Our People
The Institute is shaped by scientific leaders in cancer medicine committed to transforming how breast cancer in young women is understood and prevented.
Bringing together expertise in biology, oncology, translational medicine, and research leadership, our team investigates the earliest biological changes that influence risk and disease trajectory. Guided by a clear scientific vision, the Institute’s leadership team provides long-term stewardship—keeping the research focused on upstream biology, human-centered discovery, and meaningful impact.
Founding Leadership
Stewards of the Scientific Direction.
Founding Institute Scientific Director
Rakesh Kumar, PhD
Founder and CEO of the Breast Cancer in Young Women Foundation. A cancer biologist with more than four decades of innovative research and academic leadership at Memorial Sloan Kettering, MD Anderson, and leading institutes in the U.S. and India.
Read biographyClinical Director
Luis Costa, MD, PhD
Internationally recognized medical oncologist and translational cancer researcher. Chair of Oncology at Hospital de Santa Maria and Professor of Medicine at the University of Lisbon, with major contributions to metastatic cancer biology and bone metastases.
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Executive Committee
Site Directors and Investigators Anchoring the Institute Across Regions.
Carlos García-Cantu, MD, FACS
Director, YWBCRI–DHR Health
Chief, Department of Surgery; Chairman, DHR Health NAPBC Breast Center of Excellence
- DHR Health, Edinburg, Texas, USA
Luis Costa, MD, PhD
Director, YWBCRI–FMUL
Chair of Oncology at Hospital de Santa Maria and Professor of Medicine
- Faculty of Medicine at the University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal
Ashok Vaid, MD, DM
Director, YWBCRI–Medanta
Chairman, Medanta Cancer Institute
- Medanta, The Medicity, Gurugram, India
Masakazu Toi, MD, PhD
Director, YWBCRI–KUHP
Director, Tokyo Metropolitan Cancer and Infectious Disease Center
- Komagome Hospital, Tokyo, Japan
Marie Jeanne Vrancken Peeters, MD, PhD
Professor, Netherlands Cancer Institute / Antoni van Leeuwenhoek
- Amsterdam University Medical Center, The Netherlands
Keshav K. Singh, PhD
Professor and Joy and Bill Harbert Endowed Chair in Cancer Genetics
- University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA
Proposed
Scientific Advisors
Senior Scientific Leaders across Cancer Biology, Mitochondrial Medicine, and Translational Oncology.
Paul B. Fisher, MPh, PhD, FNAI
Director, VCU Institute of Molecular Medicine; Professor, Department of Cellular, Molecular and Genetic Medicine; Thelma Newmeyer Corman Endowed Chair in Cancer Research
- VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, Richmond, Virginia, USA
- Professor Emeritus, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
Nirmal Kumar Ganguly, MBBS, MS, FRCP (London)
Professor and Chairman, Department of Biotechnology and Research
- Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi, India
- Emeritus Professor, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India
- Former Director General — Indian Council of Medical Research, Govt. of India
K. S. Gopinath, MBBS, MS, FRCS (Ed.)
Professor and Director, R. L. Jalappa Institute of Oncology, Kolar, India; Promoter & Director
- HCG Hospital and Bangalore Institute of Oncology, Bangalore, India
- Professor of Surgery & Oncology, Sri Devaraj Urs Medical College, Kolar, India.
Robert Clarke, PhD, DSc, FRS Chem, FRS Biol, FRSMed (UK)
Executive Director, The Hormel Institute; I. J. Holton Chair in Cancer Research
Professor, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology & Biophysics
- University of Minnesota, USA
Michael Gnant, MD, FACS, FEBS
Professor of Surgery, Comprehensive Cancer Center; President, Austrian Breast & Colorectal Cancer Study Group
- Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
Miguel Martin, MD, PhD
Emeritus Professor of Medicine
- Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain
Keshav K. Singh, PhD
Professor and Joy and Bill Harbert Endowed Chair in Cancer Genetics
- University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA
Proposed
Distinguished Faculty Scientist
Scholars Shaping the Institute’s Long-term Scientific Identity.
Carlos García-Cantu, MD, FACS
Chief, Department of Surgery; Chairman, DHR Health NAPBC Breast Center of Excellence
- DHR Health, Edinburg, Texas, USA
Robert Clarke, PhD, DSc, FRS Chem, FRS Biol, FRSMed (UK)
Executive Director, The Hormel Institute; I. J. Holton Chair in Cancer Research
Professor, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology & Biophysics
- University of Minnesota, USA
Paul B. Fisher, MPh, PhD, FNAI
Director, VCU Institute of Molecular Medicine; Professor, Department of Cellular, Molecular and Genetic Medicine; Thelma Newmeyer Corman Endowed Chair in Cancer Research
- VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, Richmond, Virginia, USA
- Professor Emeritus, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
Keshav K. Singh, PhD
Professor and Joy and Bill Harbert Endowed Chair in Cancer Genetics
- University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA
Proposed
International Distinguished Faculty Scientist
Global Expertise Extending the Institute’s Scientific Reach.
Michael Gnant, MD, FACS, FEBS
Professor of Surgery, Comprehensive Cancer Center; President, Austrian Breast & Colorectal Cancer Study Group
- Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
Marie Jeanne Vrancken Peeters, MD, PhD
Professor, Breast Cancer Surgeon
- Netherlands Cancer Institute / Antoni van Leeuwenhoek
- Amsterdam University Medical Center, The Netherlands
Masakazu Toi, MD, PhD
Director, Tokyo Metropolitan Cancer and Infectious Disease Center
Emeritus Professorship at the Faculty of Medicine, Kyoto University
- Komagome Hospital, Tokyo, Japan
Miguel Martin, MD, PhD
Emeritus Professor of Medicine
- Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain
Luis Costa, MD, PhD
Professor and Chair, Department of Medical Oncology, ULS Santa Maria
- Lisbon School of Medicine
- Gulbenkian Institute of Molecular Medicine, Lisbon, Portugal
Ashok Vaid, MD, DM
Chairman, Medanta Cancer Institute
- Medanta — The Medicity, India
Sunil Saini, MBBS, MS
Director, Cancer Care and Research Centre; Professor & Head, Department of Surgical Oncology
- Swami Rama Himalayan University, Dehradun, India
Marina Elena Cazzaniga, MD
Associate Professor of Oncology
- Milano Bicocca School of Medicine and Surgery, Italy
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