Lisa Harris, M.D.
Primary Care Physician, Internal Medicine and Pediatrics
Strong Health, Rochester, NY

Dr. Harris is in private practice and has been diagnosed with metabolic syndrome.  She made changes in diet and exercise to treat the condition and currently has the syndrome and diabetes, under control.

Lisa Harris, M.D. was born in Oneida, New York, the eldest child and only daughter of the honorable Judge Roy and Mrs. Lucille King. Dr. Harris attended Monroe Jr. Sr. High School and then furthered her education at the University of Rochester, where she received a B.S. in neurosciences.  Later, she attended Morehouse School of Medicine where she received her medical degree. Her training was completed at the Detroit Medical Center in Detroit, MI.  Dr. Harris is boarded in two specialties, Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, allowing her to care for both the adult and pediatric populations. Currently, Dr. Harris is in private practice.

Kat Carney

Kat Carney is a former CNN heavyweight-both literally and figuratively, but her style is decidedly lighthearted and upbeat. Whether she's speaking about her personal experience of losing a whopping 90 pounds after a lifetime of obesity, or sharing the media savvy she developed as the Consumer Health anchor for CNN Headline News, Carney's energizing style engages your audiences and provides them with tools they can use in their daily lives. Her experience in broadcast journalism, encompassing 9 television networks from CNN to HGTV, is the backdrop for Carney's unique blend of expertise and accessibility. While she can cut through media hype with surgical precision, Carney turns to humor when sharing with her audience the story behind-the story truths about newsworthy health issues.

Although she's logged in countless hours of airtime, and her personal perspective on health-related topics is frequently featured in national outlets including The New York Times, USA Today, and The Wall Street Journal, at heart Carney sees the world through the eyes of the consumer. Her ability to demystify complex topics and her committment to providing women and men with concrete strategies to improve their lives are a winning combination.

Carney's personal story-as a woman who has overcome her weight issues and succeeded in broadcast journalism without a college degree, along with her refreshing perspective on a variety of topics, is a source of motivation and inspiration to audiences hungry for a dose of, „I can do it!" In addition to her work in front of the camera, Kat Carney is active in raising awareness of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). In 1999, she founded SoulCysters.com. Today, with over 30,000 registered members, and close to 1 million visitors monthly, SoulCysters has become the largest, and most recognized community for women with this common, but
commonly misunderstood, endocrine disorder.

Paul Levy, M.D.
Professor of Medicine and Acting Chairman in the Department of Medicine.
University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY

Dr. Paul Levy obtained his medical degree from Ohio State University and completed an internal medicine residency at Strong Memorial Hospital where he also served as Chief Resident in Internal Medicine.  He then went on to complete a fellowship in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine and joined the faculty at the University of Rochester in 1989. He served as the Clinical Director of the Pulmonary and Critical Care Division at the University of Rochester from 1992-2003.

As Acting Chairman for the Department of Medicine he oversees clinical program development, faculty educational initiatives and the department's quality assurance activities.

In addition to his role in the Department of Medicine, Dr. Levy is the Medical Director of the Compliance Program for Strong Health.  In this capacity he serves as a key resource for faculty, administrators and billing managers on regulatory and compliance matters for the Medical Center. 

Dr. Levy is the inaugural recipient of the Ralph Prince Endowed Professorship in Medicine and is a past President of the New York State Chapter of the American Thoracic Society.  He was awarded the Arthur W. Bauman Award for Outstanding Teacher and was Alpha Omega Alpha.

Dr. Alan Sandler
Medical Oncologist
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Nashville, TN

Alan Sandler is an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee where he also serves as the Medical Director of the Thoracic Oncology Program and the Director of the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center Affiliate Network, a consortium of community-based oncologists participating in clinical trials. After earning a B.S. in Pharmacy (cum laude) at the University of Toledo in Ohio and an M.D. at Rush Medical College in Chicago, Dr. Sandler completed an internship and residency in Internal Medicine at Yale-New Haven Hospital and a Fellowship in Medical Oncology at the Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut. 

Dr. Sandler is a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, where he serves as Track Leader for the Lung Cancer Track of the Cancer Education Committee for 2005-2006, and the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group, where he serves as the Co-Chair of the Thoracic Committee.  He is also a principal investigator or co-principal investigator of several phase I, II, and III studies focusing on the activity of a variety of single and combination chemotherapeutic agents and/or combined-modality therapies in lung, esophageal, sarcoma, and refractory malignancies. 

Dr. Sandler serves on the Editorial Boards of Clinical Lung Cancer and the Japanese Journal of Clinical Oncology, and is a reviewer for several journals including the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Cancer Investigations, Cancer, the British Journal of Cancer, and European Respiratory Journal.  Dr. Sandler is the author or co-author of more than 150 published articles, book chapters, reviews, and abstracts involving the pharmacology and clinical activity of chemotherapy and novel non-chemotherapy agents, with a particular emphasis on lung cancer.

Tim Byers, MD, MPH
Professor of Preventive Medicine
University of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver, CO

Dr. Byers has held the position of Professor of Preventive Medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Denver, Colorado since 1995.  He is also the Deputy Director of the University of Colorado Comprehensive Cancer Center.  He was formerly Chief of the Chronic Disease Prevention Branch of the Nutrition Division at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.  Dr. Byers is an expert in cancer prevention research.  He has worked in various settings in clinical medicine, public health, and academic medicine.  He has a particular interest in epidemiologic studies of the role of early detection, diet, and nutrition in the prevention of cancer.  He has published over 250 papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals.  His current research at the University of Colorado School of Medicine includes epidemiologic and clinical studies of nutrients as protective factors in prostate, colon, breast, and lung cancer, studies of cancer treatment decision-making by patients and physicians, studies of cancer genetics, and studies to promote the early detection of cancers of the breast and colorectum.

Heather Saler
Lung Cancer Patient Panelist
 
Heather Saler is a 36-year-old wife and mother who was diagnosed with advanced stage Non-Small Cell Adenocarcenoma Lung Cancer in January of 2003 at the age of 33. As a lifelong non-smoker, she believed (as do most people) that she was not at risk for lung cancer, so the diagnoses was a shocking one. Ignoring the dismal statistics, Heather forged ahead with 6 months of aggressive treatment at University of Pennsylvania Hospital, including a combination of surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. Upon recovery, she stepped into the much needed role of lung cancer advocate -- increasing awareness and funding for this disease that kills more men and women annually than breast, colon, prostate and pancreatic cancers combined; yet has less funding and virtually no activism/awareness programs. In addition to speaking publicly to raise lung cancer awareness, Heather also coordinates an annual lung cancer walk in New Jersey, raising donations for the LUNGevity Foundation, a national non-profit organization dedicated exclusively to funding innovative lung cancer research grants.  For more information, visit www.lungcancerwalk.org.