Guest Speakers

Keynote Speaker: RADM (Ret.) Boris D. Lushniak, MD, MPH

Rear Admiral retired Boris D. Lushniak, MD, MPH, has been Dean of the School of Public Health at the University of Maryland since January 2017. He was the US Deputy Surgeon General from 2010-15, assisting the Surgeon General to articulate the best available scientific information to the public to improve personal health and the health of the nation. He also oversaw the operations of the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) Commissioned Corps, comprised of approximately 6,700 uniformed health officers who serve in locations around the world to promote, protect, and advance the health and safety of our nation. Dr. Lushniak served as Acting Surgeon General from 2013-14 and was responsible for the release of the 50th Anniversary Surgeon General’s Report on Smoking and Health and the first-ever Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Prevent Skin Cancer. He retired from the USPHS in 2015 after 27 years of service, and maintains certifications in dermatology and preventive medicine.

John Y. Kim, MD

Dr. Kim is a professor of surgery at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine with a clinical practice that focuses on breast cancer reconstruction. He was educated at Harvard College and received graduate degrees in Medicine and English Literature from Stanford University. He completed an integrated plastic surgery program at Baylor and did his fellowship with Dr. Neil Ford Jones at UCLA. He is an associate editor of PRS and chair of the American Society of Plastic Surgery Breast and Body Symposium. He has published more than 170 peer reviewed papers, holds 16 issued patents, and has founded two startup companies focused on novel medical devices.

Shlomo Koyfman, MD

Dr. Koyfman is an assistant professor in the Departments of Radiation Oncology and Bioethics at Cleveland Clinic. He graduated from Yale Medical School and completed his radiation oncology training at Cleveland Clinic. He specializes in head and neck and skin cancers as well as advanced radiation planning techniques. He served on the NCI steering committee task force for head and neck cancer and is a member of the Head and Neck cancer committee of the NRG Oncology cooperative group.

Nirusha Lachman, PhD

Dr. Lachman is a professor in the Department of Anatomy, College of Medicine with joint appointment in the Department of Surgery, Division of Plastic Surgery at Mayo Clinic. Her primary focus lies in integrating anatomy education for everyday practice, and she is one of few clinical anatomists in the world who works collaboratively on a daily basis with clinicians in a practice-based setting. In her 20-year career as a clinical anatomist, Dr. Lachman has contributed over 74 scientific publications in peer reviewed journals, 16 book chapters and numerous abstract publications and national and international presentations.

Bharat B. Mittal, MD, FACR, FASTRO

Dr. Mittal is the professor and chairman of Radiation Oncology at the Feinberg School of Medicine at
Northwestern University, and over the past three decades has been actively engaged in caring for patients with head and neck cancers, lymphomas and skin cancers, as well as mentorship, research, administration and public service. At the institutional, regional and national levels he has served as president of the Metropolitan Association of Radiation Oncology, the Council of Affiliated Regional Radiation Oncology Society, and the Society of Chairs of Academic Radiation Oncology Programs. He has also served on the Board of Directors of the American Society of Radiation Oncology and has been a member of the Radiological Devices Panel of the Food & Drug Administration, Head and Neck Cancer Task Force of the American Board of Radiology and Head and Neck Cancer Panel of the National Cancer Care Network. Dr. Mittal has co-authored more than 200 peer-reviewed articles and abstracts and has served as an ad hoc reviewer for numerous journals. He has worked to pioneer research to understand the mechanism and mitigate speech and swallowing disorders resulting from radio-chemotherapy in head and neck cancers, as well as the use of innovative technologies and various combinations of chemotherapy and novel agents with radiation to improve survival and reduce toxicities in various malignancies.

Anna C. Pavlick, BSN, MSc, DO, MBA

Dr. Pavlick is a professor of Medicine and Dermatology in the Division of Medical Oncology at NYU School of Medicine. She also serves as medical director of the NYU Cancer Center Clinical Trials Office, co-director of the NYU Melanoma Program and assistant director of NYU Clinical Research and Education with responsibilities in the areas of melanoma and translational research. Dr. Pavlick’s academic practice focuses on clinical research in cutaneous malignancies.

Sandeep Samant, MD

Dr. Samant is chief of head and neck surgery and director of Northwestern multidisciplinary head and neck program. He completed fellowship training in head and neck oncologic and skull base surgery in 1996 and has performed more than 8,000 operations for head and neck cancer. His clinical and research interests include management of oral, oropharyngeal, laryngeal, nasal, sinus and thyroid cancer. He specializes in minimally invasive surgery utilizing robotic and endoscopic techniques.