Podcast

Dr. Megan Adelman, BCPS, BCGP, CDE is a Clinical Pharmacy Specialist at the Cleveland Clinic Akron General Center for Family Medicine. She earned her Doctor of Pharmacy from the Northeast Ohio Medical University and completed her Postgraduate Year One (PGY1) Pharmacy Residency at the Carolinas Medical Center and a Postgraduate Year Two (PGY2) in Geriatrics at the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center . Dr. Adelman has worked to expand pharmacy services, helping to implement multiple interdisciplinary clinics. Her practice and research interests include gaming in education, geriatric care, polypharmacy and deprescribing, chronic disease state management, and population health management.

Mandel Sher, MD is a Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine, Division of Allergy & Immunology and John Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida. Dr. Sher has trained over 150 fellows, and has established the Center for Cough in 2009, which is embedded in the Sher Allergy Specialists which was established in 1984. The Center has seen over 2,000 patients with chronic refractory and unexplained cough, and is a leading investigator for clinical trials of novel antitussives. Dr. Sher is involved in multiple stages of cough drug development. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) and the American College of Allergy Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI), and board-certified in Allergy & Immunology and Pediatrics. Dr. Sherreceived his MD from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, completed his residency at Duke University School of Medicine, and post graduate training at Harvard University and the University of Michigan.

Donna H. Ryan, MD is Professor Emerita at Pennington Biomedical in Baton Rouge, LA and currently serves as Past President of World Obesity Federation. Dr. Ryan is Associate Editor-in-Chief of the journal, Obesity, and has authored more than 250 publications.

Robert Kushner is Professor of Medicine and Medicine Education at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, and Director of the Center for Lifestyle Medicine in Chicago, IL, USA. After finishing a residency in Internal Medicine at Northwestern University, he went on to complete a post-graduate fellowship in Clinical Nutrition and earned a master’s degree in Clinical Nutrition and Nutritional Biology from the University of Chicago. Dr. Kushner is past-President of The Obesity Society (TOS), the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN), the American Board of Physician Nutrition Specialists (ABPNS), and a founder and past-Chair of the American Board of Obesity Medicine (ABOM). He was awarded the 2016 Clinician-of-the-Year Award by The Obesity Society, the John X. Thomas, Jr. Best Teachers of Feinberg Award at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in 2017, and the Friend Award by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Weight Management Group in 2020.

Dr. Kushner has authored over 250 original articles, reviews, books and book chapters covering medical nutrition, medical nutrition education, and obesity, and is an internationally recognized expert on the care of patients who are overweight or obese. He is author/editor of multiple books including Nutrition and Bariatric Surgery (CRC Press, 2015), “Lifestyle Medicine: A Manual for Clinical Practice” (Springer, 2016), Obesity Medicine, Medical Clinics of North America (Elsevier, 2018), Creating a Lifestyle Medicine Center (Springer, 2020), and “Primary Care: Evaluation and Management of Obesity” (Wolter Kluwer, 2022). His latest popular book is “Six Factors to Fit: Weight Loss that Works for You!” (Eat Right Press, 2020). Dr. Kushner’s research interests include medical and obesity education, and lifestyle and pharmacological approaches to obesity.

Dr. Rogers serves as the Chair of Geriatrics at the Cleveland Clinic, Akron General. She completed her MD at Case Western Reserve University, residency at St. Vincent’s Hospital Center, and fellowship at The MetroHealth System in Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. Rogers is board certified in internal medicine and geriatric medicine and serves as teaching faculty for NEOMED, Case Western Reserve University, St. Vincent Charity Hospital Internal Medicine Residency Program, and Cleveland Clinic Akron General Internal Medicine Residency Program.

Guru P. Sonpavde, MD, is a medical oncologist and the Bladder Cancer Director at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute as well as Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. At Dana-Farber, he leads multiple cutting-edge clinical trials studying novel immunotherapy and targeted drugs to cure bladder cancer. He is the national or international Principal Investigator of multiple clinical trials for patients with bladder cancer. Dr. Sonpavde has also led translational projects and developed prognostic classifications and clinical endpoints focused on bladder cancer. He is a member of Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG) and Bladder Cancer Task Force of the U.S. NCI GU Steering Committee.

Daniel P. Petrylak, MD, was appointed to lead the genitourinary cancers medical oncology team at Smilow Cancer Hospital as Director of the prostate cancer research group, Professor, and Co- Director of the Signal Transduction Research Program. He joined Yale from New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, where he served as a Professor of Medicine and began his appointment in September 2012. He is a member of the American Association for Cancer Research, American Society for Clinical Oncology, American College of Physicians, American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Urological Association, and the Southwest Oncology Group. Dr. Petrylak currently serves as the Principal Investigator or Co-Principal Investigator on nine Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG) clinical trials for genitourinary cancers and has led the advanced bladder cancer subcommittee for SWOG since 1995. Additionally, he has led multiple national and international studies in prostate and bladder cancer.

Dr. Petrylak’s research interests span both prostate and bladder cancer. He led an investigator-initiated trial of docetaxel and estramustine in castration-resistant prostate cancer. The results of this study supported a phase III trial of this combination in SWOG led by Dr. Petrylak, which in turn, supported the FDA approval of docetaxel for castration-resistant prostate cancer. This was one of the first two trials to demonstrate a survival benefit in this state of disease. Dr. Petrylak has also been instrumental in the development of immunotherapy and targeted therapies for refractory bladder cancer. His work with enfortumab vedotin has supported the accelerated approval of this drug.

Dr. Petrylak received his undergraduate degree from Columbia College and his medical degree from Case Western University School of Medicine. He completed his internship and residency at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and his fellowship in medical oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Dr. Petrylak has authored more than 140 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on prostate and bladder cancer research outcomes.

Dr. April Armstrong is Associate Dean at Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC). She also serves as Director of Clinical Research Support at the Southern California Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI). Dr. Armstrong also serves as Vice Chair and Director of Psoriasis Program in the dermatology department at USC. Dr. Armstrong obtained her MD and completed dermatology residency at Harvard. She also obtained a MPH in Clinical Effectiveness from Harvard School of Public Health.

Dr. Armstrong is highly committed to clinical research and the care of patients with inflammatory skin diseases such as psoriasis and atopic dermatitis. Her research focuses on (1) investigating comorbidities related to psoriasis and atopic dermatitis, (2) identifying treatment patterns, treatment goals, and economic burden of inflammatory skin disease, and (3) increasing patient access using innovative, technology-enabled healthcare delivery methods. She has conducted over 100 clinical trials and published over 210 articles in scientific journals. She holds multiple leadership positions at professional societies, including the National Psoriasis Foundation, Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (GRAPPA), the International Psoriasis Council, and the American Academy of Dermatology. She is an associate Editor for JAMA Dermatology and has also served on the editorial boards of JAAD and Telemedicine and eHealth.

Allan Gibofsky, MD, JD, MACR, FACP, FCLM, serves as Professor of Medicine in the Department of Healthcare Policy and Research at Weill Cornell Medicine. Dr Gibofsky is an attending physician and rheumatologist at the Hospital for Special Surgery, where he is Co- Director of the Clinic for Inflammatory Arthritis. He received his undergraduate degree from Brooklyn College of the City University of New York, his medical degree from Weill Medical College of Cornell University, and his law degree from Fordham University School of Law. He did his internship in pathology, followed by a residency in medicine at New York Hospital. He completed a fellowship in rheumatology/immunology jointly at Hospital for Special Surgery and at The Rockefeller University. Dr Gibofsky has authored or co-authored numerous papers and textbook chapters, primarily on rheumatic diseases and legal aspects of medical practice. He is known for his work on mechanisms of host-microbe interactions in rheumatology, and, in particular, for his basic and clinical studies on rheumatic fever.

Currently Secretary-Treasurer of The New York Rheumatism Association, Dr Gibofsky is past Chair of the Medical & Scientific Committee of the New York Chapter of The Arthritis Foundation and is a recipient of its Physicians’ Leadership Award. He also served as a member of the local and national Arthritis Foundation Board of Trustees and was Chair for Professional Education. Dr Gibofsky has participated in numerous professional and public education programs, nationally and internationally. He served as President of The American College of Rheumatology and was recently named a Master. Dr Gibofsky is a Jonas Salk Scholar of the City University and an Alumnus of the Year of Brooklyn College. He is past President of the American College of Legal Medicine and is past Chair of the American Board of Legal Medicine. Dr Gibofsky is past Chair of the Arthritis Advisory Committee of the Food and Drug Administration and continues as a special consultant to that committee.

Dr. Richard Furie, Chief of the Division of Rheumatology at Northwell Health, is a rheumatologist whose activities for the last several decades have focused on patient care, physician education, and clinical research in the area of anti-rheumatic drug development. He directs The Program in Novel Therapeutics, the Health System’s clinical research program in musculoskeletal disease. He also directs the Hospital?s SLE and Autoimmune Disease Treatment Center, which has become internationally recognized for its role in the development of new therapies for SLE. Regarded as one of the senior rheumatologists in the New York metropolitan area, Dr. Furie has served as a volunteer for the local chapters of the Arthritis Foundation and the Lupus Alliance, the Lupus Foundation of America, the SLE Foundation, the Lupus Research Alliance, and Lupus Therapeutics. For 20 years he served on many committees of the American College of Rheumatology and was named a Master of the College in 2018. Although often featured as a speaker at national and international conferences, Dr. Furie’s favorite educational venue is at home with his colleagues and trainees.

Allan Gibofsky, MD, JD, MACR, FACP, FCLM, serves as Professor of Medicine in the Department of Healthcare Policy and Research at Weill Cornell Medicine. Dr Gibofsky is an attending physician and rheumatologist at the Hospital for Special Surgery, where he is Co- Director of the Clinic for Inflammatory Arthritis. He received his undergraduate degree from Brooklyn College of the City University of New York, his medical degree from Weill Medical College of Cornell University, and his law degree from Fordham University School of Law. He did his internship in pathology, followed by a residency in medicine at New York Hospital. He completed a fellowship in rheumatology/immunology jointly at Hospital for Special Surgery and at The Rockefeller University. Dr Gibofsky has authored or co-authored numerous papers and textbook chapters, primarily on rheumatic diseases and legal aspects of medical practice. He is known for his work on mechanisms of host-microbe interactions in rheumatology, and, in particular, for his basic and clinical studies on rheumatic fever.

Currently Secretary-Treasurer of The New York Rheumatism Association, Dr Gibofsky is past Chair of the Medical & Scientific Committee of the New York Chapter of The Arthritis Foundation and is a recipient of its Physicians’ Leadership Award. He also served as a member of the local and national Arthritis Foundation Board of Trustees and was Chair for Professional Education. Dr Gibofsky has participated in numerous professional and public education programs, nationally and internationally. He served as President of The American College of Rheumatology and was recently named a Master. Dr Gibofsky is a Jonas Salk Scholar of the City University and an Alumnus of the Year of Brooklyn College. He is past President of the American College of Legal Medicine and is past Chair of the American Board of Legal Medicine. Dr Gibofsky is past Chair of the Arthritis Advisory Committee of the Food and Drug Administration and continues as a special consultant to that committee.