Scientific Advisory Board

Professor, Division of Hematology/Oncology University of Nebraska Medical Center
Edna Ittner Chair of Pediatric Hematology & Oncology
Director, Pediatric Cancer Research Group

Dr. Don Coulter is one of only a handful of pediatric oncological research clinicians in the Midwest. A pediatric oncologist performing research at the University of Nebraska Medical Center Cancer Center, and also seeing patients as a practitioner at Omaha Children’s Hospital and Medical Center, Dr. Coulter is an extraordinarily promising young investigative physician. Dr. Coulter was one of 60 St. Baldrick’s Fellows and one of 38 St. Baldrick’s Scholars to receive 2-to-5 years of funding to receive special training to become a pediatric oncology researcher. Recently, Dr. Coulter was also the recipient of a prestigious $250,000 Hyundai Wheels of Hope grant to support his research efforts in neuroblastoma. Dr. Coulter brings a vast knowledge of childhood cancer research funding and understanding of the financial components to research.

Vice President, Clinical Development at Day one Biopharmaceuticals
Former Clinical Director of the Pediatric Brain Tumor Center at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Harvard Medical School
Former Director of Pediatric Medical Neuro-Oncology at DFCI
Former Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School

Dr. Mark Kieran is widely regarded as one of the foremost authorities on child brain tumors. Dr. Kieran is the Clinical Director of the Pediatric Brain Tumor Center at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts and the Director of Pediatric Medical Neuro-Oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. He is also an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Kieran is, through the Children’s Oncology Group (COG), on the Steering Committee of the Neuro-Oncology Disease Center and Chair of the malignant glioma section. Routinely voted one of America’s “Top Doctors”, Dr. Kieran has a long-standing interest in supporting pediatric brain tumor program development in developing countries and travels regularly to China, India, Turkey, and Egypt for these on-going program efforts. Dr. Kieran is committed to helping the Team Jack Foundation also engage in program development in rural America.

Clinical Director of the Pediatric Brain Tumor Program, University of Nebraska Medical Center & Children’s Nebraska
Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics at UNMC

Dr. Chittalsinh Raulji is a nationally recognized pediatric neuro-oncologist and hematologist whose work bridges patient care, clinical leadership and research. As Clinical Director of the Pediatric Brain Tumor Program at University of Nebraska Medical Center and Children’s Nebraska, Dr. Raulji leads a multidisciplinary team dedicated to advancing therapies for children with brain tumors. 

He is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and a key contributor to national clinical guidelines, currently serving on panels for the American Society of Hematology, the International Society of Thrombosis and Hemostasis, and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN).

Dr. Raulji’s research spans pediatric neuro-oncology, thrombosis, and sickle cell disease, with peer-reviewed publications addressing treatment outcomes and quality-of-life improvements in pediatric populations. He is actively involved in multiple clinical trials as a site principal investigator and has previously received competitive funding from national organizations, including the Hyundai Hope on Wheels Young Investigator Grant.”

Co-Chair of Cancer Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Harvard Medical School
Professor, Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School
Deputy Director, Mahoney Center for Neuro Oncology

Dr. Charles D. Stiles is the Co-Chair of Cancer Biology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Harvard Medical School. Dr. Stiles, a professor in the Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School also serves Dana-Farber Cancer Institute as the Deputy Director of the Mahoney Center for Neuro Oncology. Dr. Stiles’ research emphasis is described and better stated here:

“… We are attacking this clinical problem by addressing a fundamental question in basic science: Which genes regulate the development of the normal brain? We currently are cloning and characterizing genes that “instruct” brain progenitor cells to develop into mature neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes – the cellular components of a mature brain. We reason that the genes that give rise to a normal, functioning brain are the same genes that give rise to cancer of the brain when their expression is perturbed. Given a defined genetic target, scientists can screen large libraries of chemically diverse compounds to identify drugs that interact with the protein encoded by that specific gene. These genetically targeted compounds are “smart drugs” that can kill tumor cells without collateral damage to normal cells. We also hypothesize that genetic perturbations within genes that regulate brain development may underlie a broader range of inborn brain dysfunctions including childhood mental retardation, Alzheimer’s disease, and schizophrenia. Thus, fundamental work on the genetics of brain development conducted under the auspices of brain cancer research could eventually have impact on health problems outside the cancer field.”

Internal Medicine Physician, Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center
Core Faculty Member of Internal Medicine, University of South Dakota School of Medicine

Dr. Nathan Miller is an internal medicine physician who practices medicine at Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. A Board Certified internist, Dr. Miller is a Core Faculty Member of the Internal Medicine Faculty at the University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine. Dr. Miller is widely regarded as one of the top young physicians in South Dakota and takes a comprehensive problem solving approach to every patient’s case. Dr. Miller’s vast medical knowledge combined with his stout critical thinking skills provide a unique and overviewing perspective to the Team Jack Foundation Scientific Advisory Board. Dr. Miller is the Team Jack Foundation Scientific Advisory Board Liaison, and is responsible for assisting the Team Jack Foundation Board of Directors weigh the Scientific Advisory Board’s recommendations.

Assistant Professor of Neurology, Pediatric and Neuro Surgery
University of California San Francisco 
Pediatric Brain Tumor Center Director, UCSF School of Medicine/Benioff Children’s Hospital

Dr. Sabine Mueller is an Assistant Professor of Neurology, Pediatric and Neuro Surgery at the prestigious University of California San Francisco (UCSF) in San Francisco, California. Dr. Muller also serves as the Director of the Pediatric Brain Tumor Center at the UCSF School of Medicine/Benioff Children’s Hospital. Dr. Sabine Mueller is a pediatric neuro-oncologist who specializes in caring for children with brain tumors. Before completing medical school, she worked as a scientist, director of genomics and a project leader for a brain tumor program at AGY, a biotechnology company in South San Francisco. In her research, she studies treatments for children with brain tumors and improving the long-term cognitive outcome.

In addition to her outstanding clinical and research work at UCSF, Dr. Mueller also serves as the Co-Project Leader of the prestigious Pacific Pediatric-Oncology Consortium (PNOC). PNOC provides children with brain tumors access to innovative treatments. PNOC tests therapies aimed at interfering with specific cellular pathways or mutations. As Project Leader, Dr. Mueller oversees 90 pediatric brain tumor specialists and two (2) ongoing clinical trials at 10 participating sites throughout the country.

Houston Merritt Professor of Neurological Sciences
Scientific Director of Brain Tumor Research, 
Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center
Columbia University Medical Center

Robert Wechsler-Reya, PhD is H. Houston Merritt Professor of Neurological Sciences and Scientific Director of Brain Tumor Research in the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center at Columbia University. His research focuses on the signals that control growth and differentiation in the nervous system, and how these signals are dysregulated in pediatric brain tumors. His lab’s contributions include demonstrating that Sonic hedgehog is a mitogen for neuronal precursors in the developing cerebellum; discovering a novel population of neural stem cells in the neonatal cerebellum; demonstrating that both neuronal precursors and stem cells can serve as cells of origin for medulloblastoma; and identifying a population of cancer stem cells that is critical for propagation of Sonice hedgehog-associated tumors. More recently, they have developed new genetically engineered mouse and patient-derived xenograft models of MYC-driven MB and are using them to test novel approaches to therapy, including epigenetic modulators and immunotherapies. In addition to his position at Columbia, Dr. Wechsler-Reya serves as co-director of the Pediatric Neuro-Oncology Consortium’s Medulloblastoma Working Group, and has worked with PNOC investigators to develop clinical trials for patients with recurrent medulloblastoma, high grade glioma and ependymoma.