Brachytherapy Suite Ribbon Cutting

On May 16th, the department celebrated the opening of our new Perelman Radiation Oncology Brachytherapy Suite. We are very excited to be able to offer this modality as an additional option to clinical care and educational training. Special thanks to Dr. Neil Taunk, Director of Brachytherapy and Procedural Radiation, for his hard work and dedication in leading this project from inception to completion.

Proton Alumni Reception

Alumni patients, caregivers, faculty, and staff all gathered together on June 7 to celebrate the 9th Annual Proton Alumni Reception at the Penn Museum. After two years of not being able to gather together, everyone enjoyed getting the chance to see each other again, and hear a few words from legendary coach and one of the co-founders of the Philadelphia chapter of Coaches Vs Cancer.

Appointments

Rupa Chowdary

Rupa Chowdary joined the department as the Associate Director for Clinical Research in April 2022. Rupa comes from within the Penn Medicine system and has nearly 10 years of clinical research experience. During her time at Penn she has worked with the Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care and Department of Medicine Clinical Trials Unit. During her time at the DOM-CTU, Rupa has worked on clinical research projects with Renal, Radiology, Gastroenterology, Infectious Diseases, Pathology, Pulmonary and Critical Care, Otolaryngology, and Cardiology. Prior to that, Rupa worked at Jefferson Health coordinating clinical trials in neo-adjuvant treatment for pancreatic cancer and melanoma. She excels in managing complex protocols involving drug and device research and is skilled in regulatory submissions, including reliance agreements. Rupa was nominated for and won the “Rising Star” Award in 2020 sponsored by Society for Clinical Research Coordination and Management (SCRCM) at Penn. She is currently be considered to serve as an Executive Board Member for SCRCM, pending approval.

Will Dyson, MBA

Will Dyson joins the department as the new Director of Operations. Will joined Penn Medicine in 2016, and has advanced his career over the last 6 ½ years. He began as an Access Center Supervisor and was promoted over time to his current role of Associate Director of Operations for the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and MSKR Service Line. In this role, Will oversees the operations of 14 different practices; he has collaborated on, and led several projects, including OR allocation/utilization, the creation of MSKR’s new Radnor practice, and the migration to electronic surgical consents. Will has a Bachelor’s in Political Science from Susquehanna University, and a Master’s in Business Administration from Bloomsburg University.

Surbhi Grover, MD, MPH

Dr. Surbhi Grover has been promoted to Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology in the Standing Faculty – Clinician Educator track. After graduating magna cum laude from Columbia University with a BA in Economics, Dr. Grover went on to earn her MD from Harvard Medical School. She completed an internship and residency here at the University of Pennsylvania, and also earned her MPH at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health through the prestigious Sommer scholarship. Since 2014 she has been based in Botswana leading the department’s global health initiatives. In 2016, Dr. Grover was appointed Director of Global Radiation Oncology for the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and has continuously focused her efforts on expanding our global partnerships. In the last few years, she spearheaded collaborations in India (with Tata Memorial Cancer Center) for research and training in proton protocols. She also established partnerships with institutions in South Africa and Zambia to further build a global research and training program. Dr. Grover successfully developed a global radiation oncology track for our residents allowing trainees to cultivate further expertise in global radiation oncology.

Dr. Grover is heavily invested in the education of medical students and other trainees as a leader of Penn Medicine’s global health initiatives in the area of radiation oncology. Thus, in addition to her educational commitment to students and residents from the US, she also teaches and mentors (research and clinical) students and radiation oncology residents from the University of Botswana, University of Cape Town, University of Johannesburg, and TATA Memorial Cancer Center in India. Furthermore, Dr. Grover continues to build a research program that centers on pathogenesis and outcomes of HIV-related malignancies, particularly cervical cancer. She has received additional funding from the center for AIDS research, P30 supplement from UPENN and MD Anderson Cancer Center, Varian, and the National Cancer Institute Center for Global Health. In 2019, Dr. Grover was awarded an NCI K08 award for a research project in cervical cancer based in Botswana, and will continue to collaborate with investigators at UPENN and other institutions on various HPV and cervical cancer related projects.

Dr. Grover is recognized internationally as one of the most successful individuals in radiation oncology global health programs. She has defined the field in this area and is a true trail blazer. Dr. Grover is an incredible asset to the University of Pennsylvania and the envy of other institutions who strive to develop global health programs over the past decade.

Wenbo Gu, PhD

Wenbo Gu was hired as an Assistant Professor (AC Track, Physics), for our Pennsylvania Hospital location. She is a graduate from Tsinghua University, in Beijing, China, where she earned a B.E. in Nuclear Engineering. Dr. Gu then went on to earn a PhD in Medical Physics at UCLA, where her research focused on treatment planning and inverse optimization. Her thesis was entitled “Integrated Beam Orientation Optimization for Robust Intensity-Modulated Proton Therapy.” Dr. Gu most recently completed her Medical Physics residency here at the University of Pennsylvania.

While completing her undergraduate studies, Dr. Gu received the Outstanding Graduate Award, and as a PhD candidate, she continued to receive recognition for her achievements: in 2019, she was awarded the Best Oral Presentation Award from Research Colloquium for Physics and Biology in Medicine at UCLA, and was also named the Michael Goitein Best Abstract Award Finalist for the Particle Therapy Co-operative Group in 2019. Dr. Gu is currently a member of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM), American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), and the Radiosurgery Society (RSS). She served as a Manuscript Reviewer in 2019 for Medical Physics, a prestigious journal, where she reviewed Advances in Radiation Oncology, IEEE Transactions on Radiation and Plasma Medical Sciences.

Josh Jones, MD

Dr. Joshua Jones has been promoted to Associate Professor of Clinical Radiation Oncology in the Associated Faculty – Academic Clinician track. After completing a BA and MA in History of Science from Harvard University, Dr. Jones taught high school science at North Brunswick Township High School. He went on to graduate from NYU School of Medicine with an MD and completed an internship and residency here at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Jones went on to conclude a fellowship in palliative medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Palliative Medicine Program in 2013. Throughout his education, Dr. Jones has been recognized for his achievements: as an undergraduate student, he was awarded a Harvard School and John Harvard Scholarship; while studying at NYU he received the Presidential Service Award, as well as the Augusta Packer Scholarship and the Alumni Association Award. He was also selected as the President of the NYU Chapter of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society. In 2010, Dr. Jones was named a Fellow from the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Annual Meeting Fellowship Program. His teaching has been recognized with the Giulio D’Angio Teaching Award in the Department of Radiation Oncology and the Palliative Medicine Faculty Teaching Award.

In addition to his clinical teaching, Dr. Jones provides didactic lectures to various educational groups on topics related to communication skills, symptom management and principles and practice of palliative radiotherapy. He works with the radiation oncology chief residents to coordinate the didactic block on palliative care and palliative radiotherapy for radiation oncology residents on an annual basis. Dr. Jones’ educational work on palliative radiotherapy, palliative care, and communication skills training has been recognized on a national scale. He has presented to the American Society of Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), American Academic of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM), and has been recognized by AAHPM as a Fellow of the Academy, in large part for his contributions to education on palliative radiotherapy. He is a founding member of two non-profit organizations: The Society for Palliative Radiation Oncology, dedicated to furthering research, education and clinical care with palliative radiotherapy as well as The Oncologist in My Pocket, dedicated to educating palliative medicine clinicians in the fundamental principles of oncology care. The palliative team concept in Penn Medicine Radiation Oncology has become a key demonstration of best practices for other departments nationally, as they seek to emulate the success of the program Dr. Jones has spear-headed. Dr. Jones also established a multidisciplinary team to launch a stereotactic spine program here at PCAM, which has proven incredibly successful in offering patients a new therapeutic approach for spinal metastases. Dr. Jones is currently working to develop a palliative care fellowship in radiation oncology at Penn Medicine.

Dr. Jones continues to demonstrate true excellence in clinical care and mastery of clinical education for clinicians at all levels. His expertise in palliative care is nationally recognized, and his commitment to his field and patients contributes greatly to the mission of the Department of Radiation Oncology and the Perelman School of Medicine. Please join me in congratulating Dr. Joshua Jones on his promotion!

Alex Lin, MD

Alex Lin, MD has been promoted to Professor of Radiation Oncology in the Standing Faculty – Clinician Educator track. After graduating cum laude with a BA in Molecular Biophysics from Yale University, Dr. Lin went on to earn his MD from the University of Michigan Medical School. He completed an internship with the Department of Internal Medicine and residency with the Department of Radiation Oncology while at Michigan where he was Chief Resident; he joined Thomas Jefferson University as an Assistant Professor and Assistant Program Director of Radiation Oncology. In 2009, Dr. Lin was appointed Assistant Professor here at Penn Medicine, and then promoted to Associate Professor in 2017. In 2018, he was elected as a member of the prestigious Academy of Master Clinicians.

Since 2011, Dr. Lin has served as Chief of the Head and Neck Service Team; he also currently serves as the Medical Director of the Roberts Proton Therapy Center, as well as the Vice Chair of Faculty Affairs. Dr. Lin is active in both national organizations and publications, and was recently elected as a Fellow for the American Society of Radiation Oncology (ASTRO). His overall research focuses on using a novel approach of radiation de-intensification for patients requiring postoperative radiotherapy for HPV-associated oropharynx cancer, making cancer treatments more controlled with lower toxicity rates. He is also an NIH-funded clinical investigator, serving as a co-Principal Investigator on multiple NIH-funded grants of clinical trials.

Dr Lin has been very passionate about mentorship and faculty development, and is a critical advocate for our faculty at all levels. As part of his sabbatical, he created a professional development program that includes a lectureship series and structured mentorship committees for our junior faculty. He has also been very engaged in planning and executing our faculty recruitment strategies to support our developing programs.

Dr. Lin demonstrates outstanding qualifications as a clinician, researcher, teacher, and leader. He has upheld and lifted the reputation of the University of Pennsylvania and the Department of Radiation Oncology overall.

Nick Lukens, MD

Nick Lukens, MD has been appointed to the role of Head & Neck – Disease Site Service Chief. In his role, Nick will have oversight of clinical activities associated with the delivery of excellent patient care and organization of staff for the Head & Neck team. As Service Chief, he will also ensure efficient consultation service for all head and neck cancer patients, streamline clinical processes, and maintain high levels of patient satisfaction for the specific disease site. Nick will commence his new leadership role as Chief effective July 1, 2022.

We also extend our sincerest gratitude to Alex Lin, MD for his leading the Head & Neck team as Chief over the past 11 years. During his time as Chief, Alex has established himself as an internationally-recognized expert in head and neck cancer radiotherapy, and served as the Chair of the Head and Neck Cancer Section for the American Society of Radiation Oncology. Through Alex’s leadership and mentoring, we are excited to see Nick succeed him in the Chief role.

Talita Oliveira

Talita Oliveira has accepted the position of the Associate Practice Manager for Penn Medicine Valley Forge and Radnor, and began on Monday, May 16th.

This is a promotion for Talita, who joined our Radiation Oncology department in 2021 as the Patient Service Coordinator for Penn Medicine Radnor. Talita began her career with Penn Medicine as a Patient Service Associate, and had been with the Penn Medicine health system for 5 years prior to joining Radiation Oncology.

Michael Salerno, MBA, PhD

Mike Salerno was hired as a Physicist for our main site at the Perelman Center. He is a three-time graduate from Stony Brook University, where he earned a B.S. in Physics, an MBA in Healthcare Management and a PhD in Biomedical Engineering, Medical Physics Track. Dr. Salerno’s PhD dissertation, “Advances in Multimodal Imaging Technologies for Novel Studies of Healthy and Impaired Brain Function Across Species,” built off previous publications focused around studying PET/MRI scans of patients suffering both concussions and ACL reconstructions.

While completing his undergraduate studies, Dr. Salerno received the Wang Scholarship for Excellence in Physics, as well as earning the Scholar Athlete of the Year award while playing on the Men’s Lacrosse Team. As a PhD candidate, Dr. Salerno continued to receive recognition for his achievements: in 2017, he was awarded the 1st Place Poster Presentation for his work “Development of Quantitative Approaches for Behavioral Neuroimaging in Birds” as part of Stony Brook University’s Annual Research Day. Dr. Salerno is currently a member of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM), American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), and the Radiosurgery Society (RSS). He most recently completed his Medical Physics Residency here at the University of Pennsylvania, where he also served as the Chief Medical Physics Resident.

Jennifer Zou, PhD

Jennifer Zou, PhD has been promoted to Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology in the Standing Faculty – Clinician Educator track. After graduating from Cornell University with a PhD in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, Dr. Zou completed her Master’s degree and residency training in Medical Physics from the University of Pennsylvania. In 2016, Dr. Zou joined the faculty of Penn Radiation Oncology in the Clinician Educator track after spending four years with Rutgers University as an Assistant Professor. Recently, Dr. Zou established specific clinical and research expertise in the development and implementation of novel technologies for radiotherapy and image-based treatment outcome studies. She provides clinical service in proton therapy and leads the medical physics service of the CNS disease site. Dr. Zou actively engages in the department’s multifaceted teaching mission in the Master of Science in Medical Physics program and the Medical Physics Residency program.

Since 2016, Dr. Zou has published 46 peer-reviewed papers and performed numerous invited talks. Her research focuses on using functional imaging, physics simulations, and machine learning algorithms for studies on new treatment modalities and treatment outcomes. She was the lead physicist for the comparison of the radiation pneumonitis outcome study from the lung proton and photon radiotherapy treatments. The successful study was published in the top journal of the field, won the Best in Physics award from the AAPM conference, and resulted in a Co-investigator role for an NIH Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant. Dr. Zou is currently a Co-investigator on two NIH-R01 grants focused on the study of proton treatment planning and lung cardiac toxicity. She was also supported by the McCabe grant for her vasculature radiation project through 2019 as well as current funding from the IROC-Imaging & Radiation Oncology Core grant. Her recent series of publications on the ultra-high dose rate FLASH radiotherapy promoted Penn’s research leadership in this novel technology development and contributed to a recent NIH P01 grant. Dr Zou is also a key member of the department’s professionalism committee-always navigating challenging situations with the utmost respect and decency.

Dr. Zou consistently seeks out opportunities to support the department’s missions and strategy. She is involved in a variety of important initiatives in the department and always displays the highest degree of engagement and professionalism. She has made essential contributions to the University of Pennsylvania and to the Department of Radiation Oncology overall.

Departures

Josh Lahav, MBA

Josh Lahav, MBA has accepted a new role with Penn Medicine’s Signature Services as their Director of Operations and Program Development. In his new role, Josh will be responsible for oversight and business development of Penn Global Medicine, Penn Facilitated Services, Penn Passport Services, Executive Health Program, and their Virtual Second Opinion programs.

Josh joined UPHS in 2018 as the Director for Clinical Operations for the Department of Radiation Oncology. During his time here, he has both led and contributed to many initiatives across the Department. A few initiatives worth highlighting are his partnering with clinical leadership to maintain operations during the COVID pandemic, and most recently, leading the launch of brachytherapy and seeing the first two patients treated. Josh has also been an advocate for patient access and his work has laid the foundation for future efforts in the Department. Josh has been a valuable member to the operations team and while we will miss his contributions, we will also miss his humor and energy that he brings to the department.

Josh will officially start his new role on May 30th but will continue to provide support and transition planning through the end of June. Join us in congratulating Josh and wishing him luck in his new role!

Ima Paydar, MD

Ima Paydar, MD will be leaving Penn Radiation Oncology. Dr. Paydar has accepted a position with Merck & Co., Inc. as their new Director of Clinical Trials for patients with hematologic malignancies. Her last day with our Department is Friday, September 9, 2022.

Dr. Paydar joined the Radiation Oncology department in 2018, first as an Instructor and was then appointed as an Assistant Professor. Prior to Penn, she completed her residency at Georgetown University Hospital, where she served as Chief Resident. Dr. Paydar has been an integral member of the Heme/Lymphoma disease site team here at PCAM; her research efforts have focused on improving clinical care in patients with hematologic malignancies. Of particular note is her work on bridging radiotherapy in patients receiving CART-BCMA therapy, for which she was the principal investigator, and received the annual ASTRO abstract award. More recently, she was awarded the McCabe grant for her project [18F]FLT-PET/CT imaging in multiple myeloma which supports broader Departmental efforts in characterizing radiotherapy (RT) effects in hematologic malignancies.

Dr. Paydar will be sorely missed; however, we wish her all the best in in her new Directorship role with Merck. Please join us on Monday, August 22nd from 12-1:00 for a farewell lunch.

Conferences and Speakers

Annual Meeting of the American Urological Association

Manuj Agarwal, MD gave a podium presentation, "Detection of occult prostate adenocarcinoma using stereotactic transperineal biopsy following negative transrectal ultrasound-guided biopsies."

Russell Maxwell, MD had an abstract accepted and have a podium presentation about his study: Russell Maxwell, M.D. Roksana Tech, M.D. Manuj Agarwal, M.D.Brian J. Moran, M.D. : Overall and clinically significant prostate cancer detection rates utilizing primary stereotactic transperineal prostate biopsy and brachytherapy clinical set-up. International Prostate Cancer Update. Snowbird, Utah. March 2022

National Association of Proton Therapy

April 3-6, 2022

Penn Medicine had an impressive group of presenters at this year's National Association for Proton Therapy Conference. The group from Penn Medicine included Dr. Jim Metz, Lei Dong, PhD, Brendan Burgdorf, MS, Josh Lahav, MBA, Sarah Lowitz, MBA, RT(T), Mary Callahan and Shelley Saunders from the Patient Engagement team, and Heather Badt from our Patient and Family Advisory Council representing both Penn Medicine Radiation Oncology and her work with the Cancer Support Community.

ACES March Madness Winners

Congratulations to Carolyn Vachani, winner of the men’s bracket, and Ashley Cifarelli, winner of the women’s bracket! ACES raised a total of $155 ($110 from the men’s; $45 from the women’s), of which $77.50 will go to our Patient Assistance Fund. Thank you to everyone who participated – we hope you’ll join the madness again next year!

ACES Flower Show Contest

Our great gardeners and plant parents submitted photos of their blooms for the chance to be voted the departments 2022 Green Thumb winner! Congratulations to Rita Battaglini, who won 2 adult tickets to the PHS Flower Show on June 11, 2022.

Take a moment to admire the other beautiful pictures submitted to the contest!

SUPERS 2022

We are super excited to welcome our newest class of SUPERS students (Summer Undergraduate Program for Educating Radiation Scientists) Please say hello to our 18 students working hard this summer in the labs of Radiation Oncology, Radiology, Neurosurgery and Medical Physics!

Graduation

2022 Medical Residency and Medical Physics Residency Program Graduation - June 2, 2022

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