This past year, Penn Medicine's Abramson Cancer Center and the Perelman School of Medicine (PSOM) initiated an unparalleled, multidisciplinary transformation in cancer care leadership.
What's striking about these new leaders is the prominence they hold in the fields they represent, their clinical expertise, and the diversity and breadth of their research interests.
Moreover, these seven new additions to the cancer leadership team complement the Abramson Cancer Center's designation as "Exceptional" from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), and reinforce its position as one of just 51 "comprehensive" cancer centers in the United States, meeting NCI standards for cancer prevention, clinical services and research.
Cancer Service Line Leadership
David W. Dougherty, MD, MBA
David W. Dougherty, MD, MBA, joined Penn in March 2022 as the Deputy Director of Clinical Services at the Abramson Cancer Center and Cancer Service Line. Most recently, Dr. Dougherty was Medical Director of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute Network in Boston and a faculty member at Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Dougherty's vision embraces a unified cancer system that brings the remarkable successes and talents of the Abramson Cancer Center and the Cancer Service Line together across all of Penn Medicine and its entities.
A board-certified medical oncologist and practicing specialist in the care of patients with thoracic cancers, Dr. Dougherty is affiliated with the Penn Lung Cancer Program. He sees patients at the PSOM as a faculty member in the Hematology-Oncology Division. Dr. Dougherty's research interests focus on cancer care delivery and improving value of care for cancer patients and their caregivers — including quality, economic burden, patient-reported outcomes, and patient-oncologist communication.
Active in quality of care efforts for the American Society of Clinical Oncology, he currently serves as the organization's Chair of the Joint Certifications Committee.
Neurosurgical Oncology
Nduka M. Amankulor, MD
Nduka M. Amankulor, MD, new Chief of Neurosurgical Oncology, and Director of the Penn Brain Tumor Center, joined Penn Neurosurgery in October 2021.
The former Director of Neurosurgical Oncology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Dr. Amankulor specializes in the treatment of primary and metastatic brain tumors, hydrocephalus, and spine, intraventricular and skull base tumors.
Dr. Amankulor has spoken and written about the technologies available and in development to enhance the visualization (i.e. high-field intraoperative MRI, fluorescence tumor labeling) and maximal safe resection (cortical mapping) of glioblastoma. His research interests represent a comprehensive overview of glioblastoma immunogenetics, therapeutic innovations and surgical practice.
Dr. Amankulor recently introduced high resolution intraoperative MRI (HR iMRI) to the armamentarium at Penn Neurosciences. A relatively new modality, iMRI features a ceiling-mounted MRI machine integrated with neuronavigation software for intraoperative use.
"High-resolution intraoperative MRI neuronavigation allows neurosurgeons to identify the precise location of tumors in relation to surrounding brain fiber tracts to both achieve maximal safe resection and preserve vital areas of the brain," he explains.
In addition to addressing brain shift during surgery, the principal benefits of iMRI include greater visualization with an accordingly greater extent of tumor resection, and the potential for increased survival. The use of iMRI and other innovations at Penn Neurosurgery, individually and in combination, allows neurosurgeons to plan and perform safer surgeries and maximize the amount of tumor removed. The latter is particularly important, given that for glioblastomas there is rising evidence from studies to suggest a correlation between patient survival and extent of tumor resection.
Urologic Oncology
Trinity Bivalacqua, MD, PhD
Trinity Bivalacqua, MD, PhD, joined Penn Urology in October 2021. He brings a diverse history of original translational clinical research and surgical acumen to the Division as the Director of Urologic Oncology.
In this new role, Dr. Bivalacqua's goal is to bring state-of-the art, multidisciplinary care to urologic cancer patients. An authority in the fields of urologic oncology and sexual medicine, Dr. Bivalacqua's specialty is bladder cancer. His areas of expertise also include the management of malignancies of the prostate, penis, and upper urinary tract.
His special interest in cancers of the prostate and bladder emphasizes organ-sparing therapies, minimally invasive techniques (nerve-sparing robotic assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy and robotic assisted laparoscopic radical cystectomy) and orthotropic bladder substitution (neobladder).
"Organ sparing approaches to the treatment of urological cancers can be the precedent for the best quality of life following surgery," he says.
Dr. Bivalacqua's research is focused on the development of preclinical models of urothelial carcinoma as the basis for testing systemic and intravesical immunotherapies and nano-particular based chemotherapies. Much of the research he conducts has a direct effect on the management of patients, he explains. His intent for the research he is conducting at Penn is to discover therapeutics for the management of bladder cancer, and bring these agents into first-in-human trials.
Dr. Bivalacqua's clinical interests also include regenerative approaches to enhance autonomic nerve function, and the development of a neo-urinary conduit and neobladder with engineered urinary tissue, and regenerative approaches to enhance autonomic nerve function and development of tissue-engineered urinary tissue with the ultimate goal of production of a neo-urinary conduit and bladder.
Additionally, Dr. Bivalacqua works with a number of national society boards and advocacy groups including the AUA, the Society of Urologic Oncology and the Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network, to help give back to patients who will benefit from standardization of treatment for urologic cancers.
Philip M. Pierorazio, MD
Philip M. Pierorazio, MD, assumed the role of Chief, Section of Urology at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center in October 2021.
A urologic surgeon with a background in research, Dr. Pierorazio's clinical and academic practice focuses on kidney cancer (renal cell carcinoma), testicular cancer, upper tract urothelial cancer, and prostate cancer.
Since his arrival at Penn, Dr. Pierorazio has built a research team that includes basic science researchers, statisticians, and other urologists both within and outside of Penn Medicine.
The team's focus includes cancer biomarkers, improved outcomes for complex surgeries, quality of care throughout the cancer journey, and minimizing the impact of surgical treatments.
Additionally, Dr. Pierorazio is working to create a better synthesis between clinical trials at Penn Medicine's hospitals and the Abramson Cancer Center. He continues to lead one of the largest active surveillance registries for patients with small kidney tumors, the Delayed Intervention and Surveillance for Small Renal Masses (DISSRM) Registry.
Dr. Pierorazio is also taking an active part in educating residents and fellows. Having checked off a lot of the boxes in his career for things he wanted to do, he says, he's now taking a larger role in the people rising through the ranks within the field.
"I'm still doing the research and the academics that I want to do, but now I have a much larger role in growing the people around the trainees, the residents, the fellows, my junior partners."
For his example of leadership and dedication to mentorship of undergraduate and medical students, residents, fellows and faculty, he was a recipient of the 2022 American Urological Association (AUA) Young Urologist of the Year Award.
To complement all of the aforementioned, Dr. Pierorazio continues to be involved in national guideline panels, including both the AUA and National Comprehensive Cancer Network Guidelines Committees, for Kidney, Testicular and Upper Tract Urothelial Cancer.
Orthopaedic Oncology
Cara A. Cipriano, MD
Cara A. Cipriano, MD, MSc, is now the Chief of Orthopaedic Oncology at Penn Medicine.
A graduate of the Perelman School of Medicine, Dr. Cipriano is an accomplished surgical specialist in orthopaedic oncology and adult reconstruction who treats benign and malignant tumors of the musculoskeletal system and soft tissues. She has a particular focus on osteosarcoma.
In addition to these interests, Dr. Cipriano has assumed a leading role in transforming the gender profile for orthopaedic surgery. "For better or worse, I've always had a bit of a trailblazer mentality. If someone says I can't do something, it's going to be the first thing I take on," she says.
Much of Dr. Cipriano's work on this front revolves around recalibrating expectations. As the department's Director of Undergraduate Medical Education, Dr. Cipriano is actively working to undo the dated stereotypes that continue to put off female orthopaedic medical students. Thus, she's involved in recruiting prospective residents to Penn Orthopaedics, and selecting them.
"Along with others, I review all of the applications of the women residents and help determine who will get interviews," she says. "From there, I'll reach out to them, as needed, to answer any questions they may have. We want our women candidates to feel supported as they move through the review process."
In addition to leading the mentorship program for the Women in Arthroplasty Committee of the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons, Dr. Cipriano has published on the pathophysiology of sarcoma and its management, and the intricacies of bone loss and regeneration.
Gastrointestinal Surgery & Oncology
Charles M. Vollmer, MD
Charles M. Vollmer, MD, is now Chief of the Division of Gastrointestinal Surgery, and Director of Pancreatic Surgery at Penn Medicine. He also serves as the founding Co-Director of the Penn Pancreatic Cyst Multidisciplinary Program.
Dr. Vollmer's practice encompasses malignant and benign conditions of the pancreas and biliary system with a focus on pancreatic cancer, cysts, and pancreatitis. His research embraces clinical outcomes assessment in high-acuity surgery (particularly pancreatic fistula), which has been the source of three books focusing on pancreaticobiliary diseases, 40 book chapters, and more than 190 manuscripts.
Dr. Vollmer has served in numerous leadership positions for national and international organizations in his field, including President of the Americas Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association in 2019.
Breast Cancer Surgery
Lola Motunrayo Fayanju, MD, MA, MPHS, FACS
New Chief of Breast Surgery at Penn Medicine, Oluwadamilola "Lola" Fayanju, MD, MA, MPHS, FACS, is also Surgical Director at the Rena Rowan Breast Center.
A former National Academy of Medicine Emerging Leaders in Health and Medicine Scholar, Dr. Fayanju is a two-time recipient of Conquer Cancer Merit Awards from the American Society of Clinical Oncology
Dr. Fayanju brings a superlative background and expertise in breast cancer surgery to Penn. Her research interests include health disparities, aggressive breast cancer variants, and improving value in oncology. Dr. Fayanju's research focuses on addressing disparities in breast cancer outcomes and treatment, as well as improving the quality and efficiency of breast cancer care delivery. She has brought these concentrations to her role at Penn, where she hopes to lead the development of high quality, effective, and equitable care for all women.
Additionally, Dr. Fayanju has spoken and published widely on inequities in care and clinical research. As a surgeon, she is acutely aware of these issues and the nuances of care for women with breast cancer, the balance between risk and benefit, and the challenges in expanding the reach of care.
"My job is to remove cancer as appropriate, but also to provide women with all of the information that they need to choose the type of surgery that best fits their desires and their goals," she said recently. "What I'm excited about in breast cancer is doing a better job of tailoring treatment. Not doing too much but not under-treating people, while particularly focusing on not letting women be left behind."
The Value of Cancer Leadership
Commenting on the recent transformation in cancer leadership, Abramson Cancer Center Director Robert Vonderheide, MD, DPhil, reiterated the importance of leadership in achieving the institution's mission.
"Our senior leaders are tasked with fostering a creative, cohesive, and comprehensive environment for cancer care and research across the translational pipeline for which the Center is well-known," Dr. Vonderheide said. "I have no doubt that in the selection of each of the recent additions to the Abramson Cancer Center cancer leadership, we are securing the future of our mission to advance cancer care in every discipline."
Read more about the Abramson Cancer Center, its programs and clinical research.