Medical Advisory Board
Dr. Suresh Chari
Cleveland Mayo Clinic
Suresh Chari, M.D. is a Professor of Medicine with the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine.
He is also a consultant in the Division of Gastroenterology. He is Head of the Pancreas Interest
Group in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology.
Dr. Chari has a broad interest in diseases of the pancreas and his NIH-funded research focuses
on the role of diabetes and hyperglycemia as a marker of undiagnosed pancreatic cancer. Additional
areas of clinical research involve understanding the clinical spectrum of autoimmune pancreatitis and
he is also interested in cystic tumors of the pancreas including their classification, prevalence and natural history.
Dr. Mario Eisenberger
Co-chair of Oncology John Hopkins University
Dr. Mario Alfredo Eisenberger is a professor of urology and oncology at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
He specializes in the treatment of cancers of the bladder, kidney, prostate and testicles.
Dr. Eisenberger completed his M.D. at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. After an internship and
residency in medicine at the Michael Reese Hospital and Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois, he completed a
fellowship in medical oncology at the University of Miami School of Medicine.
He began his career in private practice as a medical oncologist and hematologist in 1978, and subsequently
served as senior investigator for the Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program of the National Cancer Institute and
Chief of Oncology at the Baltimore Veteran''s Administration Hospital. Additionally, he has held faculty appointments
in oncology and urology at the University of Miami and the University of Maryland. He joined the faculty of Johns Hopkins
as an associate professor of urology and oncology in 1993, and became a professor in both specialties in 1998.
Dr. Eisenberger has been listed in Best Doctors in America and in Who’s Who in the World, has published extensively and
has presented on international and national panels. He is a member of the American Association of Cancer Research, the National
Prostate Cancer Education Council and the American Society of Clinical Oncology, and he sits on the International Task Force of
the American Society of Clinical Oncology. He is certified in medical oncology and internal medicine by the American Board of
Internal Medicine.
Dr. W. Kevin Kelly
Director of Oncology Studies Franfkord Hospital
Dr. Wm. Kevin Kelly is known nationally for his research on urological malignancies and his expertise in drug design and development.
“One of our dilemmas now is how to choose the right treatment for the right patient at the right time,” says Kelly,
who joined Jefferson in 2010 as director of the Division of Solid Tumor Oncology in the Department of Medical Oncology
and associate director of translational research at the Kimmel Cancer Center.
Kelly’s research linking elevated prostate-specific antigen levels to prostate cancer treatment outcomes remains a
foundation for drug development in patients with advanced prostate cancer today. More recently, he has been instrumental
in developing multiple compounds such as microtubule disrupting agents, histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors and anti-angiogenesis
therapies for urologic cancers. He has successfully developed several new drugs from bench through clinical trial and approval – most
notably the HDAC-inhibitor, vorinostat, marketed by Merck as Zolinza and approved for cutaneous T-cell lymphoma.
Prior to joining the Jefferson faculty, Kelly directed the solid tumor clinical investigative program at
Yale University’s School of Medicine, where he also co-directed prostate and urological oncology. He spent
the previous 15 years on the faculty at Memorial-Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. He currently serves on the editorial
boards of Clinical Prostate Cancer, Journal of Clinical Oncology, and Nature Clinical Practice Oncology.
Dr. Daniel Petrylak
Co-chair of Oncology Yale
As Professor of Medicine and Urology at Yale School of Medicine, Dr. Daniel P. Petrylak is a pioneer in the research and development
of new drugs and treatments to fight prostate, bladder, kidney and testicular cancer. For patients fighting these types of cancers, Petrylak
finds recent developments in the field of immunotherapy particularly promising. “Up until recently, bladder cancer had not seen any major
advancement in more than 30 years,” he says. “Studies are ongoing, but interim results are exciting so far.”
At the Smilow Cancer Hospital, Dr. Petrylak’s position as a national leader on clinical trials for men with prostate and bladder
cancer has opened up a world of treatment options for patients in New England. “We offer the latest investigational drugs for these
conditions, while providing the highest level of care,” he says.
Dr. Petrylak received his MD from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and joined the Yale faculty in 2012.
In addition to his role as professor, he is also the co-director of the Signal Transduction Research Program at Yale Cancer
Center, which studies how cancer stem cells are regulated in the body and communicate with surrounding tissue. Roughly 40
physicians and scientists in the program work together to develop the best methods for matching patients with the appropriate
cancer drugs.
One of Dr. Petrylak’s key goals is to continue to successfully translate basic research into clinical practice.
“One of the most significant accomplishments in my career was moving docetaxel (an antineoplastic agent) therapy
for the most advanced form of prostate cancer from phase I to III,” he says. “We ran a trial which supported its approval
for the most advanced form of prostate cancer.”.
Dr. Petrylak currently serves as either the principal investigator or co-principal investigator on seven Southwest Oncology
Group (SWOG) clinical trials for genitourinary cancers. To date, he has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed articles on prostate and
bladder cancer research.
Dr. Giuseppe Del Priore
Chief Medical Officer, Tyme Technologies
Dr. Del Priore joined Tyme Inc after serving as the National Director of Gynecologic Oncology
for Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA). He also served as its Southeastern
Regional Director. Prior to CTCA, Dr. Del Priore was Professor and Director of
Gynecologic Oncology at the Indiana University School of Medicine in
Indianapolis, where he directed its gynecologic oncology fellowship program
and continues to teach. He previously also served as Director of Gynecologic
Oncology at New York Downtown Hospital, Montefiore Medical Center, and
Bellevue Hospital in New York City, as well as Assistant Director of
Gynecologic Oncology at New York University School of Medicine.
Dr. Del Priore earned his Doctor of Medicine with Distinction in Research from
State University of New York Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn. He studied
at The City University of New York's Brooklyn College in a combined Bachelor
of Arts/Doctor of Medicine Program, earning both degrees in seven years. Dr.
Del Priore graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and
was valedictorian of his medical school class. He received his Master of
Public Health in Biostatistics and Epidemiology from the University of
Illinois at Chicago and completed other training at Northwestern University
and the University of Rochester.
U.S. News and World Report named Dr. Del Priore one of its "Best Doctors" in
2011 and 2012. He is an active researcher and prolific writer. He has authored
and published more than 170 papers, book chapters and abstracts and written
three books.
Dr. Del Priore has received two patents and has others pending. He has served
on several committees and organizations, including current appointments at the
Society of Gynecologic Oncologists; and previously the Gynecologic Oncology
Group, a National Cancer Institute Cooperative Group. He is also an examiner
for the American Osteopathic Association Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology,
Gyn Oncology subspecialty section.
In his free time, Dr. Del Priore has given back to his community by serving as
a volunteer physicianas part of the National Association of Free and
Charitable Clinics; a volunteer firefighter in Westchester County, New York;
an auxiliary police officer with the New York Police Department; and a
volunteer ambulance driver with the Bay Ridge Ambulance Volunteer
Organization.