Diagnosed at the young age of 25 with stage III multiple myeloma, Yelak Biru is a patient turned myeloma research advocate. Working with a team of medical practitioners and educating himself through active support group leadership, online and social media sources, and active advocacy, Yelak has successfully integrated myeloma into his life for over two decades.

From the time he was told he had, give or take, three years to live, Yelak has balanced the realization that life is both uncertain and finite with an attitude of hope. Evolving diagnoses fear to hope, and sharing that hope is his personal motivation. It is also the motto of the North Texas Myeloma Support group, one of the oldest myeloma support groups in North America. Yelak believes through research advocacy myeloma patients will be able to better balance quality of life with treatment outcomes while helping accelerate both translational and basic myeloma research.

Yelak understands the need and is passionate about improving access to life saving cancer drugs globally and advancing the innovation pipeline through research and patient participation. He is a member of the International Myeloma Foundation (IMF) Board of Directors, Chair of the Advisory Committee for the Global Myeloma Action Network (GMAN), a patient advisor for pharmaceutical companies, a liaison for the Smart Patients myeloma community and a speaker at medical seminars, and a patient advocate member of the ECOG-ACRIN Multiple Myeloma Core Committee.