Melissa Culligan
Melissa Culligan is the Director of Thoracic Surgery Research for the Department of Thoracic Medicine and Surgery at Temple University Hospital. She received her BSN from Wilkes University and a Master of Science degree from Drexel University College of Medicine in the area of Clinical Research. She earned her PhD in Nursing from the University of Maryland School of Nursing. She has more than 30 years of experience working in the field of thoracic surgery with a special focus and expertise in caring for patients with pleural mesothelioma and advanced-stage lung cancer. She is the co-author of multiple peer-reviewed papers on the topics of lung cancer and mesothelioma and has lectured nationally and internationally on the nursing care of patients undergoing thoracic surgery. Her doctoral research focused on the experience of dyspnea and quality of life for patients undergoing lung-sparing surgery for malignant pleural mesothelioma.
Joelle Fathi
Joelle Fathi is a dedicated healthcare leader with over 25 years of experience as a doctorate-prepared nurse practitioner specializing in lung cancer care, tobacco cessation, and health equity. She currently serves as the Chief Healthcare Delivery Officer at GO2 for Lung Cancer, a lung cancer patient advocacy organization in the US. At GO2, she leads the Excellence in Healthcare Delivery program, advancing quality care across the lung cancer continuum and supporting care navigators on the front lines to create more lung cancer survivors.
As a board-certified Adult Nurse Practitioner, Joelle draws on a robust 25-year clinical experience including her time in thoracic surgery, where she served as Clinical Program Director for Lung Cancer Screening, Incidental Pulmonary Nodule, TeleLung, and TeleTobacco programs at Swedish Medical Center. She continues to moonlight in a mobile safety net clinic serving immigrant and refugee populations in Seattle, Washington.
As a Professor of Nursing since 2000 at the University of Washington, where she previously directed the Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Program, Joelle remains active and committed to the development of our future nursing and advanced practice nursing workforce. She contributes nationally to numerous committees including in tobacco control and cessation efforts as a Certified Tobacco Treatment Specialist on guideline committees for the American Thoracic Society and American College of Chest Physicians.
Joelle is the Chair of the IASLC Tobacco Control and Smoking Cessation Committee and an inaugural Steering Committee member of the American Cancer Society’s National Lung Cancer Roundtable. Her areas of research and peer-reviewed publications span tobacco cessation treatment, implementation of lung cancer screening, and telehealth services. A policy advocate, Joelle has worked extensively to advance tobacco control, telehealth, lung cancer screening, and nursing practice legislation. As a Fellow of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners and the American Academy of Nursing, Joelle is recognized for her accomplishments as a nursing leader in advocacy, practice, and leadership.
Mary Pasquinelli
Dr. Mary Pasquinelli is a doctorate-prepared nurse practitioner specializing in lung cancer, with expertise spanning the entire continuum from screening and pulmonary nodule management to diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship. Her clinical research focuses on lung cancer, screening, and health disparities, with a strong commitment to improving access to early detection and care for underserved populations.
Dr. Pasquinelli developed and directed the Lung Cancer Screening Program at the University of Illinois Hospital and Health Sciences System (UI Health) in Chicago, serving predominantly minority populations from low-resource communities. Under her leadership, UI Health’s lung screening program has gained national recognition and has been designated a GO2 for Lung Cancer and an American College of Radiology Lung Cancer Screening Center of Excellence.
As a certified Tobacco Treatment Specialist, she has integrated comprehensive smoking cessation services into the Lung Screening Program and medical oncology clinic, ensuring a holistic approach to lung health. She has worked to implement patient-centered initiatives that improve lung cancer prevention efforts and enhance engagement in smoking cessation treatment.
She serves as principal investigator or co-investigator on multiple grants and research protocols focusing on thoracic oncology and health disparities. Her research, published in JAMA Oncology, has demonstrated higher rates of positive lung screens and diagnosed lung cancer among UI Health’s screening population compared to the NLST. She has also conducted studies assessing the PLCOm2012 risk prediction model impact on race/sex disparities, published in JTO and Chest, and plays a key role in AI-driven lung cancer risk prediction through the Sybil Consortium.
Dr. Pasquinelli is a frequent speaker at national and international conferences. In 2021, she received the Prevent Cancer Foundation James L. Mulshine National Leadership Award. Last year, she was honored with UI Health’s Nurse Practitioner of the Year award, the highest recognition for nurse practitioners at UI Health.