Awareness

The awareness level on the Path to SITC Leadership indicates an individual has some level of knowledge about the society or interest in providing a service to the society or the cancer immunotherapy field as a whole.

Examples of activities found in the awareness level are:

• Attend a SITC in-person or online program
• Submit an abstract to the Annual Meeting & Pre-Conference Programs
• Interact with the society on social media (X, LinkedIn, Bluesky, Instagram)
• Submit an article to the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer (JITC)
• Become a SITC member
• Submit a SITC Travel Award or Fellowship application

 Engagement

 Commitment

The commitment level on the Path to SITC Leadership involves activities that feature greater time requirements on behalf of individuals. These activities in service to SITC include an expectation of or an obligation for a product or output supporting the greater mission of the society.

Examples of activities found in the commitment level are:

• Chair a SITC Professional Interest Community
• Become a SITC Champion
• Serve as a faculty member for one of SITC's programs
• Join a SITC committee, such as the Membership Committee, Early Career Scientist Committee or many others

 Expertise

The expertise level on the Path to SITC Leadership involves individuals providing scientific expertise that benefits the society as a whole or individuals in the greater cancer community (members and/or nonmembers) to improve the overall knowledge of cancer immunotherapy and tumor immunology while improving or promoting the programs and services provided by the society.

Examples of activities found in the share your expertise level are:

• Chair or co-chair a SITC committee
• Serve on the JITC Editorial Board or as an Associate Editor
• Become a volunteer liaison on behalf of SITC
• Chair a session at the SITC Annual Meeting
• Organize or plan a SITC meeting, workshop or Advances in Cancer Immunotherapy™ Webinar or regional education program

 Leadership

The leadership level on the Path to SITC Leadership represents members who dedicate their time, intellect and strategic guidance in official capacities that serve and support the overall mission of the society.

An example of an activity found in the leadership level are:

• Serve in a SITC executive leadership role, including:
  • Vice President
  • Treasurer/Secretary
  • At-Large Director

 Guidance

The guidance level on the Path to SITC Leadership features individuals who have served in an official leadership capacity within the society, finished their tenure, and continue to give back to the society through providing expertise, mentorship and other valuable qualities to the cancer community.

Examples of activities found in the guidance level are:

• Sit on Executive Council
• Participate at the Meet-the-Expert Lunch during the Pre-Conference Programs
• Serve as an organizer or faculty member for one of SITC's programs
• Attend SITC receptions
• Serve as a Principal Investigator on a SITC-submitted grant

Ana Carrizosa Anderson, PhD
Harvard Medical School

Leadership Path Entrance: Engagement

Dr. Anderson began her SITC involvement through faculty roles at the society's Annual Meeting, beginning in 2011 (Hot Topic Symposium), then in 2012 (Professional Development Session) and in 2014 (Workshop faculty/organizer) when she also had an abstract accepted. She joined SITC as a member in 2014, also serving on the Annual Program Committee.

In 2015, Dr. Anderson began her tenure as an associate editor of the Commentary/Editorials section of the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer (JITC), a role she has fulfilled ever since. In 2018, Dr. Anderson was co-chair of the Annual Meeting before returning to the Annual Program Committee the next year.

In 2019, Dr. Anderson began her tenure on the SITC Board of Directors. 

Leisha A. Emens, MD, PhD
Kaiser Permanente

Leadership Path Entrance: Engagement

Dr. Emens first became a SITC member in 2002 and attended her first SITC Annual Meeting in 2007 as an invited speaker. After multiple years as a member, she fulfilled a variety of roles at the 2012 Annual Meeting, including Workshop faculty/organizer and Primer faculty.

By 2013, she had joined multiple SITC committees, including the Communications Committee and Stakeholder Advisory Council. In 2013, she became an Associate Editor for the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer (JITC) under the Clinical/Translational Cancer Immunotherapy section, eventually transitioning to Section Editor of the Clinical Trials Monitor in 2015.

She has been an Advances in Cancer Immunotherapy™ (ACI) regional education program faculty and organizer for a variety of locations in 2014, 2015 and 2016.

In late 2016, Dr. Emens was elected to the SITC Board of Directors as an At-Large Director, beginning a three-year term.

David Kaufman, MD, PhD
Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute

Leadership Path Entrance: Engagement

Dr. Kaufman attended is first SITC Annual Meeting in 2013. He followed suit by becoming a member of the society the next year.

In 2015, Dr. Kaufman submitted his first abstract to the Annual Meeting, an effort he completed again the ensuing two years. Similarly, in 2015, he joined the SITC Immune Biomarkers Committee, specifically serving on the Biomarkers Working Group 3, which published the article, Systematic evaluation of immune regulation and modulation, in JITC on March 21, 2017.

The following year in 2018, Dr. Kaufman was elected to the Board of Directors to begin his three-year term. That same year he also served as a judge for the SITC Sparkathon, which hosted a retreat for its participants in Chicago in the summer. He remains a member of the Biomarkers Committee.

Paolo Antonio Ascierto, MD
Istituto Nazionale Tumori-Fondazione 'G. Pascale'

Leadership Path Entrance: Engagement

Dr. Ascierto became a SITC member in 2008. He attended his first SITC Annual Meeting in 2011, doing so again in 2012, when he further expanded his involvement in the society by serving on the Scientific Program Committee as well as the World Immunotherapy Council (WIC), a group he has been a part of ever since.

Every year since 2013, Dr. Ascierto has submitted an abstract to the SITC Annual Meeting and served on the JITC – Clinical/Translational Cancer Immunotherapy Committee. Further, he has served as organizer or faculty for various SITC international collaborative education programs, including SIDRA: Updates On Immunotherapy of Cancer and Immunoscore in 2014, Immunotherapy of Cancer Conference (ITOC2) in 2015 and co-chair of Melanoma Bridge in 2016. He also served on the SITC Forward Fund Task Force from 2016-17.

In 2018, Dr. Ascierto was elected to the Board of Directors, beginning his three-year term. The number of SITC programs and activities Dr. Ascierto participates in or supports has continued to expand ever since.

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Marcela V. Maus, MD, PhD
Massachusetts General Hospital

Leadership Path Entrance: Engagement

Dr. Maus first became a SITC member in 2011, attending the 26^th Annual Meeting in North Bethesda, Md., that year. Several years passed as a member before Dr. Maus submitted her first abstract to the 29^th Annual Meeting in 2014. She was honored with a Presidential Travel Award and delivered an oral presentation of her research that year.

Also in 2014, Dr. Maus began her tenure on the SITC Membership Committee and became a SITC Champion. In 2016, she served as faculty for the Advances in Cancer Immunotherapy™ regional education program in Massachusetts, while serving as an organizer on the Annual Program Committee. This role lead to an increased role in 2017 as Co-chair of the Annual Meeting, while maintaining her roles on the Membership Committee and a SITC Champion. Further, she became a published author for two articles in the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer (JITC), the society's open access, peer-reviewed online journal, including the review, Current approaches to increase CAR T cell potency in solid tumors: targeting the tumor microenvironment, published on March 21, 2017.

In 2018, Dr. Maus was elected to the SITC Board of Directors, beginning a three-year term.

Charles G. Drake, MD, PhD
Columbia University Medical Center

Leadership Path Entrance: Commitment

Dr. Drake began his SITC involvement at SITC’s 2009, 2011 and 2012 Annual Meetings through a variety of faculty, co-chair and organizing roles.

In 2012, he joined the Journal for Immunotherapy of Cancer (JITC) Clinical/Translational Cancer Immunotherapy section as an Associate Editor, a role he maintains today. By 2013, he had become a SITC member, submitted his first abstract to a SITC Annual Meeting and published his first paper in JITC.

In the years that followed, he lent his expertise as a member of the SITC Cancer Immunotherapy Guidelines Prostate Subcommittee member and as faculty for a variety of SITC educational programs, in-person and online.

In late 2016, Dr. Drake was elected to the SITC Board of Directors as an At-Large Director, a term lasting from Nov. 2016 – Dec. 2019.