Dr. Rakesh K. Jain is the Andrew Werk Cook Professor of Radiation Oncology (Tumor Biology) at Harvard Medical School, and Director of the Edwin L. Steele Laboratories at Massachusetts General Hospital. He is widely known for uncovering how the abnormal tumor microenvironment fuels tumor progression and confers resistance to molecular-, nano-, and immuno-therapeutics; developing innovative strategies to “normalize” the microenvironment; and then translating these strategies from bench to bedside. He has mentored more than 220 doctoral and postdoctoral students and authored of more than 750 publications– that have been cited more than 135,000 times (Web of Science). He is among the top 1% cited researchers. A recipient of more than 90 awards, Dr. Jain has the rare distinction of being a member of all three US National Academies –– National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine– as well as the National Academy of Inventors and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He received the 2013 US National Medal of Science (for biological sciences) from President Obama “For pioneering research at the interface of engineering and oncology, including tumor microenvironment, drug delivery, and imaging; and for discovering groundbreaking principles guiding the development and novel use of drugs for cancer and non-cancerous diseases."