I am a radiation oncologist with more than 17 years of experience. I specialize in using advanced forms of radiation to treat head and neck cancer, including thyroid cancer. These include proton therapy, intensity modulated radiation therapy, image-guided radiation therapy, and stereotactic body radiation therapy. My goal in using these technologies is to improve my patients’ outcomes while decreasing potential treatment side effects and preserving their quality of life. No matter which treatment option we use, I care for all of my patients as if they were part of my family. This means creating a plan tailored to their unique disease, and doing everything I can to help them get well.
My research is focused on ways to make radiation therapy for head and neck cancers safer and more effective. I am the principal investigator for many national and international clinical trials. For example, for people with very advanced head and neck cancer, I am researching the effectiveness of immunotherapy combined with chemoradiation. I am also studying the use of plasma Epstein-Barr virus DNA to individualize treatment for people with nasopharyngeal cancer.