Disease Group Leaders
ACCRU Leadership
Disease Group Leaders
ACCRU Disease Group Leaders guide clinical trial research for a designated disease area. This includes developing the scientific focus and agenda for clinical trial development and evaluating and approving all clinical trial concepts prior to submission for final approval to the Scientific and Administrative Research Committee. In addition, our Disease Group leaders are engaged in implementing, evaluating and reporting of clinical trials within the disease area.
Breast Cancer
Matthew Goetz, M.D.
ACCRU Vice-ChairMayo Clinic Rochester
Matthew Goetz, M.D. has been an ACCRU member since 2011 where he co-leads the ACCRU Breast Disease Group along with Dr. Dan Flora. Dr. Goetz was recently appointed as ACCRU Vice-Chair and he is a member of the ACCRU Executive Committee where he is responsible for strategic planning and oversight for the scientific activities of ACCRU.
Daniel Flora, M.D., Pharm D
Saint Elizabeth Hospital
Daniel Flora, M.D. is a Medical Oncologist at St. Elizabeth Healthcare in Kentucky. With a background in pharmacology, Dr. Flora has a special interest in “personalized medicine,” in which each individual’s treatment plan is developed to minimize toxicity. He is currently leading the St. Elizabeth Oncology research team as principal investigator for multiple clinical trials. Many of these studies are exploring alternatives to chemotherapy, such as targeted or immune therapies. Dr. Flora is the recipient of the Arnold P. Gold Humanism in Medicine Award and the Cancer Family Care Unsung Heroes Award.
Gastrointestinal Cancer
Tanios Bekaii-Saab, M.D.
ACCRU Chair, Board of Directors ChairMayo Clinic Arizona
Tanios Bekaii-Saab, M.D. is a medical oncologist focusing on the treatment of gastrointestinal malignancies. He is the leader of the gastrointestinal cancer program for the Mayo Clinic Enterprise Cancer Center. Dr. Bekaii-Saab has served on various committees for ACCRU since 2012. He currently serves as the Consortium and Board of Director Chair for ACCRU.
John Strickler, M.D.
Duke University Medical Center
John Strickler, M.D. is an Associate Professor at Duke University, where he is the Associate Director of Clinical Research – GI Oncology and Co-Leader of the Molecular Tumor Board. Dr. Strickler’s clinic specializes on the treatment of gastrointestinal malignancies, with a particular emphasis on colorectal cancer.
Genitourinary Cancer
Alan Bryce, M.D.
Mayo Clinic Arizona
Alan Bryce, M.D. is a medical oncologist and clinical trialist focused on prostate cancer.
Tian Zhang, M.D.
UT Southwestern Medical Center
Tian Zhang, M.D. received her M.D. from the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology (HST) program at Harvard Medical School and completed post-graduate training at Duke University, where she remained on faculty until 2021. She is now Associate Professor within the Division of Hematology and Oncology and Department of Internal Medicine at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and leads the multi-disease and precision oncology program within the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center. Clinically she specializes in genitourinary malignancies. She participates actively in the cooperative group setting and currently serves as co-chair of the NCI GU Steering Committee Renal Task Force. She is a clinical researcher focused on improving novel therapies and biomarkers for patients with renal, prostate, and urothelial cancers.
Lung Cancer
Bryan Faller, M.D.
Heartland NCI Community Oncology Research Program
Bryan Faller, M.D. a community medical oncologist based in St. Louis, Missouri, is the Alan P. Lyss Endowed Chair in Cancer Research at Missouri Baptist Medical Center and the PI of Heartland Cancer Research NCI Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP). He has served on the ACCRU Scientific and Administrative Review Committee since 2013 and on the ACCRU Board of Directors since 2018.
Stephen Liu, M.D.
MedStar Georgetown University Hospital
Stephen Liu, M.D. is the Director of Thoracic Oncology and Head of Developmental Therapeutics at Georgetown University Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center. He is a medical oncologist focused on the treatment of lung cancer with extensive experience in immunotherapy, targeted therapy, and rational clinical trial design.
Aaron Mansfield, M.D.
Mayo Clinic Rochester
Aaron Mansfield, M.D. is a medical oncologist with expertise in the treatment of thoracic malignancies. His efforts have supported FDA-approval of multiple novel therapeutics for lung cancers, mesothelioma, and thyroid malignancies. His NIH, DoD and Mark Foundation funding have supported the development of novel biomarkers.
Lymphoma
Yucai Wang, M.D.
Mayo Clinic Rochester, MN
Yucai Wang, MD, PhD is a hematologist specializing in lymphoma, CLL, and cell therapy at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN. His research interest includes novel therapies for lymphoma and CLL and translational research in genetics and immunology.
Catherine Diefenbach, M.D.
NYU
Catherine Diefenbach, M.D. is an Associate Professor in the Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology in the NYU Perlmutter Cancer Center (PCC) at NYU Langone Health, the Clinical Director of Lymphoma, and the Translational Director of Hematology, and the Co-Chair of the Lymphoma Committee of the ACCRU network. Her research focuses on the relationship between systemic immunity, and tumor microenvironment and spans from investigator initiated clinical trials correlative science, to non-therapeutic investigations in collaboration with basic scientists.
Myeloma
Shaji Kumar, M.D.
Mayo Clinic Rochester
Shaji Kumar, M.D. is a Consultant in Hematology at Mayo Clinic in Rochester and is the chair of the myeloma disease group at Mayo Clinic. His research focuses on developing new therapies for myeloma and related plasma cell disorders and is the PI of several phase I, II, and III clinic trials.
Sarah Holstein, M.D.
University of Nebraska Medical Center
Sarah Holstein, M.D. is the Team Leader of the Myeloma/Plasma Cell Dyscrasia Group at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. She is a physician scientist whose research spans the clinical-translational spectrum.
Peter Voorhees, M.D.
Levine Cancer Institute
Peter Voorhees, M.D. is the Chief of the Plasma Cell Disorders Division and Vice Chair of the Department of Hematologic Oncology and Blood Disorders at Levine Cancer Institute. He is also a Vice Chair for the Alliance Multiple Myeloma Committee. He is an experienced clinical investigator and has published extensively in the area of multiple myeloma.
Symptom Control
Charles Loprinzi, M.D.
Symptom Control Program Lead
Charles Loprinzi, M.D. coordinates the ACCRU cancer control program and is the only leadership person that has been with ACCRU since it was initiated. His primary research focus deals with symptom control trials which he defines as trials aimed at trying to prevent and/or treat and/or better understand symptoms caused by cancer and/or cancer treatment.