CRAB Leadership

CRAB's Management Team and Board of Directors

Management Team

The Officers of Cancer Research And Biostatistics bring a myriad of skills and talents honed through years of experience in cancer research, clinical trials, and product development. Our leadership team has experience working with publicly funded clinical trial consortia such as SWOG Cancer Research Network as well as working with universities, research institutes, pharmaceutical partners, and biotech companies. This team oversees the day to day leadership and operations of CRAB, and works closely with the clinicians seeing patients.

photo of CEO, Antje Hoering

Antje Hoering, PH.D.
President, Chief Executive Officer

Dr. Antje Hoering is President, Chair and CEO of Cancer Research And Biostatistics (CRAB). She leads a group of approximately eighty talented and dedicated oncology research professionals all working towards our joint mission to help conquer cancer.

Dr. Hoering serves as the Consortium PI for the SWOG Computing and Data Management and the public-private LUNGMAP partnership. She is the lead statistician for the SWOG Myeloma Committee and an active member of the Myeloma Steering Committee for the National Clinical Trials Network. She is also an associate editor of the Statistics in Biopharmaceutical Research journal and co-editor of the third edition of the Handbook of Statistics in Clinical Oncology. She currently serves as the Independent Analysis Center PI for a Friends of Cancer Research sponsored collaboration (ctMoniTR) with leaders across multiple healthcare sectors and disciplines to investigate circulating tumor DNA as a potential monitoring tool to evaluate a patient’s response to treatment.

Antje holds affiliate appointments at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the Biostatistics Department of the University of Washington. Antje received a PhD in Physics from the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics in Heidelberg, Germany, a MS in Physics from the Oregon State University and a BS in Physics from the University of Tuebingen, Germany.

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Damien Mar Chong, M.B.A.
Vice President, Chief Financial Officer

Chief Financial Officer, Damien Mar Chong is responsible for the fiscal direction of CRAB and provides leadership in developing and executing strategies in support of overall business and strategic plans.

Mr. Mar Chong leads CRAB’s Finance, Human Resources, and Compliance, Quality Assurance Departments, Business Development and Administrative Services. He oversees the strategies, policies and procedures of each department assuring adherence to specific regulations including Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), Uniform Guidance; Human Resources practices, policies and procedures assuring adherence to Federal, State and Local employment laws and guidelines; and oversees regulations governing the activities at CRAB, including Good Clinical Practices, 21CFR Part 11, Protection of Human Subjects, Professional Conduct (Conflict of Interest, Fraud) and regulations specific to our collaborators such as best practices related to HIPAA.

Mr. Mar Chong comes to CRAB with over 20 years of experience in leadership, finance, business operations, and government contracting and compliance developed from his time at a subsidiary of SAIC – Optimized Systems and Solutions - through to his most recent tenure at Lumetra Healthcare Solutions. Most recently, Mr. Mar Chong was the Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Operations at Lumetra Healthcare Solutions where he led Finance, Human Resources and Information Technology; implemented operational plans and budgets; and monitored financial metrics and key indicators to achieve financial and program objectives.

Mr. Mar Chong holds an MBA from the University of California at Davis Graduate School of Management and earned his Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Hawaii at M-anoa.

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Chris Cook, M.A.
Vice President, Chief Technology Officer

Chris Cook, Chief Technology Officer, leads the Applications Development and Information Technology departments in the development of cutting-edge data capture solutions and the support of technology services that ensure the availability and protection of clinical trial data.

Mr. Cook joined CRAB in November 2005 and has served as CTO since September 2022. Mr. Cook has more than 20 years of experience in database design, software development, and systems management. His expertise in software development and technology is honed from his 17+ previous years at CRAB where he was previously a Systems Analyst, Application Development Manager, and the Director of the Applications Development. Additionally, Mr. Cook has previous experience as a Technology Systems Specialist and Programmer at Cal Poly Humboldt and as a Webmaster for several other organizations.

Mr. Cook holds an M.A. in Academic Research Psychology from Cal Poly Humboldt where he also earned his B.S. in Computer Information Systems and Psychology. His research interests include EDC database design, artificial intelligence, data integration with disparate sources, and developing interfaces to improve human interaction with technology.

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Board of Directors

CRAB has assembled a key group of leaders with experience in the fields of medicine, non-profit operations, law, finances and statistics. Our board members provide oversight and oversee the organization's activities, operations and finances.

photo of CEO, Antje Hoering

Antje Hoering, Ph.D.
Board Chair, President & CEO
Cancer Research And Biostatistics

Dr. Antje Hoering is President, Chair and CEO of Cancer Research And Biostatistics (CRAB). She leads a group of approximately eighty talented and dedicated oncology research professionals all working towards our joint mission to help conquer cancer.

Dr. Hoering serves as the Consortium PI for the SWOG Computing and Data Management and the public-private LUNGMAP partnership. She is the lead statistician for the SWOG Myeloma Committee and an active member of the Myeloma Steering Committee for the National Clinical Trials Network. She is also an associate editor of the Statistics in Biopharmaceutical Research journal and co-editor of the third edition of the Handbook of Statistics in Clinical Oncology. She currently serves as the Independent Analysis Center PI for a Friends of Cancer Research sponsored collaboration (ctMoniTR) with leaders across multiple healthcare sectors and disciplines to investigate circulating tumor DNA as a potential monitoring tool to evaluate a patient’s response to treatment.

Antje holds affiliate appointments at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the Biostatistics Department of the University of Washington. Antje received a PhD in Physics from the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics in Heidelberg, Germany, a MS in Physics from the Oregon State University and a BS in Physics from the University of Tuebingen, Germany.

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John J. Crowley, Ph.D.
Chief of Strategic Alliances
Cancer Research And Biostatistics

Since founding CRAB in 1997, Dr. Crowley has served as a sitting member of, and has chaired, the Board of Directors. Dr. Crowley oversees all science conducted at CRAB as well as all research procedures and operations. John was conferred an M.S. and Ph.D. in Biomathematics from the University of Washington and has devoted his career to applying statistics to cancer research.

Please see more information in his biography.

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Arthur Ross, B.S.
Director of Technology
Technology Access Foundation

Arthur Ross has had an exciting and diverse career journey, starting as an electrical engineer with Xerox, where he designed digital control consoles for copiers during a time when computer chips were not yet developed. This early experience paved the way for his later endeavors. He transitioned to owning and operating his own IT international consulting firm, which spanned 26 years and operated in the United States and internationally. During this period, he specialized in providing crucial support to the banking and oil & gas sectors, helping with mergers and acquisitions, technology upgrades, software implementations, and the establishment of foreign banks within the United States.

Following his successful consulting career, he spent 16 years at JPMorgan Chase, occupying various IT c-suite roles. This experience further enriched his understanding of technology management and strategic leadership. His most recent venture led him to Technology Access Foundation (TAF), a nonprofit STEM educational organization based in Seattle. Since June 2020, he has been actively engaged in equity work to bring technology to marginalized and Black students and overseeing IT support teams, delivering strategic insights regarding technology requirements, and facilitating automating processes using SaaS solutions. His responsibilities encompass budget management, IT strategy, project oversight, vendor coordination, and more.

Beyond his IT and engineering professional pursuits, his enthusiasm for photography and aviation shines through his ownership of Higher Up Photography LLC, a venture he established in December 2012. He has been holding a private pilots since 1976, underscoring his enduring passion for flying. Through Higher Up Photography LLC, he offers aerial cinematography and photography services that cater to diverse needs such as real estate, tower inspections, and other visual communication requirements. This pursuit has proven valuable in advertising and information dissemination. Notably, his expertise extends into the realm of real estate, where his photography skills find additional application as a licensed realtor.

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David Gray, Ph.D., M.B.A.
Consultant
Oncology Research & Development

David Gray is a consultant who works with companies and organizations pursuing oncology research and drug development from translation through regulatory approval and marketing. He has been involved in clinical drug development in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries for over twenty-five years and feels fortunate to have participated in the development of several life changing therapies including a targeted antibody drug conjugate for Hodgkin and T-cell lymphomas. In addition to serving on the Board of Directors of CRAB he also serves on the Board of GRACE, Global Resource for Advancing Cancer Education. He has an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a PhD in Statistics from the University of Kentucky.

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Frank X. Curci, J.D.
Attorney at Law
Buchalter Ater Wynne

Frank X. Curci is an intellectual property and technology attorney and a shareholder at Buchalter Ater Wynne. Frank represents clients regarding their intellectual property, research and technology matters, including patent/technology licensing, technology collaborations, research issues, technology transfers, and the overall development, protection, commercialization, and use of intellectual property rights.

Mr. Curci’s clients include bioscience and high-technology companies, research universities, other bioscience research institutions, and technology accelerator entities. Frank is active with bioscience and high tech industry associations, including the Oregon Bioscience Association and, previously, the Arizona BioIndustry Association. For several years he has been an Adjunct Professor of Law teaching intellectual property law courses at Oregon, California and Arizona law schools and currently teaches at Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland, OR.

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Gary Goodman

Gary Goodman, M.D.
Swedish Hospital Tumor Institute
Fred Hutch

The interests of Dr. Goodman dovetail uniquely with those of CRAB. He is an oncologist at Swedish Hospital in Seattle and also holds a joint membership with the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. He has held prominent positions in SWOG, the most pertinent to CRAB is his Chairmanship of the Chemoprevention Committee. He was the Principal Investigator (PI) of the Carotene and Retinol Efficacy Trial (CARET) and Principal Investigator at Swedish for SWOG’s Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial (SELECT).

Dr. Goodman has been an advisor to the SWOG H Pylori Project in South and Central America. The latter two, massive projects have both been coordinated by the Statistical Center of SWOG at CRAB.

Dr. Goodman has been a long-time supporter of CRAB, serving on its IRB for 10 years.

Dr. Goodman received his M.D. and M.S. in Pharmacology from the University of Illinois in 1974.

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Jonathan Sham, M.D., M.B.E.E.
Physician, Fred Hutch, Assistant Professor of Surgery, UW School of Medicine, Attending Surgeon, UW Medicine, Affiliate Professor, Clinical Research Division, Fred Hutch

Jonathan Sham, MD, MBEE is a surgical oncologist at the University of Washington and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center. His clinical expertise is in benign and malignant diseases of the liver, bile ducts, and pancreas. Dr. Sham’s research focus is on improving outcomes after surgery for pancreas cancer and is funded in work involving biotechnology development and national clinical trials. He is an active member of SWOG, receiving the 2022 Charles A. Coltman Award, and national study chair of S2408, a multicenter randomized trial evaluating lanreotide for the prevention of postoperative pancreatic fistula.

After majoring in biochemistry and philosophy at Brandeis University, he attended medical school at the University of Pennsylvania and surgical residency at the University of Washington. He then pursued dual fellowship training in both Complex Surgical Oncology and Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery at Johns Hopkins, where he also earned a Masters degree in Biotechnology Enterprise & Entrepreneurship. Dr. Sham is the Washington State Chair for the Commission on Cancer, President of the Harkins Surgical Society, and serves on committees for the Americas Hepatopancreatobiliary Association, Society for Surgical Oncology, and the State of Washington. He brings a unique clinical, research, and business development perspective to the CRAB board.

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Melissa Alvendia, DR.PH., M.S.
Director of Programs & Strategy, Fred Hutch
Director of Program Operations, Public Health Sciences, Fred Hutch

Melissa Alvendia is the Director of Programs & Strategy of the Translational Data Science Integrated Research Center and Computational Biology Program at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center. Her work focuses on fostering collaborations, promoting innovation directly related to the growth of the data science community and ensuring that data science is fundamentally integrated across labs at Fred Hutch. Melissa has spent the past 20+ years involved in the administration and operations of numerous healthcare and research programs across Seattle; the past 15 of which have been at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center. During this time, she has developed extensive experience in strategic planning, program operations, program development, and research administration. She is currently pursuing a DrPH at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Health Policy and Management and aims to continue her career in examining patient-centered outcomes and applying performance measurement and improvement tools to improve public health programs and care delivery.

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Michael LeBlanc, Ph.D.
PhD Group Statistician
Fred Hutch

Dr. LeBlanc is a full member of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, a Research Professor of Biostatistics at the University of Washington and both the current Group Statistician and Principal Investigator of the SWOG Statistics and Data Management Center Grant (U10 CA180819). He brings extensive experience in the design and analysis of clinical trials and also a significant personal research record both in clinical trials and adaptive regression methods relevant to the analysis of clinical trials and cohort data.

Dr. LeBlanc’s collaborative research focuses on statistical activities related to Phase II and Phase III clinical trials. His research interests include the design and analysis of clinical trials, methods for exploratory analysis of survival data and adaptive non-parametric regression. Most of his collaborative research focuses on the design, analysis and conduct of therapeutic clinical trials. Dr. LeBlanc was named a 2019 Fellow of the American Statistical Association. He holds a PhD from the University of Washington and a Masters in Mathematics from the University of Waterloo.

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Patrick Heagerty, Ph.D.
Biostatistics Professor
University of Washington,
School of Public Health

Dr. Heagerty is Professor and Chair of the Department of Biostatistics at the University of Washington, and Gilbert S. Omenn Endowed Chair in Biostatistics. He received a PhD from the Johns Hopkins University, and a BS from Cornell University. He has extensive experience as an educator, independent and collaborative scientist, and administrator.

Dr. Heagerty has developed fundamental methods for longitudinal studies with a focus on prognostic model evaluation and structural longitudinal models, and he has detailed methods for the design, analysis, and interpretation of cluster-randomized trials conducted within health care delivery systems. Dr. Heagerty has co-authored two leading textbooks (Analysis of Longitudinal Data, Oxford 2002; Biostatistics: A Methodology for the Health Sciences, Wiley 2004).

Dr. Heagerty is an elected Fellow of the American Statistical Association, and has twice been honored by professional societies for specific research contributions (in 2000 as the Snedecor Award winner; and in 2005 by the International Biometrics Society for the best paper published in the society’s flagship journal, Biometrics). Dr. Heagerty directs the Center for Biomedical Statistics (CBS), a core partially funded by the NIH Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) with responsibility for coordination of biostatistical collaboration in Seattle and the greater Northwest region (Wyoming, Alaska, Idaho, Montana). The CBS houses the data coordinating centers for several U01 and R01 funded projects including GARNET (Genomics and Randomized Trials), BOLD (Backpain Outcomes using Longitudinal Data), UH3 funded pragmatic trials including LIRE (Lumbar Imaging Reporting with Epidemiology), and PCORI funded trials. The CBS has previously conducted high-impact multi-site randomized trials including INVEST (Investigational Vertebroplasty Safety and Efficacy Trial, NEJM 2009), the Carpal Tunnel Surgical Trial (Lancet 2009), and LESS (Lumbar Epidural Steroid Injections for Spinal Stenosis, NEJM 2014).

Dr. Heagerty is also a licensed teacher (NY State: Mathematics, Biology, and Chemistry) and has taught from middle school to graduate school (UW SPH Outstanding Teacher Award, 2009).

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Roderic Davis, M.B.A.
Relationship Manager, Loan Officer
The Commerce Bank of WA

Roderic Davis is a Relationship Manager and Loan Officer at the Commerce Bank of Washington in Seattle. He works with a wide variety of clients including businesses, commercial real estate owners and private banking clients. Roderic has been in the financial services industry for over twenty-three years; the past 12 at Commerce Bank and the prior 11+ at Bank of Scotland. His financial interest was piqued while earning his BA in Economics at the University of Washington and then continued while earning his MBA at Loyola University of Chicago. After completing university he went on to complete the Chartered Financial Analyst program and earned the CFA designation. The combination of his propensity to “do the math" and analyze numbers combined with several instances of loved ones having cancer have led to his interest in serving & supporting CRAB.

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Steve Snapinn

Steve Snapinn, Ph.D.
Independent Consultant

Steven Snapinn has had a long career as a biostatistician in the pharmaceutical industry, including 20 years at Merck in Pennsylvania and 15 years leading the biostatistics organization at Amgen in Thousand Oaks, California. He is currently an independent consultant at Seattle-Quilcene Biostatistics LLC and living in Seattle. During his career he led the biostatistical efforts for more than a dozen successful pharmaceutical products in multiple therapeutic area. He has over 100 publications in the statistical and medical literature, has been honored fellow of the American Statistical Association, and has served as editor of the journal Statistics in Biopharmaceutical Research.

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Tim Cummins
Managing Partner & Chief Investment Officer
Sonata Capital Group

Tim Cummins founded Sonata Capital Group in Seattle in 2000. He is the Chief Investment Officer focusing on investment solutions for individuals, smaller endowments and multi-generational trust & estate management. Tim has been in the financial services industry for over thirty years, with previous experience as an equity trader for Westpac PLC in New York, Portfolio Manager for Key Bank & lead manager for Rigel Capital Management’s growth and technology funds. His first passion was studying history for 4 years before discovering his analytical & research skills & ability to (think in) numbers working as an equity trader for Westpac Bank PLC in New York. After obtaining his financial accreditations in New York, he earned his BA in Finance from Seattle Pacific University. His enjoyment, especially analyzing Biotech Companies as well as a respect for science and statistics give him a particular interest in serving & supporting CRAB.

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