of Medicine. After graduating from the University of Missouri Medical School, he completed his internship and residency at Barnes Hospital and a fellowship in endocrinology at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Dr. Burman is board certified in internal medicine as well as endocrinology and metabolism, and is also certified as a specialist in clinical nutrition by the American Board of Nutrition. He currently serves on several committees for the American Thyroid association Council; is a member of the editorial board of Thyroid; is a frequent invited lecturer; and has received awards for patient care, research and teaching.

Marcia S. Brose, M.D., Ph.D., is a Medical Oncologist and Assistant Professor at the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she also directs the Cancer Genetics Laboratory and is involved in clinical trials of new treatments for patients with advanced thyroid cancer. Her clinical focus is familial cancer syndromes and cancer risk evaluation, Phase I/II clinical trials, and novel drug target discovery. Her research focuses on genomic characterization of cancers of the head and neck, thyroid, and lung; novel drug target discovery; and the use of genetic testing in the diagnosis, prognostication, and treatment of cancer. Dr. Brose received her bachelor’s degree from Amherst College, her medical degree from Cornell University Medical College, and her Ph.D. from The Rockefeller University.