Special Services
If you require special assistance to attend this event, please call Melissa Darsey at (859) 323-4573.
An Equal Opportunity University.
Speakers
Val Adams, Aaron Adkisson, Allissa Anderson, Mary Anderson, Kendall Bloomfield, Trevor Breedlove, Deborah Carey, Holly Cheek, Robert DiPaola, B Mark Evers, Anecita Fadol, Douglas Flora, Elizabeth Franklin, Chelle Gilliam, Charles Griffith III, Jodie Huff, Kelly Jenkins, Nicki McKibben, John Montville, Timothy Mullett, Reema Patel, Vijay Rao, Cathy Reising, Dana Slusher, Cheri Tolle, Ronald Wiegel
Val Adams, Pharm.D
Associate Professor
Pharmacy Practice and Science
University of Kentucky
College of Pharmacy
Lexington, Kentucky
Dr. Adams is an Associate Professor in the department of Pharmacy Practice and Science in the College of Pharmacy at the University of Kentucky. He co-chairs the protocol review and monitoring committee for the Markey Cancer Center. He received his B.S. in pharmacy from the University of Utah and received his doctor of pharmacy from the University of Texas. He did an oncology residency at the Audie Murphy VA in San Antonio and an immunology fellowship at the University of Florida.
Aaron Adkisson, PharmD BCCP
Clinical Pharmacist
University of Kentucky HealthCare
Lexington, Kentucky
Aaron B Adkisson is a clinical pharmacist at the University of Kentucky HealthCare whose primary practice sites are in ambulatory cardiooncology and general cardiology He earned his Doctor of Pharmacy PharmD from the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy in 2021 Following graduation he completed a PGY1 Pharmacy Practice Residency at Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center in Danville KY and a PGY2 Cardiology Specialty Residency at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy in Baltimore MD He is a Board Certified Cardiology Pharmacist BCCP Aarons professional interests include managing chronic hypertension HFrEF management and addressing health disparities
Allissa Anderson, MJ, CTR
Quality Program Manager
Markey Cancer Center Affiliate Network
University of Kentucky
Clinical Oncology Pharmacy Speciality
Baptist Health Lexington
Lexington, Kentucky
Allissa D. Anderson, MJ, CTR received her bachelor’s degree from Eastern Kentucky University in 2008 in Health Services Administration. She then received her Master’s Degree in Jurisprudence of Health Law from Loyola University in Chicago is 2015. Allissa also holds a Certified Tumor Registrar certification, sitting for and passing the exam in 2012.
Allissa is currently working for the University of Kentucky’s Markey Cancer Center Affiliate Network as a Quality Program Manager. In this role, Allissa supervises the Quality Improvement Team and works closely with the affiliate hospitals to ensure Commission on Cancer standards (the gold standard for hospital cancer programs) are being met.
Mary Anderson, BSN, RN, OCN®
Sr Manager of Nursing Initiatives
NCODA
Louisville, Kentucky
Mary Anderson is the Sr. Manager of Nursing Initiatives at NCODA, a multidisciplinary professional oncology organization dedicated to providing tools and educational resources for all members of the oncology care team. She graduated from the University of Kentucky College of Nursing in 1988 and has since dedicated 36 years to the field of oncology nursing.
Throughout her career, Mary has served in various roles including inpatient Pediatric Oncology, Bone Marrow Transplant, and outpatient Medical Oncology. For 10 years, she served as the first Oral Oncolytic Nurse Navigator at Norton Cancer Institute in Louisville, KY, where she was instrumental in developing patient education platforms, documentation flowsheets, and proactive interdisciplinary workflows. Mary has authored chapters for the Oncology Nursing Society’s Chemotherapy and Immunotherapy Guidelines and Recommendations for Practice, including the chapter on Oral Adherence.
Kendall Bloomfield, MBA
Clinical Oncology Pharmacy Specialist
Baptist Health Lexington
Lexington, Kentucky
Analytics Analyst, Senior
UK St. Clair
Morehead, Kentucky
Kendall Bloomfield has worked for St. Claire Healthcare in Morehead, Kentucky for 18 years. He has held positions in Finance as an Accountant, in IT as a Systems Analyst, and the last 4 years in Analytics as an Analytics Analyst. He has a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Masters in Business Administration, both from Morehead State University.
Deborah Carey, CSW, OSW-C
Quality Coordinator
Markey Cancer Center
University of Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky
Debbie Carey is a certified oncology social worker with over 25 years of social work experience in childrens mental health Hospice care and oncology She works for the University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center Affiliate Network as a Quality Coordinator providing support and education to central Kentucky MCCAN affiliates Debbie obtained her Masters of Social Work from the University of Kentucky in 1997 and is currently a doctoral student in social work at UK She is an active Association of Oncology Social Work AOSW member serving on the Advocacy Committee and the Awards Committee She also serves on Markey Cancer Centers Survivorship Committee Her current research interests include optimization of the social work role in oncology and methods to increase diversity in oncology clinical research studies
Holly Cheek
Senior Financial Counselor
Owensboro Health Mitchell Memorial Cancer Center
Owensboro, Kentucky
Holly Ann Cheek currently serves as the Financial Counselor at Mitchell Memorial Cancer Center in Owensboro, Kentucky. She graduated from Western Kentucky University in 2021 with a Bachelor's Degree in Healthcare Administration nd is currently pursuing an MBA through Northern Kentucky University.
Robert DiPaola, MD
Dean
College of Medicine
University of Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky
Dr. DiPaola earned BS and MD degrees at the University of Utah, completed an internship and residency in internal medicine at Duke University Medical Center, and completed a fellowship in hematology-oncology at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia.
With considerable experience in the area of translational research with a primary focus on the study of prostate cancer, he was one of the earliest investigators to target the degradation of bcl-2/apoptosis and autophagy/cancer metabolism in both the laboratory and clinic as a means to restore drug sensitivity in prostate cancer; and clinical studies that have had impact on standards of care, including recent studies published as senior author in high impact journals including the New England Journal of Medicine (2015) and Lancet (2016). His accomplishments in the area of translational research are also underscored by grants from the NIH, Department of Defense, ACS, and private foundations, as well as additional prior publications in other prominent journals including the JAMA, Cell, Arch Intern Med, Genes & Devel, Clinical Cancer Research, and the Journal of Clinical Oncology. He is currently Multi-PI of an NCI/NIH Therapeutics UM1 Grant with Ohio State and is a full member of multiple NCI/NIH committees, including the Investigational Drug Steering Committee and NCI/NIH IRG Subcommittee A (Parent Committee) for cancer centers review, of which he was elected Chair in August 2016.
He has also had considerable experience in leadership and administration: at Rutgers leading the growth, restructuring, and integration of an NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center as a full financial responsibility center within a large state University matrix; the creation and launch of a full clinical service line; and programmatic multidisciplinary research initiatives with an emphasis on building upon academic strengths bridging multiple schools and institutes.
At the University of Kentucky, he is leading efforts at state-wide campus expansions, new educational and research initiatives, executive leadership within the healthcare system and academic activities of the College of Medicine and the University.
B Mark Evers, MD, FACS
Director, Markey Cancer Center
Physician in Chief of Oncology Service
Vice-Chair for Research, Department of Surgery
University of Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky
At the University of Kentucky, Dr. Evers is the Markey Cancer Foundation Endowed Chair, Director of the Lucille P. Markey Cancer Center, and Professor and Vice-chair for Research in the Department of Surgery. He also serves as the Physician-in-chief of the Oncology Service Line for UK HealthCare.
Dr. Evers graduated summa cum laude (Phi Beta Kappa) from the University of Tennessee in 1979 and summa cum laude (Alpha Omega Alpha) from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in 1983. He completed his surgical training at the University of Louisville and then performed a research fellowship at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in Galveston from 1988-1990. Prior to joining UK in 2009, Dr. Evers was Professor and Robertson-Poth Distinguished Chair in General Surgery and the Director of the UTMB Sealy Center for Cancer Cell Biology.
Dr. Evers’ research has been continuously funded by the NIH for more than 20 years, including an NIH MERIT Award, multiple R01s, and training grants. He has authored more than 400 peer-reviewed publications, book chapters, and reviews. Throughout his career, he has received more than 30 awards, including the prestigious Flance-Karl Award from the American Surgical Association, and held numerous leadership positions in national and international organizations. These include the Society for Surgical Oncology, American College of Surgeons, and the American Gastroenterological Association. He is an elected member of the American Society of Clinical Investigation and the Association of American Physicians. Dr. Evers has held the positions of President of the Society of University Surgeons, Secretary and President the Southern Surgical Association, and Senior Director of the American Board of Surgery. He is currently Treasurer of the American Surgical Association. Dr. Evers serves on the editorial boards of three journals, is a past member of two NIH study sections, and acts as Associate Editor of the Sabiston Textbook of Surgery. In 2015, he was honored with an “Outstanding Alumnus” award from the University of Tennessee College of Medicine. Dr. Evers has been listed in “Best Doctors in America” since 2004. At the state level, Dr. Evers is a member of the Kentucky Lung Cancer Research Program Governance Board and a member of the Kentucky Colon Cancer Screening Program Advisory Committee. In 2013, he was elected to the Mid-South Board of Directors for the American Cancer Society.
Dr. Evers led efforts to achieve National Cancer Institute (NCI) designation for the University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center in 2013. The Markey Cancer Center is one of only 69 cancer centers designated by the NCI and the only one in Kentucky. Dr. Evers is currently leading preparation of the 2017 renewal application to the NCI.
Anecita Fadol, PhD, APRN
Associate Professor
Department of Nursing
Department of Cardiology
The University of Texas
MD Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, Texas
Dr. Anecita P. Fadol received her diploma in nursing with honors from the CLMMH School of Nursing, and her bachelor of science in nursing from Riverside College, Bacolod City, Philippines. She completed her Master of Science in Nursing with honors in Critical Care Nursing from the University Of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, Texas, and received her Family Nurse Practitioner and Doctor of Philosophy at Texas Woman's University, Houston, Texas.Ýr. Fadol was the supervisor of the Critical Care Nursing Residency program, and Clinical Nurse Specialist of the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit at The Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas. After completing the Family Nurse Practitioner Program, she was coordinator of the Heart Failure Program at Kelsey-Seybold Clinic, the largest managed care system in Houston, Texas. Her research focus is symptom management of patients with cancer and heart failure. Dr. Fadol led the development and validation of the MD Anderson Symptom Inventory- Heart Failure (MDASI-HF) instrument for symptom assessment. She is coordinator of the “Heart Success Program,” a collaborative, interdisciplinary program for the management of patients with cancer and heart failure. She is a recipient of the Oncology Nursing Society Nursing Research Fellowship award and was inducted as a Fellow of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners. She is the editor of the “Cardiac Complications of Cancer Therapy,” the first nursing reference textbook for patients with cancer and concurrent cardiac problems.
Douglas Flora, MD, LSSBB
Executive Medical Director
Oncology Services
St. Elizabeth Healthcare
The Robert and Dell Ann Sathe Endowed Chair
Oncology
Edgewood, Kentucky
Dr. Flora serves as the Executive Medical Director of Oncology Services and The Robert and Dell Ann Sathe Endowed Chair in Oncology at St. Elizabeth Healthcare. He was born and raised in Cincinnati, graduating from The Ohio State University College of Medicine in 1999. He has been named a Cincinnati Magazine Top Doctor in Hematology and Oncology for consecutive years since 2005.
Dr. Flora is a Board Member of the American Cancer Society, the Association of Community Cancer Centers, and the Kentucky Society of Clinical Oncology. He also serves as Editor-in-Chief for the pioneering per-reviewed journal AI in Precision Oncology.
Elizabeth Franklin, PhD, MSW
Clinical Oncology Pharmacy Specialist
Baptist Health Lexington
Lexington, Kentucky
Head, US Public Affairs and Patient Advocacy, Oncology
Sanofi
Washington, DC
Elizabeth Franklin, PhD, MSW, is an advocate for people impacted by cancer and is passionate about ensuring that patient voices are the north star in health care decision and policy making. Elizabeth has spent two decades as an oncology advocacy leader and has significant expertise in patient advocacy, professional social work, patient navigation, research, and public policy. She currently serves as Head, U.S. Public Affairs and Patient Advocacy, Oncology with Sanofi. Elizabeth previously held positions as President of the Cancer Support Community (CSC), as well as the George Washington University Cancer Institute, Prevent Cancer Foundation, and National Association of Social Workers. She earned a doctorate from the University of Maryland School of Social Work, her Masters Degree in Social Work from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and her Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work from the University of Kentucky.
Chelle Gilliam, ODS, R.T.(r)
Clinical Oncology Pharmacy Specialist
Baptist Health Lexington
Lexington, Kentucky
Chelle Gilliam joined St. Claire Healthcare located in Morehead, Kentucky in November of 2015. I received my Certification in Tumor Registry on July 13, 2018. I am responsible for abstraction of all malignancies at St. Claire Healthcare along with coordination Cancer Conference and Cancer Committee. Prior to becoming a Oncology Data Specialist, I received my Associates degree in Radiologic Technology in 1994 from Sinclair Community College, Dayton, Ohio.
Charles Griffith III, MD, MSPH, FACP
Vice Dean, Education
Emery Wilson MD Dean’s Professorship
Professor, Internal Medicine and Pediatrics
University of Kentucky College of Medicine
Lexington, Kentucky
Dr. Griffith earned an MD from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, Tennessee. He completed residency at the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington.
He is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine, American Board of Pediatrics, and is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians.
As Vice Dean for Education, his responsibilities included all medical student programs, residency and fellowship programs, graduate student programs, and continuing education at the University of Kentucky.
Research interests are outcomes of medical education, both learner outcomes and patient outcomes when cared for by learners.
Jodie Huff, MS CGC
Genetic Counselor
Owensboro Health Prevention and Mitchell Memorial Cancer Center
Owensboro, Kentucky
Jodie Huff is a genetic counselor with 9 years of counseling experience in cancer genetics She has a passion for both access to genetic services and cancer risk assessment in rural areas She is currently the cancer counselor for Owensboro Health She earned a Master of Science in Genetic Counseling from Brandeis University
Kelly Jenkins, MSN RN NEBC
Clinical Oncology Pharmacy Specialist
Baptist Health Lexington
Lexington, Kentucky
Executive Director
Kentucky Board of Nursing
Louisville, Kentucky
Kelly has been the Executive Director of the KBN for 3 years holding more than 32 years of nursing experience including a variety of nursing roles in acute care Throughout her career she has worked as an intensive care staff nurse nurse educator assistant director of nursing director of critical care services director of nursing director of case management quality director and a corporate compliance officer Kelly has also served on advisory boards for both health careers at her local high school as well as the nearby community college nursing program She has a passion for working collaboratively to drive change as a means of influencing quality outcomes for the constituents of the Commonwealth Kelly also served as a KBN Board member for almost 8 years ending her last term in the position of Board President
Nicki McKibben, BHS RDCS
Lead Cardiac Sonographer
Gill Heart and Vascular Institute
University of Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky
Niki McKibben is the Lead Cardiac Sonographer at Gill Heart and Vascular Institute She graduated magna cum laude from St Catherine College in 2014 and has been with UK Healthcare for the past five years In addition to her role as Lead Sonographer Niki serves as the Quality Improvement Coordinator for the Adult Echo Lab where she helps maintain IAC accreditation Niki is deeply committed to the field of echocardiography and enjoys teaching junior sonographers and mentoring sonography students
John Montville, MBA FACHE FACMPE FACCC COA
Clinical Oncology Pharmacy Specialist
Baptist Health Lexington
Lexington, Kentucky
John J Montville MBA FACHE FACMPE FACCC COA currently acts as Executive Director Oncology Service Line at Bon Secours Mercy Health Paducah Cancer Center He is an oncology executive with three decades of oncology management and operations experience working with multiple organizations health systems and hospitals including in both the for profit and not for profit sectors In addition to this work he has served as an oncology consultant with several companies He is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives FACHE a Fellow in the American College of Medical Practice Executives FACMPE a Fellow of the Association of Community Cancer Centers FACCC and a Certified Oncology Administrator COA He holds expertise in oncology operations billing development accreditations revenue cycle review and logistics He holds a Bachelors Degree in Marketing and a Masters in Business Administration He is active on multiple Association of Community Cancer Centers Committees committees of the Association of Cancer Executives is a Professional Papers Committee Team Leader for American College of Medical Practice Executives and has served on many other committees in oncology and healthcare He has been a regular presenter at national oncology meetings and has been published in multiple oncology journals and publications
Timothy Mullett, MD, MBA, FACS
Professor, Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery
University of Kentucky College of Medicine
Medical Director, Network Operations
UK Markey Cancer Center
Lexington, Kentucky
Chair, Commission on Cancer
American College of Surgeons
Timothy Wm. Mullett, MD, MBA, FACS, is a professor of surgery in the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the University of Kentucky (UK). He received his medical degree and surgical training at the University of Florida, and has served on faculty at UK for the past 25 years. Although he has experience in cardiac surgery and transplantation, Dr. Mullett’s clinical practice and research focuses on the overwhelming burden of lung cancer in Kentucky. He is a member of the UK Markey Cancer Center – Kentucky’s only National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center – and is chair of UK’s cancer committee. This Commission on Cancer program achieved an Outstanding Achievement Award in 2017. He served as CoC state chair for six years and was awarded Outstanding State Chair in 2019. In October of 2019, Dr. Mullett was elected to serve as the next national Chair of the CoC, a role he assumed in November 2020.
Currently, Dr. Mullett is the medical director of the Markey Cancer Center Affiliate Network, a program that provides high-quality cancer care closer to home at collaborating centers through specialty services, education and outreach programs. He also serves as medical director of the Markey Cancer Center Research Network, a collaborative network of sites that conducts a portfolio of high priority trials including therapeutic oncology trials and interventional and non-interventional studies appropriate for community centers.
Dr. Mullett’s research interests include studying quality implementation of lung cancer screening. He is principal investigator of the Kentucky LEADS Collaborative, a portfolio of studies to reduce the burden of lung cancer in Kentucky. For three years, he has been the clinical champion for the L.A.U.N.C.H. Collaborative, working with the NCI, the Federal Communications Commission, Amgen, and other stakeholders to study barriers to cancer care and the impact of limited broadband access.
In addition to his medical career, Dr. Mullett is a retired colonel with 27 years in the US Army Reserves Medical Corps, with tours of duty in Iraq, Afghanistan and with Homeland Security in response to terrorist threats. He is also an eight-year cancer survivor, having been treated successfully with targeted therapy for a metastatic sarcoma.
Reema Patel, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Division of Hematology and Oncology
University of Kentucky College of Medicine
Lexington, Kentucky
Dr. Reema Patel graduated from Quillen College of Medicine and completed her Internal Medicine residency and Hematology and Medical Oncology at the University of Kentucky. She is the associate program director of the Hematology & Medical Oncology Fellowship at UK and holds a faculty appointment as an assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Medical Oncology. She specializes in the treatment of bone and soft-tissue sarcomas, and gastrointestinal malignancies in the setting of a multidisplinary cancer center.
Vijay Rao, MD, PhD
Cardiology Clerkship Director
IU SOM and Marian COM
Director, CardioOncology IC-OS Center of Excellence, Director, Heart Failure and Anticoagulation
Franciscan Health
Indianapolis, Indiana
Governor, Indiana Chapter, American College of Cardiology (ACC)
Dr. Rao completed his MD and PhD at the Medical University of South Carolina, Internal Medicine residency at Duke University Medical Center, followed by a Cardiology Fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco. He is the Director of the CardioOncology, Heart Failure, and Anticoagulation clinics at Franciscan Health in Indianapolis, Indiana. He serves as Chair of the IC-OS Center of Excellence Committee and is an active member of the IC-OS education committee. The Franciscan CardioOncology program won the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) national Innovator Award in 2019 and was selected as an IC-OS Center of Excellence: Gold Status in 2022. He was also the lead author on a JACC: State of the Art Review on Cardiovascular Toxicity of Oral Antineoplastic Agents in 2021 and is the Governor-Elect of the Indiana Chapter of the American College of Cardiology.
Cathy Reising, MBA, BBA, ODS-C
Manager
Cancer Registry and Oncology Accreditations
St. Elizabeth Healthcare
Edgewood, Kentucky
With over 35 years of dedicated service in Cancer Registration, I have built a career marked by excellence and a deep commitment to quality care. As a seasoned Commission on Cancer (CoC) Survey Consultant and manager of a multi-facility hospital cancer registry system, my leadership has consistently earned multiple CoC program awards including Outstanding Achievement Award accolades. My academic background, featuring an MBA, BBA, and ODS-C, complements my practical experience, culminating in our program's full accreditation through August 2026.
Dana Slusher, BSN, RN, OCN
Oral Oncology Nurse Navigator
Norton Cancer Institute
Louisville, Kentucky
Dana Slusher graduated from the University of Louisville in 2012 with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. She has 12 years of oncology experience, including 5 years as a hematology research nurse. She currently works as an Oral Oncology Nurse Navigator at Norton Cancer Institute in Louisville, KY. Dana enjoys collaborating with her colleagues in order to provide safe and affordable oncology care for patients who are taking oral anticancer medications.
Cheri Tolle, MAEd, CHES
Administrative Director
Markey Cancer Center Affiliate Network
Markey Cancer Center
University of Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky
Cheri Tolle is the administrative director for the Markey Cancer Center Affiliate Network at the University of Kentucky, a position she has held since the Network’s inception in 2006. Ms. Tolle and her staff have developed successful collaborations with 19 community hospitals across Kentucky to offer high-quality cancer care close to home for cancer patients. During the past 35 years at UK, she has served as deputy director for the CDC-funded UK Prevention Research Center and Partnership Program Manager/Assistant Project Director for NCI’s Cancer Information Service of the Mid-South. Ms. Tolle has a master’s degree in education from Eastern Kentucky University and is a Certified Health Education Specialist.
Ronald Wiegel, MD, PhD, MBA, FACS
Medical Director
ACS Cancer Programs
Chicago, Illinois
Clinical Oncology Pharmacy Specialist
Baptist Health Lexington
Lexington, Kentucky
Ronald Weigel, MD, PhD, received his BS and MS in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and received his MD and PhD in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry at Yale University. Dr. Weigel received his general surgery training at Duke University Medical Center under the direction of Dr. David Sabiston. After completing the general surgery training program at Duke, Dr. Weigel joined the faculty at Stanford University. He developed a highly successful practice in breast and endocrine surgery and built an NIH-funded laboratory studying mechanisms of hormone response in cancer. He joined Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia in 2002 as Vice Chair and Chief of Surgical Oncology, and received his MBA from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania in 2005. In 2005, Dr. Weigel was recruited to the University of Iowa as the EA Crowell Jr. Professor and Chair of the Department of Surgery with joint appointments as Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics. Dr. Weigel is an accomplished surgical oncologist and endocrine surgeon who maintains a vibrant basic science research laboratory. Dr. Weigel has served as the PI of the University of Iowa’s NIH-funded T32 training grant in surgical oncology. Dr. Weigel has served as a charter member of the NIH CAMP study section and served as a member of the Breast SPORE and NCI-designated Cancer Centers study sections. He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine, has served as a Director of the American Board of Surgery and is a past president of the Society of Surgical Oncology and Central Surgical Association. He has served as Vice President, Secretary, and President-elect of the American Surgical Association. He is a past Chair of the Board of Governors for the American College of Surgeons and recently became the Medical Director for Cancer programs at the American College of Surgeons.
