Meet the iLIVE Team!

Kerri Winters-Stone, PhD, FACSM is a Co-Leader of the iLIVE Project. She is Professor and Section Head of Cancer Population Sciences in the Division of Oncological Sciences and Co-Program Leader of Cancer Prevention and Control in the Knight Cancer Institute at Oregon Health & Science University. An exercise scientist, Dr. Winters-Stone’s research focuses on the effects of cancer treatment on musculoskeletal health and cancer recurrence risk and the ability of exercise to improve health and longevity in cancer survivors. She has conducted 14 controlled clinical exercise trials that have trained over 2500 cancer survivors in different exercise modalities that are used as specific strategies to reverse some of the unintended harms of cancer treatment. Much of her work has focused on prostate cancer and particularly the use of strength training to improve body composition, physical functioning and overall well-being in men treated with hormone therapy. Because of her experience, Dr. Winters-Stone authored the American College of Sports Medicine’s Action Plan for Osteoporosis, co-led the update of the American College of Sports Medicine Exercise Guidelines for Cancer Survivors (2019), and contributed to the first consensus-based exercise guidelines for persons with bone metastases (2022).

Wendy Demark-Wahnefried, PhD, RD is a Co-Leader of the iLIVE Project. She is Professor of Nutrition Sciences, and Associate Director of Cancer Prevention and Control at the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She also is a Komen Professor of Survivorship and an American Cancer Society (ACS) Clinical Research Professor. For roughly three decades, starting with her tenure at Duke and then MD Anderson Cancer Center, Dr. Demark-Wahnefried has developed and tested lifestyle interventions for cancer survivors where she has led several large NIH- and foundation-funded projects. Because of her expertise in diet, nutrition, and cancer, she has served on numerous national and international panels that address lifestyle guidelines for cancer survivors, e.g., ACS, American Institute of Cancer Research/World Research Fund, National Cancer Policy Forum of the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, American Society of Clinical Oncology and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network.

Julie Graff, M.D. is an academic oncologist, specializing in genitourinary malignancies. She completed her medical training at George Washington University and her residency at Oregon Health Science University (OHSU). She is a Professor at the Knight Cancer Institute, OHSU, and is the Section Chief of Hematology/Oncology at the VA Portland Health Care System where she is responsible for enabling investigations and collaborations throughout the Veterans Health Administration to improve provide our Veterans with the best cancer care possible. She designs and conducts clinical trials involving hormone therapy, immunotherapy, and chemotherapy in patients with prostate cancer. Dr. Graff has a particular interest in outcomes and quality of life of patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. She and Dr. Winters-Stone have collaborated on an observation study to measure the risks for falls in men 75 years and older after they start hormone therapy. Her clinical and research expertise in working with advanced prostate cancer patients aligns with her role in the iLIVE study. Dr. Graff will provide expertise in the medical oncology and care of men with advanced prostate cancer; she also will provide access to a network of providers and administrators within different healthcare systems.

Arthur Hung, M.D. is an Associate Professor of Radiation Medicine in the School of Medicine at Oregon Health Science University. He did his medical training at the Ohio State University and residency at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. He has broad-based experience in cancers of the genitourinary tract, gastrointestinal tract, hepatobiliary system, soft tissue sarcomas, and melanomas. Recognizing that his prostate cancer patients are distressed by treatment-related weight gain, weakness and fatigue, his research focuses on developing and refining the latest technology to deliver radiation with more effectiveness and less toxicity. He has collaborated with Dr. Winters-Stone on her exercise trials in men with prostate cancer for many years. Dr. Hung will provide the perspective of radiation oncology in the iLIVE study, advise on eligibility and medical issues during the trial, and interpret study findings with a goal to eventually more broadly implement this combined approach to prevent obese frailty associated with hormone therapy in radiology oncology clinics across the country.

Curtis A. Pettaway, M.D. is Professor of Urology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston Texas. His clinical practice is based on treating patients with prostate cancer as well as rare genitourinary malignancies such as penile and urethral cancers. The goal of his prostate related studies is to 1) further define host and molecular markers of cancer progression, and 2) to reduce disparities in prostate cancer outcome among African Americans and the underserved by studying both clinical and biologic correlates of aggressive disease. He served as the medical director of the Prostate Outreach Project (POP) that educated and screened over 5,000 men. He served as the co- director of a National Cancer Institute funded study evaluating the influence of West African Ancestry on the incidence and aggressiveness of prostate cancer among African American and Puerto Rican populations. Dr. Pettaway has published over 194 peer-reviewed publications and is often asked to speak on topics of prostate and penile cancer at national and international educational meetings and symposiums. He serves on the Data Safety and Monitoring Board for the iLIVE trial.

Laura Rogers, MD, MPH is a Co-Investigator on the iLIVE project with a focus on physical activity, behavioral science, and program dissemination and implementation. She is a Professor and Associate Director of the Division of Preventive Medicine in the School of Medicine and co-Program Leader for the Cancer Control and Population Sciences Research Program within the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She is a board-certified internal medicine and obesity medicine physician with decades of research experience related to physical activity in individuals living with a chronic disease. She has developed, tested, and applied research related to healthy lifestyle behavior change for over 30 years and has specifically focused on cancer survivors for two decades. Because of her research and clinical expertise, she is a Fellow in the American College of Sports Medicine (currently serving on its Board of Trustees) and the American College of Physicians.

Sunil Sudarshan, MD, is a Professor of Urology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and is a urologic surgeon-scientist. As a clinician, Dr. Sudarshan uses minimally-invasive approaches (e.g., laparoscopic surgery) to manage urologic cancers. He was trained at Duke University and completed a fellowship at the National Cancer Institute. In 2009, the American Urological Association recognized Dr. Sudarshan as a “Rising Star in Urology.” More recently he was elected to the American Society for Clinical Investigation and also serves as the Southeastern Section Representative of the American Urological Association Research Council. Dr. Sudarshan’s scientific interests are in energy balance and metabolism where his laboratory focuses on the two urological malignancies associated with obesity: renal and prostate cancer. Dr. Sudarshan has led several studies in these cancers and has authored roughly 100 scientific papers. Thus, his expertise is well-aligned with the iLIVE trial; he provided critical input into the intervention and also will assist with interpretation of data.