Susie Lifen Cao is an MD PhD graduate. With bench work training at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center as a visiting PhD student, Lifen mastered cell culture, western blot, and fat pad implantation in breast cancer animal model building. She was one of the key contributors to the international patent series "Tumor-selective combination therapy" as an inventor.

Lifen later joined University Hospitals as a research fellow under the mentorship of Dr. Montero, Dr. Towe, and other mentors. With Dr. Towe's training, she quickly learned propensity matching and grasped sophisticated statistical analysis skills, enabling her to translate research ideas into publications rapidly — a formative experience she has valued ever since. Together they produced multiple high-impact publications in journals including Cancer, the Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), and the Journal of Surgical Research. Their work was presented at NCCN, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, and several other national academic conferences.

Lifen was the recipient of the 2022 Conquer Cancer Merit Award from the ASCO Foundation and the 2022 Top Abstract Awardee at NCCN. She subsequently moved to industry as a Clinical Research Associate (CRA), and that clinical trial monitoring experience brought her back to University Hospitals, where she now works as a Quality Assurance Specialist auditing and monitoring clinical trials.

Dr. Christina S. Boutros, DO, is a General Surgery / Cardiothoracic Surgery (4+3) trainee at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center / Case Western Reserve University. She completed a dedicated research fellowship through the UH RISES program under the mentorship of Dr. Christopher W. Towe, where she developed a strong foundation in outcomes-based thoracic surgery research, health services research, and clinical trial design.

Her research focuses on thoracic surgical oncology outcomes, perioperative risk stratification, health equity, and the integration of wearable technology to assess functional recovery and quality of life after surgery. Dr. Boutros has led and collaborated on multiple projects using large national datasets, including the National Cancer Database (NCDB), Society of Thoracic Surgeons General Thoracic Surgery Database (STS GTSD), and CMS data, as well as prospective institutional studies evaluating physical activity and recovery trajectories using wearable devices. Her work has resulted in numerous peer-reviewed publications, invited editorials, national presentations, and textbook chapters.

Dr. Boutros is actively involved in national surgical societies and academic leadership, with a strong commitment to mentorship, education, and advancing data-driven, patient-centered care in thoracic surgery. She plans to pursue a career in academic thoracic surgery with a focus on outcomes research and innovation in perioperative care.