An exceptional partnership with a team of experts
Get to know your dedicated Oncology experts team that is committed to navigating the complexities of oncology clinical research and maximizing the impact of your product to the current global therapeutic landscape. Led by Dr. Isagani Chico, vice president and global therapeutic head of Oncology, our team of medical experts and consultants includes more than 60 oncology physicians with an average of 23 years of clinical practice or clinical research experience across Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia Pacific.
Our oncology experts
Daniel Gandia, MD
Senior Medical Director
Dr. Gandia is a physician with more than 30 years of experience in clinical oncology and the pharmaceutical industry. He is a former senior clinical permanent staff member of the Institute Gustave-Roussy (Paris, France) under the supervision of Professor Jean-Pierre Armand. He joined IQVIA on 2016 as Medical Director in the Therapeutic Science and Strategy Unit for the US, Canada and Latin-America regions and worldwide clinical trials in 2021, serving as Senior Medical Director. He joined Fortrea in February 2023 as Senior Medical Director, MedSci Therapeutic Expertise-Oncology & Global Clinical Development.
He is Board Certified in Medical Oncology, with a special interest in Melanoma, Lung, Head and Neck, Colorectal and Breast Cancer. He has been continuously working in clinical and academic settings for more than 25 years. Dr. Gandia has also served as Scientific Advisor and Medical Director in several Pharmaceutical Companies during his professional career.
Dr. Gandia received his Medical Degree at the School of Medicine of the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and he underwent his postgraduate training in Internal Medicine and Clinical Oncology at the Sanatorio Guemes, Buenos Aires, completing his Oncology fellowship program in 1988 and spending one extra year as Chief Resident and Instructor at the Instituto Angel H. Roffo (the Argentinean National University Cancer Institute).
At the Institut Gustave-Roussy, he produced several publications in peer-reviewed journals and meetings abstracts in early phases of oncology drug development.
He was heavily involved in the drug development of irinotecan. Dr. Gandia was the first investigator who described the drug cholinergic acute syndrome, and also as the head, one of the investigators that described the use of high-dose intense Loperamide to control delayed diarrhea during the European Phase I study.
Dr. Gandia's top skills are oncology, Phase I-III studies, study design, biology and molecular oncology, pharmacology, publishing papers and providing educational programs for professionals. He joined our company in February 2023.
Maria Paula Ghirardi, MD
Medical Director Oncology
Maria Paula Ghirardi, MD, is Medical Director of Oncology for Fortrea Clinical Development Services, based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Dr. Ghirardi has 6 years of Oncology clinical research experience in both pharmaceutical and CRO industry. She provides clinical and medical expertise to project team and other Fortrea departments to advance clients’ drug development programs and contributes to the scientific strategic leadership of the Oncology therapeutic area. She has experience leading important launches of hematology-oncology compounds for multiple myeloma, AL amyloidosis, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
Dr. Ghirardi earned her medical degree from the University of Buenos Aires and completed her internal medicine residency at the Hospital Ramos Mejia in Buenos Aires and Hematology residency at the Hospital de Clinicas in Buenos Aires and Sociedad Argentina de Hematologia. She joined our company in October 2022.
Konstantin Haradinov, MD
Medical Director
Konstantin Haradinov, MD, is a Medical Director, Oncology for Fortrea, based in Sofia, Bulgaria. He contributes to the development of Fortrea policies involving medical, safety and therapeutics; serves as global lead project physician and provides medical and safety monitoring on assigned projects; reviews medical data and provides clinical and medical expertise to project teams and other Fortrea departments, and performs safety trend analyses.
Dr. Haradinov has more than 15 years of experience in clinical research as a medical director and physician/oncologist. Before joining Fortrea he served as Medical Officer, Oncology, for Chiltern International in Sofia, Bulgaria. Dr. Haradinov joined our company in April 2019.
Krane Huang, MD
Senior Director and China Regional Head
Krane Huang, MD, is a Senior Medical Director, China Regional Head of Oncology for Fortrea, based in Shanghai, China. Dr. Krane has nearly 20 years of experience as medical oncologist in cancer hospitals, global pharmaceutical industries and CROs, focused on planning and execution of global oncology clinical development projects in all phases (I-III), different drug types and classes.
Dr. Krane earned his medical degree from Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science & Technology and completed his internal medicine degree and medical oncology fellowship training at Wu Union Hospital. He joined our company in September 2019.
Kazuya Iwamoto, MD, PhD, FACP
Senior Medical Director
Kazuya Iwamoto, MD, PhD, MBA, FACP, is Senior Medical Director for Fortrea in Osaka, Japan. He provides medical and scientific expertise to oncology study teams on clients’ drug development projects and contributes to the development of medical strategies and execution of clinical trials. Dr. Iwamoto has more than 25 years of experience as a physician, research clinician and medical director.
Before joining Fortrea, he was Head of the Medical Division, including Clinical Development and Medical Affairs, for Hospira Japan in Osaka. He previously served as Head of the Medical Division for Biogen Idec, Head of Medical Affairs for Bayer Yakuhin, and Clinical Research Physician for Eli Lilly in Japan. Currently President and Fellow of the Japanese Association of Pharmaceutical Medicine, Dr. Iwamoto joined our company in May 2016.
Publications
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Jinju Kim, MD, PhD
Medical Director
Jinju Kim, MD, PhD, is a Medical Director of Oncology for Fortrea, based in Seoul, Korea. Dr. Kim has over 10 years of clinical development/clinical research experience in pharmaceutical industry and academia including a broad range of clinical drug development activities and cross functional collaboration.
Dr. Kim earned her medical degree from Hanyang University and majored in Internal Medicine at Hanyang University Graduate School, Korea. In addition, she completed her internal medicine residency and fellowship training at Hanyang University Hospital and then worked as clinical physician and research professor. She has worked for various clinical and project-facing roles as a medical lead at both global pharmaceutical and innovative biotech companies since 2015. She joined our company in 2022.
Marcin Koziej, MD
Medical Director
Marcin Koziej, MD, is a medical director of oncology for Fortrea based in Warsaw, Poland. Dr. Koziej has more than 33 years of experience in medical onco-pulmonary research centers, CROs and the pharmaceutical environment. His roles have included physician and investigator, clinical operations professional and project management leader of pan-European and global teams, medical monitor and advisor, clinical strategist, business advisor and mentor.
Dr. Koziej earned his medical degree from the Warsaw Medical School, Warsaw, Poland and completed his internal medicine fellowship at the National Research Institute for Tb and Lung Disease in Warsaw, Poland. In 2016 he joined Chiltern, which then became part of Labcorp in 2020 and is now Fortrea.
Publications
- Neoadjuvant therapy in hormone Receptor-Positive/HER2-Negative breast cancer
- Intracellular DNA sensing by neutrophils and amplification of the innate immune response
Chunyan Li, MD
Associate Medical Director
Chunyan Li, MD, is an associate medical director of oncology for Fortrea, based in China, Shanghai. Dr. Li has solid background and experience in Oncology, she is a board certified oncologist and has 7 years of clinical experience in Shanghai's top hospitals and has served as medical monitor in CROs since 2018 for studies that include solid tumors (non-small cell lung cancer, small cell lung cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, gastrointestinal stromal tumor, colon cancer, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma) as well as lymphomas (classical Hodgkin’s lymphoma, mantle cell lymphoma, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma).
Dr. Li received her bachelor degree of clinical medicine from Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine and master degree in oncology from Tongji University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine. She completed the standardized training for residents and standardized training for oncology specialist in Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center and Shanghai 10th People’s Hospital. She joined our company in May 2021.
Sandra L. McGuigan, MD, MBA
Senior Medical Director
Board-certified medical oncologist and nuclear medicine physician with over 20 years of hands-on experience in medical oncology and nuclear medicine and 15 years in the pharma industry. Her expertise spans various domains, including clinical development, regulatory affairs, safety, and medical affairs. Orchestrated successful product launches across diverse therapeutic areas including immunotherapies, targeted therapies, and cellular therapies.
As a medical affairs expert, she has collaborated with healthcare professionals, patients, and payers to optimize treatment outcomes. Her deep understanding of trial design, patient recruitment, and data analysis has been instrumental in bringing novel treatments to patients.
Paulo Nunes, MD
Medical Director
Paulo Nunes, MD, is an Oncology Medical Director based in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Dr. Nunes is a medical oncologist and epidemiologist with more than 10 years of experience in oncology clinical and epidemiological research both as an investigator and medical monitor and has worked both in the academic setting as well as in cooperative oncology groups. His main areas of scientific interest are early-phase clinical trials, epidemiological studies, and gynecological cancers.
Dr. Nunes earned his medical degree from the Federal University of Rio Grande and completed his internal medicine residency at the Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, medical oncology residency at Hospital São Lucas da PUCRS, and a fellowship in gynecological cancer and phase I clinical research at McGill University, Montreal, Canada. He holds a master's degree in Epidemiology from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul. He joined our company in March 2022.
Publications
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Maksym Nvikov, MD
Senior Medical Director
Maksym Novikov, MD, is a Senior Medical Director for Fortrea, based in Maidenhead, United Kingdom. He serves as global lead project physician on assigned projects, providing medical expertise and support in the development and conduct of clinical trials. This includes reviewing feasibility of investigator sites and recruitment of trial subjects and performing feasibility risk assessment and data safety monitoring, develops and reviews protocols, case report forms and other data and materials on assigned projects.
Dr. Novikov has more than 20 years of experience as a physician (surgeon), clinical researcher and medical director. Before Fortrea, he was Senior Medical Officer for Chiltern International in the UK. He also has held clinical research and medical monitoring positions with Novartis, AstraZeneca and other drug development and health care organizations. He joined Fortrea in April 2019.
Zehra Nurgul Pamuklar MD, PhD
Senior Medical Director
Zehra Nurgul Pamuklar, MD, PhD, is a Senior Medical Director of Oncology for Fortrea, based in Cary, North Carolina. Dr. Pamuklar has more than 20 years of experience in oncology clinical drug development in biotechnology companies and CROs. She has supported planning and execution of global oncology clinical development projects from early phase to post approval, within medical affairs and clinical development organizations, and management of pharmaceutical, academic and regulatory interactions.
Dr. Pamuklar graduated in medicine from the Ankara University School of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey; she has a PhD in Physiology/Immunophysiology and a Master of Science Degree in Clinical Research Management from Duke University, Durham, NC.
Before joining our company in 2019, Dr. Pamuklar provided medical management of Phase I to Phase III immuno-oncology/oncology clinical trials in non-small cell lung cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, bladder cancer, esophageal carcinoma, melanoma, pancreatic cancer, prostate cancer, urothelial cancer, colorectal cancer and head and neck cancer.
Lingjuan Pang, MD
Medical Director
Lingjuan Pang, MD, is a Medical Director of oncology for Fortrea Clinical Development Service, based in Guangzhou, Guang Dong Province, China. Dr. Pang as a member of our global team of Medical Monitors has significant medical and pharmaceutical expertise with 14 years in the industry. She has vast knowledge of oncology therapeutic experience across Phase I-III. She has built strong relationships with external research groups and Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) to which our experience and success ensures optimal performance in clinical tirals.
Dr. Pang earned her master degree from Sun Yet-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, major in oncology in 2005. She joined our company in Jan, 2021.
Publications
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Martine Poelman, MD
Executive Medical Director
Martine Poelman, MD, is an Executive Medical Director, Oncology, for Fortrea, based in Brussels, Belgium. She provides medical and scientific support to help advance drug development in hematological malignancies for Fortrea clients. Dr. Poelman brings more than 30 years of experience in clinical research and development as a physician and medical director, specializing in pediatrics and oncology, to Fortrea. Before assuming her current position, she served more than 15 years as Global Head of Oncology Research for Fortrea, providing medical monitoring for more than 200 clinical trials. Before joining Fortrea, she served as Clinical Research Physician, Hemato-Oncology-Infectiology, for Eli Lilly in Brussels. Before going into research, she served as Bone Marrow Transplantation and Hemato-Oncology Physician for the Department of Pediatric Oncology, Wilhelmina Children’s Hospital, in The Netherlands. Martine joined our company in November 1996.
Publications
- The Evolving Landscape in Multiple Myeloma: From Risk Stratification to T Cell-Directed Advanced Therapies
- Mechanisms of immune modulation in the tumor microenvironment and implications for targeted therapy
María García Requesens, MD
Medical Director
María García Requesens, MD, is a Medical Director at Fortrea based in Madrid, Spain. Dr. García has 5 years of experience in oncology clinical drug development clinical trials in pharma and CROs. She focuses on medical support of global oncology clinical trials for solid tumors. Dr. García earned her medical degree from Universidad Europea in Madrid. She also holds a Nursing Degree and is very patient-oriented, believing in the power of cross-functional communication. She joined Fortrea (formerly Labcorp) in January 2020.
Yulianna Tymovska, MD, PhD
Senior Medical Director
Yulianna Tymovska, MD, PhD, is Senior Medical Director based in Brisbane, Australia. Dr. Tymovska has 20 years of clinical experience, specializing in Oncology (extensive clinical experience in breast, head and neck cancer, melanoma, and gynecology malignancies diagnostic and treatment, as well as research in mechanisms of tumors resistance to anti-cancer treatment and immune oncology).
Dr. Tymovska has more than 15 years of clinical research experience as a clinical trial investigator and medical director (monitor) providing medical expert oversight and monitoring of clinical trials, contribution and scientific expertise to study design, and regulatory documents, work in cross functional team on all phases of the studies and trials including feasibility assessments, design process, education efforts, and management of medical information.
Dr. Tymovska earned her medical degree and completed clinical oncology postgraduate training in Bogomolets National Medical University, Kyiv, Ukraine, and PhD training in Kavetsky IEPOR of NAS of Ukraine. She joined our company in Jan 2023.
Laura Vidal, MD
Gynecological Oncology Expert
Laura Vidal, MD, is a certified medical oncologist with extensively experience in oncology drug. She holds two fellowships in Clinical Drug Development from the Royal Marsden hospital, London and the Princess Margaret Hospital, Toronto. She spent 15 years in clinical and academic positions specializing in the field on oncology and drug development. Throughout her career, Dr. Vidal has authored or co-authored dozens of peer-reviewed journal articles and received numerous health and research awards. Her research interests are focused on early phase development of targeted agents, molecular and imaging biomarkers and anticancer immunotherapy. She holds a thesis title from the London University in oncolytic viruses from her pre-clinical and clinical work in reovirus (Reolysin®).
She joined our company in December 2020. Dr. Laura Vidal is the Medical Head of the Oncology group in EU. She contributes to the development of Fortrea policies involving medical, safety and therapeutics; serves as point of contact for key clients on business and studies oversight; manages relationships with investigators/sites for clinical trials, and mentors clinical research physicians and medical directors across the company.
Publications
- The Evolving Landscape in Multiple Myeloma: From Risk Stratification to T Cell-Directed Advanced Therapies
- Bladder Cancer, Loss of Y Chromosome, and New Opportunities for Immunotherapy
- Equitable inclusion of diverse populations in oncology clinical trials: deterrents and drivers
- Cancer Trials Ecosystem in India—Ready for Prime Time?
- Biomarkers in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: unraveling the path to precision immunotherapy
Liang Wan, MD, PhD
Medical Director
Liang Wan, MD, PhD, is a Medical Director for Fortrea in Shanghai, China. He serves as lead project physician on clients’ drug development projects, provides medical/scientific expertise to project teams, reviews protocols and medical data, and is responsible for medical and safety monitoring on assigned projects.
Dr. Wan has more than 25 years of experience as a physician, research clinician and medical director with therapeutic experience in oncology, gastroenterology, and hematology. Before joining Fortrea, he was Medical Director for IQVIA in Shanghai, serving as Global or Regional Medical Advisor on assigned projects. He began his career as a surgeon and clinical investigator at Shanghai Jiao Tong University Rui Jin Hospital. Dr. Wan joined our company in May 2019.