Join The Life Raft Group on October 14 at 12:00 PM for a patient-centered discussion about Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) and its connection to GIST. Dr. Ciara Kelly of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Dr. John Glod of the National Institutes of Health will discuss what patients should know about NF1-associated GIST, including current research and treatment considerations. Life Raft Group Board member and NF1/GIST patient Rob Taylor will also share his personal experience, offering a patient perspective on navigating these diagnoses.
These webinars are for informational purposes only and should not replace professional medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider before making any treatment or lifestyle changes.
About Our Presenters:
Dr. Ciara Kelly
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Ciara Kelly, MBBCh, BAO is a medical oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center who has expertise in treating and researching bone and soft tissue sarcomas and merkel cell carcinoma. She works very closely with a team of medical oncologists, surgeons, radiation oncologists, nurses, and patient support advocates.
Dr. Kelly’s research aims to develop new and more personalized therapies to treat sarcomas. She is actively involved in developing and designing clinical trials that will look at novel agents that target molecular changes within tumors. She is also studying innovative combination immunotherapy options that will harness a person’s own immune defenses to fight their cancer.
Dr. Kelly has a particular interest in advancing understanding of gastrointestinal stromal tumors and other sarcomas at the molecular level. She is using liquid biopsies to analyze tumor DNA in the blood and tumor biopsies to uncover a biomarker that will ultimately help match the best treatment option with each individual person’s tumor. Dr. Kelly is committed to designing and developing novel therapeutic clinical trials for GIST patients that incorporate correlative studies which provide an opportunity to further our understanding of this disease.
Dr. John Glod
National Institutes of Health
Dr. Glod obtained his M.D. and Ph.D. from the University of Colorado in Denver and trained in pediatrics and pediatric oncology at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, Johns Hopkins Hospital, and the Pediatric Oncology Branch of the NCI. Following a fellowship in neuro-oncology at the NCI, Dr. Glod served as faculty in the departments of pediatrics and pharmacology at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey. Dr. Glod currently serves as the Clinical Director of the Pediatric Oncology Branch in the Center for Cancer Research at National Cancer Institute. Dr. Glod’s research interests are focused on early stage clinical trials for pediatric patients and rare pediatric solid tumors including multiple endocrine neoplasia-related medullary thyroid cancer, SDH-deficient gastrointestinal stromal tumor, and tumors of the central nervous system.
Rob Taylor
GIST Advocate
Rob Taylor is a GIST/NF1 patient, Life Raft Group Board Member, LRG Health Equity Council member, and GIST Mentor. Drawing from his own experience navigating NF1 and GIST, Rob is passionate about helping others better understand their diagnosis and feel empowered to advocate for the care they deserve. He dedicates significant time to GIST education, patient support, and advocacy, working to ensure that the patient voice is represented in research, healthcare, and the broader GIST community.
