Virtual Event | Bladder Cancer: Advancing Science, Treatment, and Patient Care

About

Bladder cancer is a common cancer and one of the most costly to treat, yet there has been little change in the standard of care in 40 years. This panel will focus on the unmet needs in bladder cancer treatment, raise awareness of the challenges with the current standard of care, and explore new therapies that are disrupting traditional treatment paradigms. Join leading experts to discuss how we are ushering in a new era in bladder cancer care.

Moderator

Jesse McQuarters, Branded Content Editor at STAT

Speakers

Chris Cutie, M.D., Vice President, Disease Area Leader, Bladder Cancer at Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine

Chris Cutie is Vice President and Disease Area Leader for Bladder Cancer at Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine. He is responsible for shaping the scientific strategy required to deliver a broad portfolio of bladder cancer therapies, while building a robust pipeline of next-generation compounds. Chris joined Johnson & Johnson through the TARIS Biomedical Aquisition in 2019. He is a board-certified urologist and holds an MD from Yale and an MBA from Harvard, with surgical and oncology training at MGH/Harvard Medical School. Chris leads efforts to advance innovative therapies in bladder cancer, aiming to transform treatment for patients worldwide.

Alex Filicevas, Executive Director of the World Bladder Cancer Patient Coalition

Alex Filicevas was appointed as the first-ever Executive Director of the World Bladder Cancer Patient Coalition (WBCPC) in October 2019. He has been leading the organization’s efforts to foster an international community of bladder cancer patient advocates. Alex brings with him great past experience in leading EU affairs work at Europe’s largest international federation of cancer patient organizations. Prior to this, he also worked as a consultant for many years, supporting a number of private and non-profit organizations in their EU policy and advocacy activities within healthcare. He has also been an active member of All.Can International, serving as a member of its Steering Committee since 2018, and was appointed President in 2020. Alex is an EUPATI fellow, member of many European and international initiatives, including serving as Co-Chair of Global Cancer Coalitions Network.

Joshua Meeks, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor, Urology, Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

Dr. Meeks is an Associate Professor of Urology, Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, as well as Section Chief of Robotic Surgery at the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center. He is a urologic surgeon with expertise in the diagnosis, treatment, and management of bladder cancer. He received his MD and PhD degrees from Northwestern University in 2005, completed urology residency at Northwestern University in 2011, and a urologic oncology fellowship at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in 2012. His research interests focus on both the epigenetics and genetic mutations associated with cancer biology. Specifically, he is studying how chromatin remodeling genes play a role in bladder cancer. In addition, he is investigating the driver mutations found in bladder cancer. In the future, he hopes to develop novel systemic and intravesical therapies to improve survival of patients with bladder cancer.