New Frontiers in Enhancing Uptake and Efficiency of Lung Cancer Early Detection Programs

Phillip Levy, MD, MPH is the Edward S Thomas endowed Professor of Emergency Medicine at Wayne State University where he currently serves as Associate Vice President for Translational Sciences. Dr. Levy is also Director of the Wayne Health Mobile Unit Program, which he founded in April 2020. A fellow of multiple professional societies including the American College of Emergency Physicians, the American Heart Association, and the American College of Cardiology, Dr. Levy is a leading health equity researcher with a focus on cardiovascular disease risk reduction who has overseen more than 110 funded studies from various entities since his arrival at Wayne State in 2002 including current grant support from the NIH, CDC, and American Heart Association.

In addition to the delivery of acute and emergent care, Dr. Levy brings extensive expertise in deep community phenotyping using PHOENIX, an integrated, multidimensional virtual data warehouse he developed that includes embedded geospatial visualization and analytics. Leveraging PHOENIX, Dr. Levy has been at the forefront of design and execution of targeted intervention programs, including the Wayne Mobile Health Unit program and the Michigan Mobile Health Corps, both of which bring barrier free access to prevention care to at-risk communities with linkage to remote clinical and social support services using mobile engagement.

Cliffondra Brown is the Vice President of Customer Relations and Training for one of the largest outpatient diagnostic imaging providers in the United States. As a trained coach and motivator, she specializes in encouraging, inspiring, and challenging others to be their best selves. Her 32-year background in customer relations, service awareness, DEIB, leadership excellence, mentorship, growth and succession, and strategic planning makes her a versatile and experienced professional.

Dr. Claudia Henschke is a professor of Radiology and the Director of the Early Lung Cancer Action Program (ELCAP) at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. She is a pioneer and leading expert in diagnostic radiology with more than 25 years of clinical and research experience with low-dose CT screening; and she has led the implementation of numerous city, state, national, and international lung screening programs. She is the founder of I-ELCAP. Since the 1992 start of the Early Lung Cancer Action Project (ELCAP) Dr. Henschke has worked on advancing research of early lung and cardiac diseases, with a particular focus on lung cancer screening. Dr. Henschke has authored over 500 peer-reviewed publications, two books, many scientific presentations, and has trained more than 80 physician researchers. Prior to joining the faculty at Mount Sinai in 2010, she was a Professor of Radiology at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City after starting her radiology career at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

Dr. Neville Irani earned his Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is a board-certified radiologist with a Certificate of Added Qualification (CAQ) in Pediatric Radiology, following the completion of his fellowship at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Dr. Irani currently serves as a Research Associate Professor at the University of Kansas. He previously held the position of Vice Chair of Quality and Informatics until 2020, when he transitioned to launch the Healthcare Quality Improvement Platform—a public charity dedicated to enhancing patient experience and clinical outcomes.

He is the Chair of the Non-Interpretive Skills Committee for the American Board of Radiology, where he contributes to the development of certifying exam content. A recognized thought leader in lung cancer screening, Dr. Irani also serves as the physician leader of the National Lung Cancer Screening Collaborative through the American College of Radiology.

Mahreen Chowdhury is a third-year undergraduate student at the Georgia Institute of Technology, majoring in Biology with a minor in Health and Medical Sciences. As the National Director of the American Lung Cancer Screening Initiative and President of the Georgia Tech ALCSI Chapter, Mahreen has led state and campus-wide initiatives to promote awareness of early lung cancer detection. Her work included organizing high-impact collaborations with the Atlanta Hawks, Atlanta Motor Speedway/NASCAR, and the American Heart Association to engage communities in life-saving screening education and lung cancer prevention. With a background in clinical internships, community outreach, and research at Emory VA on diabetic retinopathy, Mahreen blends advocacy with a mission to improve healthcare through education, driven by a belief in the power of youth-led change. She aspires to pursue medicine and is passionate about expanding access to care and empowering the next generation of leaders in public health.

Cyndi brings nearly 20 years of clinical and leadership experience in health care, with over 12 years focused in Oncology. Most recently, she led the development of a comprehensive lung cancer screening and incidental nodule program at a leading outpatient oncology Center of Excellence. Her passion lies in transforming the landscape of lung cancer care across the full continuum. Cyndi joined the Excellence in Healthcare Delivery team at GO2 In January as the Clinical Director, Lung Cancer Initiatives and is excited to share her expertise and expand her impact on a national level.

After twenty-one years working in the medical field, Nicole Blaine fulfilled a lifelong dream that combines her passions for healthcare advocacy and social justice by creating Storyectomy*. Storyectomy* is a mental health initiative and storymaking program Blaine founded to foster healing through storytelling to anyone affected by cancer. Under Blaine’s 501c3 nonprofit, she is cultivating a community of survivors, thrivers, and caretakers who will find respite and relief in cathartic storytelling while raising awareness and funding for cancer research. 
*get your story out
https://www.comedyreflectsourworld.org/storyectomy

Marissa left a career as a postpartum/newborn nursery nurse to stay home and raise four children. She received the shock of her life when, at the age of 44, she was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer despite never having smoked a single cigarette. Fortunately, the tumor carried the ALK+ mutation, making her eligible for a new class of targeted molecular therapy medication. Not wanting to be completely dependent upon a pharmaceutical, Marissa undertook a lot of research into alternative healing modalities to create an overall survival plan, which incorporates mind, body and spirit. As of May 2025, she is ten years out from the initial diagnosis and her health is better than it was before. 2025 has been a year of celebration which has included being a guest on the Radical Remissions podcast, finally having her port removed, lobbying in DC with the American Lung Association, and making a pilgrimage to the Camino de Santiago. Marissa plans to receive her health coaching license through the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona, in order to guide others facing a challenging diagnosis. In the meantime, she advocates for early detection, all the while being living proof that anyone can put in the work to be able to thrive with lung cancer.

David Yankelevitz is a world-recognized expert on Fine Needle Aspirations (FNA biopsies) of the lung; performing over 14,000 FNA procedures, to date.

He is the Co-PI of the International Early Lung Cancer Action Program (I-ELCAP) – a lung cancer screening study which has enrolled over 100,000 people worldwide. And, he is the Co-PI of the Initiative for Early Lung Cancer Research on Treatment (IELCART).

As a researcher, Dr. Yankelevitz’s main interest is the diagnosis and treatment of early-diagnosed lung cancer which includes a focus on using CT lung scan results to support the diagnoses of cardiac, liver, breast, thyroid and bone diseases. Additionally, he is actively working to bring screening programs to low-income countries around the world, with a particular focus now on African, Central Asia and Middle Eastern countries. Currently, he is focused on AI CT scanning tools to improve and streamline the diagnosis of lung diseases; but also, in using the results of lung scans to support the diagnoses of cardiac, liver, breast, thyroid and bone diseases.

Dr. Yankelevitz has co-authored over 300 medical journal articles, 300 scientific abstracts; and has been granted 14 patents.