Healthcare
Conference

Tony Blair served as Prime Minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from 1997 to 2007, the only Labour leader in the party’s 100-year history to win three consecutive elections. During his time in Downing Street, Mr. Blair implemented a major domestic reform agenda. Through record investment and reform, the UK’s education and healthcare sectors were transformed. The New Labour Government led by Mr. Blair implemented the largest hospital and school building program since the creation of the UK’s welfare state. Overall crime was reduced by a third, and the first ever national minimum wage was introduced. There was also transformational progress on human rights and equality, all of which took place during a period of record economic growth and levels of employment. As Prime Minister, Mr. Blair was also a central figure on the global stage. He helped bring peace to Northern Ireland, securing the historic Good Friday Agreement in 1998. He was a passionate advocate of an interventionist foreign policy. He created the Department for International Development, tripled the UK’s foreign aid to Africa, and introduced landmark legislation to tackle climate change. Since leaving office Mr. Blair has spent most of his time working on three areas: supporting governments to deliver effectively for their people, working for peace in the Middle East and countering extremism. He established the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change to work on some of the most difficult challenges in the world today, believing that real leadership has never been more necessary or more difficult. Currently, teams from Mr. Blair’s institute are directly supporting leaders across the globe in their fight against COVID-19, delivering analysis and advice to help countries mitigate the economic impact, harness the power of technology and better position themselves for the rebuilding to come.

She contributes to the Biden-Harris Administration’s effort to improve health outcomes for the American people, including leading the effort to achieve the President’s goal of ending cancer as we know it. As CEO of I AM ALS from 2018-2021, Dr. Carnival provided strategic leadership and management for this patient-driven community that is reshaping public understanding of ALS, providing key resources to the community, and creating opportunities for patients to lead the fight against ALS and the drive for cures. Prior, Danielle was Vice President of the Biden Cancer Initiative. From 2010 to 2017, Dr. Carnival worked at White House on issues in the areas of health and biomedical policy, STEM education, and advancing equity in STEM fields, among others. She served as Chief of Staff for the White House Cancer Moonshot and was entrusted with leadership roles for the President and Vice President on some of their signature initiatives and events, including White House Science Fairs, College Opportunity Days of Action, and Computer Science for All and Diversity in STEM initiatives. Danielle earned her Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Georgetown University, and B.S. in Biochemistry from Boston College.

As ICER’s President & CEO, with nearly 25 years of experience in the business and policy of health care, Sarah leads the strategic operations of the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review – a leading non-profit health policy research organization. Sarah will advance to the role of President and Chief Executive Officer in January 2024. She joined ICER in 2009 as its first Chief Operating Officer and third employee, and has worked to grow the organization’s approach, scope, and impact over those 14 years. Prior to joining ICER, Sarah spent time as a communications consultant, with six years in the corporate communications and investor relations department at a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company, and several years with a health care communications firm. Sarah began her health care career in clinical research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. A graduate of the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University, Sarah holds a Master of Public Policy degree with a concentration in health policy. Sarah also received a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from Smith College. Sarah speaks frequently at national conferences on the topics of prescription drug pricing policy, comparative effectiveness research, and value-based health care. In her free time, Sarah enjoys skiing and hiking in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

Atul Grover, MD, PhD, FACP, FCCP is the inaugural Executive Director of the AAMC Research and Action Institute. The Institute brings together experts from the nation’s academic medical centers and other leaders in policy to tackle complex health policy issues, bring nonpartisan analysis to policy, and develop straightforward solutions to improve health. Dr. Grover leads the Institute’s novel approach to helping policy makers and the public understand, navigate, and improve American health care. Dr. Grover is an internal medicine physician, health services researcher, and nationally recognized expert in health policy. Dr. Grover joined the AAMC as associate director for the Center for Workforce Studies in 2005, where he managed research activity and directed externally funded workforce studies. He became a director of government relations and health care affairs in 2007, and served as the association’s chief public policy officer from 2011-2016. From 2016-2020 he served as executive vice president, providing strategic leadership in the areas of medical education, academic affairs, health care affairs, scientific affairs, learning and leadership programming, diversity and inclusion, public policy, and communications. Previously, Dr. Grover held positions in health care finance and applied economics consulting as well as in the U.S. Public Health Service, Health Resources and Service Administration National Center for Health Workforce Analysis. Dr. Grover earned his Doctor of Medicine degree from George Washington University (GWU) School of Medicine and his PhD in health and public policy from Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Grover holds faculty appointments at GWU School of Medicine, and JHU Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Dora Hughes, M.D., M.P.H., was named the Acting Chief Medical Officer and Acting Director of the Center for Clinical Standards and Quality (CCSQ) for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in July 2023. CCSQ is primarily responsible for executing all national clinical, quality, and safety standards for healthcare facilities and providers, as well as establishing coverage determinations for items and services that improve health outcomes for Medicare beneficiaries. Previously, Dr. Hughes served as Chief Medical Officer at the CMS Innovation Center. She led the Center’s work on health equity, advised on care delivery, payment and data collection strategies for the Center’s models and initiatives, and represented CMS on clinical and cross-agency working groups within HHS. Earlier in her career, Dr. Hughes served as the Counselor for Science & Public Health to Secretary Kathleen Sebelius at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. In this role, she helped with passage and early implementation of the Affordable Care Act and provided oversight and guidance on priority issues regarding public health and prevention; workforce and the safety net; food, drug and device regulatory matters; and biomedical research innovation. In addition to federal service, Dr. Hughes was an Associate Research Professor at the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University (GWU), where her work focused on the intersection of clinical and community health, health equity, healthcare delivery and teaching. She remains on faculty at GWU’s School of Medicine and Health Sciences. Dr. Hughes also has served as Senior Policy Advisor at Sidley Austin, where she advised on regulatory and legislative matters in the life science industry. Dr. Hughes began her career in health policy as Senior Program Officer at the Commonwealth Fund, and subsequently as Deputy Director for the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee under Senator Edward M. Kennedy. She then served as the Health Policy Advisor to former Senator Barack Obama. Dr. Hughes received a B.S. from Washington University, M.D. from Vanderbilt and M.P.H. from Harvard. She completed internal medicine residency at Brigham & Women’s Hospital.

Karen E. Knudsen, MBA PhD, is the CEO of both the American Cancer Society (ACS) and the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN). As an internationally recognized oncology leader, healthcare executive, and advocate, Dr. Knudsen guides both organizations toward the goal of improving the lives of cancer patients and their families. Under Dr. Knudsen, ACS adopted a tripartite strategy to improve lives, resting on the pillars of discovery, advocacy, and patient support. In the discovery (research) pillar, ACS is the largest non-profit funder of cancer research outside the US government, generating breakthroughs in cancer prevention, detection, and treatment that helped to reduce cancer mortality by 33% since 1991. The advocacy arm functions at the state and national level to provide access to these breakthroughs and end cancer disparities through legislation and policy change. Finally, ACS patient support teams work in 5,000 communities across the country to provide patient education, navigation, transportation, and lodging near cancer care. Combined, ACS touches more than 50 million lives each year, and leads the way in ending cancer as we know it, for everyone. Prior to joining ACS, Dr. Knudsen was the EVP of Oncology Services for Jefferson Health and director of the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, one of the elite National Cancer Institute’s NCI-Designated Cancer Centers in the US. Dr. Knudsen is well known for her practice-changing discoveries in prostate cancer, contributing to new, effective cancer treatments. In addition to leading ACS, Dr. Knudsen currently holds a number of thought leadership roles across the nation, serving on the board of advisors for the National Cancer Institute, and on 12 external advisory boards for NCI-Designated Cancer Centers. She is an active member of several committees with the American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO), in addition to serving on other academic and for-profit advisory boards.

Dan Mendelson is the Chief Executive Officer of Morgan Health at JPMorgan Chase & Co. Mendelson oversees a business unit at JPMorgan Chase focused on accelerating the delivery of new care models that improve the quality, equity and affordability of employer-sponsored healthcare. Mendelson was previously Founder and CEO of Avalere Health, a healthcare advisory company based in Washington DC. He also served as Operating Partner at Welsh Carson, a private equity firm. Before founding Avalere, Mendelson served as associate director for Health at the Office of Management and Budget in the Clinton White House. Mendelson currently serves on the boards of Vera Whole Health and Champions Oncology (CSBR). He is also an adjunct professor at the Georgetown University McDonough School of Business. He previously served on the boards of Coventry Healthcare, HMS Holdings, Pharmerica, Partners in Primary Care, Centrexion, and Audacious Inquiry. Mendelson holds a Bachelor of Arts (BA) from Oberlin College, and a Master of Public Policy (MPP) from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Diana Thiara, MD, is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine within the Division of General Internal Medicine at UCSF (08/2020 - Present). She works in primary care and also is the Medical Director of UCSF's Medical Weight Management Clinic (08/2020 - Present). Her academic interests are focused on developing patient programs for weight management and wellness. She also has created multiple culinary medicine programs within DGIM for patients and is working to expand programming throughout UCSF. Dr. Thiara is board certified in Internal Medicine and is also a Diplomat of the American Board of Obesity Medicine. Dr. Thiara received her bachelor's degree in Political Science from Yale University and her medical degree from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. She completed Internal Medicine Residency and fellowship at UCSF. Dr. Thiara is an expert in Obesity Medicine. She has been interviewed by several national news agencies, including the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, the Washington Post, and Vox, to discuss treatment for obesity, including medications. She has served as a KOL on Obesity Medicine related topics.