Frank M. Torti, MD Chair of Cancer Biology and Head of Comprehensive Cancer CenterArea of Expertise: Cancer - GenitourinaryIn 2008, Torti served as principal deputy commissioner and the first chief scientist of the US Food and Drug Administration, and subsequently as Acting FDA Commissioner (2009); Upon his return to Wake Forest Baptist, he became vice president for Strategic Programs and director of the NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center and chair of the Department of Cancer Biology. Torti created one of the first clinics to treat genital and urinary cancer and introduced a comprehensive approach by bringing together radiation therapists, medical oncologists and surgeons. And he developed chemotherapy regimens for bladder and prostate cancers that became standards of care. This basic science research led to his receiving a prestigious National Institutes of Health MERIT award. He is listed in Best Doctors in America.
Waldemar Debinski, MD, PhD Professor of Surgery – NeurosurgeryArea of Expertise: Cancer - BrainDebinski, the director of the Brain Tumor Center of Excellence at Wake Forest Baptist, is a physician-scientist who pioneered a method to destroy malignant brain tumor cells without harming healthy cells. A drug developed by Debinski was an "unanticipated success" in early clinical trials and is now going through final testing in a phase-3 study. He is also researching brain tumor vaccines and new imaging techniques. He holds eight patents and has published more than 200 scientific reports. He won the Society of Neuro-Oncology's annual award for Excellence in Basic Research.
Glenn J. Lesser, MD Associate Professor of Anesthesiology, Associate Professor of Internal Medicine - Hematology and OncologyArea of Expertise: Cancer - BrainLesser, a medical oncologist, directs clinical trials through Wake Forest Baptist's inclusion in a consortium of centers that test novel treatments for brain tumors. He was involved in inventing a device implanted under the skin to release a continuous dose of pain medication. Lesser edited a section on "Central Nervous System Malignancies," in Current Treatment Options in Oncology. He is a merit award recipient from the American Society of Clinical Oncology and is listed in Best Doctors in America.
Edward A. Levine, MD Professor of Surgery – GeneralArea of Expertise: Cancer - BreastLevine is a nationally recognized expert in breast cancer, skin cancer, and cancer of the gastro-intestinal system. He is a general surgeon and principal investigator of a clinical trial of a cancer vaccine for melanoma, the most deadly type of skin cancer. He is principal investigator of the STAR trial, which is looking at the long-term effects of Tamoxifen or Raloxifene and age related changes in thinking and memory. He is also involved in the evaluation of a miniaturized PET scanner for breast imaging to determine if it works better than mammography on breasts that are difficult to penetrate. He is listed in Best Doctors in America.
Antonius A. Miller, MD Professor, Hematology and OncologyArea of Expertise: Cancer - LungDr. Miller holds leadership positions in the Cancer and Leukemia Group B, a national cooperative group of prominent cancer centers. He has published extensively on all phases of anticancer drug development and lung cancer treatments. Dr. Miller's research interest is in clinical research protocols with an emphasis on lung cancer. His laboratory interest is in clinical pharmacology of anticancer drugs. He believes in a multi-disciplinary approach to treatment of lung cancer and works closely with both radiation oncology and thoracic surgery. Clinical responsibilities include inpatient solid tumor service, medical oncology clinic, and the thoracic oncology program. He is listed in Best Doctors in America.
Bayard L. Powell, MD Professor and Section Head, Hematology and OncologyArea of Expertise: Cancer - LeukemiaDr. Powell is a member of the Leukemia Core Committee of Cancer and Leukemia Group B. His research focus is clinical trials in acute leukemia and myelodysplastic syndromes. He is chair of North American Intergroup protocol C9710 which evaluated arsenic trioxide consolidation in patients with untreated APL. He is listed in Best Doctors in America.
Gary G. Schwartz, PhD, MPH., PhD. Associate Professor, Cancer BiologyArea of Expertise: Cancer - ProstateSchwartz' principal research interest involves epidemiologic and translational studies (studies of screening and therapeutic trials) concerning the roles of vitamin D and other calciotrophic hormones in the natural history of prostate cancer. His other interests include the investigation of cancers of unknown etiology, e.g., testicular and pancreatic cancer. Schwartz' research has led to new understanding of the roles of calcium and vitamin D in the etiology of prostate cancer. His recent research has shown that some elevations in prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels in men may be caused by a hormone normally occurring in the body (parathyroid hormone) and thus are not necessarily a predictor of the need for prostate biopsy. In 1990, Schwartz first proposed a link between vitamin D deficiency and prostate cancer when he noticed that the people most likely to die from prostate cancer were African Americans, followed by Scandinavians.
Perry Shen, MD Assistant Professor of Surgery - GeneralArea of Expertise: Cancer - ColorectalShen is one of the few surgeons in the country who is using heated chemotherapy to treat abdominal cancers. He is also currently studying the use of a hepatic pump to deliver chemotherapy directly to the liver. For people with inoperable liver tumors, he is testing the use of focused microwaves to burn out the cancer without having to cut it out, a technique called microwave ablation. He is also involved in a number of breast cancer clinical trials and is the principal investigator for a study on predicting the risk that melanoma, the most dangerous skin cancer, will spread to nearby organs.
RSS