About Us

Professional Affiliation

Dr. Helman has been studying the biology and caring for pediatric patients with sarcomas for over thirty years. Dr. Helman completed his post-doctoral training at the National Cancer Institute (NCI). He then became Head of the Molecular Oncology Section, Pediatric Oncology Branch, NCI, in 1993. He served as Chief of the Pediatric Oncology Branch from 1997-2007 and served as Scientific Director for Clinical Research in the Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute from 2007 to 2016. He joined Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) and the University of Southern California (USC) in 2017 as the Section Head of Basic and Translational Research within the Cancer and Blood Disease Institute (CBDI) and the Division of Hematology, Oncology and Blood and Marrow Transplantation. He remains an adjunct professor at CHLA. He has also trained many investigators in the field of pediatric sarcomas over the course of his career. He is currently focusing on improving outcomes in osteosarcoma.

Why I’m Here

Current therapy for patients with osteosarcoma has not improved over the past 30 years. I believe that with our improved understanding of the genetic drivers of this disease, we have an unprecedented opportunity to make significant progress in treating patients using this information. I also believe we have the opportunity to engage the immune system to help us develop new approaches for treatment. And I believe the OSI can help accelerate our progress in making this a reality.

Professional Affiliation

Dr. Brown is Regental Professor of Molecular Genetics and Director of the Jonsson Center for Molecular Genetics at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, Texas. He received the 1985 Nobel Prize in Medicine for his discoveries concerning the regulation of cholesterol. He shared the prize with his longtime scientific partner, Joseph Goldstein. The two also shared the US National Medal of Science in 1987.

Why I’m Here

Trained as a physician, I have a deep appreciation for the power of scientists to elucidate the causes of disease and to invent therapies that alleviate suffering and extend life. While certain diseases are the subject of intense study, others are overlooked. The QuadW Foundation, through its creation of the Osteosarcoma Institute, aims to correct that imbalance by marshalling resources to combat osteosarcoma, a devastating form of cancer that primarily affects young people. I hope to aid this effort in any way that I can.

Professional Affiliation

Bret is an experienced management consultant at EY in their Digital and Customer Experience practice. He is focused on fueling growth and efficiencies in some of the world’s largest companies by building digital customer experiences and leading large-scale transformations.

Why I’m Here

I am passionate about curing osteosarcoma after losing my best friend to the disease in 2006. I serve as a Board Chair, President & Treasurer for the QuadW Foundation, which has funded millions in osteosarcoma research infrastructure and young investigator development grants.

I hope to use the experience I have developed in understanding the priorities and opportunities in curing osteosarcoma to facilitate the connection of thought leadership and funding that will bring new treatments to osteosarcoma patients.

Professional Affiliation

With a background in law, Mary Katherine is trained in contract work, nonprofit management, development, and consulting with experience at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. She is currently focused on raising her two young daughters and supporting the furtherance of osteosarcoma research.

Why I’m Here

My oldest friend lost his battle to osteosarcoma when we were in college. Ever since, I have been a dedicated member of the QuadW Foundation and now serve as the Executive Director. QuadW has contributed millions of dollars in funding for research infrastructure and new talent in the field of sarcoma. Through this work, QuadW has developed the relationships that led to the creation of the Osteosarcoma Institute.

Professional Affiliation

Cigall Kadoch, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Pediatric Oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Assistant Professor of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Biology at Harvard Medical School, and Institute Member and Epigenomics Program Co-Director at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.

She established her independent laboratory in 2014 immediately following completion of her Ph.D. studies in Cancer Biology at Stanford University working with developmental biologist Gerald Crabtree. She is a leading expert in chromatin and gene regulation and is internationally recognized for her team’s ground-breaking studies in these areas. Specifically, her laboratory studies the structure and function of chromatin remodeling complexes such as the mammalian SWI/SNF (or BAF) complex, with emphasis on defining the mechanisms underlying cancer-specific perturbations. Of note, the recent surge in exome- and genome-wide sequencing efforts has unmasked the major, previously unappreciated contribution of these regulators to malignancy: genes encoding BAF complex subunits are mutated in in over 25% of human cancers, including some cancer types such as synovial sarcoma, malignant rhabdoid tumor, and others which are uniformly characterized by BAF complex perturbation.

Why I’m Here

I am committed to enabling translation of basic discoveries in to meaningful therapeutic opportunities. I hope to leverage our research team’s experiences in the settings of synovial sarcoma, Ewing sarcoma, rhabdoid tumor, epitheliod sarcoma, and others in the design of mechanistic and pre-clinical studies as well as screening approaches in osteosarcoma.

Professional Affiliation

Richard Gorlick is the Interim Chair, Sarcoma Department, Division of Cancer Medicine, Division Head, Department Chair, Mosbacher Pediatrics Chair, and Professor of Pediatrics at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX. He is a practicing pediatric oncologist who cares for patients with sarcoma and is the principal investigator of a laboratory devoted to translational research focused on osteosarcoma. Dr. Gorlick’s laboratory is a member of the National Cancer Institute funded Pediatric Preclinical Testing Consortium.

Why I’m Here

My entire professional career has been devoted to improving our biological understanding of osteosarcoma and through that, trying to improve the outcome of patients with this disease. My independent laboratory effort began in 1998 at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and since its inception has been almost entirely devoted to osteosarcoma research. My laboratory was involved in the initiation of osteosarcoma tumor banking by COG and has maintained its focus through my transition to the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and in December 2016 the move to The University of Texas MD Anderson Children’s Cancer Hospital. As Chair of the COG Bone Tumor Disease Committee and as a member of the Sarcoma Alliance for Research through Collaboration Clinical Trials Committee, I have helped shape clinical trials priorities. I have always been a physician who has provided care for patients with sarcomas, particularly osteosarcoma.

I was involved in the first meeting of WWWW Foundation, Inc. (QuadW), conducted under the auspices of the American Association for Cancer Research in which the decision was made to annotate the COG osteosarcoma bank, creating the highly effective QuadW biostatistical office. I have sincerely appreciated the extensive funding of infrastructure and Young Investigator grants provided by QuadW, and I am honored to be involved in the Osteosarcoma Institute. I will share my knowledge base and experience to help advance our aligned cause in an effort to improve survival and outcomes of patients with osteosarcoma.

Professional Affiliation

Katherine Janeway, MD, MMSc is a pediatric oncologist at Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center. Her clinical title is Senior Physician, she is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Harvard Medical School and Director of Clinical Genomics at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. She is an expert in caring for children, adolescents and young adults with sarcomas. Dr. Janeway’s research is focused on genomics, precision oncology and bone sarcomas. She leads clinical trials in osteosarcoma and Ewing sarcoma both as an independent investigator and as the Chair of the Children’s Oncology Group (COG) Bone Tumor Committee.

Why I’m Here

Every day, I am reminded just how important excellent cancer care and a commitment to cancer research are. Many of those affected by osteosarcoma, whom I have been fortunate to care for, are alive today because the researchers and clinicians before me established our current high standards of care. But still too often, our standard approach does not work, and we do not win the fight. Moreover, our current standard for osteosarcoma treatment can have lifelong, secondary effects. Too many with osteosarcoma face a difficult and uncertain road, and there is still so much work to be done. That is why I do this work. I find is solace and deep satisfaction in working with parents, patients, advocates, and other clinician-investigators striving to better understand osteosarcoma in order to make progress in conquering the disease.

Professional Affiliation

Bob is a practicing medical oncologist who has a special interest in sarcoma. I am also Director of the Division of Molecular Medicine and Molecular Pathology at Baylor University Medical Center.

Why I’m Here

I took care of Willie Tichenor during his battle with osteosarcoma. I have been involved with the QuadW Foundation since its inception, initially as the medical advisor and then as a board member. I believe fervently and passionately in their goal to develop better treatments for patients with osteosarcoma. I believe in using the best science to solve a problem. We are in a period of an explosion of scientific information. I am convinced that a group such as the Osteosarcoma Institute can and must facilitate cooperation between investigators, Pharma, physicians, and payers to improve the therapy for our patients with osteosarcoma. I am excited to be a member of the Osteosarcoma Institute.

Professional Affiliation

Melinda Merchant, MD, PhD, is Senior Vice President of Clinical Development at Normunity Inc, a company established to pioneer cancer-fighting medicines that target novel immuno-oncology mechanisms. A board-certified Pediatric Hematologist & Oncologist with a PhD in Immunology, Dr. Merchant held previous physician-scientist positions at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center with a focus on sarcomas and immunotherapy. She is the former VP of Early Stage Development at Epizyme where she led the Translational Medicine and Early Clinical Development. Since her move to pharma in 2015, Melinda has been highly active in early clinical development at the transition from laboratory to early phase clinical trials, directing clinical development of multiple first time in human studies, and leading a growing team of scientists and physician scientists.

Why I’m Here

As I think back on years of treating patients with osteosarcoma, many memories and celebrations of children, adolescents, and young adults come quickly to mind. Their challenges first attracted me to ask questions in the translational space and continue to provide a patient-first mentality as I work in drug development. It is clear to me that forward momentum in the field will take teamwork and leadership across multiple levels of expertise/engagement. I am hopeful that OSI initiatives will help improve the pace and scope of osteosarcoma treatment.

Professional Affiliation

Sung is the CEO of Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE), an organization dedicated to improving the quality of life and health of those with food allergies through transformative research, education, and advocacy. Sung is the former CEO of Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C), a groundbreaking movement that raises funds to accelerate the pace of translational cancer research and gets new therapies to patients quickly to save lives now. 

Why I’m Here

I have made it my life’s work to fight cancer from all angles: galvanizing awareness, improving patient outcomes, and enabling cutting-edge research. I am honored to join forces and galvanize the collective strengths of the OSI IEB and SAB members to accelerate the pace of osteosarcoma cancer research for benefit of patients today.

Professional Affiliation

Robert Schreiber is the Andrew M. and Jane M. Bursky Distinguished Professor; the Interim Head, Division of Immunobiology, Department of Pathology and Immunology, Director of The Bursky Center for Human Immunology and Immunotherapy Programs and co-Leader of the tumor immunology program at the Siteman Cancer Center at Washington University in St Louis, School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri. Dr. Schreiber received both his B.A. and Ph.D. in biochemistry/immunology from the State University of New York at Buffalo. He received his postdoctoral training at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, and remained there as a faculty member until 1985 when he was recruited to Washington University in St. Louis. Schreiber co-led/led the immunology training program from 1985-2003 and then took over directing the NCI T32 funded program in Cancer Biology and has led that program for 18 years. Dr. Schreiber’s research focuses on elucidating the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying natural and therapeutically induced immune responses to developing and established cancers.

Why I’m Here

I am delighted to be a part of the OSI board. My research is in the area of promoting therapeutic immunity to sarcoma and it is exciting to be able to interact with such dedicated and accomplished individuals on the OSI board. I firmly believe that immunotherapy has a place in sarcoma treatment. I hope that current research on this issue together with the interactions that are now occurring among the OSI board members will be translated into novel and more effective sarcoma therapies.

Professional Affiliation

Bill’s academic and clinical career focuses on providing comprehensive care for patients, primarily the underserved and underrepresented, bringing cutting edge research into the clinics. Bill is Chief of the Sarcoma Medical Oncology Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK). He has extensive experience in translational medicine as it applies to sarcoma and oncology. He is currently in charge of the clinical, basic science, and translational aspects of the Sarcoma Program at MSK. Bill is also helping to build an Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Program at MSK (AYA@MSK) to better understand and meet the needs of this unique patient population. AYA@MSK is positively affecting care paradigms for AYA cancer patients and improving care delivery for all patients at MSK. Bill is also active in health outcomes work, promoting equity in cancer care. His overall goal is to improve the comprehensive biopsychosocial care for patients with cancer and rare diseases, while training the next generation of clinicians and scientists.

Why I’m Here

I am here because things need to change. Osteosarcoma is a terrible disease with very few treatment options and little advances in the past few decades. This is unacceptable and OSI is committed to changing this reality, accelerating science and clinical research, establishing new conventions and approaches, and facilitating and building programs that will affect change. OSI is uniting a new community of stakeholders, from scientists and clinicians with diverse backgrounds, to patients and caregivers who arguably understand the effect of osteosarcoma more than anyone. As a team, we are all focused, united and dedicated to making a difference for our patients and in their lifetime. I am excited to be partnering with OSI to once and for all end this horrible disease.

Professional Affiliation

Lisa Tichenor is a graduate of the University of Texas with a BBA in finance. Lisa is Director Emeritus at the QuadW Foundation and a Trustee of the Osteosarcoma Institute. In addition, Lisa is Chair of the Board Africa University, Inc, the US-based corporation supporting Africa University in Zimbabwe. She enjoys cycling and runs a community garden.

Why I’m Here

I am a relentless advocate for osteosarcoma research that will result in better patient outcomes for children and adults with osteosarcoma. My younger son, Willie, passed away from this devastating disease in 2006 at the age of 19. The treatment options that Willie had in the 2000’s are still the only options available today, and they are failing approximately one-third of patients. I believe that funding from and collaboration among the OSI and like-minded individuals, corporations, and foundations is necessary to move the field forward. I am optimistic that the talent and expertise of the OSI Strategic Advisory Board, committees, and staff will help lead to a breakthrough for osteosarcoma patients. 

Professional Affiliation

In addition to serving as the President of the OSI, Mac Tichenor is the President of Tichenor Ventures, LLC., an investor in early-stage biotechnology companies and Director Emeritus of the QuadW Foundation.

Why I’m Here

Our younger son, Willie, died from osteosarcoma in 2006, after a three year battle with the disease. That led to the creation of QuadW, which has the funding of sarcoma research as a fundamental, but not exclusive, focus. Over QuadW’s first ten years, we helped support the field through many important accomplishments, but they did not include the development of new treatments that would have helped Willie. This fact, coupled with advice from leaders in cancer and medical science generally, led us to the creation of this purpose-built and driven Institute, with the single goal of bringing effective new therapies to the clinic.

Professional Affiliation

Dr. Von Hoff is currently Physician in Chief, Distinguished Professor Translational Research at TGen (Translational Genomics Research Institute) in Phoenix, Arizona. He is also Senior Consultant, Clinical Investigations for the City of Hope; Chief Scientific Officer for HonorHealth Research Institute; Medical Director of Research, Chief Scientific Officer, US Oncology, and Professor of Medicine, Mayo Clinic.

Why I’m Here

My major interest is in the development of new anticancer agents, both in the clinic and in the laboratory. My colleagues and I were involved in the beginning of the development of many of the agents we now use routinely, including: mitoxantrone, fludarabine, paclitaxel, docetaxel, gemcitabine, irinotecan, nelarabine, capecitabine, lapatinib, vismodegib, nab-paclitaxel, nal-IRI, and others. At present, we are concentrating on the development of molecularly targeted therapies for patients with pancreatic and other advanced cancers.

Professional Affiliation

Jinghui Zhang, Ph.D., is Chair of the Department of Computational Biology at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. She holds the St. Jude Endowed Chair in Bioinformatics. Dr. Zhang received her undergraduate degree from Fu Dan University in Shanghai and her doctorate from the University of Connecticut in Storrs, Conn. Zhang joined St. Jude in 2010, leading the effort to analyze genomic data generated by the St. Jude–Washington University Pediatric Cancer Genome Project (PCGP) to define the landscapes of >20 subtypes of pediatric cancer including osteosarcoma. Her PCGP work has led to new directions in research involving high-risk leukemia, brain and solid tumors while innovative analysis and visualization tools developed in her lab have been adopted by researchers worldwide. She led the first pan-cancer analysis of the Therapeutically Applicable Research to Generate Effective Treatment (TARGET) initiative of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) which has unveiled striking difference in the genomic landscape of pediatric versus adult cancer. She sees the importance of sharing data gained from her collaboration with other pediatric cancer research institutes and has developed St Jude Cloud platform for pediatric cancer genome data sharing.

Why I’m Here

I have been studying the genomics of osteosarcoma since 2012 uncovering the genomic complexity (2014) as well as evolution trajectory during metastasis (2019). OSI brings an opportunity to interact with both the patient community and research teams which will accelerate the progress of translating the research findings to therapy. I am particularly interested in connecting with my colleagues in research and clinical care so that we can explore adopting innovative technologies that can lead to improved outcome of high-risk/metastatic osteosarcoma.

Professional Affiliation

Chand is Chief Science Officer with Ethos Veterinary Health, and President of Ethos Discovery(501c3), its incubator of scientific innovation. His responsibility at Ethos Discovery is to develop innovations in the form of novel diagnostics and therapeutics for both human and animal patients afflicted with similar complex disease conditions (i.e., osteosarcoma; so called Comparative Oncology). Chand is a veterinary oncologist and both osteosarcoma and metastasis biologist, who has worked in this scientific field for over 20 years, most notably as a senior investigator of the Tumor and Metastasis Biology section of the Pediatric Oncology Branch at the National Cancer Institute and founding Director of its Comparative Oncology Program. Chand’s research career has focused on improving the understanding of the biology of metastasis in osteosarcoma and the use of a cross species (mouse, dog, human), Comparative and translational approach to develop novel therapeutics for osteosarcoma metastasis.

Why I’m Here

Starting during my PhD, continuing through my entire research career at the NIH, and continuing in my current role at Ethos Discovery, I have focused on the problem of metastasis in osteosarcoma and the use of a Comparative approach to develop novel therapeutics for this problem.

Through my work as the Osteosarcoma Biology Chair within the Children’s Oncology Group, I became familiar with the Tichenor family, the QuadW foundation and its board members. Through my responsibilities in the COG, I directed a QuadW sponsored office that was responsible for the management of the COG osteosarcoma biospecimen repository and the work to provide clinical annotation for nearly 100% of the patient samples in this biospecimen repository.

Professional Affiliation

As the Osteosarcoma Institute Operations Manager, Chelsey schedules meetings for the board, oversees various operational aspects of the organization (including HR, IT, and office management), facilitates the grant cycle, and manages OSI Connect (formerly OSI Hotline) that offers free expert advice for osteosarcoma patients and families no matter where they are in their journey. Although Chelsey is Texan through and through, she spent six years living in Southern California and was thrilled to return to the homeland with her husband, Jordan, at the end of 2019. Chelsey obtained her undergraduate degree from the University of North Texas, where she studied Sociology, Philosophy, and Dance. Previously, she had an insurance and financial services career and was an Executive Assistant for her church in Orange County, California.

Why I’m Here

I was first exposed to pediatric cancer when I was a Unit Secretary at Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas. During my short time there, the experience truly opened my eyes to these terrible diseases and how they affect not only the patient, but the entire family and community. When I heard Willie Tichenor’s story (the genesis for the QuadW Foundation and an inspiration for the OSI), it touched my heart. I was inspired by how this group of family and friends wanted to make a dramatic difference for current and future osteosarcoma patients. Working with the OSI is truly rewarding, and I am so excited to see the advancements that we make for patients!

Professional Affiliation

As the Osteosarcoma Institute’s Scientific Project Manager, Amy supports and contributes to the activities of the OSI Strategic Advisory Board (SAB) and its scientific committees. The work of these committees is key to making advancements in osteosarcoma science and treatment, and Amy will play a significant role. She will also contribute to fundraising and development efforts for the OSI. Amy and her husband, Tim, and their two children, relocated from Chicago in 2015 and are happy to now call Dallas home. Amy obtained her BA in Sociology from Miami University and her Master of Public Health from Emory University Rollins School of Public Health. Her diverse professional background includes program development and fundraising, grant writing, administering the grant giving program for a health system foundation, managing an academic clinical research program for a rare disease, and health care consulting.

Why I’m Here

My dedication to the Osteosarcoma Institute stems from personal experience watching my son’s elementary school classmate’s battle with osteosarcoma; while also inspired by her family’s dedication to advancing research through the creation of a science fund to support a breakthrough clinical trial or research study at OSI. Additionally, I had the honor to manage the clinical research program for a rare disease at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. While there, I witnessed first-hand how new and innovative treatment options discovered through foundation/pharmaceutical research collaborations can change survival rates and quality of life for children, where that opportunity previously did not exist. I am committed to seeing this become a reality for osteosarcoma patients as well. I am dedicated to OSI’s goals to remove obstacles, fund advancements, accelerate progress, and raise awareness to find a cure for patients with osteosarcoma. Knowing that I am working with an incredible organization and team of experts to increase survival rates and ultimately find a cure for osteosarcoma is a career path that is both empowering and fulfilling.

Professional Affiliation

Dr. Fernanda Arnaldez is the Senior Global Product Leader for AstraZeneca and leads Early Development Oncology research and development. Previously Dr. Arnaldez was the Investigator in the Investigational Drug Branch – Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program of the Divsion of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis at the National Cancer Institute (NCI); and an Associate Research Physician in the Pediatric Oncology Branch of the NCI. She specializes in rare solid malignancies in children and adolescents and previously acted as the Director of the NIH Pediatric and Wild-Type Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor (GIST) Clinic.

Her background includes oncology research and drug development in government, industry and academia. Dr. Fernanda Arnaldez received her M.D. from University of Buenos Aires School of Medicine in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where she graduated with high honors. She completed her Pediatric Internship and Residency in Buenos Aires, Argentina (Ricardo Gutierrez Children’s Hospital) serving as the Chief Resident in 2003. Dr. Arnaldez is Board Certified in General Pediatrics and in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology. She is a member of several of several pediatric medical societies, as well as ASCO and AACR. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Brigid Leventhal Special Merit Award (ASCO), the Conquer Cancer Foundation Young Investigator Award, and the American Society of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology Young Investigator Award.

Why I’m Here

I decided to be a pediatrician after realizing the deep relationship that families establish with the doctors caring for their youngest. Further along in my career, I was privileged to witness the incredible resilience that families affected by pediatric cancer possess. I was determined to contribute to improve outcomes. My passion lies in improving outcomes for those affected by cancer and contributing to bring to the clinic new and better therapies, able to have a meaningful impact in their lives.

Professional Affiliation

Dr. Andrea Hayes Dixon is the Howard University College of Medicine dean and oversees all aspects of academic and administrative affairs for the College of Medicine. Dr. Hayes Dixon has a basic science laboratory which focuses on rare sarcomas and also maintains a clinical research efforts. She specializes in refractory and resistant tumors and children and specifically soft tissue sarcomas and children. Her patient’s request her services from around the world because of the rare diseases she investigates. She was previously the section Chief of Pediatric Surgery at UT MD Anderson Cancer Center then the the Surgeon-in-Chief of the North Carolina Children’s Hospital and the Division Chief of Pediatric Surgery at UNC. She is nationally and internationally known for her work pioneering an operation known as HIPEC for children.

Why I’m Here

I have been practicing Pediatric Surgical Oncology for approximately 20 years. During that entire time I have been focused on sarcomas in particular. I have had an active molecular biology laboratory studying sarcomas using mouse models. I have been an active member of the children’s oncology group soft tissue sarcoma and bone sarcoma committee since the inception of the children’s oncology group.
I’m excited to participate in this Osteosarcoma Institute because it is clear to me that we are making little to no progress in the treatment of this tumor. Unfortunately the current treatment is no different from that of 20 to 30 years ago and the outcomes have remained the same.

Professional Affiliation

Dr Sweet-Cordero is a cancer biologist and practicing pediatric oncologist focused on basic and translational cancer research. His laboratory’s disease focus includes both pediatric sarcomas and lung cancer. His sarcoma work is focused on defining mechanisms driving osteosarcoma and Ewing sarcoma progression, metastasis, and therapy resistance. He has extensive expertise in integrative genomic analysis and functional genomic studies using CRISPR/CAS9. He uses these tools to drive gene and network discovery using primary tumors, patient-derived xenograft models, and genetically engineered mouse models. He also has experience in real-world application of tumor sequencing for precision cancer medicine and currently leads the UCSF Molecular Oncology Initiative (MOI).

Why I’m Here

I am passionate about improving the treatment for patients with osteosarcoma by finding new treatments that will ultimately improve the standard of care. I am specifically interested in understanding how osteosarcoma metastasizes and in finding treatments to kill metastatic tumor cells.

Professional Affiliation

As the Osteosarcoma Institute’s Development Manager, Vanessa focuses on fundraising efforts, grant writing, and marketing/communications as the OSI seeks to raise awareness and galvanize advocacy of osteosarcoma in North Texas, and in communities across the United States. Vanessa grew up in Waco, Texas, received her BS in Corporate Communications from the University of Texas, and moved to Dallas in 2016 to begin her career in nonprofit fundraising and development. Vanessa oversees the OSI’s fundraising strategy which encompasses all available giving channels, including individual, foundation, and corporate giving, planned giving, direct mail and digital fundraising, and grants.

Why I’m Here

I have seven years of experience fundraising for medical research, and I joined the Osteosarcoma Institute to help grow the organization and accelerate research for osteosarcoma. I am proud to be part of the OSI, and I look forward to driving our mission forward by ensuring the OSI has the financial resources needed to fund the most promising breakthrough osteosarcoma clinical trials and science. I believe that the OSI is on the path to dramatically increase treatment options and survival rates in osteosarcoma patients, and ultimately find a cure. I look forward to creating collaborative and longstanding relationships with our patients, donors, and friends of the OSI.

Professional Affiliation

Amal Morcos is the OSI’s Grant Writer. She assists the Development Manager and Development Committee with building and maintaining relationships with grant-making foundations that support the OSI’s mission. Amal is an experienced grant writer who has written grant proposals for a wide variety of nonprofits including museums, medical schools, and hospitals. She began her career as a journalist working for the magazines of Time Inc. and uses her journalism skills of writing, researching, and interviewing to make her grant narratives compelling and persuasive. For several years, she traveled throughout the Middle East and the former Communist Bloc working as a corporate communications officer for international humanitarian aid organizations. Amal has a BS in English and Magazine Journalism from Syracuse University and an MA in Middle Eastern Studies from the American University of Beirut.

Why I’m Here

I first caught the bug for medical research fundraising when I was asked to write a grant proposal for a Yale School of Medicine neuroscientist. He was trying to raise $1 million to fund research that could be groundbreaking in the treatment of several neurological diseases. It was exciting to think that I could make a difference in this neuroscientist’s work simply by doing my part as a grant writer. I was first introduced to osteosarcoma through the OSI and have found the Tichenor’s story, and their beloved son Willie, who died of the disease, particularly inspiring. I believe that the OSI is on the brink of breakthrough science because their model of a virtual research institute that brings the best scientific minds from around the world together makes so much sense. I am both humbled and sobered at the thought that the monies raised through the grant narratives I write will empower these scientists.

Professional Affiliation

Dr. Heather Wilson-Robles received her DVM from the University of Tennessee in 2003. She completed an internship in Small Animal Medicine and Surgery at the University of Minnesota in 2004 and a residency in Medical Oncology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2007. Dr. Robles joined the Veterinary Small Animal Clinical Sciences Department at Texas A&M University in 2007 as a Clinical Assistant Professor, converted to a tenture track position in 2008 and was awarded tenure in 2014. She currently holds the rank of Professor and serves as the assistant department head of research. Dr. Robles’ research has several main foci- bench based discovery targeting tumor initiating cells while exploiting common drugable pathways between canine and human cancers, diagnostic development in the area of nucleosomics and clinical research using dogs as a model for human pediatric cancer. She has received over $8.1 million in external funding from a variety of sources. She has written over 40 peer reviewed publications, 21 book chapters and authored 40 scientific oral abstracts at national meetings. Dr. Robles was recently awarded the TVMA Medical specialist of the year award and is the President of the Veterinary Cancer Society.

Professional Affiliation

Ryan Roberts, MD, PhD, is a physician in the Division of Hematology, Oncology and Blood and Marrow Transplant at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and a principal investigator in the Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Diseases at the Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s. Dr. Roberts is an assistant professor of pediatrics and a member of the Translational Therapeutics research program at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute. He is a graduate of the Medical Scientist Training Program at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. He completed his residency in pediatrics and a Pediatric Hematology, Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplant fellowship at Nationwide Children’s. A physician-scientist, Dr. Roberts specializes in treating childhood sarcomas. He has led the Osteosarcoma Biology Committee of the Children’s Oncology Group since 2020.

The Roberts laboratory studies the processes that lead to metastasis in osteosarcoma and other pediatric solid tumors. Using murine models of metastasis, tumor-on-lung organoid systems, single-cell analytical systems, and conventional cell biology, his team has identified tumor-host signaling interactions critical to metastasis development in the lung. Their discoveries show that disseminated tumor cells exhibiting divergent phenotypes and can cooperate to manipulate the behavior of lung tissues in ways that facilitate the establishment and growth of metastatic lesions. Active research projects include pre-clinical validation of candidate therapies, elucidation of tumor-lung signaling pathways that drive metastasis in osteosarcoma, and identification of ways in which tumor cells cooperate with each other to drive malignant progression. The Roberts lab has developed close relationships with pediatric and veterinary clinicians and sees great potential in accelerating the development of novel therapeutics through coordinated investigation in dogs and children suffering from osteosarcoma.

Why I’m Here

Beginning with an idea first articulated in a fellowship proposal funded by the QuadW Foundation, I have grown a successful research program that focuses almost exclusively on understanding the mechanisms that drive osteosarcoma metastasis. This work has been scientifically interesting and intellectually fulfilling. But, it all becomes real when I sit down with a patient to discuss what is a frustratingly short, embarrassingly ineffective, and unacceptably toxic list of treatment options that I can currently offer. It becomes even more real when I attend a kid’s funeral—something I do far too often. We must do better, and this motivates me. Ending the suffering caused by osteosarcoma has become my professional (and sometimes personal) calling.

Professional Affiliation

Corrie Painter is the Deputy Director of Count Me In and is a research scientist at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.  A trained cancer researcher with a Ph.D. in biochemistry, she completed her postdoctoral work in cancer immunology, focusing on melanoma. In 2010, Painter was diagnosed with angiosarcoma. She has combined her cancer advocacy and scientific background to engage with patients in order to build and carry out patient-partnered genomics studies with a focus in angiosarcoma, osteosarcoma and leiomyosarcoma. She is also the co-founder of Angiosarcoma Awareness Inc.

Why I’m Here

As a cancer research scientist and as a sarcoma patient, I understand many facets of the tremendous unmet needs across the spectrum of rare cancers. Having built and launched the Osteosarcoma Project as part of the Count Me In initiative, I have worked closely with scientists, clinicians, patients and caregivers in the osteosarcoma community and am dedicated to helping usher in better therapies to the best of my capability.

Professional Affiliation

Dr. Crompton’s research focuses on utilizing genomic and proteomic technologies to identify and validate new therapeutic targets for pediatric solid tumors and to develop non-invasive biomarkers of treatment response and resistance in these diseases. He and his team have recently developed a new approach to study tumor genomics through liquid biopsy technologies including the profiling of circulating tumor DNA and circulating tumor cells in blood samples of patients with pediatric solid tumors. Dr. Crompton is also engaged in national efforts to study the biology of osteosarcoma through the Children’s Oncology Group studies and through patient-led research initiatives including the Count Me In project.