Press Release
Feb 12, 2024
(Denver, CO – February 12, 2024) — The International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer today named Dr. Umberto Malapelle, Dr. Jarushka Naidoo, Dr. Isabelle Opitz, and Dr. Noemi Reguart co-chairs of the IASLC 2025 World Conference on Lung Cancer being held September 6-9, 2025, in Barcelona, Spain.
Co-chairs work with IASLC to plan the annual research meeting, select program track members and meeting content, and serve as ambassadors for international oncologists who attend the meeting.
Prof. Umberto Malapelle, Department of Public Health, University Federico II of Naples, Italy is an Associate Professor at the School of Medicine, University of Naples Federico II (Italy). Currently, Prof. Malapelle is the Chair of the Predictive Molecular Pathology Laboratory, Department of Public Health of University Federico II of Naples. He serves as Scientific Secretary of the International Society of Liquid Biopsy and editor-in-chief of The Journal of Liquid Biopsy. His main research interest is in the field of genomic biomarkers validation and testing for predictive information in solid tumors with a special focus on Lung Cancer. Moreover, he has developed skills in tailoring Next Generation Assays for several different applications for the simultaneous detection of clinically relevant alterations (i.e., EGFR mutations, ALK translocation, PD–L1 expression) in the routine setting including handling of different sample types, such as tissues and/or liquid biopsy specimens. During his tenure with IASLC, Dr. Malapelle has served on the IASLC Liquid Biopsy Track for WCLC 2021, served on the Program Committee for Tumor Biology & Biomarkers at WCLC 2022, and was an invited speaker at the 2023 WCLC Hot Topics on Lung Cancer Biomarkers education session. He also co-authored, "Liquid Biopsy for Advanced NSCLC: A Consensus Statement From the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer," J Thorac Oncol. Oct. 2021.
Dr. Jarushka Naidoo, MB BCH MHS is a Full Professor of Medical Oncology and Consultant Medical Oncologist at Beaumont RCSI Cancer Centre in Dublin, Ireland, and Adjunct Faculty at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md. She is a clinical trialist and clinical/translational researcher with a research interest in NSCLC, immunotherapy, and immune-related toxicity. She is the Chair of the Lung Cancer Disease-specific subgroup (DSSG) of Cancer Trials Ireland, the Founder and Chair of the ‘Irish Lung Cancer Alliance’ research group, and the Irish immunotherapy toxicity network. Prof. Naidoo is the current chair of the IASLC Communications Committee, and track chair of the metastatic immunotherapy track for WCLC 2024. She is a prior winner of the IASLC/LCFA Young Investigator Award (2020) and was named the Irish Cancer Society’s Clinician Research Leader, 2022-2024.
Dr. Isabelle Opitz is the Director of the Department of Thoracic Surgery and Chair of the Lung Cancer Center at University Hospital Zurich and Professor/Ordinaria for Thoracic Surgery at the University of Zurich, Switzerland. Her areas of expertise are the surgical treatment of lung cancer and pleural mesothelioma. She served as the 2022-2023 President of the European Society of Thoracic Surgeons after being the treasurer since 2017 and a board member since 2012. She is currently the International Director of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery. Dr. Opitz has been a member of the IASLC since 2012 and has served the association as a member of the IASLC Mesothelioma Taskforce, the Staging Subcommittee MPM, and the N-stage committee for NSCLC. In 2022, she was awarded the Robert J. Ginsberg Lectureship Award for Surgery at WCLC.
Dr. Noemí Reguart is leading the Thoracic Oncology Unit at Hospital Clinic Barcelona, Spain, and is an active member of the IASLC. She has participated in several scientific committees and has been asked to speak at several educational and discussion sessions at several annual WCLC and ACLC conferences. She has also been a part of the IASLC Communications Committee since 2020. Dr. Reguart is also an engaged member of ESMO and has served on its scientific committees for years, being invited to lecture at several conferences. She was the co-chair of ELCC 2023 and works with the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer's group focusing on thoracic cancers and is an active member of the Spanish Lung Cancer Group.
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About the IASLC
The International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) is the only global organization dedicated solely to the study of lung cancer and other thoracic malignancies. Founded in 1974, the association's membership includes more than 10,000 lung cancer specialists across all disciplines in over 100 countries, forming a global network working together to conquer lung and thoracic cancers worldwide. The association also publishes the Journal of Thoracic Oncology, the primary educational and informational publication for topics relevant to the prevention, detection, diagnosis, and treatment of all thoracic malignancies. Visit www.iaslc.org for more information.