INTERNATIONAL SPEAKERS

Associate Professor Bryan Choi, MD, PhD is a board-certified neurosurgeon in the Department of Neurosurgery and the Stephen E. and Catherine Pappas Center for Neuro-Oncology. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Associate Professor Choi graduated from Harvard College and attended Duke University School of Medicine, where he underwent dual MD and PhD training in the field of tumor immunology under the guidance of Drs. John Sampson and Darell Bigner. During his neurosurgery residency at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), he completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the laboratory of Dr. Marcela Maus, focused on developing CAR T-cell therapies for cancer. He has published broadly, holds several patents and has lectured internationally on immune-based treatments for brain tumours. Associate Professor Choi is faculty of the MGH Brain Tumor Center and Harvard Medical School where he is currently in active neurosurgical practice. He serves as Director of Cell Therapy for Brain Tumors and leads a research laboratory focused on next-generation cell therapies and clinical trials in neuro-oncology.

Dr. John de Groot is a nationally and internationally recognized leader in primary brain tumor research and treatment, with more than two decades of integrated clinical trial and laboratory experience translating novel therapies into meaningful outcomes for patients with glioblastoma and other malignant gliomas. His research expertise spans glioma angiogenesis, molecularly targeted therapy, and immunotherapy, and he has served as Principal Investigator on more than 45 clinical trials and as co-investigator or collaborator on more than 80 additional studies. A hallmark of his work is the rigorous integration of correlative science including prospective tissue and blood collection, pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic analyses, and biomarker-anchored endpoints that directly inform the design of next-generation trials. Dr. de Groot’s field-shaping contributions include co-authorship of both the original RANO response criteria and the RANO 2.0 update, which define the standard for response assessment across glioma clinical trials worldwide. During his tenure as Director of Clinical Research at MD Anderson Cancer Center, Dr. de Groot established a prospective clinical data and molecular profiling platform encompassing more than 6,000 brain tumor patients, contributing to major national consortia including the Glioma Longitudinal Analysis (GLASS) consortium and earning support from the NIH, Department of Defense, National Brain Tumor Society, and CPRIT. Among his most influential investigator-initiated trials is a first-in-kind window-of-opportunity study of neoadjuvant pembrolizumab in recurrent glioblastoma, the first such trial of a checkpoint inhibitor in GBM which demonstrated a predominance of immune-suppressive macrophages in the tumor microenvironment. His current research centers on identifying mechanisms of resistance to targeted and immune therapies, developing biomarkers of response through longitudinal circulating tumor DNA and myeloid cell profiling, and advancing blood-brain barrier disruption strategies to enhance drug delivery and liquid biopsy sensitivity in CNS tumors. A highly sought scientific advisor, Dr. de Groot serves on scientific advisory boards for numerous pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and has published more than 215 peer-reviewed manuscripts, reviewed for 23 scientific journals, and serves on four editorial boards including Neuro-Oncology. As Director of the MD Anderson Neuro-Oncology Fellowship Program for nearly a decade, he trained more than 35 fellows who now hold faculty positions at leading academic medical centers, cementing his influence on the next generation of neuro-oncologists. Since joining UCSF as Division Chief in October 2021, he has built a nationally prominent program at the intersection of precision neuro-oncology, immune therapy, and translational science launching an adult Neurofibromatosis and Adolescent and Young Adult program (the only one in Northern California), establishing multiple philanthropic funding sources, serving as a Leadership Council member and Arm Selection Committee member for the GBM AGILE adaptive platform trial, and co-chairing the 2026 SNO Annual Meeting.

Professor Takashi Komori, MD, PhD, is a senior neuropathologist based in Japan and a Consultant at TMG Asaka Medical Center, with a distinguished career in brain tumour pathology. He has held key leadership roles including Director of Neuropathology at Tokyo Metropolitan Neurological Hospital and Editor-in-Chief of Brain Tumor Pathology, and is widely recognised for his contributions to diagnostic pathology and neuro-oncology research. ​Professor Komori is an international leader in the field, serving as a Standing Member of the WHO Classification of Tumours and President-Elect of the Asian Oceanian Society of Neuropathology. He has played a major role in shaping global tumour classification and reporting standards, with extensive contributions to WHO, ICCR, and cIMPACT-NOW initiatives.

Leeds Institute for Medical Research and Leeds Institute for Health Science, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom Stichting Epilepsie Instellingen Nederland (SEIN), Heemstede, the Netherlands Dr Florien Boele is an Associate Professor of Medical Psychology at the University of Leeds. Dr Boele has a background in neuropsychology and obtained her PhD from the VU University in Amsterdam (2015). She leads a research group which focuses on health-related quality of life and (access to) support in (neuro-)oncology patients and family caregivers. Dr Boele is involved in several active clinical trials as patient-centred outcomes expert. She has published >90 peer reviewed publications and obtained >£11M in research funding. Apart from her academic role, she leads evidence-based service improvement projects at SEIN (tertiary referral centre for epilepsy and sleep disorders). Dr Boele is an active member of the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life Group and the European Association of Neuro-Oncology (EANO), where she serves on several committees. She chairs the Response Assessment in Neuro Oncology (RANO) – Cares working group, and the International Neuro-oncology Caregiver Consortium (INCC). Dr Boele is Associate Editor for Neuro-Oncology.