In 2004, Dr. Adashi assumed the position of Dean of Medicine and Biological Sciences and the Frank L. Day Professor of Biology with the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. A member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Science, a member of the Association of American Physicians and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Dr. Adashi has been the recipient of several academic honors and awards. A past recipient of a Research Career Development Award from the NICHD, Dr. Adashi has been continuously funded by the NIH from 1985 to 2005, most recently in the arena of ovarian genomics and gene targeting technology. In addition, Dr. Adashi served the NIH as a member of the Reproductive Sciences 5-Year Planning Forum for the NICHD (1996-97), as a member of the selection committee of The Reproductive Scientist Development Program (1988-2005) and as a member of the Reproductive Endocrinology Study Section (1988-92). Appointed by HHS Secretary, Dr. Donna Shalala, Dr. Adashi also served a 4-year term (1998-2002) with the National Advisory Council for NICHD.

Dr. Adashi has authored or co-authored over 250 peer-reviewed publications, over 120 book chapters/reviews, as well as co-edited or edited 13 books focusing on intraovarian-regulation, on reproductive medicine and on novel gene discovery.

Dr. John Bissler is the Clark D. West Chair in Nephrology at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. He cares for adult and pediatric patients with tuberous sclerosis complex and lymphangioleiomyomatosis. He has worked to improve embolytic therapy for angiomyoliomata and is the principle investigator for two pharmacological studies aimed at reducing the angiomyolipomata burden for affected patients. His laboratory is interested in the mechanisms leading to the loss of heterozygosity that leads to loss of the functional TSC1 or TSC2 allele and angiomyolipoma development.

• Reduction of Postembolization Syndrome After Ablation of Renal Angiomyolipoma
  
  
• Perspectives in Renal Medicine: Renal Angiomyolipoma


• DNA Lesion-specific Co-localization of the Mre11/Rad50/Nbs1 (MRN) Complex and Replication Protein A (RPA) to Repair Foci*

Dr. Brown received his MD from Johns Hopkins University in 1982, followed by an internal medicine residency at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and a fellowship in medical oncology at Dana Farber Cancer Institute. He conducted postdoctoral research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1987 to 1990. In 1989, he joined the staff of DFCI, where his molecular studies focus on the role of the estrogen receptor in breast cancer and the androgen receptor in prostate cancer. Estrogen plays a critical role in the development of the normal breast and in breast cancer. The biochemical mechanisms underlying these processes, however, remain largely unknown. The overall aim of current research is to build on recent advances in the molecular understanding of estrogen receptor (ER) action to better define the role played by estrogen in the normal breast and in breast cancer.

Jennifer D. Cook was born on 11 August 1973 in Bentonville, Arkansas. Jennifer did her undergraduate studies at the University of Arkansas and graduated in 2000 with a B.S. in Biology. Jennifer completed her dissertation research under the supervision of Dr. Cheryl Walker at the University of Texas, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and was awarded her Ph.D. in Biomedical Research in 2006. Jennifer is currently a post-doctoral fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Myles Brown at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts.

Relevant Publications: 

• Estrogen Receptor Target Gene: An Evolving Concept.
  
  
• Genome-wide analysis of estrogen receptor binding sites


• Estradiol and tamoxifen stimulate LAM-associated angiomyolipoma cell growth and activate both genomic and nongenomic signaling pathways

Ian Eslick is a PhD candidate at the Media Laboratory of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His current research areas encompass Human-Computer Interfaces, Artificial and Collective Intelligence, Visualization and Software Engineering. Ian is developing technology platforms to enable user communities to collaborate in the acquisition and analysis of complex datasets without requiring significant expertise with computers.

Prior to his doctorate program at MIT, Ian was the founding President of Silicon Spice, a telecommunications semiconductor startup incorporated in 1996. His company was acquired by Broadcom Corporation in 2000 where he continued as a Director of Software Engineering. Under the Broadcom label, the company's products became the market leader in carrier-class voice telephony with significant penetration in the US, Europe and Asia.

Ian is also an advisor to venture capital and startup companies in the semiconductor, software, and non-profit sectors. He holds over a dozen patents in semiconductor architecture, real-time software, and systems technology.

Justin Fallon, Ph.D. is a Professor of Neuroscience at Brown University. He carried out his graduate work in cell biology at the University of Pennsylvania and expanded into neurobiology as a postdoctoral fellow at University College London and Stanford. His laboratory works on two genetic diseases – Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and Fragile X Syndrome (FXS). FXS is a synaptic disease caused in part by aberrations in RNA translational regulation. FXS is also characterized by accelerated growth. Autism is a common feature in both TSC and FXS, and there is the potential that these three disorders intersect at the level of protein synthesis-dependent synaptic plasticity. The Fallon laboratory is also working to develop a novel therapy for DMD.

Dr. Finlay obtained her medical degree from University College Dublin, Ireland in 1990. She received her Internal Medicine training in St Vincents University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland. She obtained her MD thesis examining the role of Matrix Metalloproteinases in pathogenesis of COPD and Emphysema from University College Dublin Ireland in 1996. She received her higher training in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Tufts-New England Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts. She is currently an Associate Professor of Medicine at T-NEMC. As a Pulmonary and Critical Care physician, she has a strong clinical interest in Emphysema and lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM). She has been the recipient of the LAM Foundation Fellowship and Established Investigator awards. Dr Finlay’s basic research interests focus on the mechanisms that control cell growth in tuberin null cells. In particular, her research has focused on the signaling mechanisms employed by growth factors and estrogen that lead to smooth muscle cell proliferation in tuberin null states such as lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) and therapeutic modalities that could potentially inhibit growth in tuberin null states.

• 1. The regulation of PDGF production and ERK activation by estrogen is associated with TSC-2 gene expression.
  Finlay G.A., Hunter D., Walker C., Paulson K.E., Fanburg B.L. Am J Physiol, Cell Physiol 2003: 285: C409-C418.
  
  
• 2. Estrogen-induced smooth muscle cell growth is regulated by tuberin and associated with altered activation of PDGFR-beta and ERK-1/2.
  Finlay, GA., York, B., Karas RH., Fanburg, BL., Zhang, HB., Kwiatkowski DJ., Noonan, DJ. J Biol Chem 2004: 279, 23114-22.


• 3. Selective inhibition of growth of Tuberous Sclerosis Complex 2 (TSC2)-null cells by atorvastatin is associated with impaired Rheb and Rho GTPase function and reduced mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR)/S6 Kinase activity.
  Geraldine A. Finlay, Amy M. Malhowski, Yingling Liu, Barry L. Fanburg, David J. Kwiatkowski and Deniz Toksoz. Cancer Res. 2007 Oct 15;67(20):9878-86.
  

Medical Oncologist Elizabeth Petri Henske, MD is a Senior Member and attending physician at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia. Her research focuses on understanding the cause and treatment of tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC), a genetic disorder that leads to benign tumors in multiple organs, and the related disorder, lymphangiomyomatosis (LAM). Her work points to a substantial overlap between the biology of cancer and TSC and suggests that certain biologic therapies being developed for cancer patients will be effective for TSC and LAM patients. Dr. Henske graduated summa cum laude from Yale University and attended Harvard Medical School. She came to Fox Chase in 1996 after serving as assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. She was trained in Internal Medicine and Hematology-Oncology at the Massachusetts General Hospital.

She was elected to membership in the American Society for Clinical Investigation in 2005. She has received the LAM Foundation Scientific Advancement Award (2001), the Rothberg Institute for Childhood Diseases “Courage” Award (2002), the Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance’s Manuel Gomez Award for “extraordinary scientific and humanitarian efforts to find a cure for Tuberous Sclerosis” (2005), and the Medtronic Prize from the Society for Women’s Health Research (2007) for “an outstanding scientist whose work has led or will lead directly to the improvement of women’s health.” Dr. Henske is Chairperson of the NIH “Cellular and Molecular Biology of the Kidney” study section and the DOD Neurofibromatosis Integration Panel, and Chair-elect of the Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance International Professional Advisory Board.

Relevant Publications: 

• Estrogen-Induced Activation of Mammalian Target of Rapamycin Is Mediated via Tuberin and the Small GTPase Ras Homologue Enriched in Brain


• Rheb Inhibits C-Raf Activity and B-Raf,C-Raf Heterodimerization

Dr. David Kwiatkowski is Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Senior Physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital. He has worked on tuberous sclerosis and related conditions for 17 years, including identification of the TSC1 gene in 1997. His current research interests include the human molecular genetics of TSC, the genetic basis of LAM, signaling pathways and functions of TSC1 and TSC2, development of mouse models of TSC and LAM, and exploration of therapeutic strategies for TSC and LAM in mouse models.

• Estrogen Enhances whereas Tamoxifen Retards Development of Tsc Mouse Liver Hemangioma: A Tumor Related to Renal Angiomyolipoma and Pulmonary Lymphangioleiomyomatosis



• PDGFRs are critical for P13K/Akt activation and negatively regulated by mTOR


• Efficacy of a Rapamycin Analog (CCI-779) and IFN- in Tuberous Sclerosis Mouse Models

Joel Moss, MD, PhD, is Chief of the Pulmonary-Critical Care Medicine Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, Maryland. He graduated from Brandeis University (1967), summa cum laude, and received M.D.- Ph.D. (Biochemistry) degrees from New York University School of Medicine (1972). Following internship and residency (medicine; Johns Hopkins), he completed post-doctoral and pulmonary fellowships (NHLBI). At the NHLBI since 1974, he has co-authored over 500 scientific papers, edited/co-authored several books, and is a co-inventor of biotechnology patents. Dr. Moss was a member of the NHLBI Institutional Review Board from 1988-2006, and Chair from 1995-2006. Subjects of his research include lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM), with emphasis on roles of the LAM cell and susceptibility/modifier genes on disease progression

• Meningiomans in Lymphangioleiomyomatosis
  
  
• Molecular and genetic analysis of disseminated neoplastic cells in lymphangioleiomyomatosis


• Maximal Oxygen Uptake and Severity of Disease in Lymphangioleiomyomatosis

Kari Luther Carlson was formerly Executive Vice President at the Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance and has been with the organization since June 2001. She previously oversaw the national volunteer outreach program and was responsible for fund development. During her tenure, Carlson developed and implemented a vast national network of more than 30 volunteer branches called Community Alliances; increased volunteer participation from 90 individuals to more than 2,000; and through her involvement in special events and major gift fundraising, helped increase the annual revenue from $2.6 million to $4.5 million-plus today.

Carlson has been involved in nonprofit fundraising and volunteer management for the past 17 years. Previously, she served as a Regional Director for International Service Agencies, where she developed the Midwest regional volunteer program while raising $1.3 million in revenue. She was also the Manager of Corporate and Foundation Relations at American Refugee Committee in Minneapolis, where she was responsible for major gift development, special event corporate sponsorship and volunteer coordination.

Amy is the founder and Executive Director of the LAM Treatment Alliance. She was diagnosed with LAM in April of 2005, and founded the LAM Treatment Alliance with the goal of fast tracking research to find a treatment for LAM. Amy is trained as a social scientist focused on the study of medicine/science, the law and society. She received her BA in political science from U.C. Berkeley and her PhD from Harvard University. She has completed a Fellowship in Medical Ethics at Harvard Medical School. She is currently an Instructor in the Department of Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Amy lives in Cambridge, MA with her husband, Michael Nurok, and their daughter Charlotte.