On a mission to
optimize each patient's outcome and maximize collective learning to benefit the next patient

Our Story & Vision

From the founder and chairman of Cancer Commons, Marty Tenenbaum, PhD.

2011

Cancer Commons was established in 2011 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that provides personalized action plans to metastatic cancer patients, while learning from every patient to help others seeking answers.

13,000+

Cancer Commons has provided expert guidance to over 13,000 patients at no cost to them thanks to philanthropy.

“In 1998, I was diagnosed with metastatic melanoma, a disease with a dire prognosis. Leading oncologists’ recommendations varied widely, so I set forth on a desperate quest for the treatment that would work best for me. Ultimately, an experimental treatment saved my life.”

Marty Tenenbaum, PhD, founder of Cancer Commons

Our Story

In 1998, our founder, Marty Tenenbaum, was among the fortunate few metastatic melanoma patients who responded and survived, while the treatment that saved his life ultimately failed clinical testing. Why did it work for him and not for others? Could his experience help similar patients find their best-possible treatments?

Known for his work in artificial intelligence and internet commerce, Marty saw that countless other patients could benefit from a better way to capture and share the world’s collective cancer knowledge. So, he created Cancer Commons—a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that provides personalized action plans to advanced cancer patients, while learning from every patient to help others urgently seeking answers.

Today, Cancer Commons is a team of expert scientists who have assisted over 13,000 patients. Cancer Common's leadership team is currently building innovative technology solutions to significantly expand its impact, aiming to support the 600,000 advanced cancer patients diagnosed annually in the US.

“I joined Cancer Commons in 2025 to expand its reach and offer free support to the 600,000 patients in the US who exhaust their treatment options annually.”

Cliff Reid, PhD, CEO of Cancer Commons

Leadership Team

Cliff Reid, PhD

Chief Executive Officer

Roberto Veronese

Chief Product Officer

Adrienne Nugent, PhD

VP, Operations

Emma Shtivelman, PhD

Chief Scientist

Ellen Beck

Chief Development Officer

George Lundberg, MD

Editor in Chief

Marty Tenenbaum, PhD

Founder and Chairman

Keith Deutsch

VP, Engineering

“I am driven by compassion and the desire to put my years of studying cancer in the lab into something more immediately tangible—helping cancer patients find new treatments.”

Emma Shtivelman, PhD, Chief Scientist

Our Expert Physician Advisors are leading authorities in clinical oncology

Cancer Commons collaborates with over 30 experts from Yale University, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Duke University, NYU School of Medicine, Emory Healthcare, Weill Cornell Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and many other leading institutions.

‍

View All Experts

Become an Advisor

Our Distinguished Board Members and Advisors

Cancer Commons board members and advisors are esteemed leaders from diverse fields such as oncology, technology, artificial intelligence, commerce, finance, and philanthropy. We deeply appreciate their invaluable contributions of time and expertise.

Board of Directors

Marty Tenenbaum, PhD
Founder & Chairman of the Board

Paul Billings, MD, PhD

Vice Chair of the Board, Cancer Commons. CEO & Director, Biological Dynamics Inc.
‍

Dr. Paul R. Billings, a board-certified internist and clinical geneticist with a PhD in Immunology from Harvard, has held significant roles in genetic testing and precision medicine. He was Chief Medical Officer at Natera, Inc., and has been involved with several companies, including PlumCare, LLC, and Synergenz Biosciences. He co-founded CBR Systems and Fabric Genomics, and has published around 200 papers. Dr. Billings is also Chairman of OmniSeq, Inc., and advises various firms in precision medicine.

Laurence J. Marton, MD

Emeritus Member of the Board of Trustees, American Association for Cancer Research Foundation

Dr. Marton serves as a consultant to industry and to nonprofit, government, and academic institutions. Dr. Marton is an Emeritus Board Member of the American Association for Cancer Research Foundation and serves on the Cancer Commons Board. Also, he is on the Boards of Cellsonics, Matternet, Microsonic Systems, Nanotics, Omniox, RenovoRx, and xCures, and advises the Precision Medicine World Conference. Previously, he was Dean of the University of Wisconsin Medical School and chaired UCSF's Department of Laboratory Medicine.

Don Morrison, PhD

Professor Emeritus, UCLA Anderson School of Management

‍
Dr. Don Morrison is a renowned statistician and marketing expert with a long academic career, including over 30 years at UCLA Anderson and prior experience at Columbia University, with over 90 published articles. He has led the Institute of Management Sciences and contributed to the Marketing Science Institute. Dr. Morrison and his wife, Dr. Sherie Morrison, have been generous supporters of UCLA Anderson. He earned his PhD in Operations Research from Stanford and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from MIT.

Gregory C. Simon

President, Simonovation, LLC, former Executive Director of the White House Cancer Moonshot
‍
Greg Simon has held key roles in Congress and two Presidential administrations, co-founded FasterCures and the Melanoma Research Alliance, and was Pfizer's SVP for Worldwide Policy. He led the Biden Cancer Initiative and the White House Cancer Moonshot, securing $1.8 billion in funding. Known for his strategic vision and expertise in healthcare and technology, he has advised major firms and contributed to significant policy reforms.

Clifford Reid, PhD

CEO of Cancer Commons. Former Co-founder and CEO of Complete Genomics and Travera

‍
Dr. Clifford Reid, CEO of Cancer Commons, has over 30 years of experience in leading tech companies. He founded Travera, a cancer therapy selection test company, and was the founding CEO of Complete Genomics, a DNA sequencing firm, acquired by BGI. He also founded Genos Research and two enterprise software companies, Eloquent and Verity. He earned a BS in Physics from MIT, an MBA from the Harvard Business School, and a PhD in Management Science and Engineering from Stanford University.

Frank McCormick, PhD, FRS, DSc (Hon)

Professor
University of California San Francisco

‍
Frank McCormick, PhD, is a Professor at the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center and holds the David A. Wood Chair of Tumor Biology and Cancer Research. He founded Onyx Pharmaceuticals, leading to the development of cancer drugs like Sorafenib and Palbociclib. He directed the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center and was President of the American Association for Cancer Research. He has led the National Cancer Institute’s Ras Initiative, focusing on therapies for Ras-driven cancers.

Dean Hollis

Founder, Diventures.
Advisor, SilverBox Capital
‍
Dean Hollis has extensive experience in the consumer sector, particularly in natural and organic foods. He chairs the boards of Hain Celestial Group and SunOpta Inc., and advises Oaktree Capital. Previously, he was President and COO of ConAgra Foods, overseeing a vast portfolio of global brands. He has also served on the boards of Diamond Foods and Boulder Brands. He also served on the board of Landec Corporation, which develops and markets patented polymer products for food and agriculture.

Vern Norviel, JD

Partner | Patents & Innovations
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
‍
Vern Norviel, a partner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, specializes in patents and innovations with over 30 years of experience. He advises life science companies and venture capital firms on IP strategies in therapeutics, diagnostics, and personalized medicine. Notably, he was the first attorney to have his entire genome sequenced publicly. Before joining the firm, Vern was general counsel at Perlegen Sciences and Affymetrix, where he contributed to DNA chip technology development.

Bill Stasior, PhD

Former VP of Technology, Microsoft.
Former VP of ML & AI, Apple
‍
Dr. Stasior has extensive experience in leading tech firms. At Microsoft, he was a Corporate VP of Technology, focusing on AI. Previously, he was VP of Machine Learning and AI at Apple, where he developed Siri. At Amazon, he led search and personalization technology. Prior to Amazon, he worked at several startup companies in Silicon Valley. He now advises early-stage companies and Ontario Teachers’ Venture Growth. He holds a BS, MS, and PhD in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT.

Distinguished Advisors
‍
Artificial Intelligence
‍

Josh Tenenbaum, PhD

Professor of Computational Cognitive Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Dr. Tenenbaum is a Professor of Computational Cognitive Science at MIT, recognized for his pioneering work in mathematical psychology and Bayesian cognitive science. The MacArthur Foundation, which awarded him a MacArthur Fellowship in 2019, highlights "Tenenbaum is one of the first to develop and apply probabilistic and statistical modeling to the study of human learning, reasoning, and perception, and to show how these models can explain a fundamental challenge of cognition: how our minds understand so much from so little, so quickly."

Allan Schiffman, MS

President & Co-Founder,
CommerceNet
‍

Schiffman’s engineering career spans system modeling, processor architecture, programming languages, software development tools, internet applications, and communications security. His focus is on secure distributed systems and electronic commerce.
He co-founded Terisa Systems, a pioneer in Web security, and played a key role in developing Mastercard/Visa's SET protocol and the first secure Web browser.
Schiffmanholds an MS in Computer Science from Stanford.

Neil Hunt, PhD

Former Chief Product Officer, Netflix.
Co-founder, Curai

‍
Neil was Chief Product Officer for Netflix from 1999 to 2018, responsible for the design, implementation and operation of the technology at Netflix. Prior to Netflix, Neil had engineering leadership roles at Rational Software and Pure Atria.

In 2018, he was cofounder at Curai, a venture-backed health tech company applying artificial intelligence and machine learning to primary care medicine. Neil serves on the boards of directors of Logitech, Roku, Sony, and Vibrant Planet.

Development & Philanthropy
‍‍

Norman Friedland, Esq

Founder, FullSky Partners

Mr. Friedland co-founded FullSky Partners with Sheryl WuDunn) focusing on impact investments in education, environment, and healthcare. Inspired by his work with Nobel laureate Dr. Luc Montagnier, FullSky uses Program Related Investments for funding patient-centric life science solutions. He also co-founded ESGHealthMetrics, providing health data for ESG assessments. A Root-Tilden Scholar from NYU School of Law, he began his career at Cravath, Swaine & Moore and served as General Counsel to New York State’s Economic Development Agency.

Magdalena Yesil, MS

Entrepreneur, Venture Capitalist, & Author

Magdalena Yesil is a pioneering entrepreneur and venture capitalist, known for her role as the first investor and founding board member at Salesforce. She founded Broadway Angels, a female angel investor group, and has launched three companies focused on internet access, e-commerce, and electronic payments. Recognized by Red Herring magazine as Entrepreneur of the Year, she has achieved two IPOs and an acquisition. Currently, she is the executive chair of Informed and serves on the boards of SoFi, Smartsheet, and Zuora. She authored 'Power UP! How Smart Women Win in the New Economy.'

Abraham D. Sofaer, LLB

Attorney, Jurist, Former Legal Adviser of the US State Department
‍
The Honorable Abraham D. Sofaer is the George P. Shultz Distinguished Scholar and Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution. He has served as federal district judge in New York (1979–85) and as Legal Adviser to the U.S. Department of State (1985–90). Currently, he concentrates on issues related to terrorism, international law, diplomacy, and national security. Sofaer teaches at Stanford Law School. He has served as an arbitrator and mediator, and has written extensively on international affairs.

Management & Strategy
‍‍

Rob Rodin

CEO & Managing Director, RLH Equity Partners

Mr. Rodin is business executive and author who is best known for transforming Marshall Industries into a pioneering business-to-business e-commerce leader while CEO from 1992 to 1999. Some have referred to him as “visionary” for his early advocacy of commerce on the Internet. He is currently the chairman and CEO of RDN Group, a strategic advisory firm, and Vice Chairman of RLH Equity Partners. He holds board positions with Astound Commerce, Imre, Shift7 Digital, Biorasi, Supplyframe, and Inspirage. He serves on non-profit boards of YPO LA Gold, and ALS Therapy Development.

Mika Newton

Chief Executive Officer, xCures

Mr. Newton brings over 25 years of leadership experience in life sciences to his role as CEO of xCures, a health technology company specializing in an AI-driven precision oncology platform. He is an expert in healthcare data management, emphasizing data completeness and universality. At xCures, he leads a team that collects and integrates detailed medical records from various sources using direct retrieval and natural language processing (NLP) for efficient feature identification. Mika's mission is to enhance cancer care quality and outcomes by harnessing the power of data and AI.

Patient Advocacy
‍‍

Al Musella, DPM

President, Musella Foundation For Brain Tumor Research & Information, Inc

The Musella Foundation for Brain Tumor Research & Information, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity dedicated to supporting brain tumor patients and their families. We offer emotional and financial assistance, provide educational resources, advocate for patient needs, and work to fund innovative brain tumor research. Our goal is to make a meaningful impact on the lives of those affected by brain tumors and to advance effective treatments. Dr. Musella, a retired podiatrist, developed an interest in brain tumors after his sister-in-law, Lana, was diagnosed with a GBM in 1992.

Brad Power

CEO & Co-Founder, Cancer Patient Lab

Diagnosed with lymphoma in 2018, Mr. Power uses his consulting experience to aid advanced cancer patients in making complex treatment decisions. He organizes hackathons to explore non-standard treatment options and advises startups in cancer care innovation. In 2022, he co-founded Cancer Patient Lab to assist patients in navigating testing and treatment choices.

Lisa M. Ward, Esq

President & Co-Founder,
Tough2gether Foundation
‍
Lisa M. Ward, Esq, co-founded the Tough2gether Foundation after her son Jace was diagnosed with DIPG. Despite her efforts, Jace passed away in 2021. She now advocates for childhood cancer families, leading initiatives like the Brain Storm Summit and DDRFA, and speaks at national events to raise awareness.
She spearheads various initiatives, including the Brain Storm Summit annual conference in Washington DC, the DIPG DMG Research Funding Alliance (DDRFA), and the LiveBrave2gether family support network.

Support
Our Mission

Thanks to donations, Cancer Commons is able to help people without the stress of a price tag. We invite you to join our family of supporters and grateful patients.

Donate Now

On a mission tooptimize each patient's outcome and maximize collective learning to benefit the next patient

Our Expert Physician Advisors are leading authorities in clinical oncology

Our Distinguished Board Members and Advisors

Board of DirectorsMarty Tenenbaum, PhDFounder & Chairman of the Board

Distinguished Advisors‍Artificial Intelligence‍

Development & Philanthropy‍‍

Management & Strategy‍‍

Patient Advocacy‍‍