Rudolf M. Huber
Rudolf M. Huber, Professor of Medicine at the Medical School of the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) in Munich, is the past head of the Division of Respiratory Medicine and Thoracic Oncology at the University Hospitals, Campus Innenstadt. Apart from Thoracic Oncology the division is focused on cystic fibrosis, sleep medicine, allergy/immunology, obstructive and end-stage lung diseases. He is actively involved in patient care and was long-term responsible for teaching Respiratory Medicine and Thoracic Oncology at LMU.
He initiated/chaired the Thoracic Oncology Centre Munich, a cooperation between a large Chest hospital near Munich and the LMU hospitals and chairs the Section of Thoracic Oncology of the Munich Cancer Centre. He is a co-founder/member of the Comprehensive Pneumology Centre of Munich (CPC-M) and the German Centre for Lung Research (DZL). CPC-M is a cooperation between LMU and the Helmholtz Society. DZL is formed by five German centers of excellence and funded by the German Ministry for Education and Research.
His clinical and scientific work is focused on Thoracic Oncology. He also works in the lab on endoscopic therapy, early detection and treatment, tumor microenvironment interactions, and reactions to radiotherapy and drugs. The clinical scientific focus is on multimodality management, focusing on radiochemotherapy of locally advanced lung cancer. He is the principal investigator of various multicenter studies, including translational aspects.
He has over 450 publications in peer-reviewed journals. His H-index is 52 (Scopus).
Rudolf Huber is active in relevant national and international societies like the European Respiratory Society, American College of Chest Physicians (FCCP, governor), and IASLC (currently chair of the Committee on Early Detection and Screening). He is an active member/initiator of international task forces of ERS, ESTS, and IASLC and the German guideline committees for lung cancer. He serves as an advisor on the committee for reimbursement of drugs of the German Federal Joint Committee (G-BA).
Enrico Ruffini
Prof. Enrico Ruffini was born in 1961 in Torino, Italy. He completed his medical school studies at the University of Torino, where he graduated in 1985. He obtained the Foreign Medical Graduates Examination in Medical Sciences.
(FMGEMS) Certificate in 1989 to practice medicine in the US. He completed the 5-year General Surgery Residency at the University of Pavia, Italy (1985-1990), and the 5-year Thoracic Surgery Residency at the University of Torino (1990-1995). He also obtained the European Board of General Thoracic Surgery (UEMS) in 1998. He spent a 6-month period at Washington University in St. Louis, MO, USA, and several short periods of education in London (Harefield Hospital) and in New York (Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center). Since 2010, he has been actively engaged in leadership positions in international scientific societies. In the European Society of Thoracic Surgeons (ESTS), he has served as a member of the Board of Directors, as the Director of the ESTS Annual Meeting, and finally, as President of the Society. In the International Thymic Malignancies Interest Group, he served as Secretary General. In the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) Staging Project: he was a member of the thymic domain of the Staging and Prognostic Factors Committee (SPFC) for the 8th TNM, the chair of the thymic domain of the SPFC for the 9th TNM, and he is presently a member of the SPFG Steering Committee for the 10th TNM. He received the Clifton F. Mountain Lectureship Award for Staging in 2020. He contributed to the release of several international guidelines and consensus documents of important societies (ESMO, ASTRO/ESTRO, EORTC). His scientific activity included 314 publications in peer-reviewed journals and an H-index of 55 (Scopus). Extra-professional interests include a great passion for sailing and bike addiction (when time allows). He is the father of two sons.
Daniel Sterman
Dr. Sterman is the Thomas and Suzanne Murphy Professor of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine in the Departments of Medicine and Cardiothoracic Surgery at the New York University Grossman School of Medicine, Director of the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, and Director of the Multidisciplinary Pulmonary Oncology Program at NYU Langone Health in New York City. He was previously the Lead Clinical Investigator in the multidisciplinary Thoracic Oncology Research Laboratory at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and the Principal Investigator of the Clinical Trials Project for the Penn NCI thoracic oncology program project grant from 1997 to 2015. While at Penn, Dr. Sterman founded the Interventional Pulmonology Program, the Mesothelioma and Pleural Diseases Program, and led the Section of Interventional Pulmonology and Thoracic Oncology in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine from 1997 to 2015. He is a former President of both the American Association of Bronchoscopy and Interventional Pulmonology (AABIP) and the International Mesothelioma Interest Group (iMiG).
Dr. Sterman’s research interests are related to the synergy of molecular medicine, tumor immunotherapy, and novel technologies in Interventional Pulmonology. Over the past 30 years, he has translated laboratory discoveries from the bench to the bedside. He has conducted multiple human clinical trials of gene therapy, oncolytic virotherapy, and vaccine therapy for lung cancer, mesothelioma, and other pleural malignancies. He has developed multiple clinical trials of immunogene delivery in patients with lung and pleural malignancies and is serving as a leader in this emerging field. As Director of the NYU Pulmonary Oncology Research Team, Dr. Sterman expanded his research interests into the development of novel intratumoral and intranodal immunotherapies. His longstanding experience in the fields of Interventional Pulmonology and developmental therapeutics has established his unique role among American pulmonologists in guiding the future of treatment for thoracic malignancies.
Motoko Tachihara
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.