Tomorrow’s Promise, Today’s Roswell Park: Leaders Tackling the Biggest Priorities in Cancer Care and Treatment

Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center President and CEO Candace S. Johnson, PhD, today introduced the cancer center’s first Physician in Chief — and the slate of experts appointed to tackle the most pressing opportunities and challenges related to cancer treatment, outcomes and delivery of care.

Medical oncologist and skin cancer expert Michael Wong, MD, PhD, FRPC, joined Roswell Park Nov. 18 as Physician in Chief. A widely respected oncology innovator who has led numerous clinical trials, Dr. Wong was most recently on staff at another National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center — MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, where he was Professor in the Department of Melanoma Medical Oncology, Division of Cancer Medicine, and Medical Executive for Integration and Innovative Programs for the MD Anderson Cancer Network.

“Physician in Chief is a new role at Roswell Park, created to give our clinical teams the support and direction that will help us reach our goals for individual and center-wide performance. I can think of no one better to provide that insightful guidance and enthusiastic encouragement than Mike Wong,” says Dr. Johnson, who also serves as M&T Bank Presidential Chair in Leadership. “Dr. Wong comes to Buffalo and to Roswell Park after leadership roles at other major cancer centers, and he is simply one of the most respected and accomplished oncologists across the country.”

Working closely with Dr. Johnson and other clinical leaders, Dr. Wong will drive the culture and performance of Roswell Park’s medical staff with a focus on continual enhancement in patient care, quality and care delivery. He will be part of Roswell Park’s physician staff, providing medical oncology care for melanoma patients.

“It is a privilege to be part of a team with such a diversity of talents and expertise,” says Dr. Wong. “One of my important tasks is to help build the methodology, infrastructure and culture that will enable every member of our workforce to succeed. This will make a difference for our cancer patients through higher cure rates, enhanced outcomes and faster translation of discoveries and new technologies. We are already on our way, and I Iook forward to what we can do together.”

Before joining MD Anderson in 2016, Dr. Wong was a faculty member at the UPMC Health System, the University of Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Cancer Institute; Assistant Professor and Attending Physician at Roswell Park; and Professor and Adams Endowed Chair in Cancer Research at the Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California. An innovator with six patents awarded or in process, he is also founder of the biotech company Vali Nanomedical Inc., and has led numerous clinical trials as principal investigator.

He holds a BS in biochemistry, a PhD in experimental pathology and an MD degree, all from the University of Toronto. Following postgraduate training at St. Michael’s Hospital, Sunny Brook Medical Center/The Toronto Hospital, Dr. Wong completed a fellowship in molecular biology and biochemistry with the National Cancer Institute of Canada. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians whose numerous awards include the Society of Chemical Industry of Canada’s Gold Key Award, the Emmanuel Farber Award, the Clinical Research Society of Toronto’s Basic Sciences Award, and recognitions for excellence in teaching, mentorship and patient care.

He is the latest of more than 20 Roswell Park leaders Dr. Johnson has appointed to build on the cancer center’s strengths in key areas of clinical care and integration of resources.

“The Roswell Park team today is simply outstanding,” Dr. Johnson notes. “From cell therapy and immunotherapy to our focus on patient and family experience, our work to strategically build infrastructure in the most promising and important areas of oncology science and practice has allowed us to attract and promote oncology visionaries who will shape advancements in cancer care across the country and around the globe.”

Dr. Johnson recognized the following leaders named or promoted to leadership roles at Roswell Park over the past three years:

• Renier Brentjens, MD, PhD, Deputy Director, Chair of Medicine, The Katherine Anne Gioia Endowed Chair in Cancer Medicine — recruited in 2021 from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, where he served as Director of Cellular Therapeutics and Associate Chair for Junior Faculty Development in the Department of Medicine.
• Scott Abrams, PhD, Chair of Immunology — first joined Roswell Park in 2008, and later named Professor of Oncology and Distinguished Member in the Department of Immunology, named Chair in fall 2024.
• Aleodor “Doru” Andea, MD, MBA, Chief of Dermatopathology and Director of Molecular Dermatopathology — recruited in 2023 from the University of Michigan–Ann Arbor.
• Brian Betts, MD, Vice Chair Strategic Initiatives in Transplant and Cell Therapy — recruited from the faculty of the University of Minnesota’s Masonic Cancer Center in 2023.
• Amy Case, MD, Chief Wellness Officer — on the Roswell Park faculty since 2016 and also serving as Chair of Supportive and Palliative Care and as The Lee Foundation Endowed Chair of the Department of Supportive and Palliative Care, Dr. Case was promoted to CWO in spring 2024.
• Betty Chan, PharmD, BCOP, Senior Executive Director, Pharmacy Services — a graduate of the University of California of Pharmacy with more than 30 years’ experience, Dr. Chan joined Roswell Park last month from Harris Health System in Bellaire, Texas.
• Yeong “Christopher” Choi, PhD, MBA, Senior Vice President of Industry Partnerships and Technical Director of the Roswell Park GMP Engineering & Cell Manufacturing Facility — returned to Roswell Park in 2023 following a 5-year tenure in the biotech industry that included executive leadership roles at CRISPR Therapeutics and Kite Pharma/Gilead.
• Marco Davila, MD, PhD, Senior Vice President & Associate Director, Translational Research, and Rustum Family Endowed Chair in Translational Research — recruited in 2022 from Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida, where he’d served as a senior member of the Department of Blood and Marrow Transplantation and director of the cell therapy facility.
• Julia Faller, DO, MS, Chief Medical Officer — on staff at Roswell Park since 2009, she was promoted to CMO in early 2024 having served since 2015 as Chief of Perioperative Services and faculty member in the Department of Anesthesia.
• Mark Frattini, MD, PhD, Senior Vice President and Associate Director, Clinical Investigation — newly joining the Roswell Park faculty and leadership team this month from Cellectis Inc., a biotech company focused on CAR T-cell cancer therapies.
• Shernan Holtan, MD, Chief of Blood and Marrow Transplantation — recruited from the University of Minnesota’s Masonic Cancer Center in early 2024 to lead Roswell Park’s blood and marrow transplant program.
• Sheheryar Kabraji, BMBCh, Chief of Breast Medicine — joined the Roswell Park breast cancer care and research team in 2022 from Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School; promoted to Chief in summer 2024.
• Kara Kelly, MD, Associate Director of Translational Research, Care Delivery and Outcomes — recruited from Columbia University in 2016 to serve as Professor of Oncology and The Waldemar J. Kaminski Endowed Chair of Pediatrics and Professor of Oncology and Chair of the Roswell Park Oishei Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Program, she continues in these roles and took on additional responsibilities related to integration of care and research in spring 2024.
• Moshim Kukar, MD, FACS, Chair, Surgical Oncology — Roswell Park graduate who joined the center’s faculty in 2014 after completing a fellowship in complex general surgical oncology, and was promoted to CSO and Program Director of the Surgical Oncology Fellowship in spring 2024.
• Peter Maslak, MD, Senior Vice President, Clinical Systems and Infrastructure — recruited from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in 2023 to lead the Clinical Flow Cytometry Laboratory, and promoted this month with new, broader responsibilities supporting cell therapy and clinical excellence.
• Kenan Onel, MD, PhD, Chief, Clinical Genomics — Joined Roswell Park in 2023 as Chief of Clinical Genomics and Director of the Center for Precision Oncology & Cancer Prevention; past experience includes an executive role in translational genetics at Sema4 Inc. and leadership roles with Mount Sinai’s Tisch Cancer Institute.
• Jenny Romero, MD, Chief of Head & Neck Medicine/General Medical Oncology — mecial oncologist and internist who joined Roswell Park with two decades’ experience across New York State, most recently at the University at Buffalo’s Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.
• Mukund Seshadri, DDS, PhD, Senior Vice President, Cancer Education and Training — a member of the Roswell Park faculty since 2006, he continues to also serve as Chair of Oral Oncology, a post he has held since 2018, as he now oversees Roswell Park’s broad education initiatives.
• Andrew Storer, PhD, DNP, RN, Chief Nursing Officer; Senior Vice President, Patient Care Services — on staff at Roswell Park beginning 2020 and has led nursing programs at Roswell Park since his promotion to CNO, SVP and Professor of Oncology in 2023.
• Kimberly Sweeney, RN, BN, MBA, Vice President of Patient Experience — on staff at Roswell Park since 1999, initially as a staff nurse providing care for patients with leukemia and blood cancers, she was named to this new role overseeing advocacy for patients and caregivers in 2023.
• David Tear, MBA, Senior Vice President and Chief of Hospital & Network Operations — promoted to this new role earlier this year, he has served in leadership roles supporting clinical care and integration of services since 2017.
• Zhongbo “Jerry” Yang, MD, Chief of Cytopathology — on staff at Roswell Park since he was recruited from the Virginia Commonwealth University Health System in 2019, and promoted to Chief in 2023.
• Sai Yendamuri, MD, MBA, FACS, Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer — named to this new post in spring 2024, he has worked to improve lung cancer care and outcomes as a physician and researcher since 2007, and continues to serve as Chair of Thoracic Surgery, a post he has held since 2015.