Committee
Meet the driving forces behind ISLB 2026! Our committee is made up of passionate professionals and global experts, all committed to advancing research and innovation in liquid biopsy.
Umberto Malapelle
President (Italy)
Umberto Malapelle
President (Italy)
Umberto Malapelle is Associate Professor and Head of a Molecular Pathology Laboratory at the University of Naples Federico II. He worldwide leader, pioneered clinical Next Generation Sequencing, developed the SiRe® panel, and serves as Editor-in-Chief of The Journal of Liquid Biopsy and President of the International Society of Liquid Biopsy.
Eloisa Jantus Lewintre
Vice President (Spain)
Eloisa Jantus Lewintre
Vice President (Spain)
Eloisa Jantus Lewintre is Full Professor of Cell Biology at the Universitat Politècnica de València and Principal Investigator of the Biomarkers in Cancer Group at the Joint CIPF–UPV Research Unit in Valencia, Spain. She currently serves as Vice President of the International Society of Liquid Biopsy (ISLB).
Her research focuses on the development of advanced 3D lung cancer models and the discovery of novel biomarkers using liquid biopsy approaches, particularly circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) to improve prognosis assessment, guide patient stratification, and monitor tumor–immune interactions.
Dr. Jantus has authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications in journals such as Nature Communications, Annals of Oncology, and Journal of Thoracic Oncology. She is a frequent speaker at major international conferences and serves as reviewer and Section Editor for leading oncology journals.
Natasha B. Leighl
Secretary (Canada)
Natasha B. Leighl
Secretary (Canada)
Dr. Natasha Leighl is the Division Head of Medical Oncology and Hematology (DMOH) at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and the UHN-Sinai Health Department of Medicine. She holds the Daniel E. Bergsagel Chair in Medical Oncology, a joint UHN-University of Toronto Endowed Chair, and is Professor in the Department of Medicine and Adjunct Professor in the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, at the University of Toronto.
As a globally recognized expert in lung cancer precision medicine, diagnostics, clinical management, and drug development, Dr. Leighl has published over 450 peer-reviewed papers and been recognized as a Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher and ScholarGPS Highly Ranked Scholar. She previously led the Thoracic Medical Oncology Group at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre from 2011 to 2025 and held the OSI Pharmaceuticals Foundation Chair in Cancer New Drug Development through the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation from 2012 to 2025.
Dr. Leighl has made significant contributions to lung cancer research and treatment, including leadership of international clinical trials, drug development and establishing the role of liquid biopsy in clinical care. She and her team continue to work to improve outcomes for patients and access to state of the art care in Canada and worldwide. She serves on numerous international committees including the Board of Directors of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer. She chairs multiple guideline groups including the ASCO Thoracic Guidelines Advisory Group, the ESMO Early-Stage Lung Cancer Guideline, the International Society of Liquid Biopsy (ISLB) Education Committee and is ISLB Secretary-Elect. In 2019, she received the ASCO Excellence in Teaching Award. Many of her trainees have gone on to oncology leadership roles around the world.
Clara Mayo De Las Casas
Treasurer (Spain)
Clara Mayo De Las Casas
Treasurer (Spain)
Dra Clara Mayo holds a PhD in Biological Sciences from Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona and has over 25 years’ experience in translational cancer research, basically focused on analysis of molecular biomarkers with clinical applications in circulating free DNA of cancer patients. She has coauthored more than 55 publications in renowned scientific journals. She is a member of AACR (American Association for Cancer Research), GEM (Spanish Melanoma Group), ISLB (International Society of Liquid Biopsy), currently serves as the group's treasurer. Holds the position of Laboratory Operations Director at Pangea oncology laboratory.
David R. Gandara
CMO (USA)
David R. Gandara
CMO (USA)
David Gandara, Professor of Medicine Emeritus at the University of California, Davis. He is the co-director of the Center for Experimental Therapeutics in Cancer and Senior Advisor to the Director at UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center. He was recently appointed Adjunct Clinical Professor, Translational and Clinical Research Program at the University of Hawaii Cancer Center and Chief Medical Officer for International Society of Liquid Biopsy (ISLB) a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the science and clinical application of liquid biopsy in cancer diagnosis and therapy. He is an internationally known clinician-scientist and lung cancer thought leader, and has published over 450 peer-reviewed papers. He has led many notable research projects in lung cancer including early therapeutics trials through an N01-sponsored award, cooperative group trials as past-chair of the SWOG Lung Committee, and multi-institutional translational science projects such as clinical director of the patient-derived xenograft (PDX) lung program in collaboration with The Jackson Laboratory Cancer Center. Dr. Gandara has been selected for many awards and honors including the lifetime Scientific Award from the International Association for Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC), the Team Science Award from the Addario Lung Cancer Foundation, and the Trajectory Achievement Award from the ISLB. He is current principal investigator for a National Cancer Institute UG1 award to UCDCCC for cancer clinical trials, co-leader of Lung MAP, a unique NCI-sponsored public-private partnership for new drug development in lung cancer, and is founding co-chair and current member of the NCI-directed Investigational Drug Steering Committee (IDSC). Dr. Gandara is past Editor-in-Chief of the journal Clinical Lung Cancer. He served as president of the IASLC from 2009-2011 and as treasurer from 2013-2017. He is a prior member of the board of directors and secretary-treasurer of ASCO. In 2017, Gandara received the Giants of Cancer Care Award in lung cancer.
Maria José Serrano
Ambassador (Spain)
Maria José Serrano
Ambassador (Spain)
Principal Investigator of the Liquid Biopsy and Cancer Interception (LiqBiopCI) group at Virgen de las Nieves University Hospital and the GENyO center in Granada. I am also an associate professor in the Department of Pathological Anatomy at the University of Granada. My career has been dedicated to cancer research, with a primary focus on the field of liquid biopsy. I have undertaken various research visits both within Spain (Basque Country, Catalonia, Madrid) and abroad (Tromso, Norway).
I am the author of over 100 articles, the majority of which center around liquid biopsy research. My work has been published in prestigious journals such as Lancet, Annals of Oncology, and Cancer Discovery. I lead both national and international research projects. Currently, I am overseeing a national project funded by the European Commission and the Ministry of Innovation and Technology of Spain. This project aims to facilitate the clinical implementation of liquid biopsy in Andalusian Hospitals through the Innovative Public Procurement program. Notably, the outcomes of these projects have led to internationally licensed patents.
I am a co-founder and currently hold the position of Vice President at the International Society for Liquid Biopsy (ISLB). Moreover, I serve as the coordinator of PANMEP, the Andalusian Precision Medicine program, which is sponsored by the Ministry of Health of Andalucia. This program is dedicated to training clinical personnel in new diagnostic methodologies. Additionally, since 2022, I have held the role of Innovative Health Andalusia Public Procurement Coordinator.
Furthermore, I am an Associate Editor at CROH and Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, as well as at the Journal of Liquid Biopsy (JLB).
Christian Rolfo
Past President and CSO (USA)
Christian Rolfo
Past President and CSO (USA)
Christian Rolfo, MD, PhD, MBA, Dr.hc. is Professor of Medicine at the Ohio State University, School of Medicine. He is serving as Division Director of Medical Oncology and Associate Director for Early Phase Clinical Trials at The James Comprehensive Cancer Center at OSU, in Columbus, OH. Before joining OSU, he was serving as Professor at Mount Sinai School of Medicine and Associate Director for Clinical Research in the Center for Thoracic Oncology at The Tisch Cancer Institute. Dr. Rolfo’s clinical and research focus is on drug development, lung cancer and other thoracic malignancies, biomarkers, resistant mechanisms discovery, and liquid biopsies. Dr. Rolfo has held academic appointments at numerous institutions, including the University of Cordoba, Argentina; University of Antwerp, Belgium; University of Palermo, Italy, and the University of Maryland and Greenbaum Comprehensive Cancer Center where he was Director of Thoracic Medical Oncology and Director of Early Clinical Trials. Dr. Rolfo earned his MD at the University of Cordoba School of Medicine, his PhD and Doctor Europaeus in Clinical and Experimental Oncology Research at University of Palermo, Italy, and an MBA in Hospital and Health Services Management and Organization at Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain. He completed residency training in Medical Oncology at the National Cancer Institute in Milan (University of Milan, Italy).
Dr. Rolfo is President of the International Society of Liquid Biopsy (ISLB) and Chair of the Education Committee at the International Association for Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC). Dr. Rolfo served as member of the Drug Approval & First in Human Commission at the Ministry of Health in Belgium during his time as Phase I Director at Antwerp University.
Dr. Rolfo is actively working on drug development and lung cancer and mesothelioma treatment. His research is focused in molecular oncology, targeted therapies and Immunotherapy in thoracic oncology using new techniques in liquid biopsies, specifically in extracellular vesicles and circulating free tumor DNA. His research group identified ALK translocation in exosomes in NSCLC patients, and showed, for the first time, the videos of labeled EVs uptake by living lung cancer cells. He is currently working on the identification of new biomarkers involved in immunotherapy and TKI drug-resistance and early detection of lung cancer with liquid biopsy. Dr. Rolfo has contributed to the development of several compounds including Erlotinib, and the pharmacokinetics of Olaparib, Entrectinib, Selpercatinib, Trastuzumab Duocarmazine, among others.
Dr. Rolfo has authored more than 350 scientific articles, has made several contributions to book chapters, and has served as a book editor. He has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals including New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet Oncology, Cancer Discovery, Nature Clinical Reviews in Oncology, Journal of Thoracic Oncology, Nature Nanotechnology, Clinical Cancer Research, Annals of Oncology, and Lung Cancer among others. Dr. Rolfo is Editor in Chief of Critical Review in Oncology Hematology.