Department of Medicine
Hematology/Oncology
Our mission is to achieve academic excellence in basic research, clinical research and education, and to provide the highest quality of care to our patients.
Hematology/Oncology
Our mission is to achieve academic excellence in basic research, clinical research and education, and to provide the highest quality of care to our patients.
Overview
The Division of Hematology/Oncology was formed when The Miriam Hospital Hematology/Oncology Division, the Rhode Island Hospital Division of Hematology and the Rhode Island Hospital Department of Medical Oncology merged in 1999. The division includes thirteen MD’s, six PhD’s, nurses, pharmacists, social workers, protocol nurses and staff, cancer registrars, lab technicians and secretaries. Our mission is to achieve academic excellence in basic research, clinical research and education, and to provide the highest quality of care to our patients.
Clinical research is conducted under the direction of the Brown University Oncology Group (BrUOG), which is chaired by Dr. Howard Safran. Patients are offered state of the art cancer chemotherapy protocols, both via national cooperative groups as well as our own local protocols.
The Warren Alpert Medical School has an active and productive fellowship program. Under the leadership of Dr. Anthony Mega, we have ten fellows who spend three years gaining board eligibility in both Hematology and Medical Oncology. During their stay in the program, the fellows gain expertise not only in the clinical management of patients, but also in writing and implementing clinical trials for cancer patients.
The Division of Hematology/Oncology provides a full range of services to patients both in the ambulatory and hospital settings. At both The Miriam Hospital and Rhode Island Hospital, newly renovated outpatient space allows for the diagnosis and treatment of the entire range of hematologic and oncologic disorders. Dedicated inpatient units at hospitals allow nursing expertise and other support services to best meet our patients’ needs. A recent goal has been the establishment of multidisciplinary clinics for all the major malignancies. This allows the patient to receive the expertise of the surgeon, radiation oncologist and medical oncologist at the time of their first visit.
Faculty
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Jasjit Ahluwalia, MD
Professor of Behavioral and Social Sciences; Professor of Medicine -
Khaldoun Almhanna, MD, MPH
Associate Professor of Medicine; Clinician Educator -
Christopher Azzoli, MD
Jeffrey A. Brown and Barbara Horovitz Brown Associate Professor of Translational Medicine; Director, Thoracic Oncology Program, Lifespan Cancer Institute; Clinician Educator -
Peter Barth, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine; Clinician Educator -
Paul Bertone, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine (Research) -
Ari Birnbaum, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine; Director, Head and Neck Cancer Program, Lifespan Cancer Institute; Clinician Educator -
Rimini Breakstone, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine; Clinician Educator -
James Butera, MD
Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine -
Benedito Carneiro, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine; Director of Clinical Research and Director of Cancer Drug Development, Lifespan Cancer Institute; Associate Director of The Division of Hematology-Oncology -
Maria Constantinou, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine -
Michelle Dawson, MD
Associate Professor of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry -
Andre DeSouza, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine -
Don Dizon, MD
Professor of Medicine; Professor of Surgery; Director of Women’s Cancers and Hematology and Oncology Clinics, Lifespan Cancer Institute; Director of Oncology Sexual Health Clinic, Lifespan Cancer Institute; Director of Medical Oncology, RIH -
Patrycja Dubielecka-Szczerba, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine -
Pamela Egan, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine; Clinician Educator -
Wafik El-Deiry, MD
Mencoff Family University Professor of Medical Science; Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine -
Katherine Faricy-Anderson, MD, MPH
Associate Professor of Medicine; Clinician Educator -
Mary Anne Fenton, MD
Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine; Clinical Director, Breast Medical Oncology, Rhode Island Hospital -
Mary Flynn, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine; Clinician Educator -
Nancy Freeman, MD
Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine; Section Chief, Hematology-Oncology, Providence VA Medical Center -
Dana Guyer, MD, FAAHPM
Assistant Professor of Medicine; Assistant Program Director for Clinic; Palliative Care Supervisor, Lifespan Cancer Center; Clinician Educator -
Randall Ingham, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine; Clinician Educator -
Hina Khan, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine; Clinician Educator -
Humera Khurshid, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine; Director, Geriatric Oncology, Lifespan Cancer Institute; Clinician Educator -
Edward Martin, MD
Professor of Medicine; Clinician Educator -
Anthony Mega, MD
Associate Professor of Surgery; Associate Professor of Medicine; Director, Genitourinary Oncology Program, Lifespan Cancer Institute; Clinician Educator -
Rabin Niroula, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine; Clinician Educator -
Thomas Ollila, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine -
Adam Olszewski, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine -
Matthew Quesenberry, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine; Clinician Educator -
Peter Quesenberry, MD
Paul Calabresi, M.D. Professor of Oncology; Professor of Medicine -
Alexander Raufi, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine -
Fatima Raza, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine; Clinician Educator -
John Reagan, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine; Director of Hematology, Lifespan Cancer Institute -
Iole Ribizzi-Akhtar, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine; Clinician Educator -
Howard Safran, MD
Professor of Medicine; Division Director, Hematology-Oncology -
Fred Schiffman, MD
Sigal Family Professor of Humanistic Medicine; Professor of Medicine; Associate Physician in Chief, The Miriam Hospital; Medical Director, Lifespan Cancer Institute -
Alexi Shimanovsky, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine; Clinician Educator -
Rochelle Strenger, MD
Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine; Clinical Director, Women’s Medical Oncology, The Miriam Hospital -
Jeremy Warner, MD, MS, FAMIA, FASCO
Professor of Biostatistics; Professor of Medicine; Director, Center for Clinical Cancer Informatics and Data Science -
Sicheng Wen, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine (Research) -
Sabrina Witherby, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine; Clinician Educator
Fellowship Program
Hematology/Oncology Fellowship
Graduating fellows are well equipped to pursue scholarly academic careers and for the challenges of clinical practice in Hematology and Medical Oncology.
Research Programs
Brown University Oncology Group (BrUOG)
Clinical trials are available for a broad range of disorders in hematology/oncology and these include treatment for cancers of the breast, lung, gastrointestinal tract, skin, and prostate as well as trials in leukemia and lymphoma. Many of these trials utilize novel therapeutic agents or new combinations of treatments in an effort to improve treatment.
The Brown University Oncology Group (BrUOG) is the principal mechanism for oncology clinical trials at The Warren Alpert Medical School. This regional consortium of Brown-affiliated hospitals allows hematologists, oncologists, surgeons, radiation oncologists, pathologists, and others to develop investigator-initiated clinical trials. These studies are conceived and designed by faculty at member institutions. They provide cutting-edge applications of chemotherapeutic agents, biologic agents, and other treatment modalities. Such innovative studies lay the groundwork for larger nationwide studies under the auspices of cooperative clinical trials groups.
In addition to protocols coordinated by BrUOG, patients at our hospitals also have access to a large variety of other clinical trials through national cooperative groups such as Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB), the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) and the Radiation Treatment Oncology Group (RTOG). Only through the resources of such large organizations can such randomized trials of cancer therapy take place. Pharmaceutical industry-sponsored trials of novel agents are also available. Sponsorship for clinical trials is derived from the National Cancer Institute and from numerous pharmaceutical industry sponsors.
Howard Safran, MD, is the Director of the Brown University Oncology Group. William Sikov, MD, is the principal investigator for the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology (formerly CALGB) trials at Rhode Island Hospital and The Miriam Hospital.
The Brown University Oncology Research Group (BrUOG) advances cancer care through the implementation of innovative, multidisciplinary clinical trials.
Legorreta Cancer Center
The Legorreta Cancer Center at Brown University is building world-class cancer research programs that bring basic science discoveries about cancer, interdisciplinary clinical, translational, and population research to innovative therapeutic, disease intervention and cancer prevention clinical trials to patients in the State of Rhode Island. The Cancer Center is an outgrowth of the Joint Program in Cancer Biology at Brown and Brown University Health.
Making a big impact on the smallest state through cancer prevention, patient care, research and education.