Cancer control in low and middle income countries: New solutions to evolving challenges

Dr Ophira Ginsburg, a Canadian national, is a medical oncologist with expertise in cancer epidemiology, prevention and screening, and a primary focus in women’s health equity and global cancer control. She is a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons (Canada) and a Scientist at Women’s College Hospital and Research Institute. She has been an advisor to the National Institute for Cancer Control of Vietnam, a member of the Technical Advisory Committee of the Global Task Force on Expanded Access to Cancer Care and Control in Developing Countries, and a member of the Union for International Cancer Control’s Global Task Force on Radiotherapy for Cancer Control. Over the past 12 years she has developed an innovative programme of population intervention research, education, and policy initiatives in cancer disparities and global cancer control, with projects in Bangladesh, Canada, United Republic of Tanzania, United States and Viet Nam.

Dr Ginsburg joined the WHO Department for Management of Noncommunicable Diseases, Disability, Violence and Injury Prevention (NVI) in October 2015 as a Medical Officer for cancer control. Her focus is on building policy and programming for women’s cancers, including guidance, recommendations, and implementation frameworks on breast cancer prevention, early detection/screening and management in collaboration with the WHO International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and other international experts and partners building upon existing WHO and IARC breast cancer related documents.

Dr. Gilberto Lopes, an expert in medical oncology in low- and middle-income countries, is Medical Director for International Programs and Associate Director for Global Oncology at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center and Associate Professor at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. He is an associate editor for ASCO University and for ASCO’s Journal of Global Oncology. From 2006 to 2013, Dr. Lopes worked for the Johns Hopkins University Singapore International Medical Center, and, prior to that, was the Chief Medical and Scientific Officer for the Oncoclinicas Group, the largest oncology provider in Latin America with 35 clinics and more than 300 oncologists in nine states in Brazil.

Dr. Lopes has published widely, with more than 100 papers in journals such as the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Cancer, The Lancet, The Lancet Oncology, and Nature Reviews, and has lectured nationally and internationally. He has been principal or co-principal investigator or steering committee member in more than 100 studies and clinical trials covering breast, gastrointestinal, genitourinary, and thoracic cancers. His areas of research interest extend to health economics, value, policy, and access to cancer drugs and treatment in low- and middle-income countries. He has served as an expert for the International Atomic Energy Agency, the World Health Organization and the Pan-American Health Organization.

After graduating from medical school in Brazil, Dr. Lopes received residency training in internal medicine and completed a fellowship in hematology/oncology at the University of Miami.

Professor Richard Sullivan's research group studies health systems, particular NCD policy and the impact of conflict on health. He is Professor of Cancer and Global Health at King’s College London, and Director of the Institute of Cancer Policy (ICP) and co-Director of the Conflict and Health Research Group.  As well as holding a number of Visiting Chairs, Richard is an NCD advisor to the WHO, civil-military advisor to Save the Children, and a member of the National Cancer Grid of India His research focuses on global cancer policy and planning, and health systems strengthening, particularly conflict ecosystems. He is principle investigator on research programs ranging from automated radiotherapy planning for low resource settings to use of augmented/virtual reality for cancer surgery, through to political economy to build affordable, equitable cancer control plans. Richard has led five Lancet Oncology Commissions and worked on four others. He is currently co-leading Lancet Oncology commissions on the Future of Cancer Research in Europe and Cancer Care in Conflict. In conflict systems, his research teams have major programs in capacity building in conflict medicine across the Middle East and North Africa (r4hc-mena.org), as well as studies of the basic package of health services in Afghanistan, civil-military co-operation in health security, polio eradication and insecurity in Pakistan, and use of intelligence in high security disease outbreaks.  Professor Sullivan qualified in medicine and trained in surgery (urology), gaining his PhD from University College London. He was also clinical director of Cancer Research UK between 1999 and 2008. Following a period at the London School of Economics working on complex healthcare systems he moved to King’s College London in 2011.