Jill Kolesar, PharmD, BCPS, FCCP, RPh
Associate Professor of Pharmacy
Director, 3p Analytical Instrumental Laboratory
The University of Wisconsin Comprehensive Cancer Center
Jill M. Kolesar received a Doctor of Pharmacy and completed a specialty practice residency in oncology/hematology and a two-year fellowship in molecular oncology pharmacotherapy at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, Texas. She is currently an Associate Professor of Pharmacy at the University of Wisconsin School of Pharmacy and the Director of the Analytical Laboratory and Pharmacogenetics Facility at The University of Wisconsin Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Kolesar practices in the Hematology and Oncology Clinics at the William S. Middleton VA Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin, managing the pharmacotherapy of ambulatory patients.
Dr. Kolesar’s research in pharmacogenomics includes the use of molecular markers to predict response and monitor efficacy of cancer chemotherapy, population genotyping for cancer susceptibility, and the regulation of gene expression of the two electron reductases. She has authored more than 100 abstracts, research articles, and book chapters, and as a principal investigator, she has received more than $350,000 in research funding from the NCI, ACS, and other sources. In addition, she holds two U.S. patents for novel assay methodologies for gene expression and mutation analysis. She has received several research awards from local, national, and international pharmacy organizations and a Merit Award from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). Most recently, she received the "Innovations in Teaching Award" from the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy.
Karen Pilley, CPC, CCS-P
National Director of Reimbursement
US Oncology, Inc.
Karen Pilley joined US Oncology in 1998, and currently oversees all aspects of the company's reimbursement operations as Vice President, Oncology Reimbursement Solutions. Throughout her diverse 25-year career supporting clinical and administrative functions, Karen has gained a reputation for delivering an effective and forward-thinking approach to handling all aspects of reimbursement operations. She has been challenged to help redesign network processes and improve operational efficiency with enormous success demonstrated, utilizing her expertise in the build, development and operations of Oncology Reimbursement Solutions and physician practices, complemented by an extensive working knowledge of HIPAA and Compliance.
Karen holds a nursing degree from LA Wilson School of Nursing Stony Brook University, New York, is a licensed PMCC instructor for the American Academy of Professional Coders, Certified member of AHIMA and Member of MGMA.
Mary Ann K. Allison, MD, FACP
Medical Oncologist
Comprehensive Cancer Centers of Nevada
Dr. Mary Ann K. Allison is a medical oncologist with The Comprehensive Cancer Centers of Nevada, Las Vegas. She has had a distinguished 20-year career as a medical oncologist treating and for the past three years has specialized in the treatment of breast cancer. Dr. Allison earned her MT (ASCP) from Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, Texas and started her career in healthcare by working as a laboratory technologist for six years. Soon after, she obtained her MD at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas. She completed her internship and residency in Internal Medicine as well as her fellowship in Hematology-Oncology at Baylor University Medical Center-Dallas. She began her medical oncology career in San Angelo, Texas. In 1993 she joined what would become the Comprehensive Cancer Centers of Nevada, the largest group of medical oncologists in the state. She practices primarily in Henderson and Boulder City. Dr. Allison is a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, Clark County Medical Society, Nevada Medical Association, American College of Physicians and Fellows, and the Texas Medical Association. She also participates as an active investigator in ongoing US Oncology breast cancer clinical trials and is the principle investigator for UCLA trials in Las Vegas.
Roy A. Beveridge, MD
Medical Director for Stem Cell Transplant
US Oncology
Fairfax – Northern Virginia Hematology Oncology, PC
Dr. Roy Beveridge earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in biology/cell biology at the Johns Hopkins University and his medical degree at Cornell University Medical College. He was an internal medicine intern and resident at the University of Chicago Hospitals before returning to Johns Hopkins where he completed a clinical fellowship in Medical Oncology and Stem Cell Transplant. He is board certified in Medical Oncology and Internal Medicine.
Actively involved in oncology research since 1974, Dr. Beveridge has taken a special interest in bone marrow transplant. He is Co-Director of the Bone Marrow Transplant Program at INOVA Fairfax Hospital as well as the Medical Director for Stem Cell Transplant at US Oncology.
Dr. Beveridge has worked with many associations including the National Patient Advocate Foundation of which he is a past president, American Society of Clinical Oncology, American Society of Bone Marrow Transplant’s Committee on International Relations, and several FDA panels. Authoring more than 100 publications and presenting more than 200 lectures, he is a reviewer for medical journals and participates with numerous medical board organizations including the Commonwealth of Virginia DMAS. He is the recipient of numerous awards from the American Cancer Society and academic teaching associations, as well as others.
Sami Diab, MD
Medical Oncologist
Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers
Dr. Sami Diab specializes in medical oncology. A graduate of the French School of Damascus, Dr. Diab earned his medical doctorate at Damascus University in Damascus, Syria. He then completed a residency in internal medicine at Wayne State University in Michigan followed by a medical oncology fellowship at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. He later spent a year as a radiation oncology resident at the University Health Science Center in San Antonio.
Prior to joining RMCC, Dr. Diab practiced in Texas where he served as the chief of medical oncology at the Audie Murphy Veterans Hospital in San Antonio, TX. Dr. Diab has authored numerous papers based on his breast cancer research. A member of many organizations, including the American Association of Cancer Research and the American Society of Clinical Oncology, Dr. Diab is board certified in internal medicine and medical oncology. Dr. Diab practices at RMCC's Aurora location.
Joan Engebretson, DrPH, ABN-BC, RN
Professor
US Oncology
The University of Texas Health Science Center – Houston
School of Nursing, Department of Integrative Nursing Care
Dr. Joan Engebretson is a professor of nursing with a joint appointment to the UTHSC-H School of Public Health. She is also a Fellow in the Society for Applied Anthropology. She received her doctorate from the School of Public Health, her M.S. from Texas Woman’s University and a BSN from St. Olaf College. She has conducted ethnographic research on lay healers and their constructions of health and healing. She has continued to research and publish in the area of complementary and alternative therapies. She also conducts research in the areas of women’s health behaviors and ethnographic studies of patients’ accounts of living with various chronic conditions. She has consulted with a number of interdisciplinary researchers on qualitative methodologies as well as complementary therapies.
She has given many guest lectures on culture, complementary therapies as well as women’s health, all areas in which she is well published. She has developed graduate courses on qualitative research and has collaborated on developing several interdisciplinary course offerings on complementary and integrated health care. She is a CNS in maternal child health and is certified as an advanced holistic nurse. She is an invited visiting scholar at Georgetown University School of Medicine Center for Clinical Bioethics.
Michael Forsyth, RPh, MBA
Manager Pharmacy Services
Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers
Michael Forsyth, RPh, MBA has served as the Manager of Pharmacy Services for Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers for the past five years. He is responsible for oversight of admixture services for the thirteen physician offices within the RMCC network. Mr. Forsyth is currently a member of the Legislative Affairs Committee for the Colorado Pharmacist’s Society and on the board of Directors of the Colorado Society of Healthcare Pharmacists. During his accomplished career, he has been instrumental in the development of pharmacy information systems and operational models at several institutions. Most recently, he has been involved in the implementation of the US Oncology Pharmacy Best Practices for all thirteen RMCC physician offices. From 2003-2005, he was also recognized as a top 10 Pharmacy Team Leader within US Oncology for three consecutive years.
Moshe Frenkel, MD
Medical Director, Integrative Medicine Program
The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
Dr. Moshe Frenkel is an associate professor of integrative medicine and the medical director of the Integrative Medicine Program, Division of Cancer Medicine, Department of Palliative Care and Rehabilitation Medicine at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.
Dr. Frenkel is Board Certified in Family Practice, earned his medical degree from Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Israel and completed his family practice residency at Brookhaven Memorial Hospital Medical Center in Patchogue, New York, an affiliate of Stony Brook University. Prior to joining M. D. Anderson Cancer Center he served as a faculty member at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston and served as a key contributor of an NIH grant on integrating complementary and integrative medicine (CIM) into the medical school curriculum, as well as providing CIM consultations to patients and families.
He is currently involved in the clinical delivery of integrative medicine in both the Integrative Medicine Clinic as well as The Place of Wellness. Consultations and treatments are being provided in both facilities to patients and their families who wish to integrate complementary and integrative medicine (CIM) into their cancer care. In this process, Dr. Frenkel utilizes a multidisciplinary team in Integrative Medicine that provides advice and suggestions for clinical consultations and integrative treatments. The focus of his research activity is the rational integration of complementary medicine into conventional medical education and clinical practice, and integrating the patient’s perspective into the regular care.
Part of his responsibilities is to continue to develop and improve the clinical CIM provision and educational programs, and to collaborate on research initiatives related to CIM. In the course of this process, he looks to advance knowledge on the outcomes and effectiveness of these therapies through peer reviewed mixed methodology research. He is particularly interested in developing collaboration on these issues with national and international academic centers with similar interests.
Patty Gerken, ANP-BC, AOCN
Nurse Practitioner
Kansas City Cancer Centers
Patty Gerken received her MSN and completed the Adult Nurse Practitioner program at the University of Missouri at Kansas City in 2002. She has been an oncology nurse since 1982 and in 1990, joined Kansas City Cancer Centers Blood and Marrow Transplant team. Patty now works at Kansas City Cancer Centers - South and is a member of the Oncology Nursing Society and certified through the ANCC.
Ka-Kit Hui, MD, FACP
Wallis Anneberg Chair in Integrative East West Medicine
Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center
Dr. Ka-Kit Hui is a clinician, educator, and researcher whose broad-based knowledge of comprehensive medical care stems from multiple areas of specialization including internal medicine, clinical pharmacology, geriatrics, traditional Chinese medicine, and integrative medicine. His basic and clinical investigations have provided him with unique insights into the concepts of regulation, homeostasis, and balance.
The UCLA Center for East-West Medicine, founded by Dr. Hui in 1993, has a dynamic clinical program that exceeds 5,000 patient visits per year, with the majority referred by over 100 UCLA physicians. Dr. Hui and his staff have developed expertise in blending traditional Chinese Medicine with western biomedicine to develop a unique healthcare paradigm. The UCLA Center for East-West Medicine conducts successful educational programs in integrative East-West medicine for clinicians who are physicians, fellows, house staff, nurses, nurse practitioners, medical students, patients, and the public.
Dr. Hui has served as a consultant to the FDA, NIH, WHO, universities, health insurance companies, drug companies, and the media. Outside the U.S., he is a Medical Sub-Committee member of the University Grants Committee of Hong Kong and has been a visiting professor at the University of Hong Kong, University of Sydney, and Zhongshan Medical University in Guangzhou, China. He serves on the editorial boards of The Chinese Journal of Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine, and The China Anesthesia and Analgesia Journal. He is a Series Editor on the Annual Review of Traditional Chinese Medicine for the World Scientific Publishing Co., Pte. Ltd.
Dr. Hui's current research interests lie in five areas: acupuncture and cardiovascular regulation; the correlation between brain MRI and Chinese medical diagnostic systems in hypertension; the development of educational programs in integrative medicine that include outcome evaluation; drug discovery, particularly from plant-based products; and optimization of clinical approaches to improving quality of life for patients with chronic pain or cancer.