Nilanjan Ghosh

Dr. Ghosh is the Kerry and Simone Vickar Family Foundation Endowed Chair and Professor of Cancer Medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Charlotte and Chief, Division of Hematology at Atrium Health Levine Cancer Instiute. He also leads the Lymphoam progam. He specializes in lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
Dr. Ghosh’s research interests include CAR T-cell therapy, bispecific antibodies, and overcoming disparities in healthcare. He has published research manuscripts in prestigious journals. He serves as a principal investigator on numerous innovative clinical trials.
Dr. Ghosh has received awards from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the Leukemia Lymphoma Society (LLS) now rebranded as Blood Cancer United. He has been named a Charlotte magazine Top Doctor and is a Castle Connolly Top Doctor.

Dr. Sonali M. Smith is the Elwood V. Jensen Professor of Medicine, Section Chief of Hematology/Oncology and Co-Leader of the Cancer Service Line, at the University of Chicago. She is a clinical investigator in lymphoma and a clinical expert in mature lymphoid malignancies including Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphomas. A faculty member since 2001, she has written or co-written dozens of clinical trials, and has participated in many more with key input in the clinical design, determination of endpoints, and analysis. She has nearly 200 publications in peer-reviewed journals. She is particularly interested in targeted agents and pathway inhibitors and has first and senior author publications through cooperative group trials and investigator-initiated trials. A significant portion of her research has focused on prognosis and the ability to deliver individualized therapy.

Dr. Smith serves in the Medical Oncologist seat on the ASCO Society Board of Directors for the 2026-2027 term. She chaired the ASCO Cancer Communications Committee, the Professional Development Committee, and the Scientific Committee Program. Dr. Smith is a past recipient of the ASCO Excellence in Teaching award. She has had leadership roles in other oncology groups such as the Vice-Chair of the SWOG Lymphoma Committee for a decade before becoming the Chair in 2026, past-Chair of the LRF Scientific Advisory Board, co-chair of the 2022 AACR Advances in Malignant Lymphoma, and co-chair of the ASH Meeting on Hematologic Malignancies. Dr. Smith is one of the founding members and Steering Committee members of the international Women in Lymphoma group.

John P. Leonard, M.D., is the Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Professor of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Chief of the Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology and Director, Center for Blood Cancers at Perlmutter Cancer Center at NYU Langone Health and NYU Grossman School of Medicine.
An expert in hematology and oncology, Dr. Leonard is Chair of the Lymphoma Committee of the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology (formerly CALGB, ACOSOG and NCCTG), a multicenter cooperative group and key component of the National Cancer Institute’s National Clinical Trials Network. Dr. Leonard has been an elected member of the American Board of Internal Medicine Hematology subspecialty board, and he has also been elected to membership in the American Society of Clinical Investigation. He has served as Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board and Board Member of the Lymphoma Research Foundation and Board Member of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society/New York City Chapter.
Dr. Leonard performed his undergraduate work at Johns Hopkins University and received his medical degree at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA. He completed his residency in medicine at the New York Hospital - Cornell Medical Center and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, NY. He completed a fellowship in hematology and oncology at Cornell, and served as the chief medical resident at the New York Hospital - Cornell Medical Center.

Dr. Ghosh is the Kerry and Simone Vickar Family Foundation Endowed Chair and Professor of Cancer Medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Charlotte and Chief, Division of Hematology at Atrium Health Levine Cancer Instiute. He also leads the Lymphoam progam. He specializes in lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
Dr. Ghosh’s research interests include CAR T-cell therapy, bispecific antibodies, and overcoming disparities in healthcare. He has published research manuscripts in prestigious journals. He serves as a principal investigator on numerous innovative clinical trials.
Dr. Ghosh has received awards from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the Leukemia Lymphoma Society (LLS) now rebranded as Blood Cancer United. He has been named a Charlotte magazine Top Doctor and is a Castle Connolly Top Doctor.

Dr. Sarah Rutherford is an Associate Professor of Medicine (Clinical) in the Division of Hematology/Oncology at NYU Langone Health. She is a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Medicine. She completed Internship and Residency in Internal Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia and Fellowship in Hematology/Oncology at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical College.

Dr. Rutherford has clinical expertise in lymphoma. Her research focuses on novel therapeutic strategies in B-cell and Hodgkin lymphomas. She has received honors from Weill Cornell Medical College and the American Society of Hematology, and support from the New York State Empire Clinical Research Investigator Program, the Lymphoma Research Foundation, the National Institutes of Health Clinical Loan Repayment Program, and the Alliance for Clinical Trials Foundation. She has experience in caring for patients with a variety of lymphomas and hematologic disorders including Hodgkin lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, follicular lymphoma, mantle cell lymphoma, marginal zone lymphoma, and peripheral T-cell lymphoma.

Dr. Sonali M. Smith is the Elwood V. Jensen Professor of Medicine, Section Chief of Hematology/Oncology and Co-Leader of the Cancer Service Line, at the University of Chicago. She is a clinical investigator in lymphoma and a clinical expert in mature lymphoid malignancies including Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphomas. A faculty member since 2001, she has written or co-written dozens of clinical trials, and has participated in many more with key input in the clinical design, determination of endpoints, and analysis. She has nearly 200 publications in peer-reviewed journals. She is particularly interested in targeted agents and pathway inhibitors and has first and senior author publications through cooperative group trials and investigator-initiated trials. A significant portion of her research has focused on prognosis and the ability to deliver individualized therapy.

Dr. Smith serves in the Medical Oncologist seat on the ASCO Society Board of Directors for the 2026-2027 term. She chaired the ASCO Cancer Communications Committee, the Professional Development Committee, and the Scientific Committee Program. Dr. Smith is a past recipient of the ASCO Excellence in Teaching award. She has had leadership roles in other oncology groups such as the Vice-Chair of the SWOG Lymphoma Committee for a decade before becoming the Chair in 2026, past-Chair of the LRF Scientific Advisory Board, co-chair of the 2022 AACR Advances in Malignant Lymphoma, and co-chair of the ASH Meeting on Hematologic Malignancies. Dr. Smith is one of the founding members and Steering Committee members of the international Women in Lymphoma group.