Nine years after being diagnosed with Stage IV metastatic pancreatic cancer, Dr. Stephen Bigelsen shares his remarkable journey of survival. A physician himself, Dr. Bigelsen brings a unique perspective on navigating a terminal diagnosis, exploring innovative treatment options, and advocating for individualized care. His story highlights the critical role of persistence, research-driven therapies, and patient empowerment in defying expectations and redefining what’s possible after diagnosis.

Dr. Erkut Borazanci is the Medical Director of the Oncology Research Division at HonorHealth Research Institute in Scottsdale, Arizona and a Research Professor at the School of Medicine and Advanced Medical Engineering at Arizona State University.

His specialty is gastrointestinal oncology, particularly pancreatic cancer. Dr. Borazanci is the principal investigator for several clinical trials, many of which are phase I and are first in human studies. He has a strong interest in pancreatic cancer and his research has been published in Nature, JAMA Oncology, Clinical Cancer Research, and the Oncologist, among others. HonorHealth Research Institute has closely worked with TGen along with several collaborators to bring new and promising agents to offer as treatment options at HonorHealth Research Institute. 

Douglas B. Evans, MD, is the Donald C. Ausman Family Foundation Professor of Surgery and Chair of the Department of Surgery at The Medical College of Wisconsin. Prior to joining the Medical College of Wisconsin in 2009, he was the Hamill Foundation Distinguished Professor of Surgery at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. He is board-certified in surgery, and his clinical interests include treatment of pancreatic cancer and tumors of the endocrine system (thyroid, parathyroid, adrenal and gastrointestinal neuroendocrine tumors). Dr. Evans holds appointments at Froedtert Hospital, the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center and Children’s Wisconsin.

Dr. Evans has devoted his professional career to the research and treatment of pancreatic cancer and inherited endocrine syndromes. His interests include translational laboratory research in the biology of pancreatic cancer and in clinical trial development. He has completed a number of investigator-initiated clinical trials, including a National Cancer Institute Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (NIH P20 SPORE) pancreatic cancer grant. At MD Anderson, his endocrine surgery group worked extensively on the genotype-phenotype correlations in multiple endocrine neoplasia syndromes and they were the first to define the role for ultrasound in the preoperative management of patients with thyroid cancer.

TriCan Health is on a mission to enable *every* cancer patient to have access to the most advanced medicines available through clinical trials. The company was founded in 2022 by a PhD cancer researcher, biotech exec and two-time cancer survivor, who partnered with her husband, an MBA with deep technology and business experience. Together with a team of oncologists, nurses, and software developers, they’ve built an easy-to-use platform that helps patients, their caregivers, and their doctors identify treatment options so they can make informed decisions.

TriCan Health is on a mission to enable *every* cancer patient to have access to the most advanced medicines available through clinical trials. The company was founded in 2022 by a PhD cancer researcher, biotech exec and two-time cancer survivor, who partnered with her husband, an MBA with deep technology and business experience. Together with a team of oncologists, nurses, and software developers, they’ve built an easy-to-use platform that helps patients, their caregivers, and their doctors identify treatment options so they can make informed decisions.

Clinical research staff at the Medical College of Wisconsin.

Ashley Kiemen received her Bachelor’s degree in 2016 from the University of Michigan Ann Arbor, majoring in Chemical Engineering. She received her Master’s degree in 2017 from the London School of Economics and Political Science, majoring in Philosophy. She received her Doctoral degree in 2021 from the Johns Hopkins University, under the mentorship of Profs. Denis Wirtz and PeiHsun Wu, in the Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Pathology and Oncology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Her research focuses on use of image processing and deep learning algorithms for study of pancreatic cancer.

Roger E. Magowitz is the Founder & CEO of the Seena Magowitz Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to transforming pancreatic cancer into a treatable disease. He launched the organization in memory of his mother, Seena, who died of pancreatic cancer in 2001. What began as a small charity golf event in Phoenix in 2003 grew under his leadership into a national platform, raising over $14 million to support clinical trials, early‑detection research, and patient care across the U.S.

Medical Oncology

Family Nurse Practitioner

American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Certification Board, 2016

I am a surgical oncologist who specializes in treating patients with pancreatic cancer. My expertise includes both open and minimally invasive surgical techniques. I am also the medical director for the Continuous Performance Improvement Department at Fred Hutch. In this role, I help ensure the quality and safety of our health care service. I am a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a member of the Society of Surgical Oncology, the American Association for Cancer Research and the American Association of Immunologists.

In the lab, I study the body’s immune response to pancreatic cancer as well as other solid tumors. Data suggests that pancreatic cancer may not only be evading the immune system, but actually getting assistance from it. Recently, my colleagues and I have found that the right combination of immunotherapy drugs prompts cells in the immune system to kill tumor cells. Our hope is to continue enhancing the body’s immune response within the tumor microenvironment.

Gabriella Pyptiuk, RN, MSN, APNP, joined the Department of Surgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin in 2018. She received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing/Bachelor of Arts in French from Mount Mary University in 2012 and received her Master of Science in Nursing at Concordia University in 2018. Gabriella’s practice includes outpatient endocrine and HPB oncology, in which she treats patients with malignant and benign diseases.

Mark Ruegg, 1-year pancreatic cancer survivor will share his powerful story of hope and healing. Diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer and told it was inoperable, Mark defied the odds through determination, faith, and innovative treatment. His journey is a moving testament to the power of perseverance and the miracles that can follow.

Dr. Y. David Seo is an Assistant Professor of Surgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin and a surgical oncologist at Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee, specializing in hepatobiliary and pancreatic cancer care. He completed his MD at the University of Michigan (2014), general surgery residency at the University of Washington (2014–2021), and advanced fellowship in complex surgical oncology at MD Anderson Cancer Center (2021–2024) 

Dr. Seo treats adult and senior patients, offering expertise in minimally invasive surgical techniques, clinical trial enrollment, and virtual consultations. His core clinical focus includes pancreatic cancer, benign pancreatic conditions, and tumors of the ampulla and periampullary region. He is board-certified in surgery and fluent in English and Korean.

Dr. Tsai is the chief of the Division of Surgical Oncology at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC – James), and professor of surgery with the College of Medicine.

She completed her medical school and residency training at the University of Michigan. During residency, she completed a clinical research fellowship at the National Cancer Institute in the laboratory of Suzanne Topalian. After residency, she completed a Surgical Oncology Fellowship at the Johns Hopkins Hospital.

While in fellowship, she also received a Master’s in Clinical Investigation from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She is the Chief of Hepatopancreaticobiliary Surgery at the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center. Her clinical expertise is in GI oncology with a focus on pancreatic cancer.

Dr. Tsai is active in the pancreatic cancer research program and serves as the Director of the MCW Surgical Oncology Biorepository and Pancreatic Cancer Clinical Database. Her research is dual focused and includes research on blood-based biomarkers in pancreatic cancer and clinical trials in pancreatic cancer.

Dr. Yeh is a professor in the Departments of Surgery and Pharmacology at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill, Vice Chair of Research in the Department of Surgery, and co-Director of Clinical Research at the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. She joined the faculty at UNC in 2005 and was recently named an Oliver Smithies Investigator (honoring the late Nobel Prize winner at UNC). She maintains an active clinical practice specializing in endocrine diseases (thyroid, parathyroid, adrenal) and pancreatic cancers. Her research focus centers on the use of genomics to identify new approaches for pancreatic cancer.

Dr. Yeh received her medical degree from Johns Hopkins University and completed her general surgery residency at the Boston Medical Center, a research fellowship at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and a surgical oncology fellowship at the Memorial-Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

In 2015, Dr. Yeh identified new molecular subtypes of pancreatic cancer that have clinical and treatment significance. To translate molecular subtypes to the clinic, her group developed a single sample classifier that is now licensed to GeneCentric Therapeutics. Dr. Yeh and her collaborators also have developed a device that could help drive chemotherapy drugs directly into pancreatic tumor tissue to prevent their growth and shrink them. Dr. Yeh co-founded Advanced Chemotherapeutic Technologies, Inc. in order to bring the device into clinical trials.