Steering Committee

David R. Spigel, MD, joined Sarah Cannon in 2003 and as chief scientific officer, he oversees all scientific aspects of Sarah Cannon's clinical trial program, working with the research physician leaders to ensure the best new agents and studies are available to our patients. He serves as a primary contact for the Pharma and biotech partners as well as the strategic site physicians with whom Sarah Cannon conducts cancer research.

Dr. Spigel received his bachelor’s degree from Tulane University in New Orleans in 1992, and medical degree from The University of Tennessee in Memphis in 1996. After completing an internal medicine and chief residency at Indiana University Medical Center, he completed a fellowship in hematology and oncology at The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. He is board certified in medical oncology. Additionally, he is a partner with Tennessee Oncology, PLLC.

Dr. Mark Socinski is the Executive Medical Director of the AdventHealth Cancer Institute in Orlando, Florida. Dr. Socinski was most recently the Director of the Lung Cancer Section at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Clinical Associate Director of the University of Pittsburgh Lung Cancer SPORE, Co-Director of UPMC Lung Cancer Center of Excellence, and Co-Leader of the Lung Cancer Program at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute.

Dr. Socinski holds membership in numerous professional societies such as the American College of Physicians, American Society of Clinical Oncology, Cancer and Leukemia Group B (Alliance), International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer, American College of Chest Physicians. He is also co-Chair Emeritus of the Thoracic Malignancies Steering Committee for the National Cancer Institute.

Dr. Socinski is well published in peer-reviewed literature including journals such as the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Journal of Thoracic Oncology, Cancer, and Lancet Oncology  Dr. Socinski’s primary research interests reside in all aspects of clinical trials related to the thoracic oncology patient population. He also has been instrumental in the development of many cooperative group and investigator-initiated clinical trials.

Dr. Socinski received his medical degree from the University of Vermont, College of Medicine. His postdoctoral training included an internship and residency in internal medicine at the Beth Israel Hospital, Harvard Medical School and a medical oncology fellowship at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School.

Andrea Ferris is President and CEO of LUNGevity and a member of the Board of Directors. In this capacity, she is responsible for setting and executing the strategic direction of the organization and its science programs. Ms. Ferris was the Vice President of Strategy and Growth of Decision Lens, Inc. a company she helped launch in January 2005. Prior to joining Decision Lens, Andrea held a variety of management positions at Johnson & Johnson, including Director of Investor Relations, Manager Corporate Mergers & Acquisitions, and Plant Controller. She also spent several years at McNeil Consumer Products, a J&J subsidiary, in marketing and mergers & acquisitions. Prior to her time at J&J, Andrea worked for Lehman Brothers and Coopers & Lybrand in New York City in both Mergers and Acquisitions and as a CPA.

Ms. Ferris served on Washington, DC’s Kennedy Center National Committee of Performing Arts and on the Board of ARCS (Achievement Rewards for College Scientists) of Metro DC. She has also served on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors for DC Metro Boys and Girls Club and has worked with the Ronald McDonald House and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Ms. Ferris received her BS in Economics from Wharton with concentrations in Accounting, Decision Sciences, and Finance. She received her MBA from Wharton with concentrations in Finance and Latin American Studies.

Nikki Martin is Senior Director of Precision Medicine Initiatives where she focuses on accelerating access to precision medicine, especially biomarker testing, for lung cancer patients. Nikki came into patient advocacy from multiple roles in public affairs and communications at diagnostic and biotech companies including Genentech, Novartis Diagnostics, and Grifols where she collaborated with patient advocacy groups and other stakeholders on a variety of global health issues. She believes that patient advocacy organizations play an essential role in convening influential entities from government to providers, payers, and industry, which can lead to critical work with long-lasting impact on patient care. Nikki started her career in healthcare communications in Japan where she advised healthcare clients on public relations activities in the Japanese market.