MUSC Hollings Cancer Center

Dr. Sarah Tucker Marrison is a family physician who seeks to provide high quality primary care to individuals and families of all ages including cancer survivorship care. She earned her Bachelor's of Science in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology from Yale University and her Medical Degree and Doctorate of Philosophy in Microbiology and Immunology from the Medical University of South Carolina. Dr. Marrison completed residency training in family medicine at the Trident/MUSC Family Medicine Residency in Charleston serving as Chief Resident in her final year of training.

Dr. Benjamin Toll is a licensed clinical psychologist, a professor of Public Health Sciences and Psychiatry, Co-Director of the Lung Cancer Screening Program, and Chief of Tobacco Cessation and Health Behaviors at the Hollings Cancer Center, and Director of the Tobacco Treatment Program at the Medical University of South Carolina. He specializes in treatment of tobacco use disorders, alcohol use disorders, and improvement of health behaviors.Dr. Toll has received grants from the National Institutes of Health, including the National Cancer Institute, and he is an author of over 110 peer-reviewed publications relating to nicotine and tobacco research, including several clinical practice guidelines and policy statements from US medical societies. He has served as an author for the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) on a policy statement encouraging physicians to provide tobacco treatment for cancer patients,Dr. Toll's NCI funded research has focused on testing novel smoking cessation treatments and he has conducted numerous clinical trials in this regard. Many of his studies have investigated promotion of smoking cessation through novel message framing and motivational interventions, including those delivered via telephone and in person. Dr. Toll has tested several pharmacological and counseling interventions, and he also has expertise in the measurement of tobacco use and tobacco related syndromes (e.g. withdrawal)

Jennifer Ridgeway, PA-C, is a Physician Assistant in the Department of Surgical Oncology at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). A native of Delaware, Jennifer relocated to South Carolina to pursue her undergraduate education. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Health Professions from Clemson University in 1998, then moved to Charleston to attend MUSC, where she graduated from the Physician Assistant program in 2001. Jennifer began her career at MUSC in 2002. She practiced at the Institute of Psychiatry from 2002 to 2005, followed by Transplant Surgery from 2005 to 2016. In 2016, she transitioned to the Division of Surgical Oncology, where she continues to practice today. Her background allows her to bring a broad, compassionate perspective to patient care. She has a special interest in caring for patients at high risk for breast cancer, supporting patients through breast cancer surgery, and helping survivors navigate life after treatment. Jennifer is committed to providing thoughtful, personalized care and partnering with patients throughout their cancer journey.

Dr. Lauren Carter is a licensed clinical psychologist. She received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Florida State University. Dr. Carter completed her predoctoral internship at the Charleston Consortium Clinical Psychology Internship Program (MUSC and Ralph Johnson VA) and her postdoctoral fellowship specializing in behavioral medicine at MUSC. Following her fellowship in behavioral medicine, Dr. Carter joined the faculty at MUSC in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Division of Bio-Behavioral Medicine. Dr. Carter's clinical practice specializes in assessment and intervention that is focused on optimizing quality of life in patients who are experiencing a variety of medical and psychiatric conditions. She currently sees patients in the Institute of Psychiatry and Women's Health at Resolute Way, primarily working with the following populations: bariatric (pre-/post- surgery), eating and weight disorders, solid organ transplant (pre-/post- transplant), chronic pain, women's health, and co-occurring substance use disorders within these populations. ,In addition to patient care, Dr. Carter is currently active in clinical research and training. She serves as a supervisor in the Behavioral Medicine Clinic and the Women's Reproductive Behavioral Health Clinic for the Charleston Consortium Clinical Psychology Internship Program. Her research interests focus broadly on eating and weight disorders, exercise, quality of life, and behavioral medicine.

Dr. Theodore S. Gourdin is a board-certified oncologist specializing in genitourinary cancer. He has a particular interest in treating urothelial cancer of the bladder.His medical degree was awarded by the University of South Carolina School of Medicine. He completed his residency in internal medicine at Tulane University School of Medicine and his fellowship in hematology/oncology at the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center. ,Dr. Gourdin is accepting patients at the MUSC Hollings Cancer Center in downtown Charleston.

After completing fellowship training, Dr. Oleksandra Lupak was offered the opportunity to join the faculty of the Department of Medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). As a faculty member at MUSC, her goal is to be actively engage with the residents, fellows, and medical students' education as well as actively participate in oncology research and patients' care. She is very enthusiastic about being able to teach and practice clinical medicine in a way that meaningfully contributes to the educational mission of the University. During her training at the Henry Ford Hospital, she participated in multiple clinical research and QI projects. Dr. Lupak delivered multiple lectures to the trainees including grand rounds and she is committed to further develop her professional skills at MUSC. Dr. Lupak's ultimate purpose as a clinician and educator has been to develop as intimate and useful understanding as she might of the nature of medical education, so that she may continuously and meaningfully contribute to the improvement of this fundamentally important professional process. Where possible, Dr. Lupak looks for opportunities to extend her educational activities into an interdisciplinary realm beyond both her own department. Her teaching emphasis therefore is more upon the methods of clinical problem solving and the way in which we pursue solutions, than upon the specific nature of a defined set of problems.

Dr. Brian Hess earned his medical degree from the University of Missouri School of Medicine and went on to complete an internal medicine residency at Loyola University of Chicago. He furthered his training by completing a fellowship in hematology and oncology at Washington University. Dr. Hess is an assistant professor at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. His areas of interest include lymphoma and bone marrow transplant.

Stefanie completed her graduate degree in Physician Assistant Studies at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, earning a Master of Science degree. She joined the Department of Surgery at the Medical University of South Carolina in 2003. She works with the Gastrointestinal Surgery team and helps patients in need of pancreas, liver, or general surgery.

Dr. Gilbert is an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, Allergy and Sleep Medicine at MUSC. He completed his Internal Medicine training at The Reading Hospital, followed by a Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine fellowship at Thomas Jefferson in Philadelphia, PA. He then underwent additional subspecialty training, completing an Interventional Pulmonology fellowship at Johns Hopkins. Dr. Gilbert is board-certified in pulmonary medicine, critical care medicine, and interventional pulmonology. He specializes in the evaluation and management of multiple pulmonary/thoracic disease processes including lung nodules/mass, adenopathy, airway obstruction, and pleural related diseases (i.e., pleural effusion). He participates within the Hollings Cancer Center multidisciplinary thoracic oncology clinic. Dr. Gilbert has numerous research interests within interventional pulmonology including the evaluation of new technology, management of central airway obstruction, and quality of life related to malignant pleural effusions. Dr. Gilbert currently serves as the director of Interventional Pulmonology and director of the Bronchoscopy Suite. He also is the fellowship director of the Interventional Pulmonology fellowship program at MUSC, the only training program in Interventional Pulmonology in South Carolina.

Dr. Stacey Maurer is a licensed clinical psychologist who specializes in health psychology. She received her doctoral degree in clinical psychology from the University of Florida with a specialty in health psychology. She completed her predoctoral internship at the University of Kansas Medical Center. She completed her postdoctoral fellowship in behavioral medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina and joined MUSC faculty in August 2016 as an instructor in the division of bio-behavioral medicine.Dr. Maurer sees patients at the Hollings Cancer Center and the Institute of Psychiatry. Her clinical practice focuses on patients who are experiencing a variety of medical illnesses including cancer, end-stage organ disease, and chronic pain. She works with her patients to adjust to living with a chronic illness and improve their overall quality of life. In addition, she helps her patients to change health behaviors to improve overall health status and prepare for treatments/procedures.Dr. Maurer is enthusiastic about the integration of medical and psychiatric specialties. She is developing the distress screening program at Hollings Cancer Center which will help medical providers to improve detection of psychological distress in their patients. This will improve access to psychological and other supportive services for patients who are living with cancer in order to improve the quality of cancer care.

Dr. Paul O'Brien is a medical oncologist with special interests in cancers of the head and neck and also gastrointestinal malignancies. He has seven half-day clinics per week at the Hollings Cancer Center. He is active in the development of clinical trials and also serves as the inpatient attending on the medical oncology service three months per year. Dr. O'Brien is developing a curriculum for the residents and medical students during their rotations in medical oncology.

Dr. William T. Creasman joined MUSC Women's Care as a gynecologist oncologist in 1986. He graduated undergrad and medical school from Baylor University. He completed his residency at University Rochester Medical Center and his oncology fellowship at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Creasman is a world renowned physician in the specialty of gynecology oncology. He is co-author of Clinical Gynecologic Oncology - the textbook for medical students, residents, and other physicians. Dr. Creasman's interests include gynecologic oncology group clinical trials and uterine cancer treatments.

Dr. Rebecca Kilpatrick is a licensed clinical psychologist in the Department of Psychiatry, Division of Bio-Behavioral Medicine at MUSC. She completed her graduate training at East Carolina University, residency at Kansas University Medical Center, and fellowship at MUSC. Dr. Kilpatrick provides psychological evaluation and treatment services to patients with a wide variety of chronic medical conditions. She conducts pre-surgical psychosocial evaluations and primarily utilizes cognitive-behavioral therapy for patients struggling with mood/adjustment to chronic illness, health behavior change, chronic pain, and other aspects of emotional and behavioral health. She is the associate clinical director of the MUSC Pain Rehabilitation Program. She also supervises interns and fellows in Bio-Behavioral Medicine.

Ashton Getchell is a board-certified Physician Assistant in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. A South Carolina native, Ashton was born in Sumter, SC and grew up in Greenville, SC. She obtained her undergraduate degrees in Biology and Spanish from the College of Charleston where she graduated from the Honor's College and spent time at MUSC doing both volunteer work and cancer research. She then went on to earn her Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies from East Carolina University in Greenville, NC where she was awarded the Dr. Dale Newton Scholarship for academic achievement. Following the completion of her degree, Ashton returned to Charleston where she previously found her passion for Otolaryngology while working for the Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Department at MUSC. She is committed to providing team-based and comprehensive care to those with ear, nose, and throat disorders. Her clinical interests include diagnosis and management of head and neck cancers and optimizing recovery in those patients. She is also passionate about educating on the risks of both sun exposure and tobacco use. In her free-time, Ashton enjoys many of the activities Charleston has to offer including fishing, shrimping and expanding her shark tooth collection. She is excited to provide compassionate care to those from the low country and surrounding areas.

Scott Lindhorst, M.D. joined MUSC in August 2013 as an assistant professor. His practice is focused on neuro-oncology. His primary appointment is in the Department of Neurosurgery, and he holds a dual appointment as an assistant professor in the Department of Medicine, division of hematology/medical oncology. Dr. Lindhorst received his Bachelor of Science in microbiology, with a minor in chemistry, from the University of Florida in 2001 followed by his Medical Degree from the University of South Alabama College of Medicine in 2005. He completed a residency in internal medicine followed by a fellowship in hematology and medical oncology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine. He also completed a fellowship in neuro-oncology at Duke University Medical Center in 2013. Dr. Lindhorst received clinical trials training at Massachusetts General Hospital, focusing on patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. He is board-certified in general internal medicine, hematology, and medical oncology by the American Board of Internal Medicine. He is also board-certified in neuro-oncology by the United Council for Neurologic Subspecialties. His practice focuses on patients with primary and metastatic malignancies of the central nervous system. This includes in particular, CNS lymphomas, gliomas, and meningiomas. The practice also treats patients with brain metastases. Dr. Lindhorst runs numerous clinical trials for these patients, aiding in the growing need for new cancer treatments.

Emily Blake Sheridan was born and raised in Greenville, South Carolina. She attended Clemson University where she earned her bachelors degree in Biological Sciences in May of 2016. Emily Blake attained her Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies from the Medical University of South Carolina in July of 2020 and became a board certified physician assistant in August of 2020. During her time at MUSC, Emily Blake was an active member of the student executive board as the SCAPA Representative. Also while studying at MUSC, she developed an interest in the field of neurology, especially the sub-specialty of neurosurgery. Outside of clinical practice, Emily Blake enjoys volunteering throughout her community. She has volunteered with numerous organizations including Greer Community Ministries, Habitat for Humanity, and the Ronald McDonald House. While working as a physician assistant with the Department of Neurosurgery at MUSC, Emily Blake hopes to continue volunteering throughout the Charleston community.

Dr. Praneeth Baratam received his M.D. from Andhra Medical College and trained in internal medicine at Saint Joseph Hospital, Chicago. He initially worked as an academic oncology hospitalist at Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia. He recently completed a fellowship in hematology/oncology at Drexel, where he served as chief fellow. His interest is in the treatment of acute leukemia and myelodysplastic disorders and clinical research and teaching.

Dr. Toros Dincman is a medical oncologist at the Medical University of South Carolina. He was awarded his medical degree and research doctorate at the University of Louisville School of Medicine. He completed his residency in internal medicine followed by a fellowship in hematology/oncology at MUSC. He specializes in caring for patients with gastrointestinal, prostate, and breast cancers. In addition to active participation in clinical trials, his research interests include identification and molecular characterization of genetic alterations that impact cancer prognosis and therapy.

Dr. Adam Fox is a pulmonologist with a clinical focus in lung nodule evaluation, lung cancer staging, and thoracic oncology. His research focuses on biomarker testing and improving diagnosis and treatment for patients with lung cancer.

Dr. John Kaczmar is a medical oncologist who specializes in caring for patients with cancers of the head and neck. He attended college at Cornell University, graduating Phi Beta Kappa. He then obtained his medical degree at Columbia University Medical School in New York City, where he served as president of his class. After medical school, he undertook a residency in internal medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. There, he served as a member of the resident steering committee and attained an additional certification in health care leadership in quality. Following this, he completed a fellowship in hematology and oncology at the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, before joining the Medical University of South Carolina in 2017. There are many challenges involved in treating cancers of the head and neck. Dr. Kaczmar's research interests are focused on overcoming these challenges through the use of the body's own immune system (immunotherapy) and targeted therapies aimed at fighting head and neck cancer growth. In addition to bringing cutting-edge treatment options to patients, he has an interest in working to improve the tolerability of proven treatments so as to maximize quality of life.

Dr. Jenkins obtained his Bachelor's degree in biology at the University of Virginia in 2002 and his MD/PhD at the Medical University of South Carolina in 2012. He completed his internship and residency in Internal Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital in 2014 and his clinical oncology training in the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center in 2017. He conducted his post-doctoral research in Dr. David Barbie's lab at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute where he developed a novel platform to study ex vivo response to PD1- blockade using organotypic tumor spheroids. In 2018, he joined the faculty at the MGH Cancer Center in the Center for Melanoma and Center for Cancer Research and was an Associate Member of the Cancer Program at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. Dr. Jenkins was the inaugural Termeer Early Career Investigator in Systems Pharmacology, and member of the Laboratory for Systems Pharmacology at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Jenkins returned to MUSC in 2025 as the Cecilia and Vincent Peng Endowed Chair in Melanoma and Cutaneous Oncology with appointments in the Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology-Oncology, Department of Dermatology and Dermatologic Surgery, and Department of Pharmacology \& Immunology. The Jenkins laboratory studies mechanisms of response and resistance to immune checkpoint blockade and adoptive cellular therapy with a focus on developing rational combination therapies to overcome resistance to cancer immunotherapy.

Dr. Katherine Antel earned her medical degree from the University of Cape Town, South Africa and where she went on to complete an internal medicine residency and a fellowship in hematology and bone marrow transplant. Dr. Antel went on to pursue 3-year research fellowship in lymphoid genomics at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston U.S. Her research area of interest is in lymphoid biology, and lymphoid genomics. Dr. Antel is an associate professor at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. Her clinical and research areas of interest include the biology and genomics of aggressive lymphoma and the development of clinical assays to detect and diagnose lymphoma using cell-free DNA.

Dr. Albert Lockhart has been caring for patients with gastrointestinal cancers for over 20 years. His particular areas of expertise and the focus of his research is in treating gastric and esophageal cancers. He also sees patients with colorectal and pancreatic cancers. Dr. Lockhart's research aims to bring new therapies to cancer patients by conducting clinical research studies involving new treatment approaches and personalized medicine. At MUSC Hollings Cancer Center, Dr. Lockhart is the Director of the Division of Hematology \& Oncology and Associate Director for Clinical Science. Prior to joining MUSC, Dr. Lockhart was on the faculty and in leadership roles at the University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis/Siteman Cancer Center, and at Vanderbilt University/Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center. Dr. Lockhart graduated from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School at Dallas in 1993. He completed residency training at Barnes Hospital at Washington University, fellowship training in hematology/oncology at Duke University, and a fellowship in drug development at GlaxoSmithKline in the North Carolina Research Triangle Park. He also earned a master's of health science (MHS) in clinical trials at Duke University. He completed his undergraduate degree, a bachelor's degree in biology, from Rice University.

Kevin Hughes, M.D. joins MUSC Department of Surgery as the Director of Cancer Genetics. Dr. Hughes has been actively involved in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer for more than thirty years. Prior to joining MUSC, he spent the last 20 years at Massachusetts General Hospital and retains the title of Professor Emeritus, Harvard Medical School. He is well-known for his research in finding the least amount of treatment necessary to obtain the best results, for his work in identifying and managing women at risk of breast cancer, and for his extensive research in hereditary breast cancer. Dr Hughes believes in using the minimum amount of surgery and other treatments needed to maximize the likelihood of cure. IN addition, Dr Hughes believes strongly in using genetic testing to identify patients at high risk of cancer before cancer occurs. In this way screening and management can be optimized to prevent cancer or find it at an earlier and more treatable stage. He is recognized nationally and internationally for his expertise in breast cancer, breast disease management, genetic testing and the identification and management of patients with hereditary breast cancer risk. Dr. Hughes has published extensively on breast disease management and genetic testing and has helped set the standards for the treatment of breast cancer in older women and the use of genetic testing in clinical practice. Dr. Hughes is a graduate of Dartmouth College and Dartmouth Medical School. He trained in Surgery at the Mercy Hospital of Pittsburgh and completed a fellowship in surgical oncology at the National Cancer Institute.

Dr. Gerard Silvestri is a professor of medicine and a lung cancer pulmonologist at the Medical University of South Carolina with a career dedicated to the evaluation, management and improvement of outcomes of patients with this most common of malignancies. He completed his undergraduate education at Fairleigh Dickinson University, his medical degree at St. Georges University, a residency in internal medicine at the Hospital of St. Raphaels/Yale University School of Medicine and fellowship training at Dartmouth. He has an advanced degree in health services research, also from Dartmouth.Dr. Silvestri began the first multidisciplinary lung cancer clinic in South Carolina, and now evaluates between five and seven new lung cancers per week. His clinical research is patient-oriented and directed towards nearly every aspect of lung cancer care. He has experience in evaluating new technologies for the diagnosis and staging of lung cancer and was the part of the first group to publish the utility of endoscopic ultrasound with fine needle aspiration of mediastinal lymph nodes to stage lung cancer patients. Dr. Silvestri has been a section editor and author of the American College of Chest Physicians evidence-based guidelines on the diagnosis and management of lung cancer. To date, he has over 200 peer-reviewed journal publications, abstracts, book chapters and invited commentaries in clinical care and research of lung cancer. He has lectured as a master clinician in lung cancer for both the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP) and the American Thoracic Society (ATS), and has served as chair of the Thoracic Oncology Network of the ACCP.