David Agus, Professor of Medicine, USC, and Founder of Oncology.com

Dr. David Agus is a Professor of Medicine University of Southern California and Director of the USC Center for Applied Molecular Medicine and the USC Westside Prostate Cancer Center. Dr. Agus completed his oncology fellowship training at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City where later he served as an attending physician in the Department of Medical Oncology and as head of the Laboratory of Tumor Biology. He also held a position as Assistant Professor of Medicine at Cornell University Medical Center. Dr. Agus received various honors and awards, including the American Cancer Society Physician Research Award, a Clinical Scholar Award from the Sloan-Kettering Institute, the International Myeloma Foundation Visionary Science Award, a CaP CURE Young Investigator Award , the American Cancer Society Clinical Oncology Fellowship Award, and the HealthNetwork Foundation’s Service Excellence Award. He is the founder of Oncology.com, the largest cancer internet resource/community, and of Navigenics, a consumer targeted health care technology and wellness company. Dr. Agus had served asResearch Director of the Prostate Cancer Center and Director of the Spielberg Family Center for Applied Proteomics and the Sumner Redstone Center Prostate Cancer Research Program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and as Associate Professor of Medicine and Molecular Pharmacology at the UCLA School of Medicine until earlier this year. Dr. Agus’ research is focused on the application of proteomics and genomics for the study of cancer and the development of new therapeutics for cancer. His work is supported by the National Cancer Institute and private foundations. Dr. Agus has clinical responsibilities that include the development of clinical trials of new drugs for the treatment of patients with cancer.

Program Title: “Can a Computer Analyze Proteins As Well As The Human Body?”

Keith Black, Chairman, Neurosurgery, Cedar-Sinai Medical Center

Dr. Keith L. Black serves as Chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery and Director of Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. An internationally renowned neurosurgeon and scientist, Dr. Black joined Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in July 1997 and was awarded the Ruth and Lawrence Harvey Chair in Neurosciences in November of that year.

Prior to joining Cedars-Sinai, Dr. Black served on the University of California, Los Angeles faculty for 10 years where he was Professor of Neurosurgery. In 1992 he was awarded the Ruth and Raymond Stotter Chair in the Department of Surgery and was Head of the UCLA Comprehensive Brain Tumor Program.

Dr. Black pioneered research on designing ways to open the blood-brain barrier, enabling chemotherapeutic drugs to be delivered directly into the tumor. His work in this field received the Jacob Javits award from the National Advisory Neurological Disorders and Stroke Council of the National Institutes of Health in June of 2000. Dr. Black and patients undergoing the first clinical trials of the drug, RMP-7, were profiled in 1996 on the PBS program, "The New Explorers," in an episode called "Outsmarting the Brain."

Dr. Black’s other groundbreaking research has focused on developing a vaccine to enhance the body’s immune response to brain tumors, use of gene arrays to develop molecular profiles of tumors, the use of optical technology for brain mapping, and the use of focused microwave energy to non-invasively destroy brain tumors. He was featured on the cover of Time magazine in the Fall 1997 special edition of "Heroes in Medicine."

Dr. Black serves on the editorial boards of Neurological Research, Gene Therapy and Molecular Biology, Neurosurgery Quarterly and Frontiers in Bioscience. He was on the National Institutes of Health’s Board of Scientific Counselors for Neurological Disorders and Stroke and was appointed to the National Advisory Neurological Disorders and Stroke Council of the National Institutes of Health from 2000-2004. He was also selected as committee member of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine Independent Citizens Oversight Committee from 2004-2006. He is also a member of numerous professional societies including the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, Neurosurgical Society of America and the Academy of Neurological Surgery. He also is a Founding Member of the North American Skull Base Society.

Dr. Black has a unique ability to combine cutting-edge research and an extremely busy surgical practice. Since 1987, he has performed more than 5,000 operations for resection of brain tumors. Dr. Black has had a keen interest in science since childhood. At age 17, he published his first scientific paper, which earned the Westinghouse Science Award. He completed an accelerated college program at the University of Michigan and earned both his undergraduate and medical degrees in six years. He completed his internship in general surgery and residency in neurological surgery at the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor.

Program Title: Can Brain Surgery Be Non-Invasive

Jason Hwang, Executive Director, Healthcare, Innosight Insitutue

Dr. Hwang is an internal medicine physician and co-founded Innosight Institute, a non-profit social innovation think tank based in San Francisco, CA. Together with Professor Clayton M. Christensen of Harvard Business School and the late Jerome H. Grossman of Harvard Kennedy School of Government, he is co-author of The Innovator’s Prescription: A Disruptive Solution for Health Care.

Previously, Dr. Hwang taught as chief resident and clinical instructor at the University of California, Irvine, where he received multiple recognitions for his clinical work. He has also served as a clinician with the Southern California Kaiser Permanente Medical Group and the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Long Beach, California. Dr. Hwang received his B.S. and M.D. from the University of Michigan and his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

Program Title: How Do We Disrupt Healthcare?

Kary Mullis, PhD, is President of Altermune, a research company in chemically programmable immunity to cure infectious diseases.

He received a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1966 and a Ph.D. degree in biochemistry from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1972. That year, Dr. Mullis became a postdoctoral fellow in pediatric cardiology at the University of Kansas Medical School, with emphasis in the areas of angiotensin and pulmonary vascular physiology. In 1977 he began two years of postdoctoral work in pharmaceutical chemistry at the University of California, San Francisco.

Dr. Mullis received a Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1993, for his invention of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The process, which Dr. Mullis conceptualized in 1983, is a method of amplifying DNA. PCR multiplies a single, microscopic strand of the genetic material billions of times within hours. The process has multiple applications in medicine, genetics, biotechnology, and forensics.

His most recent patent application covers a revolutionary approach to instantly mobilize the immune system to neutralize invading pathogens and toxins, leading to the formation of his latest venture, Altermune LLC. Altermune is currently focusing on Influenza A, anthrax and drug resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Program Title: Why Does An Antibody Need A Bionic Arm?

David Pogue is the personal-technology columnist for the New York Times. Each week, he contributes a print column, an online column and an online video. His daily blog, "Pogue's Posts," is the Times's most popular blog.

David Pogue is also an Emmy award-winning tech correspondent for CBS News, a frequent guest on NPR's "Morning Edition," and a regular on CNBC.

With over 3 million books in print, David Pogue is one of the world's bestselling how-to authors. He wrote or co-wrote seven books in the "for Dummies" series (including Macs, Magic, Opera, and Classical Music); in 1999, he launched his own series of complete, funny computer books called the Missing Manual series, which now includes 60 titles.

David Pogue graduated summa cum laude from Yale in 1985, with distinction in Music, and he spent ten years conducting and arranging Broadway musicals in New York.

David Pogue has been profiled on both "48 Hours" and "60 Minutes." In 2007, he was awarded an honorary doctorate in music from the Shenandoah Conservatory. David Pogueand his wife Jennifer Pogue, MD, live in Connecticut with their three young children.

Program Title: Can My IPhone Save My Life?

Laura Ziskin, Film & TV Producer, Co-founder & Executive Producer, Stand Up to Cancer

Laura Ziskin (Producer) has established herself as one of Hollywood’s leading independent producers and studio executives with a passion for discovering new talent.

This year, Ziskin produced the third chapter in the popular Spider-Man film series. Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2 have grossed more than $1.5 billion worldwide and Spider-Man 3, which broke box office records worldwide, has become the highest grossing film in Sony’s history.

In 2007, Ziskin produced the Academy Awards® for the second time and instituted the first ever “Green” Oscar ceremony. The show was nominated for 9 Emmy Awards. In March 2002, she produced the 74th Annual Academy Awards® (the first woman to produce the awards solo). The show was nominated for eight Emmy Awards including Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special.

Ziskin also produced the third chapter in the popular Spider-Man film series. Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2 have grossed more than $1.5 billion worldwide and Spider-Man 3, which broke box office records worldwide, has become the highest grossing film in Sony’s history.

In 2007, Ziskin produced the Academy Awards® for the second time and instituted the first ever “Green” Oscar ceremony. The show was nominated for 9 Emmy Awards. In March 2002, she produced the 74th Annual Academy Awards® (the first woman to produce the awards solo). The show was nominated for eight Emmy Awards including Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special.

In 1984, Ziskin partnered with Sally Field in Fogwood Films and produced Murphy’s Romance, which yielded an Academy Award® nomination for James Garner as Best Actor. She also produced No Way Out starring then newcomer Kevin Costner and Gene Hackman. In 1990, she was Executive Producer of Pretty Woman, which remains one of the highest grossing films in Disney’s history.

In 1991, Ziskin produced two films, the comedy hit What About Bob?, from a story by Ziskin and Alvin Sargent, starring Bill Murray and Richard Dreyfuss and the critically acclaimed The Doctor starring William Hurt and Christine Lahti under the direction of Randa Haines. In 1992, Ziskin produced Hero, which was also from a story by Ziskin and Sargent, directed by Stephen Frears and starred Dustin Hoffman, Andy Garcia, and Geena Davis. In 1994, she produced To Die For starring Nicole Kidman (who won a Golden Globe as Best Actress – Musical or Comedy) and directed by Gus Van Sant. She also developed and served as Executive Producer of Columbia Pictures’ As Good As It Gets, which garnered Academy Awards® for stars Helen Hunt and Jack Nicholson.

Program Title: How did I “Stand Up to Cancer”?