Andrew B. Lassman, M.D., is the John Harris Associate Professor of Neurology and the Chief of Neuro-oncology at Columbia University. After earning B.S. and M.S. degrees in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry as part of a combined 4-year program at Yale University, he received his M.D. from Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons. Dr. Lassman subsequently completed his residency at the Neurological Institute of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, and fellowship in Neuro-Oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, where he then joined the faculty and served as fellowship director.

In November 2011, Dr. Lassman became Chief of Neuro-Oncology at Columbia University Medical Center, and also serves as the Medical Director for the Clinical Protocol Data Management Office of the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center. 

Dr. Lassman received the Preuss Award in Neuro-Oncology from the American Academy of Neurology, the Boyer Clinical Research Award from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and the Gary Lichtenstein Humanitarian Award from Voices Against Brain Cancer.

Jody M. Mason, B.Sc., Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Biochemistry in the Department of Biology and Biochemistry at the University of Bath, U.K. His research interests center on the employment of peptide-based libraries to identify stable and specific antagonists of key protein-protein interactions that are implicated in disease pathways. Dr. Mason has authored over 40 papers as well as book chapters and patents in the area of protein folding and interaction.

Dr. Mason earned his degree in Biochemistry from the University of Bristol, U.K. in 1997. In 2001, he completed a Ph.D. in protein folding at the Department of Biochemistry, the University of Bristol under the supervision of the late Professor Tony Clarke. Postdoctoral research at the University of Manchester focused on amyloid aggregation inhibitors with Professor Andrew Doig. He has since worked at the Universities of Freiburg, Germany and Essex, U.K. Since 2015, Dr. Mason is an Associate Professor at the University of Bath. Funding towards Dr. Mason's research has included a Career Establishment Award from Cancer Research UK, in addition to major funding from the Wellcome Trust, and Alzheimer's Research U.K. He is a member of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) pool of experts and the Alzheimer's Research U.K. Grant Review Board.

Praveen B. Raju, M.D., Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and the Caryl & Israel A. Englander Clinical Scholar in Children's Health at Weill Cornell Medical College and Assistant Attending Pediatrician at New York-Presbyterian Hospital. He is board-certified in Neurology with Special Qualifications in Child Neurology.

Dr. Raju completed his M.D. in 2001 at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, where he also completed his Ph.D. in Cell and Molecular Biology / Genetics. He served as a resident in Pediatrics at Babies & Children's Hospital of New York / Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center and subsequently finished his Pediatric Neurology Fellowship training at Children's Hospital, Boston / Harvard Medical School in 2006 where he served as Chief Fellow during his final year. Prior to joining the Weill Cornell Medical College faculty, Dr. Raju was a Fellow of the Pediatric Scientist Development Program (PSDP) at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

In addition to his clinical responsibilities, Dr. Raju directs the Laboratory for Childhood Brain Tumor Research at Weill Cornell Medical College and studies the developmental origins of pediatric brain tumors including medulloblastoma, atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumor (ATRT), pediatric glioma, and brainstem glioma and their respective relationships to developmental signal transduction pathways. Through the utilization of sophisticated mouse genetics techniques, Dr. Raju and his team are creating new and improved preclinical models of these childhood brain tumors to better understand their biology, investigate novel treatment approaches, and identify treatment resistance mechanisms that can be translated back for use in patients.