Your proton therapy care team

Dr. Charles B. Simone, II is the Chief Medical Officer of the New York Proton Center. He is an internationally recognized expert in the use of proton therapy for thoracic malignancies and reirradiation and has an extensive background in traditional radiotherapy. He also specializes in developing clinical trial strategies and performs innovative research in thoracic radiation oncology and stereotactic body radiation therapy. Dr. Simone is a Full Member in the Department of Radiation Oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

Dr. Simone is a National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, and Department of Defense funded investigator who performs clinical and translational research investigating the benefits of proton therapy and traditional radiation therapy as part of multi-modality therapy for thoracic malignancies.

Prior to coming to New York Proton Center, Dr. Simone was Chief of the Thoracic Oncology Service at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and then the Medical Director of the Maryland Proton Treatment Center.

Dr. Simone was recognized by Crain’s New York on its 2021 Notable in Healthcare list and by FindaTopDoc.com.

Dr. Charles Simone

Dr. Arpit Chhabra is an attending radiation oncologist at the New York Proton Center and specializes in the treatment of cancers of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, as well as malignancies of the Base of Skull and Spine. In addition to his clinical responsibilities, Dr. Chhabra is the Director of Education and lead physician of the International Relations program at the New York Proton Center. He is also affiliated with Mount Sinai Health System.

Before coming to the New York Proton Center, Dr. Chhabra was a practicing radiation oncologist with the Central Connecticut Radiation Oncology group specializing in the treatment of all adult malignancies. Dr. Chhabra graduated from Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, where he dual-majored in Biological Sciences and Economics. He graduated from New York University School of Medicine and completed his Radiation Oncology Residency at the University of Maryland. He subsequently went on to complete an Advanced Radiation Modalities Fellowship at the University of Maryland and Maryland Proton Treatment Center, receiving specialized training in Proton Therapy. Dr. Chhabra has published numerous papers and textbook chapters on the utilization of proton beam therapy, and he has earned awards for outstanding achievement in clinical research.

He is committed to delivering the most effective, personalized, and compassionate cancer care where above all, the patient comes first.

Dr. Isabelle Choi is the Director of Research and Clinical Director at the New York Proton Center.  She is appointed to national and international leadership positions in both the proton therapy and conventional photon therapy communities. Her research focuses on improving outcomes, reducing toxicities and more effectively delivering radiotherapy for breast and gastrointestinal malignancies. She is a Radiation Oncology Attending in the Department of Radiation Oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

Before coming to the New York Proton Center, Dr. Choi was the Clinical Director at the California Protons Cancer Therapy Center in San Diego, California, where she also served as the Associate Director of Clinical Research and the Chief of the Breast Cancer, Thoracic Oncology, and Gynecologic Services for the center. She was then appointed Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and served as a clinical lead of the Maryland Proton Treatment Center.

Dr. Choi completed her undergraduate degree at Harvard University and her medical school degree at the University of Texas Health Science Center School of Medicine. She completed her internship in internal medicine and her residency training in radiation oncology at Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center, where she served as chief resident.

Among her select national leadership appointments, Dr. Choi is Chair of the Proton Collaborative Group Publications Committee and Breast Subcommittee, is Chair of the National Association of Proton Therapy’s Physician Advisory Committee, and is the President of the Korean American Society of Radiation Oncology.

Dr. Shaakir Hasan is an attending radiation oncologist at New York Proton Center. He is also affiliated with Montefiore Medical Center. Dr. Hasan subspecializes in proton therapy for genitourinary (GU) and prostate cancers, lymphoma, and pediatric malignancies. He has authored over 70 peer-reviewed publications in the oncology space and has presented his research at multiple international conferences.

Dr. Hasan completed his undergraduate degree at University of Michigan and received his Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where he was awarded membership in the National Scholastic Honor Society. He completed his internship at Crozer Keystone in Philadelphia and his residency training in radiation oncology at Allegheny Health Network in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where he served as Chief Resident and received the RSNA Roentgen Resident Research Award.

His philosophy of care is to empower patients with the knowledge, confidence, and support required to confront their disease.

Dr. Robert (Bob) Press is an attending radiation oncologist at New York Proton Center. He is also affiliated with Mount Sinai Health System. Dr. Press specializes in the treatment of central nervous system tumors and head and neck cancers.

Dr. Press graduated from Emory University in Atlanta, GA, where he earned a BS in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology. He graduated from Emory University School of Medicine and subsequently completed his Radiation Oncology Residency at the Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University. During his training, he was selected to serve as Chief Resident and was named the Andrew W. Pippas Resident in Radiation Oncology, an honor selected by the faculty for a resident who exemplifies professional and compassionate patient care. He has won numerous awards, including the ASCO Conquering Cancer Foundation Merit Award and the RSNA Roentgen Resident/Fellow Research Award. His research focuses on developing clinical trials that incorporate advanced treatment and imaging technologies to better individualize patient care, optimize tumor control, and reduce treatment toxicities.

Dr. Press believes in working together with each patient, not just to address the medical diagnosis, but to understand the individual’s values and goals in order to facilitate a patient-centered plan of care.

Dr. Alektiar is a radiation oncologist and received his medical degree from Damascus University Faculty of Medicine and completed residencies at Wayne State University School of Medicine and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. He has expertise in using radiation therapy to treat gynecologic cancers (ovarian, cervical and uterine (endometrial), soft tissue sarcomas, endocrine tumors, melanoma, and bone tumors.

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Dr. Bakst is a board-certified radiation oncologist whose clinical practice is focused on the personalized treatment of patients with head and neck cancer, breast cancer, and lymphoma. His goal is to implement radiation therapy only when needed, and to use advances in technology to target radiation to areas at risk while minimizing radiation exposure to nearby normal tissues. He completed his residency at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, where he served as chief resident. He has published numerous peer-reviewed papers on a broad range of oncological  topics. He serves as a reviewer for a number of cancer journals. His research interests include investigating mechanisms by which cancer invades and spreads along nerves, salivary gland cancers, optimizing the technical delivery of radiation for breast cancer patients to minimize toxicity, and investigating the optimal utilization of radiation for hematological malignancies.

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Dr. Barker is a board-certified radiation oncologist who specializes in the treatment of skin cancer (including melanoma) and eye cancer with radiation therapy. He is one of a few radiation oncologists in the country who focuses on these diseases. He works closely with a dedicated team of experts who use advanced radiation techniques, including proton therapy, to deliver the best possible care to patients. He has been a member of the Memorial Sloan Kettering team since 2006.

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Dr. Cahlon is a board-certified radiation oncologist whose clinical practice is primarily focused on breast cancer. As part of a multi-disciplinary team of breast cancer experts, he works with colleagues to identify the optimal treatment approach for each patient. He uses the most modern radiation techniques, including proton therapy to deliver the most precise form of radiation. As part of the breast cancer team, Dr. Cahlon has great expertise in using all the most modern forms of radiation and tailors the optimal technique to each individual patient.

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Dr. Jana Fox is a radiation oncologist in Bronx, New York and is affiliated with Montefiore Medical Center. She received her medical degree from Stony Brook University School of Medicine and specializes in radiation oncology. She also speaks multiple languages, including Spanish.

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Dr. Garg is the Clinical Director of Radiation Oncology, Director of Montefiore-Einstein’s Proton Therapy Program and Co-Director of Stereotactic Radiation Therapy Program at Montefiore Medical Center. He earned his medical degree at King George’s Medical College and completed his residency in radiation oncology at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Hospital in Chicago and Montefiore in New York City. He also completed a specialized fellowship at Wayne State University in Detroit. Dr. Garg is the recipient of the prestigious American Society of Clinical Oncology’s Young Investigator’s Award and the Department of Defense Physician Research Award. Dr. Garg is a principal investigator of several national and international research studies involving novel cancer treatment modalities and is actively involved in quality of life and healthcare disparities issues for cancer patients.

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Dr. Ghiassi-Nejad is a radiation oncologist and assistant professor affiliated with Mount Sinai Health System. She specializes in the treatment of gynecological malignancies, sarcomas, and breast cancer. Dr. Ghiassi-Nejad received both her medical degree and PhD at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and completed her internship and residency at Mount Sinai Hospital.

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Dr. Gorovets is a radiation oncologist who specializes in treating genitourinary cancers, including prostate cancer, bladder cancer, kidney cancer, and testicular cancer. He also cares for people with brain tumors, lung cancer, and head and neck cancers.  He has expertise in using advanced radiation techniques. His primary research interests involve developing better ways to personalize radiation therapy for people with genitourinary cancers. He aims to do this by integrating various clinical factors, imaging features, and biomarkers. When he meets with patients and their families, he takes as much time as needed to clearly explain their condition and all the treatment options available.

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Dr. Hajj is a radiation oncologist who has extensive experience caring for people with a variety of cancers especially gastrointestinal cancers and lymphomas. She has significant expertise treating a wide range of tumors using advanced techniques. Her goal is to offer personalized care that is based on science and compassion.  She speaks English, Arabic, and French.

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Dr. Kabarriti earned his medical degree at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and completed a residency in internal medicine at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center and a residency in radiation oncology at Montefiore Medical Center, where he was chief resident. He is the recipient of the 2014 Young Investigator Award given by the Conquer Cancer Foundation and the American Society of Clinical Oncology. In addition, his abstracts have been selected for oral presentations at national and international meetings including the annual meetings of the American Society for Radiation Oncology. He is the principal investigator of multiple clinical trials including investigator-initiated clinical trials as well as the local PI on cooperative and international studies. His research focus is on optimizing radiation therapy for head and neck and gastrointestinal cancers and combining radiation therapy with novel therapeutics and immunotherapy to improve outcomes for these patients.

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Dr. Lazarev received his medical degree from the University of Vermont College of Medicine. He completed his residency at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, where he served as chief resident. Dr. Lazarev’s clinical practice is focused on the personalized treatment of CNS and pediatric tumors. He also specializes in proton beam therapy for gastrointestinal, genitourinary, and gynecologic cancers. He has published numerous peer-reviewed papers on a broad range of oncological topics, and presented his work at national conferences. His research interests include identifying and developing radiotherapy de-intensification strategies that will help decrease radiation toxicities and reduce economic, treatment, and psychosocial burden on patients without compromising their oncological outcomes. Dr. Lazarev was born and raised in southern Russia. He is fluent in English, Russian, Spanish, Portuguese, and proficient in French.

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Dr. Lee is a radiation oncologist who specializes in using advanced forms of radiation, including proton therapy, to treat head and neck cancer and thyroid cancer. Her goal in using these technologies is to improve her patients’ outcomes while decreasing potential treatment side effects and preserving their quality of life. No matter which treatment option used, she cares for all of her patients as if they were part of her family. This means creating a plan tailored to their unique disease, and doing everything she can to help them get well.

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Dr. Keyur Mehta is a radiation oncologist in Bronx, New York and is affiliated with Montefiore Medical Center. He received his medical degree from Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and completed his residency at Montefiore Medical Center. He specializes in Radiation Oncology, Radiology and Therapeutic Radiology.

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Dr. Ohri is a radiation oncologist who graduated from the Washington University in St Louis School of Medicine. He completed his residency at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. He specializes in treating gastrointestinal cancers (including colorectal and pancreas cancer) and lung cancer.

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Sonam Sharma, MD is a practicing Radiation Oncologist at Mount Sinai in New York, NY. Dr. Sharma graduated from Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania where she also completed her residency. She currently practices at General Medical Associates of Beth Israel Medical Center and is affiliated with The Mount Sinai Hospital. In addition to English, Dr. Sharma’s practice supports Russian and Spanish.

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Dr. Shepherd is a radiation oncologist who specializes in caring for people with cancers of the chest, known as thoracic cancers. These include lung cancer, mesothelioma, and thymoma. She has expertise in stereotactic and proton-beam radiation therapies. She strives to relieve her patients’ uncertainties and guide them through their care. In addition, her passions for technology and research make the rapidly evolving field of radiation oncology a great fit. Her goal is to maximize quality of life for her patients. Her current research and clinical interests involve applying advanced technologies to more precisely target the primary tumor and avoid healthy tissue.

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Dr. Justin Tang is an attending radiation oncologist at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, NY, and specializes in the treatment of gynecologic and gastrointestinal cancers. He graduated from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, NY, and completed his radiation oncology residency at Montefiore Medical Center. Dr. Tang received his bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley.

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Dr. Wolden specializes in using advanced forms of radiation, including proton therapy, to treat children and young adults with cancer. She completed her residency at Stanford University in 1998 and has led the pediatric radiation program at Memorial Sloan Kettering since that time. She has extensive experience treating pediatric brain tumors, sarcomas, and neuroblastoma, as well as other rare cancers. Radiation therapy is an extremely powerful tool for these tumors, but young patients are especially sensitive to long-term side effects. She approaches each patient individually, to carefully design a highly customized radiation plan to maximize the benefits of treatment while minimizing side effects.

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Dr. Yamada is a radiation oncologist with a particular expertise in caring for patients with spine tumors, primary brain tumors, and metastatic brain tumors. He sees nearly 500 patients a year at Memorial Sloan Kettering in Manhattan. When he first meets with patients, he spends a lot of time discussing the potential benefits and side effects of radiation therapy. His priority is to explain things in a way that his patients can truly understand. He is also involved in cancer clinical trials. His research focuses on using image-guided technologies to treat tumors in all areas of the body, including adult brain and spine tumors and liver tumors.

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Dr. Yang is a radiation oncologist who specializes in treating tumors of the central nervous system. This includes primary brain tumors, metastatic brain tumors, and spine tumors. He has expertise in treating metastatic tumors in the body. He uses advanced radiation techniques, such as proton therapy, to deliver radiation treatment with a high level of precision while avoiding damage to nearby healthy tissue and without affecting important functions, like vision and hearing. He is leading clinical trials to improve the treatment and outcomes for people with brain tumors and leptomeningeal disease. He is piloting radiation therapy early on in treating cancer that has just begun to spread to other parts of the body. This is called oligometastatic disease. This innovative program is changing the way metastatic cancer is treated. The treatment can potentially change the course of the disease and slow its growth.

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Chin-Cheng Chen, PhD, DABR, senior medical physicist, lead medical physicist in quality assurance and the head and neck service, received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nuclear engineering from National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan. He then received a PhD in the College of Nuclear Science, with a major in medical physics. Following a residency and post-doctoral fellowship at Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Dr. Chen was a medical physicist at a proton therapy center in New Jersey and then at the Johns Hopkins Proton Therapy Center in Washington, DC. He joined the New York Proton Center in 2020. Dr. Chen is experienced in proton beam Pencil Beam Scanning commissioning, treatment planning, and quality assurance. He has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications, presentations and book chapters. He is also a reviewer of major scientific journals, including Medical Physics, Radiotherapy and Oncology, and International Journal of Particle Therapy.

Qing Chen, MSc, DABR, senior medical physicist, lead medical physicist in stereotactic body proton therapy and the CNS/pediatric services, holds a master’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Detroit Mercy as well as a master’s degree in medical physics from Wayne State University. He held senior staff medical physics positions at Henry Ford Health System, Duke University Medical Center and at Chester County Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania prior to becoming chief physicist at St. Vincent’s Medical Center in Bridgeport, CT. Mr. Chen joined the New York Proton Center in 2018.

Lei Hu, PhD, medical physicist, and lead medical physicist in the lymphoma service, received a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from Shanghai Jiao Tong University in Shanghai, China and a master’s degree in biophysics from Tsinghua University in Beijing. He then earned a PhD in biomedical engineering at Washington University in St. Louis and a certificate in medical physics at the University of Florida, Gainesville. Dr. Hu joined the New York Proton Center in 2019 following his medical physics residency at NYU Langone Health. His research interests include motion management in proton therapy.

Sheng Huang, PhD, medical physicist, and lead medical physicist in the genitourinary (GU) service, received a BSc in physics from Peking University in Beijing, China, where he also earned a PhD in nuclear techniques and applications. He completed a certificate of medical physics at the University of Pennsylvania and a medical physics residency at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, which included rotations at the New York Proton Center. Dr. Huang became a full-time member of the New York Proton Center medical physics team in 2020. His expertise includes commissioning new proton equipment, dose calculation and motion management of proton Pencil Beam Scanning treatment for lung and liver cancer. Dr. Huang’s current research is focused on automatic quality assurance, treatment planning and adaptive treatment.

Minglei Kang, PhD, lead medical physicist in commissioning, the thoracic service, and in clinical trial registration credentialing, studied accelerator physics at Peking University, Beijing, where he received his PhD with distinction. Dr. Kang then came to the University of Pennsylvania where he received a certificate of medical physics and completed his medical physics residency and a postdoctoral fellowship. Prior to joining the New York Proton Center in 2018, Dr. Kang was an assistant professor and medical physicist at Medstar Georgetown University Hospital Proton Therapy Center in Washington, DC. Dr. Kang is actively involved in a wide range of research interests and in the New York Proton Center’s education programs. He also serves as a mentor to junior physicists, physics residents, physicist assistants, and visiting physicists.

Haibo Lin, PhD, DABR, Director of Medical Physics, holds a bachelor’s degree in applied physics from Xinjiang University, Urumqi, China and a PhD in solid state physics from Nankai University, Tianjin, China. He received a second PhD, in optical imaging physics, from the University of Missouri, where he concurrently studied for a master’s degree in medical physics. Following his medical physics residency at the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Lin remained at Penn as a medical physicist and adjunct assistant professor. He was recruited to the New York Proton Center in 2018. Dr. Lin has wide research interests in proton therapy and continuously contributes peer-reviewed publications, conference abstracts and book chapters. He is associate editor of the Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics and reviewer for multiple major scientific journals in medical physics and radiation oncology.

Chengyu Shi, PhD, FAAPM, senior medical physicist and lead medical physicist in research, studied engineering physics at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, where he received bachelor’s and master’s degrees. He then received a PhD in nuclear engineering and science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Dr. Shi completed his medical physics residency at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences prior to working as a medical physicist at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.  He then served as Chief Medical Physicist at Saint Vincent’s Medical Center in Bridgeport, CT, and was the New Jersey lead physicist for Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center prior to joining the New York Proton Center in 2020. Dr. Shi was elected Fellowship in The American Association of Physicists in Medicine and was appointed Associate Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Medical Physics, Clinical Engineering and Radiation Oncology and Associate Editor of the Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics.

Pingfang Tsai, PhD, DABR, senior medical physicist and lead medical physicist in proton planning, graduated from Chang Gung University in Taiwan and continued her studies at the University of Florida, Gainesville, where she received a master’s degree and PhD in medical physics. Dr. Tsai joined the New York Proton Center in 2019 after working as a medical physicist for over 10 years in Taiwan, New Jersey and Washington, DC. Her research interests include imaging applications in proton therapy, including synthetic CT and motion pattern detection. Dr. Tsai is an instructor in Varian’s proton therapy training course at the New York Proton Center and mentors residents from NYPC’s three partner hospitals. She is a reviewer for the Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics.

Weijun Xiong, PhD, DABR senior medical physicist, and lead medical physicist in imaging and the breast service, received a Bachelor of Science degree in nuclear physics from the University of Science and Technology of China and a PhD in particle physics from the Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Science in Beijing. He then served as research associate in Chicago and Puerto Rico before completing a residency in radiation physics at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, where he was chief resident. He was an assistant attending medical physicist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center prior to joining the New York Proton Center in 2018. Dr. Xiong is a journal reviewer for Medical Physics, Physics in Medicine and Biology, and Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics, and has co-authored dozens of peer-reviewed publications. His research interests include improving proton planning, reducing organ motion uncertainty in proton delivery, developing proton radiographs and advancing biological modeling for proton and FLASH treatment.

Francis Yu, MS, DABR, is a senior medical physicist, lead medical physicist in the gastrointestinal (GI) service, and the New York Proton Center’s radiation safety officer. He received a bachelor’s degree in physics from Shanghai Jiaotong University and a master’s degree in medical physics from Wayne State University. His professional experience includes medical physicist positions at New York Presbyterian Hospital Queens, JFK Medical Center/Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami, and Chief Medical Physicist and radiation safety officer at Holy Redeemer Hospital in Philadelphia. Mr. Yu joined the New York Proton Center in 2018 and established its radiation safety program.

Anna Zhai, MS, senior planning medical physicist, holds a Bachelor of Medicine degree in anesthesiology from Xinjiang Medical University, China, and a master’s degree in medical physics from the University of Missouri. She joined the New York Proton Center in 2018 following more than seven years as a proton planning medical physicist at The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. Ms. Zhai has been continuously involved in presenting the proton therapy planning training and education course to internal and visiting medical dosimetrists, medical physicists and physicians at Penn and the New York Proton Center. She helped establish institutional proton planning protocols at the New York Proton Center.