Diagnosed with essential thrombocythemia (ET) in 2014, Rebecca has taken a special interest in myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN) education and awareness. She is currently an Oncology Nurse Educator for RxCrossroads/Merck. In her previous roles at The University of Kansas Cancer Center, she was able to provide education and support to MPN patients, caregivers, and nurses, providing hands-on care to these patients. Rebecca was recognized for her dedication to that education and support in 2015 with an MPN Heroes Award. Most recently she was a resource for an article that ran in Oncology Nursing News, "Diagnosing and Treating Myeloproliferative Neoplasms." As of 2017, Becca Claassen is an Oncology Clinical Nurse Educator at Incyte.

Emily is an ET patient, blogger, and patient advocate. She was diagnosed with ET at the age of 18. She has chronicled her treatments in her blog, linampn.com, with her motto, "You are your own best advocate. If you don't stand up for yourself, who will?" She is constantly encouraging patients to learn as much as they can about their diagnosis, and to participate as fully as possible in their healthcare teams.

Over the last several years, Emily has participated in several events promoting education, awareness, and funding for the MPN community. Some of these events include: One Voice Against Cancer in Washington, DC, during which she spoke to Congressional representatives, Patient Power's Living Well With MPNs series, the National Organization for Rare Disorders MPN Spotlight event, and the Women and MPNs event put on by the MPN Advocacy and Education International group. She also volunteers as a mentor with Imerman Angels.

Emily lives in St. Louis, MO with her muses: her husband Michael, AKA "M", and their two dogs.

Dr. Susan Leclair is chancellor professor emerita at University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. She has been a lab professional for more than 40 years and her clinical interests include clinical hematology and oncology, human genetics, and bioethics. Dr. Leclair currently moderates Patient Power^® Town Hall meetings for the CLL, MPN, Lung Cancer, and Melanoma communities. In addition, she is writer and presenter for Patient Power’s Improving Understanding of Patients and Their Laboratory Tests program.

Dr. Leclair is also third term Editor-in-Chief for the journal Clinical Laboratory Science. In 1999, Dr. Leclair created the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science Consumer Information Response team, which now consists of approximately 50 clinical laboratory scientists across the major disciplines and from multiple professional organizations. The team handles questions from patients, healthcare practitioners, and caregivers around the world about how to interpret their laboratory test findings. She has provided similar services to people on the ACOR.org MPN-net, CLL, and CLL/SLL list serves since 1994.

Dr. Ross Levine is a physician-scientist focused on researching and treating blood and bone marrow cancers, including acute myeloid leukemia and the chronic myeloproliferative neoplasms polycythemia vera, essential thrombocythemia, and primary myelofibrosis.

Caring for leukemia patients during his residency and fellowship inspired Dr. Levine’s interest in the disease. He saw that while treatments could be quite effective the first go-round, many leukemia patients often relapse. That got him thinking about how he could better understand why leukemia develops and how the community could create new, targeted treatments to improve patient outcomes.

When Dr. Levine is not running his research lab, he treats people with leukemia on an inpatient basis. He does approximately 30 procedures a year, most of which are bone marrow biopsies.

Dr. Levine acknowledges that many patients feel overwhelmed when they are first diagnosed, so he feels it is his responsibility to give them the information they need and to show them that a whole team of experts is available to help them through the process. His hope is that upon meeting him and his team, patients leave feeling empowered and hopeful.

Outside of work, Dr. Levine enjoys spending time with his family, playing tennis and squash, and rooting for the New York Mets!

*As a member of the judging panel, Dr. Levine agreed to remove himself from voting for any recognition where his own work, institution, or relatives were nominated.

Marina Peed transferred her career skills in community revitalization to her own physical revitalization when she unknowingly joined the MPN club in 2007. Thanks to an unrelated stem cell donor and numerous blood and platelet donors, Marina is in complete remission from post–polycythemia vera myelofibrosis.

Marina remains active in the MPN community to share hope, humor, and advocacy for the whole patient. She is the administrator of MPNsupport.com, a website of patient-curated resources for people living with MPNs. Marina is also a founder of the MPN Action Network, and a contributing writer to MPNforum, MPN Advocacy & Education International, and other outlets. To help newly diagnosed patients find invaluable patient support resources, Marina is an MPN and SCT patient support volunteer with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Be the Match, Imerman Angels, and the Bone Marrow Foundation.

Marina lives in her empty nest in Georgia with her husband, Robert, and Toula, her therapy rescue-dog. She is grateful to be here, and follows the adventures of her two college kids and abundance of nieces and nephews.

Diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in 1986, Kathy LaTour had a mastectomy and chemotherapy and has been active in the national survivor community ever since, speaking to survivor, medical, and lay audiences about the need for psychosocial support. Ms. LaTour experienced a second diagnosis of breast cancer resulting in a second mastectomy in fall 2007. Her book, The Breast Cancer Companion, was published by William Morrow and Co. in 1993. 

In 2001, she cofounded CURE magazine with Dr. Vinay Jain. Today she is editor-at-large of the publication, which is the largest direct-to-patient cancer magazine in the country. For her writing on cancer she has received numerous awards, including a first place from the Association of Health Care Journalists in 2011 for her article "The Cost of Living," which looked at the late effects of radiation for long-term survivors.

In 2004, she debuted her one-woman show "One Mutant Cell," a humorous and poignant account of her journey through breast cancer, which she has performed more than 50 times for a variety of cancer events around the country. 

She served for four years on the board of the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship, and helped found Gilda's Club North Texas, now known as Cancer Support Community North Texas. She was also instrumental in founding The Bridge Breast Network in Dallas, a unique coalition of breast cancer survivors and area Healthcare Professionals who are providing diagnosis and treatment to uninsured women who may have breast cancer.