The Honorable Ulysses Currie, Chair, Budget and Taxation Committee, Maryland Senate

Senator Ulysses Currie was a career educator for over 30 years as a teacher, principal and supervisor of Prince George’s County Federal Head Start Program.  He served in the House of Delegates for 8 years and was elected to the Maryland Senate in 1994.  He was reelected in 1998 and 2002.  He is Chairman of the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee and previously served as Chairman of the Public Safety, Transportation and Environment Subcommittee.  He has led efforts to fund law enforcement, education, and school construction. He is especially proud of co-sponsoring legislation to enable young people to go to college.  Senator Currie has a BS degree from North Carolina Technical and State College and MA from American University.

Mark S. Clanton, MD, MPH, Deputy Director, Cancer Care Delivery Systems, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health

Dr. Mark Clanton is Deputy Director, Office of the Director, of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and he leads the NCI’s initiatives in Cancer Care Delivery Systems. Dr. Clanton’s principal efforts are focused on applying systems thinking to increase the impact that NCI has on the quality of cancer care, cost and reimbursement of cancer care, as well as the reduction of cancer health disparities. Dr. Clanton was recently appointed to the World Health Organization’s Cancer Technical Group; this group is charged with writing the first Global Cancer Control Plan. Dr. Clanton received his undergraduate degree from Howard University, his medical degree from Tulane University Medical School, his Pediatric training at Baylor Pediatric Residency Program in Houston, Texas and his Masters in Public Health from Harvard School of Public Health.

Lisa Egbuonu-Davis, MD, MPH, MBA, Pfizer Scholar in-Residence, Spelman College

Lisa Egbuonu-Davis, MD, MPH, MBA is currently serving a two year appointment as a Pfizer sponsored Scholar-in-Residence at Spelman College to enhance women’s health and reduce disparities in health care and to increase leadership opportunities for African-American women in health and science. She previously served as Vice President, US Medical in the US Pharmaceuticals Division of Pfizer, Global Pharmaceuticals. In this role, she directed clinical, outcomes and health economics research for marketed and late stage developmental pharmaceutical products in the US business and supervised the medical information, pubic health, field based medical and US regulatory functions. Dr. Egbuonu-Davis is a member of the Johns Hopkins University Board of Trustees. She earned a B.S. in Biology from M.I.T., an MPH in Epidemiology and an MD from Johns Hopkins and an MBA in Health Care Management from Wharton.  She completed her pediatric residency and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholar fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania, and is Board Certified in Pediatrics.

Robert L. Comis, MD, President and Chairman, Coalition of Cancer Cooperative Groups

Robert L. Comis, MD, President and Chairman of the Coalition of Cancer Cooperative Groups, is Professor of Medicine and Director of the Drexel University Clinical Trials Research Center, Philadelphia, and the Group Chair of the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG). A leader in international clinical trials research since 1977, Dr. Comis is also a champion for patient access to cancer clinical trials, spearheading national efforts to raise awareness about the pivotal role of cancer clinical trials in cancer prevention, detection and treatment. A graduate of Fordham University in New York City, he received his medical degree from SUNY Health Science Center School of Medicine in Syracuse, NY, where he also completed his medical internship and medical residency. He served as a Staff Associate at the National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland and completed a Medical Oncology Fellowship at The Sidney Farber Cancer Center at Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA.

Linda L. Alexander, PhD, FAAN, Vice-President, Women’s Health, Digene Corporation

Dr. Linda Alexander is currently the Vice President for Women's Health at Digene Corporation. Digene Corporation, based in Gaithersburg, Maryland, develops, manufactures and markets proprietary DNA and RNA testing systems for the screening, monitoring and diagnosis of human diseases. She was formally the President and Chief Executive Officer of the American Social Health Association (ASHA), an 84-year-old national non-profit health organization dedicated to addressing sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including HIV. At ASHA, she was responsible for three major national and international outreach initiatives in close strategic partnership with international pharmaceutical corporations. Dr. Alexander regularly provides testimony to Congress, FDA, and national public and provider forums about STDs and women's health issues.

Michelle Gourdine, MD, Deputy Secretary for Public Health Services, Maryland Department of Health & Mental Hygiene

Dr. Michelle A. Gourdine is Deputy Secretary for Public Health Services for the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.  In this position, she provides executive level management and leadership for all public health programs and county health departments throughout the State. As Deputy Secretary, Dr. Gourdine oversees seven administrations, along with the Office of Chief Medical Examiner, the Anatomy Board and 24 local health departments in Maryland. The administrations include Alcohol and Drug Abuse, AIDS, Laboratories, Community Health, Developmental Disabilities, Family Health, and Mental Hygiene. In addition, two chronic care facilities, four facilities for the developmentally disabled and 10 mental health hospitals are operated under Public Health Services.  Following her graduation from The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Dr. Gourdine was a resident in the Department of Pediatrics of The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland.