International Cancer Screening Network Conference 2025 (ICSN)

Deadlines

Faculty

Anath Flugelman MD, MPH

ICSN Steering Committee member

Senior Research Fellow and Head of Health, Samuel Neaman Institute for National Policy Research, Technion, Israel Institute of Technology

Dr. Anath Flugelman is involved in several screening activities, including the Israeli colorectal and breast cancer screening programs. She was the public health physician in charge of FIT implementation in Israel in 2016, and the physician in charge of mammographic program quality assurance. Her research includes time between FOBT and colonoscopy associated with mortality, mammographic cumulative density and breast cancer incidence in age/ethnic groups, family history in screening, post colonoscopy colorectal cancer screening within screening programs. Dr. Flugelman participates in several cancer screening networks, including the International Consortium on Mammographic Density and the World Endoscopy Organization.

Berit Andersen MD, PhD

ICSN 2025 Host

University Research Clinic for Cancer Screening, Randers Regional Hospital, Denmark

Clinical professor, MD, Berit Andersen is specialised in community medicine, and she is mainly working on public health interventions in existing cancer screening programme. This includes Clinical Trials (Randomized Controlled Trials, non-randomised intervention studies, Cohort studies etc.), implementation science, register based studies, and use of registers, questionnaires and qualitative studies to scientifically evaluate quality improvement. Berit is head of University Research Clinic for Cancer Screening at Randers Regional Hospital, Denmark, and a clinical professor at Aarhus University, Denmark.

Carlo Senore MD MSc

Senior Epidemiologist

Epidemiology and Screening Unit – CPO, University Hospital Città della Salute e della Scienza, Turin, Italy

Dr. Carlo Senore coordinates the Piedmont Region Cancer Screening. He has experience in design, implementation and analysis of randomized trials evaluating screening strategies, diagnostic technologies, and primary prevention interventions, in the development of clinical guidelines and implementation of quality control projects aimed at assessing quality of treatment of colorectal cancer (CRC). His main research interests include colorectal and breast cancer screening organization and evaluation; cancer screening compliance; comparative effectiveness of CRC screening strategies; health technology assessment; guidelines development; smoking prevention and control; cancer screening and healthy lifestyle promotion interventions (diet, physical activity and tobacco consumption). Dr. Senore is the principal investigator (PI) and co-PI of comparative effectiveness studies of different CRC screening strategies, of RCTs aiming to assess the role of new screening technologies and of studies assessing the role of fecal and blood biomarkers in the development of adenomas and CRC and as potential screening tools. He has been involved as invited specialist for the preparation of IARC Handbooks (IARC Handbook of Cancer Prevention Vol. 17 – Colorectal Cancer Screening; Preamble to the IARC Handbooks of Cancer Prevention) and he is member of the experts working group of the European Commission Initiative on Colorectal Cancer. He is acting as co-chair of the ICSN CRC working group since 2019 and he acted as co-chair of the planning committee of the ICSN 2023 meeting in Turin.

Christine Campbell PhD

ICSN Chair-Elect

Usher Institute, University of Edinburgh, UK

Dr. Campbell is a Reader in Cancer and Primary Care at the Usher Institute, University of Edinburgh, UK. She leads a programme of research into socio-demographic and ethnic disparities in cancer outcomes, the role of primary care in screening provision and symptomatic diagnosis, and implementation of ‘screen and treat’ cervical screening in Malawi. She teaches on the Masters of Public Health course at the University of Edinburgh, and supervises undergraduate and postgraduate students. She was involved in the UK's NCRI Primary Care Clinical Studies Group from 2005 – 2017, including as chair of the Screening subgroup for three years. She sits on the Executive Group of Ca-PRI (the international cancer and primary cancer research network), and is a member of the Scottish Parliament Cross Party Group on Cancer. As co-Chair of the Research Ethics Committee at the University of Edinburgh Medical School she provides a strategic lead on global health ethics review.

Diama Vale MD, PhD

ICSN Steering Committee member

Associate Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Campinas, Brazil.

Dr. Diama Vale is an Associate Professor at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Campinas, Sao Paulo. Dr. Vale was a postdoctoral fellow at the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC/WHO-Lyon/FRA), has over 100 publications and experience in the field of Medicine, working mainly on topics related to Lower Genital Tract Diseases, Epidemiology of Gynecological and Breast Cancer, and Public Health.

Dorota Gerig MBBS(Hons), MHSc, ScD, FAFPHM

ICSN Steering Committee member

Medical Director, National Cancer Screening Register (NCSR) and Population Health, Telstra Health, Australia

Dorota has been the Medical Director of the National Cancer Screening Register (NCSR) since 2016, playing a key role in implementation and operations of the Register. She is a public health physician and epidemiologist who completed her medical training at Monash University and has a Doctorate in Epidemiology from the Harvard School of Public Health. Professor Gertig was previously the Medical Director of the Victorian Cervical Cytology Registry and the inaugural Medical Director of National HPV Vaccination Register. She is a respected leader in cancer screening and a member of several key national and state committees on cervical screening, including the National Quality and Safety Monitoring Committee for the National Cervical Screening Program. Professor Gertig has an international profile in cancer research, including the epidemiology of cervical, breast and ovarian cancers. With more than 120 scientific publications, her primary research focus is on policy relevant research as well as improving participation in cancer screening.

Doug Perin JD, MPH

ICSN Coordinator

Leidos Biomedical Research Inc./U.S. NCI Center for Global Health

Doug is a Project Manager through Leidos Biomedical Research Inc. He oversees several projects for the Center for Global Health, including coordination of the International Cancer Screening Network (ICSN), a collaborative group of cancer screening researchers and implementers. His professional interests include cancer epidemiology and prevention, mainly related to cervical, breast, and colorectal cancers. His area of focus lies in the translation of evidence derived from research into policy and practice. Doug was a fellow of the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health, working in cancer screening research and implementation with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in the Office of International Cancer Control/Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, in Atlanta, GA. He holds a law degree from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul-Brazil and a Master in Public Health from University of Nebraska Medical Center. Doug is currently pursuing a PhD at Radboud University Medical Center, in Nijmegen, Netherlands, looking at the impact of COVID-19 on cancer screening programs around the world.

Katie Robb PhD

ICSN Steering Committee member

Professor of Behavioural Science and Health, University of Glasgow, UK

Dr. Katie Robb is Professor of Behavioural Science and Health at the University of Glasgow, UK. The aim of her research is to improve cancer outcomes by the application of behavioural science and multi-disciplinary collaboration, and main areas of research interests include: improving access to cancer screening; reducing inequalities in cancer screening; developing cancer communications that are accessible, engaging and supportive.

Livia Giordano MD

ICSN Steering Committee member

Epidemiology and Screening Unit at AOU Città della Salute e della Scienza - CPO Piemonte, Italy

Dr. Livia Giordano is an epidemiologist, head of the Epidemiology and Screening department (CPO-Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria Città della Salute-Turin (Italy), WHO Collaborating Centre for early detection and screening since 2014. Dr. Giordano has over 150 peer-reviewed publications and her research areas include breast and cervical cancer screening organisation and evaluation, risk-based screening, randomised trial on cancer screening compliance, communications and psychological aspects in secondary cancer prevention interventions, cancer screening by immigrant and minority women; cancer screening in developing countries and in low-resource settings; smoking prevention and control; cancer screening and healthy lifestyle promotion interventions (diet, physical activity and tobacco consumption).

Mireille Broeders PhD

ICSN Past-Chair

Radboud University Medical Center, The Netherlands

Mireille Broeders first got involved with cancer screening during her PhD project (Radboud University, 2004) where she evaluated the impact of the Nijmegen breast screening program, established already in the mid-70s of the last era. Over the past decade, she has developed a research line to identify the added value of introducing personalized risk-based approaches in the current age-based cancer screening programs, with a focus on breast cancer screening. As Professor of Personalized Cancer Screening, prof. Broeders initiated the nation-wide PRISMA study and created a unique screening cohort where all information to assess a woman’s individual risk for breast cancer has been collected prospectively from 50,000 women. Through her position at the Dutch Expert Centre for Screening (LRCB), prof. Broeders further performs research to improve the quality of breast cancer screening. With her team and collaborators, she explores the possibilities of introducing technological developments, particularly AI algorithms. In the near future, prof. Broeders aims to apply insights gained in breast cancer screening to other established and potential new cancer screening programs.

Miriam Elfström PhD

ICSN Chair

Center for Cervical Cancer Elimination, Karolinska Institute, Sweden

Dr. Elfström is an epidemiologist working at the Center for Cervical Cancer Elimination, Karolinska University Hospital and the Screening Unit at the Regional Cancer Center of Stockholm Gotland, Sweden. She is the chair of the Swedish National Working Group for Cervical Cancer Prevention and dedicates her time to screening program monitoring, evaluation, and development. Recently, she has been working on HPV self-sampling as a primary cervical screening tool and risk-stratified screening for cervical cancer. In addition, she has led the ICSN Cervical Cancer Screening Working Group to compare results of audits of cervical cancer cases in programs in Sweden, UK and other countries, and as it reengages in new projects, especially looking at the implementation of HPV-based cervical cancer screening in low- and middle-income countries. Her research focuses on optimizing cervical cancer prevention and her interests include health systems strengthening and evaluating organization and quality assurance of cancer prevention programs.

Muluken Gizaw PhD

ICSN Steering Committee member

School of Public Health, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia

Dr. Muluken Gizaw is an epidemiologist, and lead researcher on cervical cancer prevention and control within the Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) working group at the School of Public Health, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia. Dr. Muluken is a member of the national cervical cancer working group at the ministry and has over 50 peer-reviewed publications, his primary areas of interest include female reproductive organs cancer prevention and control, screening and early detection of cancers, HPV-based screening implementation in low- and middle-income countries, pathways of care after primary screening, social determinants of health, the disparity in cancer care in low- and middle-income countries, global health diplomacy, and research ethics of human subjects. Dr. Muluken is currently chairing the ICSN cervical cancer working group for the implementation of HPV-based screening in LMICs which is under establishment.

Ondřej Májek PhD

ICSN Steering Committee member

Institute of Health Information and Statistics of the Czech Republic; National Screening Centre, Czech Republic

Ondřej Májek, PhD is the Head of Department of International Affairs at the Institute of Health Information and Statistics of the Czech Republic and the scientific lead of its National Screening Centre, where he is involved in monitoring and evaluation of screening programmes and introduction of new disease early detection projects. He is also an assistant professor and the head analyst of cancer screening programmes at the Institute of Biostatistics and Analyses, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic. His research interests include monitoring and evaluation of disease detection programmes, cancer epidemiology, and medical biostatistics.

Robert Smith PhD

ICSN Senior Advisor

American Cancer Society, USA

Robert A. Smith, PhD, is a cancer epidemiologist and senior vice president of Early Cancer Detection Science for the American Cancer Society (ACS). For most of his tenure at the ACS, he has led the development of cancer screening guidelines and been active in research on the effectiveness of cancer screening, utilization of cancer screening, improving the quality of cancer screening, and new cancer screening technology. In addition to leading cancer screening guideline development, Smith is co-chair of the ACS National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable, and principal investigator of the ACS National Lung Cancer Roundtable. He has served and continues to serve on many US and international research and health policy advisory committees. He has been a member of the Prevention Committees for three International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) Screening Handbooks (Breast, Colorectal, and Cervix), and presently serves on the Steering Committee of the International Cancer Screening Network.

Sisse Njor PhD

ICSN Steering Committee member

University of Southern Denmark / Vejle Hospital / Institute of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus, Denmark.

Dr. Sisse Njor is Professor at the Department of Regional Health Research, University of Southern Denmark and Associate Professor at the Institute of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus, Denmark. Dr. Njor is a senior researcher at the Department for Data, Innovation and Research, Vejle Hospital. Her research areas include cancer screening, including breast, colon cancer and cervical cancer, register-based research, cancer prevention, statistics, epidemiology, and public health. Dr. Njor is engaged in several research activities, including the assessment potential benefits and harms of the utilization of individualized cut-off values in colorectal cancer screening and quality of screening colonoscopies, mammography screening of breast cancer survivors, optimization of cancer screening recommendations, among others, and is currently leading an ICSN working group to assess the optimal recall rate in breast cancer screening.

Stephen Lam MD, FRCPC

ICSN Steering Committee member

University of British Columbia / BC Cancer Research Institute, Vancouver, Canada.

Dr. Stephen Lam is the medical director of the British Columbia Lung Screening Program. In 2008, he co-led the first risk prediction model-based clinical trial to select people who had ever smoked for lung cancer screening in eight centres across Canada followed by the International Lung Screening Trial in Canada, Australia, Hong Kong and Spain that reported a significantly better sensitivity and positive predictive value using the risk prediction model approach compared to age and pack-years criteria to determine screening eligibility. His current research includes: the effect of air pollution exposure on lung cancer in people who have never smoked, and AI powered digital solution to personalize lung cancer screening. He serves as an expert advisor for the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer and chairs the partnership’s Pan-Canadian Lung Cancer Screening Network. He is a recipient of the IASLC Joseph Cullen Award in lung cancer prevention research and the immediate past-chair of the Early Detection and Screening Committee.