Advisory Committee

Lija Joseph, MD received her advanced practical pathology program training and certification in multidisciplinary breast pathology from the College of American Pathologists. She started Lowell General Hospital's Patient Pathology Consult Program in early 2017. Patients who have undergone a biopsy or other laboratory testing have the opportunity to review their reports and slides up close with a free in-person consultation with Dr. Joseph in Lowell General's Pathology Department. She is a member of the College of American Pathologists and the American Society for Clinical Pathology.

Lija Joseph, MD is a board-certified pathologist. Dr. Joseph received her doctorate from the University of Kerala in India and completed her residency in Pathology at the Trivandrum Medical College, University of Kerala in India. She also completed a residency in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology at the University of Missouri, Columbia and a fellowship in the Hematology Dept. of Pathology at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Dr. Joseph is a proud member of College of American Pathologists, the American Society of Clinical Pathologists and the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathologists. She is an adjunct associate professor at the Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and Tufts University School of Medicine.

She received the Red Sash teaching award from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences for the class of Class of 2003.

Luis E. Raez, MD, FACP, FCCP is the chief scientific officer and medical director at Memorial Cancer Institute (MCI)/Memorial Health Care System. He is also the director of the Thoracic Oncology Program and co-director of the MCI/Florida Atlantic University (FAU) Florida Cancer Center of Excellence, which has been designated by the Florida Department of Health as one of only five Cancer Centers of Excellence in Florida. He serves as clinical professor of medicine at Florida International University (FIU), visiting professor of medicine at Cayetano Heredia University in Peru, and research professor at Florida Atlantic University (FAU). Dr. Raez’s clinical specialties include medical oncology in the areas of lung cancer and head and neck cancer therapy, as well as internal medicine and clinical hematology. He designs phase I-III clinical trials with new targeted agents and immunotherapy, conducts translational and clinical research in cancer vaccines, and has been funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the pharma industry.

Dr. Raez was an associate professor of medicine, epidemiology and public health, and a co-director of thoracic oncology at Sylvester Cancer Center/University of Miami for 10 years (2001-2011). He served the president of the Florida Society of Clinical Oncology (FLASCO) from 2019-2021. He has also been serving as chairman of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) Latin American Group (LATAM) since 2018; chair of the IASLC Membership Committee from 2015-2018; international chair of the IASLC-Latin-American Meeting (LALCA) since 2014; chairman of the “Miami Best of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO)” since 2014, chair and founder of the “Miami Cancer Meeting (MCM)” since 2002, and co-chairman of the “Puerto Rico Fall Cancer Symposia (FCS)” since 2010, among many other institutions. He is one of the founding members of the Oncology Latin-American Association (OLA). He has also delivered presentations and lectures in national and international meetings across the United States, Europe, Latin America, Africa, and Asia.

Dr. Raez received his medical degree from Cayetano Heredia University in Lima, Peru. He completed residencies in hematology/oncology and internal medicine at the University of Miami. He is American Board Certified in internal Medicine and Medical Oncology, and board eligible in Hematology.

Frank dela Rama is a prostate cancer nurse navigator and advanced oncology clinical nurse specialist at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF), where he has been supporting patients across Alameda, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz counties in California for over 22 years. During his tenure with PAMF, he helped expand the radiation oncology nursing service, established the role of oncology nurse navigator, and created PAMF’s Cancer Genetics program, which provides genetic counseling and testing predominantly for BRCA1/2 genes (Hereditary Breast/Ovarian Cancer syndrome) and Lynch syndrome genes (Hereditary Colorectal Cancer). He is actively involved in developing additional programs and services at PAMF, including survivorship, oncology nurse navigators, a Prostate Cancer Buddy Program, and studies on cancer treatment decision-making strategies. He is also a senior oncology/cancer genetics nurse navigator for Navvisa, helping to build an innovative oncology navigation model program.

Mr. dela Rama has been serving as co-chair of the Academy of Oncology Nurse and Patient Navigators (AONN) and the Genetics/Genomics Committee since 2018. He served as president of the board of directors for Breast Cancer Connections, a nonprofit organization located in the San Francisco Bay Area, offering free programs and services for those affected by breast cancer and their loved ones. He also serves on the editorial board for several oncology nursing publications, including the Journal of Oncology Navigation and Survivorship, and has written chapters for Oncology Nursing Society publications geared specifically towards navigators. He is a featured speaker on prostate cancer and genetics at conferences and events, sharing his passion for quality cancer care.

Mr. dela Rama earned a bachelor’s degree in genetics from the University of California, Davis as well as a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of San Francisco. He went on to complete his master’s degree at the University of California, San Francisco to become an advanced oncology clinical nurse specialist (AOCNS) in Oncology/Genomics. 

Bridget O’Brien, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, AOCNP, is Assistant Professor at Rush University College of Nursing in Chicago, IL. She is the Director of the Family Nurse Practitioner Program at Rush. She is also certified as a Family Nurse Practitioner with dual certification as an Advanced Oncology Nurse Practitioner. She has practiced as a nurse practitioner for 20+ years, with a specialty in gastrointestinal oncology (GI), most recently at Northwestern Medicine.

She has also chaired the Oncology Nursing Committee of ECOG-ACRIN since 2006, and has been an active member of the GI Oncology Committee. Her focus with the support of the nursing committee has been to increase accrual to clinical trials, promote education, and evaluate trials for feasibility and nursing implications.

Dr. O’Brien has published in the field of GI oncology and has lectured extensively on this and many topics. 

Stacey A. Cohen, MD is an Associate Professor in the Division of Medical Oncology at University of Washington School of Medicine, Associate Professor in the Clinical Research Division at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, and a gastrointestinal oncology physician at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. Dr. Cohen’s research focuses on inherited genetic syndromes, such as Lynch syndrome, that put people at high risk of developing colorectal and other gastrointestinal cancers and on molecular markers of disease risk and cancer outcomes that help tailor individual treatment plans.