Dr. Ruben A. Mesa leads Atrium Health’s mission and programs against cancer as president, Atrium Health Levine Cancer; executive director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI)- designated Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center; vice dean for cancer programs and professor of medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine; and senior vice president for Atrium Health. In these roles, Mesa oversees all efforts related to cancer practice, research and education across the Atrium Health system. Mesa previously was the executive director of the NCI-designated Mays Cancer Center at UT Health San Antonio MD Anderson from 2017-2023 where he developed and grew the cancer service line, co-led the development and construction of a new cancer focused hospital, grew cancer faculty, peer reviewed funded research and successful renewed the NCI designation in 2020. Earlier in his career Mesa practiced hematology at Mayo Clinic (in Minn. from 2002-2009 and Ariz. from 2009- 2017) where he was chair of Hematology & Medical Oncology and deputy director of the Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Mesa is an international expert in hematologic cancers, who has dedicated his life’s work to research and drug development for myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), a group of chronic leukemias that can cause difficult symptoms, bone marrow problems, acute leukemia and premature death. He has been involved in MPN research for more than 20 years. Mesa’s research focuses on MPN biology, novel therapeutics and over 100 phase I-III clinical trials, symptom assessment tools (led the development of the globally utilized MPN Symptom Assessment Form and Myelofibrosis Symptom Assessment Form) and non-pharmacological interventions to alleviate MPN symptoms. He has over 800-lifetime medical publications, with more than 400 peer- reviewed manuscripts, 15 book chapters and two edited books. He is a frequently invited speaker on MPNs with over 600 such lectures and visiting professorships, nationally and internationally. Mesa has led or co-led the development of six drugs that have been FDA approved for myeloproliferative neoplasms including ruxolitinib (myelofibrosis 2011 and polycythemia vera in 2014), fedratinib (myelofibrosis 2019), ropegylated interferon a2b (PV 2021), avapritinib (systemic mastocytosis 2021), pacritinib (myelofibrosis 2022) and momelotinib pending approval (anticipated 2023). Mesa was the inaugural panel chair of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network’s (NCCN) guideline panel for the first U.S. guidelines for MPNS (myelofibrosis, polycythemia vera and essential thrombocythemia).

Mesa is an NCI-funded investigator on several projects in myeloproliferative neoplasms and has been appointed to the NCI Clinical Trial Advisory Committee. He plays a range of leadership roles with the American Society of Hematology (ASH) and the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) and is currently elected to the Board of the American Association of Cancer Institutes (AACI) and is an executive officer of the board for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Mesa has won many career awards for his research from Mayo Clinic, from patient and MPN organizations.

In addition to Mesa’s extensive MPN research and clinical practice, he is passionate about advancing cancer health equity and increasing minority patients’ participation in cancer clinical trials. He helped implement a mandate that each new trial at the Mays Cancer Center had a Minority Accrual Plan. He is involved in numerous national initiatives to increase clinical trial diversity, including being a member of the Genentech Health Disparities Task Force, Bristol Myers Squibb Health Disparities Task Force and the Janssen Health Disparities Task Force. In March2022, he testified on the importance of clinical trial diversity before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. Mesa also co-led the Mays Cancer Center’s biennial Advancing the Science of Cancer in Latinos Conference held in San Antonio.

Defeating cancer is a team sport, I am so delighted that our Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center team is able to leverage our role as the largest provider of cancer care in the Southeast USA to the important shared efforts of the WIN Consortium.