Speaker Profile

M.D., Senior Medical Director, Flatiron Health

Biography
Margaret McCusker is a board-certified preventive medicine physician who serves as a senior medical director at Flatiron Health. Margaret leverages her training and experience to explore how real-world evidence can be used to complement traditional evidence generation strategies both within the life sciences industry and in public health. Prior to joining Flatiron Health, Margaret worked for Roche, within both the pharmaceutical and diagnostics divisions. Before Roche, she was a medical officer with the California Department of Public Health, where she focused on cancer prevention and control programs, including the California Cancer Registry. Margaret received her undergraduate degree in biology from Boston University and MD from the University of Maryland School of Medicine. She completed a preventive medicine residency at the University of Maryland, where she also earned an MS in epidemiology and preventive medicine. After residency, Margaret served as an Epidemic Intelligence Service officer with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and was stationed at the Texas Department of Health.


 Session Abstract – PMWC 2020 Silicon Valley


Precision medicine has incredible promise for patients. Enormous amounts of money and time are invested in developing technologies and targeted therapies. Genomics, proteomics, phosphorylation assays, RNA expression, organoid growth, and testing, and even delicate mass measurement of liquid cancer cells are explored. This innovation must be focused to maximize the benefit to the most important participants in our healthcare system, the patient. This track is about putting patient needs first, and understanding and accessing the latest (cancer) treatment options.

  • Overview for Patients: The Latest Cancer Treatments
    In this session, you will hear from industry leaders about the latest strategies for diagnosing and treating cancer, the latest targeted- and immunotherapies, and the latest techniques for catching cancer early when it is most vulnerable. These breakthroughs could save your life or that of a loved one.
    - Jennifer Grandis, UCSF
    - Cliff Hudis, ASCO
    - Craig Lipset, Clinical Innovation Partners LLC
    - Richard Wender, American Cancer Society
  • Overview for Patients: Latest Tech In Oncology
    Oncologists are increasingly using technology to precisely diagnose the biological mechanisms driving a patient’s tumor, to predict which therapies are likely to be most effective in block-ing them, and to monitor the patient’s response in real time. Learn how these technologies are transforming the practice of oncology into a science.
    - Vik Bajaj, Foresite Capital
    - Matt De Silva, Notable Labs
    - Gary Palmer, Tempus, Inc.
    - Daniel Simon, Guardant Health
    - Margaret McCusker, Flatiron Health
  • How Patients Get What They Need
    The latest treatment options are not an option if you can’t get or afford them. Learn about the novel strategies top docs use to access breakthrough tests and therapies for their patients through clinical trials, expanded access and contingent reimbursement.
    - Eric Marton, Wavemaker 360
    - June Wasser, Consultant
    - Martin Naley, OctX
    - Conrad Vial, Sutter Health
    - Maurie Markman, CTCA Health
  • Summary for Patients: So What- Putting It Together
    For nearly a decade, non-profit Cancer Commons has helped thousands of patients and their physicians beat the odds with information about the latest tests and treatments. New software and industry partnerships are taking this to the next level, where treatment decisions are in-formed by the latest tech, a treatment’s accessibility, and the collective experience of all patients and physicians.
    - Marty Tenenbaum, Cancer Commons
    - Carla Grandori, SEngine Precision Medicine
    - Mika Newton, xCures
    - Conan Kinsey, Huntsman Cancer Center
    - Jim Snyder, Henry Ford Health System
    - Erika Monteverdi, Cancer Commons
    - Harvey Cohen, Stanford University