Scientific Advisory Board

Manuel Hidalgo, MD., PhD
Dr. Hidalgo obtained his MD degree from the University of Navarra and completed training in Medical Oncology at the Hospital ¨12 de Octubre¨ in Madrid. He also obtained a PhD from the Universidad Autónoma of Madrid.  From 1997 to 2001, Dr. Hidalgo completed a fellowship in drug development at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio Institute of Drug Development. During this time Dr. Hidalgo contributed to the development of Erlotinib and Temsirolimus, two of the very first targeted agents to be approved for cancer treatment. In 2001, Dr. Hidalgo moved to Johns Hopkins University to lead the Gastrointestinal Oncology Program. During these years he popularized the use of Avatar mouse models for drug screening, biomarker development and personalized medicine. Dr. Hidalgo joined the Spanish National Cancer Research Center (CNIO) in 2009.  His latest research contribution has been the development of Nab-paclitaxel for pancreatic cancer treatment. He is also author of more than 200 original articles, reviews and books chapters in oncology field. Dr. Hidalgo is currently the Director of the Clinical Research Program and the Head of the Gastrointestinal Cancer Tumor Clinical Research Unit at the CNIO and Vice-Director for Translational Research.

Ramon Salazar, MD, PhD
Catalan Institute of Oncology, L´Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain

Dr Ramon Salazar is Head of the Early Clinical Research Unit at the Medical Oncology Department of the Catalan Institute of Oncology, L´Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain. Dr Salazar also leads clinical and research programmes in the Gastrointestinal Unit at the institute, with a special focus on colorectal cancer and NETs. Dr Salazar is a board member of the TTD Group (Spanish Cooperative Group for Gastrointestinal Tumour Therapy), and is Chairman of GETNE (Spanish Task Force Gastrointestinal NETs group). He has published more than 40 peer-reviewed articles in medical journals, and written numerous book chapters and monographs, as well as on-line text. In addition, Dr Salazar has organised a number of symposia and teaching activities on behalf of organisations including the University of Barcelona and the European School of Oncology.

José Costa, MD, PhD
Department of Pathology. Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, USA.

Dr Costa is Professor of Pathology and Medicine (Oncology) in the Yale University School of Medicine where he is also Vice-Chair of Pathology and Director of the Translational Diagnostics program. He possesses an internationally recognized expertise in oncology, carcinogenesis and tumor development & progression. As researcher he is currently focused on the study of the earliest changes preceding tumor formation. His approach consists of studying tissues known to be at high risk for the development of tumors, using both experimental animals and excised tissues from patients. His lab combines morphology, immunohistochemistry, and PCR-based technology to characterize the genetic changes found in distinct cell populations. Dr. Costa is member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of different biotechnological companies in USA.