Leslie Yonemoto, M.D., Medical Advisor
Dr. Leslie Yonemoto is a world renowned Radiation Oncologist, with more than 12 years (1992 – 2004) of clinical and academic experience in proton therapy, at Loma Linda University Medical Center. He has successfully treated more than 2,500 patients, and is one of the most experienced physicians in proton therapy in the world. He has lectured and consulted on clinical, research, and operational aspects of proton therapy in many domestic and international forums and has been featured in several national and regional news programs. Dr. Yonemoto will serve as a Medical Advisor to the TPTC project. TPTC has a contractual agreement with Dr. Yonemoto for his services.
While at Loma Linda, Dr. Yonemoto simultaneously held both positions of Residency Director and Director of Operations for Radiation Therapy. He effectively maintained his clinical, training, administrative, operations, and research responsibilities, for over 10 years and during a huge growth in patient treatments.
Dr. Yonemoto received a BS in Electrical Engineering, from University of California – Berkeley, and an MBA, from Arizona State University. While at Motorola Inc. for several years, he gained experience in product engineering, process engineering and strategic marketing. He then completed his medical degree at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Dennis Hallahan, M.D., FASRO, Medical Advisor
Dr. Hallahan is the first Elizabeth H. and James S. McDonnell III Distinguished Professor in Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine.
Dr. Hallahan conducts research to identify new molecular targets for cancer therapy and to develop drugs that improve cancer response to radiation therapy while minimizing the effect on normal tissues. He has published scientific articles about radiotherapy treatment for many types of cancers including lymphomas, brain, head and neck, lung, breast and prostate cancers, and childhood neoplasms. He has several research grants from the National Cancer Institute and from industry collaborators.
Last year Dr. Hallahan received the Grant Liddle Award, a mentoring award that recognizes faculty members who demonstrate exemplary leadership in the promotion of scientific research at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He is on the editorial and review boards of numerous scientific journals. He has published more than 180 articles on his research and contributed many book chapters on radiation for cancer therapy.
Dr. Hallahan earned his medical degree from Rush University. He completed his internship and residency in internal medicine at the University of Chicago where he also completed his graduate fellowship in Radiation/Cellular Oncology. He also serves on many national boards, including the National Institutes of Health Study Section for Radiation Biology and Therapeutics. He is vice chairman for the Research Evaluation Committee for American Society of Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) and is on the Steering Committee on Promoting Research for ASTRO.
John Lawrence Bell, M.D. FACS, Medical Advisor
Dr. John Bell is the Director of the University of Tennessee Cancer Institute in Knoxville, TN and also serves as the Professor of Surgery in the Division of Surgical Oncology at the University of Tennessee Medical Center.
Dr. Bell earned his medical degree from the University of Alabama-Birmingham. He completed his internship and residency at the University of Alabama-Birmingham. He completed his fellowship in Surgical Oncology at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Institute. He also is a Regional Chair of the Tennessee Comprehensive Cancer Control Coalition. He is a member of the American College of Surgeons.
Ray C. Pais, M.D., FAAP, Medical Advisor
Dr. Ray Pais is the Director of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at the East Tennessee Children’s Hospital in Knoxville, TN. Dr. Pais serves as a key principal investigator of pediatric clinical trials for the Children’s Oncology Group (COG). He also served an integral role in developing an anesthesia team so that very young pediatric cancer patients would able to receive Radiation Therapy in Knoxville thus eliminating the need for these patients to travel to Nashville or Memphis.
Dr. Pais earned his medical degree from the University of Illinois-Chicago. He completed his internship and residency at the University of Illinois-Chicago. He completed his graduate fellowship in Pediatric Oncology at Emory University. He is a member of American Society of Clinical Oncology and the American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology.
Tracy Dobbs, M.D., Medical Advisor
Dr. Dobbs is currently a Medical Oncologist in the largest Medical Oncology group, Tennessee Cancer Specialists, in East Tennessee and the third largest in the state. Dr. Dobbs is the Principal Investigator for over twenty open clinical research trials as well as over seventy trials in some state of follow-up. He served as Chief of Staff of Baptist Hospital of East Tennessee from 1996-1997 and served on the Board of Directors from 1993 to 2006. He was also the found of East Tennessee Hematology/Oncology which ultimately merged to form Tennessee Cancer Specialists.
Dr. Dobbs earned his medical degree from the University of Missouri. He completed his internship and residency in internal medicine at the University of Oklahoma where he also completed his graduate fellowship in Hematology/Oncology. He is a member of the Tennessee Medical Association, Knoxville Academy of Medicine, Radiation Therapy Oncology Group, the American Society of Clinical Oncologists, American Medical Association, and the American College of Physicians.
Russell F. Devore, III, M.D., Medical Advisor
Dr. Russell Devore is a Medical Oncologist in the largest Medical Oncology group, Tennessee Cancer Specialists, in East Tennessee and the third largest in the state. He is also is a key clinical trial investigator as a member of the Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center Affiliate Network (VICCAN). Dr. Devore has served an integral part as the Lead Researcher in several ground-breaking Lung Cancer clinical trials.
Dr. Devore earned his medical degree from West Virginia University. He completed his internship and residency in internal medicine at Wake Forest University. He completed his fellowship in Hematology/Oncology from Vanderbilt University. He is a member of the American Medical Association, American Society of Clinical Oncology, Tennessee Medical Association, and the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer.