Innovations In Cancer Treatment And Research

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2025
ELDORADO HOTEL & SPA

309 W. SAN FRANCISCO ST. • SANTA FE, NM 87501

CME Credits Available

Attendee Registration Fees:

Conference pricing include admission to reception.

$100 Medical Doctors – MD, DO’s

$50 Advanced Practice Clinicians and Clinical Staff – PA, NP, RN, CRNA, CNM, Clinical Staff

Sponsorships / Exhibitors:

Investment in a symposium sponsorship easily creates the best impact of your marketing dollars. We invite you to invest in us and bring your product to the attention of a captive audience.

$5000 – Sponsor / Exhibitor *
Sponsorship/ Exhibitor includes:

• Two (2) attendee registration tickets to the all-day cancer symposium and reception
• One table in the exhibit hall
• Two chairs in the exhibit hall
• Half-page ad in the Symposium Guide (sponsor to supply artwork by August 26, 2025)
• Your logo on event sponsor signage
• Your logo on the symposium webpage
• Sponsorship mention on CHRISTUS St. Vincent social media

*Sponsor / Exhibitors with more than (2) guests must pay $100 per additional person

Key Topics:

• Artificial Intelligence in Cancer Detection
• Women’s Health
• Minimal Residual Disease – CT-DNA
• Naturopathic Medicine
• Transgender Patient Care in Cancer Genetics
• Theranostics and New Developments in Radiation Medicine
• Jaundice Management
• Men’s Health

 AGENDA

SPEAKERS

 

Christina S. Wu, M.B., B.Ch., M.D.

Professor of Medicine, Division of Hematology Oncology
Mayo Clinic, Phoenix, AZ

Dr. Christina Wu is Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology. She is a board-certified medical oncologist and specializes in the treatment of gastrointestinal cancers with a research focus in colorectal cancers and drug development. She holds professional memberships with American Society of Clinical Oncology, NRG Oncology, and Academic and Community Cancer Research United (ACCRU).

 

Rahul Pannala, M.D.

Professor of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology
Mayo Clinic, Phoenix, AZ

Dr. Pannala is a Professor of Medicine, and Director of the Pancreas section at Mayo Clinic in Arizona. In addition, his other administrative roles include the Assistant Medical Director of Business Development and the Program Director for the Advanced Endoscopy fellowship program. His clinical practice is focused on pancreaticobiliary therapeutic endoscopy and endobariatric therapies. His research interests include pancreatic diseases and endoscopic bariatric therapies and he has published more than 100 peer reviewed scientific papers. He is pioneering the use of minimally invasive endobariatric therapies in patients undergoing organ transplantation. He also has a strong interest in medical device innovation and has multiple patents and novel devices in development. 

 

N. Jewel Samadder, MD, MSc, FRCPC, FACG, AGAF

Professor of Medicine, Division of Hematology Oncology and Clinical Genomics
Mayo Clinic, Phoenix, AZ

Dr. Samadder's focus are in the areas of hereditary cancer syndromes and endoscopic oncology. He directs the high risk cancer clinic at Mayo Clinic in Arizona, which provides genetic consultation and testing to patients with early onset cancer, rare cancers and hereditary cancers. Specifically this practice provides clinical management to patients with an inherited cancer syndrome, including (but not limited to) those with Lynch syndrome, FAP, MAP, Li Fraumeni syndrome, BRCA syndromes or any other cancer genetic syndrome. This clinic will provide patients with a single point of contact for all of their genetic testing and cancer screening, including genetic screening of relatives. His research focusses on the genetic epidemiology and outcomes of patients with hereditary cancer syndromes. Dr. Samadder is also leading multiple clinical trials using medications to prevent cancers in these patients. He is also leading efforts to increase genetic evaluation and testing of cancer patients throughout the entire Mayo health system.

 

Sandhya Pruthi, MD

Professor of Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine and Breast Diagnostic Clinic
Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN

Dr. Sandhya Pruthi received her M.D. degree from the University of Manitoba, Canada in 1990, and completed a Family Medicine residency at the Mayo Clinic in 1994.   She was the Director of the Breast Diagnostic Clinic at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN from January 2002 to July 2010.  She is a Consultant in the Department of General Internal Medicine and a Professor of Medicine.

Dr. Pruthi’s research and clinical expertise is in breast cancer prevention and management of women at increased risk for breast cancer, hereditary breast and ovarian cancer risk and providing pre-operative counseling to women newly diagnosed with breast cancer. She is the Mayo Clinic principal investigator on several national breast cancer prevention and biomarker trials aimed at reducing the risk of breast cancer.  She has collaborated in other women’s health trials studying integrative therapies for improving the quality of life of breast cancer survivors.

Dr. Pruthi is the Medical Director for the Division of Health Education and Content Services and serves as the Chief Medical Editor for MayoClinic.org website.  She is an Associate Medical Director for the Department of Development. Dr. Pruthi also serves as Medical Director for  new product curricula and content development in Continuous Professional Development. Professional Memberships from 2016-present: member Mayo Clinic Cancer Center and member Cancer Control Program/Prevention Committee for  Alliance For Clinical Trials in Oncology. Dr. Pruthi is Past President of the National Consortium of Breast Centers (NCBC).

 

Sameer R. Keoloe, M.D.

Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology. Medical Director, West Region
Mayo Clinic Care Network, Phoenix, AZ

Sameer R. Keole, M.D., is a consultant in the Department of Radiation Oncology at Mayo Clinic and serves as the Medical Director of the Proton Beam Program for the Mayo Clinic Arizona campus. Dr. Keole also sees patients at Phoenix Children’s Hospital. Prior to joining Mayo Clinic in 2012, Dr. Keole served as medical director of ProCure Proton Therapy Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, full partner in Radiation Medicine Associates, and as an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology at Oklahoma University Health Science Center.  Prior to working in Oklahoma, Dr. Keole was on faculty at University of Florida and was one of the original treating physicians at the University of Florida Proton Therapy Institute. He has held past Board positions in the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) and in the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) CancerLinQ project.

Noted as a “Top Doctor” in both Oklahoma and Arizona, Dr. Keole has been instrumental in the development and use of proton therapy in cancer treatment. He speaks nationally and internationally on proton therapy. He has helped pioneer treatment techniques in prostate cancer, pediatric cancer, and gastrointestinal cancers.  He has written multiple book chapters and over eighty scientific articles.  At Mayo Clinic, he has held multiple leadership positions within the Cancer Center and Enterprise.

 

DeAnna M. Weaver, APRN, FNP, MSN

Instructor of Medical Genetics
Mayo Clinic, Arizona

DeAnna received her undergraduate degree in Nursing from Eastern Arizona College in 2010. In 2017 I received my Master’s Degree with Honors in Nursing from Walden University and my Family Medicine certification. As a Nurse Practitioner, I have worked in oncology research at Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center and joined Mayo Clinic in 2019 to support the Department of Clinical Genomics in an inherited cancer clinic. I have had the honor of working with patients who have rare cancer susceptibility genes and facilitate screening that aids in cancer prevention and early cancer detection. I am involved in several chemoprevention clinical trials as a sub-investigator and published a medical chapter on the role of genetic testing in breast cancer prevention. I hold the academic rank of Instructor in Medical Genetics at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science.

 

Allison Donnell, ND, DOM

Physician CHRISTUS St. Vincent Supportive Care Medicine

Allison Donnell, ND, DOM is a licensed Naturopathic Doctor and Doctor of Oriental Medicine. She received her Doctorate of Naturopathic Medicine from Bastyr University in Kenmore, WA and her Master of Science of Oriental Medicine from Southwest Acupuncture College in Santa Fe, NM. She is a change-agent for New Mexico healthcare, and was instrumental in the licensing of Naturopathic Doctors in 2019.
She has held many leadership roles within the acupuncture and Naturopathic Medicine state associations, and is passionate about expanding access to integrative medicine within the traditional medical model. Dr. Donnell uses both traditional Chinese Medicine and Naturopathic Medicine modalities, offering patients a truly holistic model of care. Modalities offered include acupuncture, herbal medicine, body work, diet and lifestyle recommendations, extensive integrative lab testing, nutraceutical recommendations, and more. This medical model offers patients a safe approach for addressing many common complaints and “hard to treat” conditions.

As part of the care team, Dr. Donnell ensures that recommendations work synergistically with the treatment plan and goals of the patient’s primary physician. Dr. Donnell’s favorite conditions to treat are pain, migraines, chronic respiratory issues, digestive and urinary issues, immune and autoimmune issues.

 

Ursa A. Brown-Glaberman, MD

Research Director, Medical Oncology
CHRISTUS St. Vincent

Dr. Ursa A. Brown-Glaberman, MD, is a Diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine, Medical Oncology, and a highly skilled medical oncologist. She graduated with high honors from New Mexico State University with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and a minor in History. Dr. Brown-Glaberman was a post-sophomore fellow in the Department of Pathology at the University of New Mexico and earned her Doctor of Medicine from the University of New Mexico School of Medicine.
She completed an internship, residency, and chief residency in internal medicine at the University of Arizona in Tucson. Following this, she completed a fellowship in the Section of Hematology/Oncology at the University of Arizona Cancer Center in Tucson, where she also served as chief fellow for a year.
Dr. Brown-Glaberman recently served as an Associate Professor at the University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center. She has received numerous honors and awards and has been published in multiple publications, reflecting her dedication to research and patient care.

 

Tara L. Henrichsen, M.D. FSRU

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Tara L. Henrichsen, M.D. FSRU, is an Associate Professor in the Division of Breast Imaging, with a joint appointment in the Division of Ultrasound and Intervention in the Department of Radiology at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. Dr. Henrichsen earned her B.S. degree at Iowa State University and her M.D. degree at University of Iowa. She completed residency in diagnostic radiology and a fellowship in cross-sectional radiology/breast imaging, both at Mayo Graduate School of Medicine.
Dr. Henrichsen's research and clinical focus is on breast imaging, thyroid imaging as well as breast and thyroid image guided intervention. Dr. Henrichsen is active in education and mentoring, previously serving as program director for the Mayo Clinic Radiology residency and fellowship programs. In recognition of her work, Dr. Henrichsen has received awards and honors, including the Carmen Award for Educational Excellence and named a Senior Fellow in the Mayo Clinic Academy of Educational Excellence.

 

Cyril Varghese, M.D., M.S.

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Cyril Varghese is a Consultant in the Department of Critical Medicine and Division of Pulmonary Medicine at Mayo Clinic in Arizona, and ajunct faculty at Arizona State University. He is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science and has served as the course director of Pulmonary Medicine Block at the Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine until 2023. He holds a masters degree in biomedical engineering and completed medical school at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, after which he completed his residency, chief residency and pulmonary critical care fellowship at Mayo Clinic, Rochester. In addition to his passion for medical education, he is involved with research in artificial intelligence in the area of voice analytics as it relates to pulmonary diseases for which he has received the KL2 award. Additonally, he has been involved in developing AI models for prognostication of lung nodules. During his free time Cyril loves to fish, paint, garden, play the guitar and hang out with his wife and two girls (ages 10 and 7).

 

Bashar A. Aqel, M.D.

Director, Mayo Clinic Arizona Transplant Center

Dr. Aqel is a Professor of Medicine at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and serves as the Chair of Mayo Clinic Transplant Center in Arizona, the largest transplant center in the US. Dr. Aqel received his medical degree from the University of Jordan School of Medicine, completed internal medicine training at the University of Missouri at Columbia, where he served as chief resident, and then completed Gastroenterology and Transplant Hepatology fellowships at Mayo Clinic Florida.
He started his career at the University of Minnesota/Minneapolis VA Medical center, where he served as the director of the hepatitis C Resource Center. Dr. Aqel was part of the ILTS consortium that came out with the consensus statement on immunosuppression in liver transplant recipients. His role in education comes from strong involvement in the GI fellowship, transplant hepatology fellowship, and the Mayo Clinic Medical School, where he was honored to receive several teaching and clinical excellence awards from fellows and colleagues. Dr. Aqel has ongoing grants to assess predictors of recurrence in patients transplanted for cholangiocarcinoma, DCD outcomes, and he leads the Mayo Clinic Enterprise effort to increase the utilization of HCV viremic grafts in solid organ recipient.

 

Jacob J. Strand, M.D.

Chair, Enterprise Center for Palliative Medicine
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Sciences.

Dr. Strand is currently Chair, Enterprise Center for Palliative Medicine and Assistant Professor of Medicine, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Sciences.
He sees hospitalized patients with complex symptom needs on the inpatient palliative care services and works closely with patients and their caregivers to manage complications of serious illness, particularly patients with cancer and advanced heart failure in the outpatient Symptom Management, Pain and Quality of Life Clinic at Mayo Clinic in Rochester.
Dr. Strand's clinical research interests center around the integration of palliative medicine into the care of patients with cancer and advanced cardiac disease, management of complex cancer-related pain and barriers to cancer pain management. He participates in several active national research protocols and lectures nationally and internationally on these topics.

 

Prasad G. Iyer, M.D., M.S.

Director, Post-Doctoral Programs, Mayo Clinic Center of Clinical and Translational Science

Dr. Iyer, is a physician specializing in gastroenterology (and hepatology), with subspecialty certification in Gastroenterology and Hepatology.
Areas of clinical expertise include:
• Endoscopic Treatment of Dysplasia in Barrett's Esophagus and Esophageal Carcinoma
• Endoscopic Ultrasound
• Esophageal Diseases
In addition to his clinical activities, Dr. Iyer is active in research and education, providing mentorship to residents and subspecialty fellows. He is currently the Director of Post-Doctoral Programs in the Mayo Clinic Center of Clinical and Translational Science. ie. director of education for the Mayo Clinic Transplant Center and program director for the Transplantation Hepatology Fellowship program). Dr. Iyer is a highly sought after speaker and has spoken on topics related to Barrett's Esophagus and Esophageal Cancer in venues across the country and abroad.

 

Nahid Punjani, M.D., M.P.H.

Assistant Professor of Urology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine

Nahid Punjani, M.D., M.P.H., is a urologist with a special interest and fellowship training in male infertility and men's health.
Dr. Punjani attended McGill University in Canada for his Bachelor's of Science degree followed by a Post-Graduate Diploma in Clinical Research. He completed his medical school at the University of Ottawa in Canada, followed by his Urology residency at Western University in Canada. During his residency he concurrently completed a Master of Public Health Degree in Clinical Epidemiology from Harvard University. He then completed a fellowship in Male Reproductive and Sexual Medicine at Cornell University and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. During this time he also started and continues his Doctor of Public Health Degree in Epidemiology at Columbia University in New York.
His clinical practice focuses on the evaluation and treatment of male infertility and men's health. He has expertise in vasectomy, sperm retrieval, vasectomy reversal, TESE, microTESE, penile prosthesis, penile plication as well as grafting, testicular prosthesis, and benign penile and scrotal surgery. Additionally, he also has strong interests in research and trainee education.