Advancing Cancer Research: Collaborative Insights from the Cancer Center Informatics Society

Overview
Speaker(s)

Keynote - Research Gems, Clinical Pearls and IRASicible Genes

Dan Zuckerman, MD, FASCO

We'll review how data derived from the NAACCR have helped inform clinical trial development at the national level and how those trials are implemented through the NCORP. We’ll discuss challenges to delivering standard of care and conducting research across a rural population. We will cover how SEER insights have been critical to bringing awareness to the young onset colorectal cancer story. Finally, we’ll go over the implications of molecular tumor profiling for the future of defining and cataloging cancer and that means for NAACCR.

The Cancer Center Informatics Society & NAACCR: collaborative Opportunities for Advancing Cancer Surveillance and Research

Sorena Nadaf-Rahrov, MS, MMI

The Cancer Center Informatics Society (Ci4CC) and the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries (NAACCR) offer promising collaborative avenues to advance cancer surveillance and research. Through synergizing the expertise and resources of both organizations, we can discuss opportunities that could further elevate the caliber and breadth of cancer data collection, analysis, mining, and dissemination. Such a collaboration could facilitate discussions leading to initiatives on refining innovative methodologies spanning biomedical and clinical informatics, AI in Oncology, and data science. By pinpointing emerging trends and tackling pivotal research inquiries, we aim to enhance cancer data science, precision oncology, advanced diagnosis, and treatment strategies. Together, we stand poised to make significant strides in unraveling the complexities of cancer, ultimately translating into improved outcomes for patients and populations on a global scale.

The Role of Cancer Informatics in Cancer Surveillance

Eric Durbin, DrPH, MS

The presentation will describe current and future applications of cancer informatics to improve and enhance cancer surveillance.

Empowering the Cancer Registry Workforce with AI and Data Science

Madhusmita Behera, PhD

The presentation will explore how AI technologies can support the cancer registry workforce, streamline processes, and improve overall registry operations.

Dan Zuckerman, MD, FASCO

Director of Research

St. Luke's Cancer Institute

Dr. Dan Zuckerman is a medical oncologist in Boise, Idaho and is affiliated with St. Luke’s Regional Medical Center. He received his medical degree from University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine and has been in practice between 11-20 years. Dr. Zuckerman accepts several types of health insurance, listed below. He is one of 7 doctors at St. Luke’s Regional Medical Center who specialize in Medical Oncology.

Sorena Nadaf-Rahrov, MS, MMI

CEO and Chief Digital Officer

Cancer Center Informatics Society

Sorena is a nationally recognized leader in Precision Oncology, Digital Transformation, Data Science, Translational Informatics, Genomics and multi-Omics Platforms, RWD/RWE, and Healthcare IT, possessing distinctive strategic insights that seamlessly connect and deploy solutions to advance patient outcomes, clinical care, translational research, and drug discovery. Throughout his career, he has devoted his endeavors to refining the development and execution of a Precision Medicine Information Ecosystem. At the heart of his mission is the provision of fundamental enterprise services to meet the requirements of translational and clinical research. In 2024, his focus is on applied AI across Oncology.

Sorena currently serves as the CEO / Chief Data & Digital Officer of the Cancer Centers Informatics Society. Previously, he assumed the role of Interim Chief Data & Informatics Officer for the Alliance Clinical Trials Cooperative Group. Since 2017, Sorena has been the strategic advisor to IntegraConnect, holding positions as the President for Precision Oncology and Chief Data Officer. In these roles, he has played a key role in shaping the vision and strategic blueprint of the Precision Medicine Program and Precision Oncology Platform, with a focus on community oncology and value-based programs across the nation.

Eric B Durbin, DrPH, MS

Director

Kentucky Cancer Registry

Eric B. Durbin, DrPH, MS, is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Biomedical Informatics at the University of Kentucky (UK) College of Medicine. He serves as the Director of the Kentucky Cancer Registry (KCR) and the Director of the Cancer Research Informatics Shared Resource Facility at the UK Markey Cancer Center. He has over 30 years of experience in population-based cancer surveillance and informatics support for basic, clinical and translational cancer research. His research interests include precision cancer surveillance, pathology informatics, machine learning methods and cancer epidemiology.

Dr. Durbin’s current research is focused on the integration of multi–omics data to support decision-making in precision medicine and cancer prevention and control, informatics methods to support pediatric and young adult cancer patient surveillance and research and the development of machine learning methods to derive clinical biomarkers from narrative electronic pathology reports and digital slide images.

Madhusmita Behera, PhD

Chief Informatics and Data officer

Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University

As Winship's Chief Informatics and Data Officer, Madhusmita Behera, PhD, drives digital transformation and research growth through innovation and the implementation of technology that can positively affect patient care, outcomes, and safety. Dr. Behera also serves as Emory University's chief research informatics officer, where she provides strategic direction and leads the prioritization of research-related informatics, data analytics, data science and AI initiatives across Emory University and Emory Healthcare, driving research growth and transformation through state-of-the-art technology and data solutions. In addition, she leads the Winship Data and Technology Applications shared resource, which provides comprehensive and cutting edge informatics support to multidisciplinary Winship investigators.

Dr. Behera conducts original research, with a significant publication record focused on cancer outcomes and population-based studies using real world data and evidence-based research. Dr. Behera earned her undergraduate degree from Utkal University, India and her master's degree in Biomedical Engineering from University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida. She earned her doctoral degree in Biomedical Engineering also from University of South Florida and completed her training at the Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute in Tampa, Florida.