Nada Jabado, M.D., Ph.D., is a Professor of Pediatrics at McGill University and a pediatric oncologist at the Montreal Children’s Hospital. She is a CIHR Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Pediatric Oncology. Dr. Jabado completed her residency in pediatrics with a specialization in hemato-oncology. She also obtained a Ph.D. in Immunology in Paris, France, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship in biochemistry at McGill. Dr. Jabado began her career as an independent investigator at McGill in 2003, pioneering a research program in pediatric brain tumors. Her group uncovered a new molecular mechanism driving pediatric gliomas, namely recurrent somatic driver mutations in the tail of histone 3 variants (H3.3 and H3.1). This discovery created a paradigm shift in cancer and epigenetics, and her groundbreaking research revealed the critical role of the epigenome in cancer, highlighting how developmental biology intersects with oncogenesis in epigenetic-driven cancers. It has led to a major shift in understanding and treating paediatric brain tumours. She has been inducted as a Fellow to the Royal Society of Canada and a member of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, has been named as an Officer of the Order of Canada, and has received numerous awards for her work, including the 2024 L’Oréal-UNESCO International Award For Women in Science.

I am the Chair of the Department of Epidemiology and Cancer Control and Co-Program Leader of the Cancer Control and Survivorship Program (CCSP) of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Comprehensive Cancer Center. I am the Principal Investigator of the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study (CCCS). The CCSS is a multi-institutional, collaborative cohort study initiated in 1994, which has successfully established and followed a cohort of five-year survivors of childhood cancer diagnosed between 1970-1999 and a sibling comparison group. The cohort, derived through 31 original participating clinical centers, has collected detailed information on cancer diagnosis and therapy received along with health-related long-term outcomes and is the world’s largest established resource for survivorship research with 38,036 eligible survivors available for investigation of late mortality, and 25,665 participants who have contributed health-related and quality of life outcomes. Extensive use by the research community has resulted in over 460 published or in press manuscripts now cited over 30,000 times; utilization by a diverse group of 1,225 investigators including 102 early career trainees; conduct of 14 randomized trials; increased knowledge to inform exposure-based clinical care guidelines; and a highly successful model for multiple national and international collaborative initiatives of pediatric cancer survivorship research. Relevant to this application, I am an expert in late mortality outcomes among cancer survivors. My research has provided novel identification of a reduction in late mortality among survivors of childhood cancer from more recent eras attributable to reduced treatment exposure and modifiable health behaviors, extending the lifespan of these survivors (NEJM 2016, Lancet 2023). I have been continuously funded by NCI since 2010. With over 400 peer-reviewed publications and 16,693 citations my H-INDEX is 72. I received a U01 award for a randomized intervention trial of senolytic agents to improve frailty and senescence in cancer survivors. In addition to maintaining a clinical practice in both pediatric neuro-oncology and pediatric cancer survivor care, I am also a member of the Children’s Oncology Group’s Scientific Council and Outcomes and Survivorship Committee.

Prof Jennifer Geel is the head of Paediatric Haematology-Oncology at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital and the academic head of division of paediatric haematology-oncology at the University of the Witwatersrand. She currently serves as the president of the Africa branch of the International Paediatric Oncology Society (SIOP Africa) and is the principal investigator of the South African National Hodgkin lymphoma group. She is a founder member of SEARCH, which is the research arm of the South African Association of Paediatric Haematology-Oncology and has co-authored more than 45 peer-reviewed publications. She has a strong interest in stem cell transplantation and the GICC 6 focus cancers and supervises multiple PhDs and Masters’ degrees. She founded a non-profit organisation, CARE (Cancer Awareness, Research and Education) for Kids with Cancer, to fund collaborative research in South Africa.

Prof. Dr. Christine Mauz-Körholz is a Paediatric Oncologist / Hematologist at the Paediatric Hematology, Oncology and Immunodeficiency Department at the Justus-Liebig University Medical Center of Giessen, Germany. She is the Director of the Pediatric Stem Cell Transplant Program and the Phase I/II trials Unit. She is the Head of the Hodgkin Study Center at the Ped Hem/Onc Department in Giessen. She has been a founding member of the EuroNet-PHL consortium and has ever since been appointed the Scientific Secretary of the EuroNet-PHL consortium. She has initiated the International Symposia for Childhood, Adolescent and Young Adult Hodgkin Lymphoma (ISCAYAHL) together with her co-chair Prof. Monika Metzger. She is the Chairperson of the German Paediatric Oncology Hematology Hodgkin Committee (GPOH-HD) and the deputy of the EuroNet-PHL coordinating investigator, Prof. Dr. Dieter Körholz. She is the Global PI of the phase II trial MK-3475 KN-667, (NCT02332668). Her research focuses on the development of effective but less toxic treatments for children, adolescents and young adults with Hodgkin lymphoma.

She has published more than 280 peer reviewed articles, more than 5000 citations and an h-index of 35.

Dr. Venkatraman Radhakrishnan is a Professor and Head of the Department of Medical and Pediatric Oncology at the Cancer Institute (W.I.A), located in Adyar, Chennai. He completed his pediatric training at PGI, Chandigarh, India, and NHS United Kingdom, and later went on to complete his Oncology fellowship from AIIMS, New Delhi, India. Dr. Radhakrishnan holds a Master’s degree in Global Child Health from the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, USA.

Dr. Radhakrishnan's areas of interest include conducting clinical trials relevant to low and middle-income countries, pediatric cancer registration, supportive care, and global oncology.

Professor Suzanne Turner is a leading international authority on the biology and treatment of childhood lymphomas, with a particular focus on Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma (ALCL) and Burkitt lymphoma. Based in the Department of Pathology at the University of Cambridge, she has built an internationally recognised research programme that spans fundamental cancer biology, disease modelling, biomarker discovery and translational therapeutics. Her pioneering work developing genetically engineered and patient‑derived models of childhood lymphoma has reshaped understanding of disease origins, resistance mechanisms, and targeted therapy approaches. Professor Turner has also played a central role in defining the biology and clinical management of breast implant-associated ALCL, contributing key evidence that has informed both UK and European regulatory policy.

A passionate advocate for international cooperation in paediatric oncology, Professor Turner serves on multiple global scientific committees, including the International Society for Paediatric Oncology (SIOP), where she is currently Secretary General elect (2026–2029). She co-leads major European clinical and biological studies in childhood non-Hodgkin lymphoma and has longstanding partnerships across Africa, Europe, and North America aimed at improving outcomes for children worldwide. Alongside her research leadership, she has made major contributions to cancer education, global capacity building, and patient advocacy. With over 100 peer‑reviewed publications and a sustained record of influential scientific, clinical, and policy contributions, Professor Turner is widely regarded as one of the foremost experts shaping the future of childhood lymphoma research and care.

Professor dr. Godelieve Tytgat, a clinical scientist, aims to bridge the gap between bench and bedside. She is working as pediatric oncologist in the Princess Máxima Center for pediatric oncology in the solid tumor department and has her own lab as scientific group leader. Clinically, she has a main focus on neuroblastoma and renal tumors.

The aim of her research is on translating findings from the (fundamental) research to the clinic and bring clinical questions to the lab. Her research group is involved in translational studies, with focus on biomarkers and use of liquid biopsies in pediatric solid tumors. She has set up the Prinses maxima liquid biopsy consortium and several international liquid biopsy consortia, specifically for liquid biopsy studies in pediatric cancer, such as Neuroblastoma, pediatric Renal tumors and she is involved in international studies in pediatric Sarcoma and pediatric brain tumors. In her role of the chair of the SIOPEN Liquid biopsy committee, cell-free DNA committee and a member of the circulating RNA committee, she is actively involved in several aspects of liquid biopsies, specifically for Neuroblastoma. She has, and is mentoring several PhDs, medical and master students.  

She is scientific co-PI and clinical PI is the EU-funded MONALISA study. In this clinical study, the use of liquid biopsies for clinical decision-making is being investigated in relapsed high-risk neuroblastoma.

A pediatrician by training with a PhD in pharmacology, Gilles Vassal was a professor of oncology at Paris Saclay University in France. He was director of clinical research and the pediatric oncology research program at the Gustave Roussy Comprehensive Cancer Center, where he currently works in the Europe Unit. Co-founder and former president of  ITCC, the European network for innovative therapies for children and adolescents with cancer (www.itcc-consortium.org ), he chairs its industry strategy committee. He is a member of the board of directors of SIOP Europe, the European Society for Pediatric Oncology, leading the European Pediatric OncoPolicy program (www.siope.eu) . He is co-founder and former president of ACCELERATE (www.accelerate-platform.org ), an international multi-stakeholder initiative (universities, industry, patient representatives, regulatory agencies) aiming at accelerating innovation for children and adolescents with cancer, and currently chairing its scientific steering committee.  He is co-chairing the Essential Medicines working group of the SIOP-WHO committee (https://siop-online.org/essential-medicines-ems-wg/) . He is co-founder and managing director of the non-profit organization ITCC-P4 gGMBH, which conducts preclinical trials in pediatric oncology (www.itccp4.com ). He co-chairs the Childhood Cancers working group of the Paris Saclay Cancer Cluster (www.parissaclaycancercluster.org ). He is the author of more than 350 scientific articles.