Who we are

Dr. Kathy Pritchard-Jones is the President of SIOP and Professor of Paediatric Oncology at University College London (UCL) Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK. She is an internationally recognised expert in childhood kidney cancers, where she has extensive experience of running multi-centre and international clinical trials and translational research. She also works with epidemiologists and healthcare data scientists for international benchmarking and outcomes research. She has a track record of enabling partnership working to deliver quality improvement in complex care and to accelerate research across both adult and childhood cancer services. Throughout her career she has been an active member of the work of the national Children’s Cancer and Leukaemia Group (CCLG), the International Society of Paediatric Oncology (SIOP) and SIOP Europe. She has published over 250 articles in the field of childhood cancer.

Dr C. S. Pramesh is the Director of the Tata Memorial Hospital and the Professor and Head of Thoracic Surgery at the Tata Memorial Centre, Mumbai. He is the convener for the National Cancer Grid, a large network of over 170 cancer centres in India. The mandate of the National Cancer Grid is to provide uniform standards of cancer care across the country. Pramesh is highly committed to efforts towards reducing inequities in cancer care and making cancer treatment accessible to all geographic regions and strata of society. He is also a visiting professor at the Division of Cancer Studies, King’s College London and the Institute of Cancer Policy, King’s Health Partners, London. His primary clinical areas of interest include the treatment of esophageal and lung cancers and minimally invasive surgery. He is the Secretary of the Indian Society for Diseases of the Esophagus and Stomach (ISES). He is the Principal Investigator in several investigator-initiated research studies including randomized trials on cancer screening, surgical techniques, and neoadjuvant treatment of thoracic cancers.

Dr. Carlos Rodriguez-Galindo serves as the director of St. Jude Global and chair of the Department of Global Pediatric Medicine. He is also an executive vice president and holds the Four Stars of Chicago Endowed Chair in International Pediatric Research. Rodriguez-Galindo is leading an effort by St. Jude to ensure childhood cancer patients have access to quality care no matter where they live. Dr. Rodriguez-Galindo’s areas of clinical research and expertise include retinoblastoma, sarcomas, rare cancers, and histiocytic disorders. He has been the chair of the Rare Tumor’s committee of the Children’s Oncology Group and the President of the Histiocyte Society, and has been the principal investigator of several institutional, national, and international trials. Additionally, Rodriguez-Galindo led an institutional effort to become the first World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre for Childhood Cancer. As part of this partnership, WHO and St. Jude are collaborating with other organizations on the Global Initiative in Childhood Cancer.

Mr. Kaviratne’s career with the Unilever Group spanned 40 years during which he held various senior level management positions in sales, marketing, brand and strategic planning and development, and as Chairman/CEO across Asia, Europe and Latin America. He retired from Unilever in 2005. In India, Mr. Kaviratne serves as an Independent, Non-Executive Director in GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals Ltd. He is an Independent, Non-Executive Director of several Temasek-linked companies including StarHub Limited where he is Lead Independent Director, and Olam Group Limited. He is a Member of the Private Sector Portfolio Advisory Committee in India for the UK Government’s Department for International Development (DFID). He was appointed a member of the Global Corporate Resilience Advisory Council of McKinsey effective January 2018. He is also the Chairman of Caraway Pte Ltd, Singapore. He was appointed to Chair the SATS Advisory Panel for Indonesia, effective January 2021 and also appointed as Senior Advisor of Bain & Company for SEA from January 2021.

Nachiket Mor is an economist by training. For the first part of his career, he was associated with financial services in different capacities, including as a member of the Boards of ICICI Bank and the Reserve Bank of India. Over the last several years, he has been exploring issues relating to the design of health systems, focusing on topics such as public health and primary care. He now teaches a course on health systems design at the Indian School of Business and one on public mental health at the Banyan Academy of Leadership in Mental Health. He also chairs the finance workstream for a Lancet Commission on Reimagining India’s Health Systems.

Dr. Pooja Sharma, MD (Obs and Gynae), is a distinguished clinician and researcher with a multifaceted expertise spanning clinical research, bioethics, and patient advocacy. With a solid educational foundation including an MD from the Institute of Medical Sciences (IMS), BHU, Varanasi, Dr. Sharma has been instrumental in shaping healthcare initiatives across various domains. As the Founder and CEO of APAR Health Services, Dr. Sharma demonstrates visionary leadership, driving the organization's mission to build a comprehensive Clinical Research capacity-building program. Additionally, her role as a Research Advisor for INPHOG underscores her commitment to advancing pediatric healthcare and research strategies. Dr. Sharma's dedication to ethical research practices is evident through her leadership roles as Chairperson of Institutional Ethics Committees, where she ensures adherence to the highest ethical standards in medical research. Furthermore, her involvement in initiatives like PARTAKE highlights her advocacy for patient awareness and empowerment in the research process. At Medanta Institute of Education and Research, Dr. Sharma's contributions have been substantial, serving in key roles such as Advisor and Senior Scientist. Her efforts in developing innovative research and healthcare training programs, along with her collaborations with prestigious institutions, reflect her commitment to advancing medical education and research excellence. Dr. Sharma's research endeavors, including her significant contributions during the COVID-19 pandemic, showcase her versatility and proactive approach to addressing healthcare challenges.

Dr Devidas earned a PhD in Applied Statistics from the University of Memphis and spent the ensuing 32 years as a faculty member at UCLA, the University of Mississippi Medical Center, and the University of Florida. She brings more than 26 years of experience in the field of pediatric oncology. She is the Director of Global Analytics in the Department of Global Pediatric Medicine at St Jude Children’s Research Hospital. She and her team provide biostatistical and analytical support for the various global initiatives/research projects in the department. She is a member of the graduate faculty and a faculty in the St Jude Global Academy. She is the study statistician for clinical trials run by the North American Consortium for Histiocytosis (NACHO), a consortium dedicated to the development and implementation of clinical and translational studies and biological research for histiocytic diseases. She is also the study statistician for a trial studying gene therapy for Hemophilia B in low-middle-income countries, conducted by St Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Dr Devidas is the Lead Statistician for the Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) biology/therapeutic clinical trials in the NCI-sponsored (National Clinical Trials Network) international cooperative group, the Children’s Oncology Group (COG). She is PI, Co-PI, and co-investigator on several current and past NIH grants supporting clinical research. Her methodological research has focused on statistical issues related to the design and conduct of clinical studies.