Advisory Board

Our advisory board has the expertise and passion to galvanize glioblastoma drug development.

Madan Kwatra, PhD

Dr. Kwatra is an Associate Professor at Duke University Medical Center. His research focuses on the development of glioblastoma drugs personalized for each patient. Dr. Kwatra recently characterized a panel of patient-derived glioblastoma xenografts at the protein level, resulting in the identification of tumors with activated EGFR. Using these models, Dr. Kwatra is examining the preclinical efficacy of AZD9291, a drug recently approved by the FDA for lung cancer treatment, against a subset of glioblastoma tumors expressing activated EGFR. These studies are funded by the National Center for the Advancement of Translational Sciences (NCATS). Dr. Kwatra’s laboratory is also developing targeted therapies that target additional growth pathways identified by The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) program.

Paula Trzepacz, MD

Dr. Trzepacz has several years of drug development for brain disorders. She joined Eli Lilly in 1999 and worked there until 2015. During this time, Dr. Trzepacz supervised development of several drugs for various brain disorders as well as biomarker discovery programs related to Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Trzepacz is currently the executive vice president and chief medical officer at Neurotope Bioscience.

Arti Rai, JD

Professor Rai, a co-director of the Duke Law Center for Innovation Policy, is internationally recognized for her expertise in intellectual property law, innovation policy, and administrative law. Professor Rai has taught law at Harvard, Yale, and the University of Pennsylvania; she has published in both legal and medical journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine. In recent years, Professor Rai has written extensively on the repurposing of drugs, an area of expertise likely to be needed for glioblastoma drug development.

Erin O’Reilly, PhD

Dr. O’Reilly, a molecular biologist by training, received her PhD in molecular, cellular, and developmental biology from Indiana University. She joined the Duke Translational Medicine Institute’s Regulatory Affairs Group in 2008 and spent over 7 years assisting investigators through the regulatory process, supporting teams in all aspects of clinical research from preclinical requirements to first-in-human studies and beyond. Dr. O’Reilly currently works independently as a regulatory and medical writing consultant.

Sallie E. Krewer

Sallie E. Krewer joins the Advisory Board with a different perspective: that of a Caregiver. Her husband Tom lost his courageous nine month battle with Glioblastoma multiforme in September 2017. After Tom’s death, she connected with the Glioblastoma Foundation to help find an alternative to the current standard of care for patients and to raise money for clinical trials. Her passion is deep and her commitment is unwavering. She also has a desire to support families and caregivers with help understanding the disease and maneuvering through the maze of treatments and clinical trials.