Governance Committee

Alex A. Adjei, MD, PhD, FACP, FASCO, is the Chief of the Cleveland Clinic Cancer Institute and holds the M. Frank Rudy and Margaret D. Rudy Distinguished Chair in Translational Cancer Research at Cleveland Clinic. Dr. Adjei has had leadership roles in the National Cancer Enterprise of the US, serving in multiple roles and on several National Cancer Institute (NCI) committees. He was the Chair of the NIH Study Section NCRR reviewing CTSAs, a member of the Clinical Oncology Study Section (CONC), and the NCI IRG Subcommittee A, which reviews Cancer Centers. He was the Lung Committee Chair and Group Vice Chair of the NCCTG. He co-chaired the Clinical Trials Design Task Force, and the Thoracic Malignancies Steering Committee for two terms and co-chaired the SCLC Progress Review Group. He has chaired an external review panel for the NCI intra-mural thoracic and GI malignancies branch and has served on the Committee on Diagnosing and Treating Adult Cancers of the US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. He is a member of the NCI Board of Scientific Counselors, a former member of the Board of Directors of the IASLC, and the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Thoracic Oncology. He has served on numerous committees in AACR, ASCO and ESMO. His research focuses on experimental therapeutics and clinical drug development. He received the first ASCO Drug Development Research Professorship in recognition of his mentorship and work in cancer drug development. He also received the inaugural IASLC Adi F. Gazdar Merit Award for Distinguished Service in Lung Cancer in 2020 and the ESMO Lifetime Achievement Award in 2021. He has authored over 300 publications, primarily dealing with preclinical pharmacology, phase I trials, and novel therapies for lung cancer. 

Clarissa Baldotto, MD, MSc, PhD, is a dedicated thoracic medical oncologist from Brazil, recognized for her commitment to clinical research, education, and leadership in oncology. Dr. Baldotto’s academic journey began at Universidade Federal Fluminense, where she earned her Doctor of Medicine (MD). She then pursued a specialization in Internal Medicine followed by a residency in Medical Oncology at the Instituto Nacional de Câncer (INCA), one of Brazil’s leading cancer institutions. Her passion for research and education led her to complete a Master’s in Oncology at INCA and a PhD in Medical Sciences at Instituto D’Or for Research and Education, focusing on lung cancer, both under the mentorship of Dr. Carlos Gil Ferreira. 

She currently serves as Medical Director of Oncology Integrated Care at Rede D’Or. She is also a permanent professor in the Doctorate Program at Instituto D’Or for Research and Education (ID’Or), where she coordinates the Oncology Residence program, mentors young oncologists, and fosters new research initiatives. Rede D’Or is the most extensive hospital network in Brazil. 

Beyond academia, Dr. Baldotto plays an active role in oncology leadership. She is President-Elect of the Brazilian Society of Clinical Oncology (SBOC) and former President of the Brazilian School of Oncology, having previously served as President of the Brazilian Group of Thoracic Oncology (GBOT) and reinforcing her influence in shaping policies that support oncology professionals. Internationally, she is an active member of IASLC’s Education Committee and chairs the Webinars Subcommittee, working to expand global access to lung cancer education. 

A respected researcher and speaker at oncology meetings across Latin America and beyond, Dr. Baldotto is committed to bridging clinical research, education, and oncology advocacy to drive meaningful advancements in the field. 

Dr. Chang is a thoracic radiation oncologist with more than 30 years of experience with clinical care and research focusing on lung cancer. He holds a tenured Texas 4000 Distinguished Professorship and is Director of Stereotactic Ablative Radiotherapy at MD Anderson Cancer Center. He is a Fellow of the American Society of Radiation Oncology and has been recognized with the Best Doctors of America award. He is a voting committee member of NCCN thoracic guidelines and co-chair of the international particle therapy PTCOG scientific program committee. As one of the pioneers in the field of stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR, or SBRT: stereotactic body radiation therapy), proton therapy, and immunotherapy for lung cancer, he published more than 300 peer-reviewed articles in prestigious journals, including LANCET, Nature, JAMA, Journal of Clinical Oncology, Journal of Thoracic Oncology, RED J, Green J, and various others. His prospective studies including randomized studies comparing surgery vs. SABR in operable stage I lung cancer, stereotactic proton vs. photon radiotherapy in challenging early-stage lung cancer, immunotherapy plus SABR (I-SABR) vs. SABR alone in early-stage lung cancer were the first reported studies in the world. He led the first concurrent proton therapy and chemotherapy in stage III lung cancer, and his team implemented the first intensity-modulated proton therapy (IMPT) in lung cancer. His research has helped to establish the role of SABR, proton therapy, and I-SABR in lung cancer. Additionally, on behalf of national and international societies, including the IASLC ART committee, he has led several important consensus statements that have significantly impacted the radiation oncology community about SABR, proton therapy in lung cancer, IMPT in moving thoracic cancers, management of small cell lung cancer, oligometastasis, and re-irradiation of thoracic cancer. 

Dr. Narjust Florez is a clinician-researcher committed to improving cancer care for vulnerable populations, particularly young patients and women with lung cancer. Her clinical interests and research focus on utilizing novel approaches for timely lung cancer diagnosis, targeted therapies for early-stage lung cancer, the unique disease characteristics in young adults with lung cancer, survivorship challenges in lung cancer, and the role of intersectionality in shaping patients’ experiences. 

Dr. Florez is originally from Venezuela and graduated first in her medical school class at Universidad Católica Nordestana in the Dominican Republic. She completed her internal medicine residency at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School (recognized as the Department of Medicine’s most academic resident in 2015 and 2016) and completed a hematology and clinical oncology fellowship at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, where she served as chief fellow in oncology from 2018 to 2019. 

During her time at the University of Wisconsin, she founded the Midwest’s first clinic dedicated to women with lung cancer. The clinic rapidly grew and was honored with the North American Cancer Care Team Award for exceptional clinical care at the IASLC 2021 World Conference on Lung Cancer. 
Assuming the role of Associate Director of the Cancer Care Equity Program at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Dr. Florez oversees the Community-Based Cancer Diagnostic Clinic, addressing barriers to timely cancer diagnosis. Her contributions have led her to become the first Latina to hold an associate editor position for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and thoracic oncology at JAMA Oncology. Dr. Florez is also actively involved in community education and mentoring the next generation of healthcare providers and researchers. 

As the director of the Florez Laboratory, Dr. Florez designs large-scale interventions to reduce barriers in lung cancer care. These efforts involve establishing national and international collaborations with hospitals, lung cancer foundations, and advocacy groups. 

Dr. Antoni Rosell (Barcelona, 1963) Pulmonologist (1992), PhD in Medicine (2000), Diploma in Biostatistics (2004), European Certification in Respiratory Medicine (HERMES) (2009), and Professor of Medicine at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (2021), he has held the position of Chief of Respiratory Endoscopy Unit of the Hospital Universitari de Bellvitge (Barcelona) between 2005 and 2018. Since then, he is the Clinical Director of the Thoracic Institute of the Hospital Universitari of the Germans Trias I Pujol Hospital (Barcelona), managing the Pulmonology Service and the Thoracic Surgery Service. He has made short stages in international hospitals and research centers between 1998 and 2013, learning autofluorescence, endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS), rigid bronchoscopy, and lung cancer screening programs. He has been the introducer in Spain of the EBUS, the autofluorescence bronchoscopy, and the non-electromagnetic navigation system (Archimedes©). During 2012-2018, he developed an international fellowship on interventional bronchoscopy. He is a referral in this field, specifically rigid bronchoscopy and stenting. He leads the Translational Pulmonology Research Group of the Germans Trias Research Institute (IGTP).

Dr. Rosell is a reviewer of research projects of various public health agencies and international journals. He published 22 articles in Q1, h-Index of 16, and is the co-author of 3 patents. Together with the group of chemists, an antibiofilm silver-eluting stent was developed and tested in an animal model. His research is focused on radiomics and radiogenomics applied in lung cancer screening, and he is participating in the International Lung Screen Trial (ISLT). He chaired the 3rd European Congress of the EABIP (European Association for Bronchology and Interventional Pulmonology) in 2015 and was the vice president of the World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC) in Barcelona (2019). 

Dr. Motoko Tachihara is an Associate Professor in the Division of Respiratory Medicine at Kobe University, Japan. She is a leading expert in bronchoscopy, drug treatment for thoracic cancers, and pneumonitis. Additionally, as a board-certified cytologist, she is among the few physicians with expertise spanning lung cancer diagnosis to treatment. Dr. Tachihara has contributed significantly to the advancement of bronchoscopy, particularly through the development of the virtual bronchoscopic navigation system (Bf-NAVI®), which enhances diagnostic accuracy for lung cancer. Regarding the treatment of thoracic cancer, as a board-certified medical oncologist (JSMO), she has been actively involved in clinical trials through esteemed organizations such as the West Japan Oncology Group (WJOG) and has played a key role in multiple clinical trials.

A dedicated member of the IASLC, Dr. Tachihara has presented at the World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC) almost annually since her first international presentation in 2005. She has served as an invited speaker, session chair, and SCLC program committee chair and member for WCLC (2024, 2025), including roles on the DEI Task Force and Career Development Committee. Beyond research and clinical practice, Dr. Tachihara is deeply committed to mentoring the next generation of physicians, particularly in bronchoscopy and thoracic oncology. She serves as a role model for young female doctors in Japan, advocating for excellence in research, education, and patient care. She is honored to contribute to the global fight against thoracic cancer through clinical practice, research, and education. Outside of her professional life, she has a positive personality, is tireless, loves communicating with people, and enjoys raising her two children. She was a KARATE champion in Japan in her university days.

Professor Jie Wang has more than 30 years of experience in thoracic cancers. She is the chair of the medical oncology division at the National Cancer Center, Cancer Hospital Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, which has led the nation’s cancer medicine and research in China. 

Professor Jie Wang established herself as a medical oncologist dedicated to research mainly focused on lung cancer, notably in biomarkers, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy. Her pioneering work on non-invasive molecular subtyping of NSCLC based on circulating tumor DNA established the foundation for liquid biopsy as a diagnostic standard. She also dedicates her work by engaging in clinical research on new drugs. She had led and co-led multiple national and international phase III clinical trials, including Choice-01, Capstone-1, Rationale 307, etc., to address various aspects of the management of advanced lung cancer. These works have been published in over 150 articles as corresponding authors in international peer-reviewed journals, including The Lancet Oncology, Cancer Cell, Lancet Respiratory Medicine, and Journal of Clinical Oncology, and also adopted by multiple guidelines, including NCCN, ASCO, ESMO, and CSCO. She was awarded the IASLC Heine H. Hansen Lectureship Award in 2023. 

She is serving multiple leadership roles in China’s leading oncology organizations, including Vice President of CSCO, Chair of the CSCO Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Committee, and Chair of the Multidisciplinary Diagnosis and Treatment Committee of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association, driving multidisciplinary collaboration, standardized care, and capacity-building. She has had a long-standing involvement with WCLC since 2011, and she is now serving on the Membership Committee and DEI Task Force. Also, she co-chaired the 2024 Asia Conference of Lung Cancer in Hong Kong.