Cancer Research Presentation by Dr. Linda Miller

Monumental progress has occurred in the diagnosis and treatment of childhood cancers, particularly acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). From an overall survival of just a few months 75 years ago to a cure rate now of 85%+ in the world’s more advanced countries, the remarkable success in this field and the contributions of pediatric oncology to advances in improvement in treatment and survival in adult cancers is a story of hope for those who are personally affected or whose family or friends are affected by a diagnosis of cancer. These advances have yielded improved and prolonged responses; a rational understanding of factors, both clinical and biological, that predict response and prognosis; the application of these factors to tailor therapy’s intensity and duration; and the discovery, design modalities and targets of therapy. We will discuss some of  the historical research and progress in childhood ALL and how following this model has led to greater success in adult cancer treatment.

About Dr. Linda Miller
Dr. Miller received her MS and MD degrees from Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. She did her residency in Pediatrics at New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center and her fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. She did additional training in pharmacology at Northwestern University Medical Center. Her primary area of research and many of her publications are focused on the design and conduct of new agent trials and early phase drug development. She served as a member of the Acute Myeloid Leukemia Strategy Group and the New Agent Strategy Group for the Children’s Oncology Group and she chaired national studies for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia in children. A number of the new agents she investigated are now approved for the treatment of hematologic malignancies and solid tumors in both children and adults.

She has 20+ years of experience in industry where she worked with Organon and Eisai as Director of Clinical Development, with Clinsys as VP of Clinical Development and Chief Scientific Officer, and PPD as Executive Director for Global Product Development. As a consultant for PAREXEL, Dr. Miller co-developed an extensive training program for CRAs in Japan. She served as Editorial Coordinator for the classic textbook, Blood Disease of Infancy and Childhood.