Overcoming Atezolizumab Resistance with Epigenetic Therapy in Urothelial Cancer

Dr. Jones was born in South Africa, raised and attended college in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), and received his PhD from the University of London. He joined the University of Southern California in 1977, attaining the rank of Professor in 1985 and Distinguished Professor in 1999, and he was Director of the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center between 1993 and 2011. His laboratory discovered the effects of 5-azacytidine on DNA methylation and linked this process to the activation of silenced genes. He is known for his studies on the molecular biology of cancer and of basic mechanisms of DNA methylation and its role in cancer and differentiation. He is a past President of the American Association for Cancer Research and was elected as a Fellow of the Academy of the AACR in 2013. He has published more than 300 scientific papers and received several honors, including the Outstanding Investigator Grant from the National Cancer Institute. He shared with Stephen Baylin the Kirk A. Landon Award for Basic Cancer Research from the AACR in 2009 and the Medal of Honor from the American Cancer Society in 2011.

Dr. Plimack is an Associate Professor of Medical Oncology, Chief of the Division of Genitourinary Medical Oncology and Director of Genitourinary Clinical Research at Fox Chase Cancer Center (FCCC). She is an expert on the treatment of genitourinary malignancies with a focus on bladder cancer. Her research effort is directed towards the discovery of novel therapeutic approaches and predictive biomarkers for patients with advanced bladder cancer. Dr. Plimack has extensive clinical trial experience with immunotherapies and novel combination therapies. She serves on the National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines panel for Bladder Cancer, the ASCO GU Scientific Program Committee, the Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network Think Tank Steering Committee, and on the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) Urinary Tract Expert Panel. Dr. Plimack received her undergraduate degree from Yale University and completed her M.D. degree and residency in Internal Medicine at the New York University School of Medicine. She went on to a Medical Oncology Fellowship at the MD Anderson Cancer Center, and received a Master’s in Patient Based Biologic Research from the University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Science.