Speakers

Dr William Audeh

William Audeh, MD, MS, Chief Medical Officer at Agendia, is a medical oncologist specializing in breast cancer, with over 30 years of experience as a clinician and clinical researcher at the Cedars‐Sinai Cancer Center in Los Angeles. Prior to joining Agendia, and in addition to his clinical practice, he served as the former Director of the Cedars‐Sinai Cancer Center and Medical Director of the Wasserman Breast Cancer Risk Reduction Program. Dr. Audeh has been Principal Investigator on a wide variety of national and international clinical and translational trials, and has authored numerous publications in the field of breast cancer, cancer genomics and targeted cancer therapy.

Dr Lizza Hendricks

Hendriks is the representative for thoracic oncology in the Maastricht UMC Comprehensive Cancer Cancer, and chairs the Innovative Cancer Diagnostics Therapy group at the School for Oncology and Developmental Biology (GROW) at Maastricht University, where she is also appointed as full professor. She is heavily involved in clinical and translational research, and is (local) principal investigator in several phase II and III clinical trials, focusing on (locally) advanced NSCLC and SCLC, targeted treatments and immunotherapies.

She is an active member of Dutch (NVALT, NRS), European (ESMO, EORTC, ETOP, ERS) and global societies (IASLC, ASCO), is chair of the NVALT studies foundation, vice-chair of the scientific committee of the Dutch Thoracic Group and secretary of the EORTC Lung Cancer Group. Dr Hendriks was the lead author of the revised ESMO Clinical Practice Guidelines on metastatic NSCLC and author of the ESMO Clinical Practice Guideline on SCLC and non-metastatic NSCLC. She is member of the Dutch guideline committees on NSCLC, and former member for brain metastases and leptomeningeal metastases

Prof Jan Jaap de Boelens

I am a pediatric hematologist/oncologist and have served as the Chief of the Pediatric Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapies Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) since 2018. Previously, I spent a decade developing a cord blood transplant program in the Netherlands which is now the largest in Europe. I am continuing to build on this work by looking for ways to incorporate cellular therapies with transplants. I have a special interest in rare diseases as indications for hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) and Gene Therapy, particularly lysosomal storage diseases and Sickle Cell Disease, and in finding strategies to get better disease control in malignant diseases. My research focuses on developing advanced therapies from cord blood to target blood disorders at the cellular level, including dendritic cell vaccines (anti-acute myeloid leukemia [AML], anti-neuroblastoma). We are also creating mathematical models that can help us predict how a young person’s immune system will respond to receiving such treatments. Additionally, I am interested in designing a predictable low-toxicity conditioning regimen using pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD)-models (eg, anti-thymocyte globuline [ATG], fludarabine, clofarabine) to better predict immune reconstitution, which is necessary for the optimal effect of vaccines. At MSK, I also serve as Director of the Immune Discovery & Modeling Service (IDMS) core facility (7FTE, 3 Fellows).

Dr Donal McLornan

Donal works as a consultant in the MPN, allogeneic transplant and CAR-T team at University College Hospital London, which has the largest combined transplant and cellular therapy program in the UK. He is the current chair of the Chronic Malignancy Working Party of the EBMT (MPN/MDS/CML/CLL/Plasma cell dyscrasia) and is also Co-chair of the EBMT scientific council and a member of the EBMT Executive Committee. Additionally, he is immediate past chair of the UK wide National Cancer Research Institute MPN group. His main clinical and research interests are in novel therapies and allo-HCT for Myelofibrosis and improving outcomes for accelerated and blast phase MPN. 

Dr Teresa Amaral

Dr Amaral obtained her MD degree from Lisbon University in 2006, concurrent with her degree in Aeronautic Medicine from the Portuguese Air Force. Following her graduation, she pursued her general internship at CHLN and Hospital Pulido Valente in Lisbon in 2007, followed by a Medical Oncology Internship in 2008. She has been a board-certified Specialist in Medical Oncology since 2014.

In 2016, Dr. Amaral began her PhD at the renowned Skin Cancer Center in Tuebingen, Germany, under the guidance of Prof. Claus Garbe. Her PhD thesis, titled “Progress in systemic therapy of advanced melanoma between 2011 and 2019,” was successfully defended at the Nova Medical School in Lisbon in June 2021, earning her the distinction “Magna cum Laude”. Between 2021 and 2025, she served as Head of Translational Research at the Skin Cancer Center in Tuebingen, continuing her dedication to advancing the understanding and treatment of skin cancer.

Dr. Amaral’s primary research focuses on predictive biomarkers for systemic therapy in advanced melanoma and on prognostic and predictive biomarkers in early-stage melanoma.

She was nominated as head of the skin cancer clinical trials center in Tuebingen in January 2022, overseeing numerous phase I-III studies, including investigator-initiated trials. In addition, she is responsible for training medical residents within the center. In 2022, she received recognition as a board-certified Specialist in Internal Medicine, Haematology, and Oncology from the German Medical Association.

Dr. Amaral served as a lecturer at the University of Tuebingen’s medical faculty between 2022 and 2025, guiding and mentoring medical students on their medical theses. Dr. Amaral also maintains active collaborations with various Portuguese medical universities, where she is invited as a guest lecturer.

In October 2025, Dr. Amaral moved to Strasbourg, France, where she assumed the position of head of early-phase clinical trials for the sarcoma and skin cancer program. In October 2025, she received recognition as a board-certified Specialist in Medical Oncology from the French medical association. Between 2020 and 2022, Dr. Amaral served as the Chair of the ESMO Young Oncologists Committee. Currently, she is a member of the ESMO Melanoma and Other Skin Tumours Faculty and the Guidelines Subject Editor for melanoma and other skin cancers. Since January 2023, she has been Chair of the ESMO Leadership Development Committee and serves as an ESMO Council Member.

Prof Michael Albert

Michael Albert is a leading expert in pediatric immunology and hematology and stem cell transplantation from Munich, Germany, dedicated to improving outcomes of stem cell transplantation for children with inborn errors. As past Chairperson of the Inborn Errors Working Party of ESID (2020-2024) and past Secretary of the same working party within EBMT (2017-2025), he collaborates internationally to refine transplantation protocols and general care for patients with inborn errors. He is lead author of the soon to be published revised EBMT IEWP guidelines for transplantation of patients with inborn errors of immunity and metabolism. As former board member and PID stream lead for ERN RITA, Michael worked to enhance cross-border patient care across Europe. His clinical research, including landmark studies on Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome, focuses on optimizing diagnosis, treatment, and long-term outcomes of patients with inborn errors of immunity and hemoglobinopathies. From April 1^st he will join DKMS in their access to transplantation team with the goal to help enable HSCT for children with inborn errors in resource constrained settings around the world.