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The Melanoma Team

Physicians and Staff

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	Timothy M. Johnson, M.D. Medical Director, Melanoma Clinic William B. Taylor Professor Specialty: Dermatology Dr. Tim Johnson received his medical degree and dermatology residency training at the University of Texas at Houston. After completing additional fellowship training in cutaneous surgery and oncology at the University of Michigan and the University of Oregon, he joined the University of Michigan faculty in 1990 with appointments in the departments of Dermatology, Otorhinolaryngology and Surgery (Division of Plastic Surgery). Dr. Johnson has served as clinical director of the Cutaneous Oncology and Multidisciplinary Melanoma Programs since 1990. Read more about Dr. Johnson
	Shan R. Baker, M.D. Professor Specialty: Head and Neck Surgery Dr. Shan Baker received his medical degree and completed a residency in otolaryngology/head and neck surgery at the University of Iowa. Following his training in head and neck surgery, he joined the faculty of the University of Michigan and is currently chief of the section of facial plastic and reconstructive surgery in the Department of Otolaryngology. Dr. Baker also serves as director of the University of Michigan Center for Facial Cosmetic Surgery and confines his practice to facial plastic and reconstructive surgery. Read more about Dr. Baker
	Christopher K. Bichakjian, M.D. Assistant Professor Specialty: Dermatology Dr. Christopher Bichakjian received his medical degree from the University of Nijmegen Medical School in The Netherlands and served his internship at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. He completed his dermatology residency with additional specialty residency training in melanoma at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center in 2001. He completed additional advanced fellowship training in melanoma and cutaneous oncology and surgery also at the U-M Cancer Center. Following his departure from the University of Michigan to private practice in New York City, Dr. Bichakjian was recruited back to the U-M melanoma and cutaneous oncology and surgery faculty in 2004. Read more about Dr. Bichakjian
	Carol R. Bradford, M.D. Professor Specialty: Head and Neck Surgery Dr. Carol Bradford received her medical degree and completed an otolaryngology/head and neck surgery residency at the University of Michigan. She joined the U-M faculty in 1992 and currently serves as associate chair for clinical programs and education in the Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery and co-director of the Head and Neck Oncology Program. Dr. Bradford specializes in head and neck cancer surgery and reconstruction as well as cutaneous oncology and sentinel lymph node biopsy. Her research interests include identifying predictive biomarkers for response of head and neck tumors to chemotherapy and radiation and the development of novel therapeutics. Dr. Bradford has authored more than 100 journal articles and eight book chapters. Read more about Dr. Bradford
	Alfred E. Chang, M.D. Professor, Surgery Specialty: Surgical Oncology Dr. Alfred Chang is a graduate of the Harvard Medical School, and received his general surgical training at Duke University and the University of Pennsylvania. He completed a surgical oncology fellowship and served as a senior investigator at the National Cancer Institute. In 1988, Dr. Chang joined the faculty of the University of Michigan as the chief of the Surgical Oncology Division. His clinical interests are in the treatment of patients with breast cancer, melanoma, sarcoma, gastrointestinal tumors and liver tumors. Dr. Chang's research interests are in the area of tumor immunology and cancer immunotherapy. Read more about Dr. Chang
	Vincent M. Cimmino, M.D. Professor Specialty: Surgical Oncology Dr. Vincent Cimmino is a graduate of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and received his surgical training at the University of Michigan and Georgetown University. His clinical interests are in the treatment of breast cancer and melanoma. Dr. Cimmino also has a specific interest in medical education, having completed the Medical Education Scholars Program at the University of Michigan. He enjoys downhill skiing and golf with his family. Read more about Dr. Cimmino
	Douglas R. Fullen, M.D. Assistant Professor Specialty: Pathology Dr. Douglas Fullen is a dermatopathologist in the Department of Pathology at the University of Michigan. He received his medical degree from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, and completed a one-year internship in internal medicine at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. Dr. Fullen served as a general medical officer attached to the 2nd Marine Division in Jacksonville, North Carolina, before completing his residency training in pathology at the University of Michigan. Prior to joining the faculty at the University of Michigan, Dr. Fullen completed a dermatopathology fellowship at New York Hospital-Cornell University Medical Center in New York City, and worked as a staff dermatopathologist at the Albany Medical College. His interests are in diagnostic dermatopathology, resident teaching and S100 protein research. Read more about Dr. Fullen
	Stephen B. Gruber, M.D., Ph.D. Associate Professor Specialty: Genetics Dr. Stephen Gruber is a medical oncologist and specialist in medical genetics. After graduating from Yale University with a doctoral degree in cancer epidemiology, he completed medical school and a residency in internal medicine at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He then went on to Johns Hopkins University, completing a fellowship in medical oncology and focusing his clinical practice on the care of people with melanoma and on families with an inherited susceptibility to cancer. Dr. Gruber joined the faculty of the University of Michigan in 1997, and is the director of the Cancer Genetics Clinic and a principal investigator in the Genes, Environment and Melanoma (GEM) Study. His research interests include identifying genetic changes that predispose cancer, and understanding how genes and environment work together to influence the risk of cancer. Read more about Dr. Gruber
	Darius J. Karimipour, M.D. Assistant Professor Specialty: Dermatology Dr. Darius Karimipour is a graduate of the University of Michigan Medical School. He completed a medical internship at the University of Chicago and a residency in dermatology with two years of resident specialty training in melanoma at the U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Karimipour completed additional advanced fellowship training in melanoma and cutaneous oncology and surgery at the U-M Cancer Center. Recruited in 2000, he is presently a faculty member in the Melanoma and Cutaneous Oncology and Surgery Program. Read more about Dr. Karimipour
	Christopher D. Lao, M.D., M.P.H. Clinical Assistant Professor Specialty: Medical Oncology Dr. Christopher Lao received his medical degree from Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York and completed internal medicine residency training at the University of Alabama-Birmingham. Dr. Lao also obtained a master's in public health degree in epidemiology from Emory University. He completed a fellowship in hematology/oncology at the University of Michigan and joined the U-M faculty as an assistant professor in 2004. He specializes in the care of patients with melanoma and gastrointestinal cancers. Dr. Lao's research interests include experimental therapeutics for advanced melanoma. He has funding from the National Institutes of Health to develop new strategies for melanoma chemoprevention. Read more about Dr. Lao
	Lori Lowe, M.D. Professor Specialty: Pathology Dr. Lori Lowe is a dermatopathologist with a joint appointment in the departments of Dermatology and Pathology. Her area of expertise is in the histologic interpretation of inflammatory skin diseases and cutaneous cancer, and in particular, the diagnosis of melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer. Dr. Lowe is a graduate of the University of Texas Medical School at Houston, where she also completed her residency training. She then went on to the University of Colorado for fellowship training in dermatopathology. Dr. Lowe joined the faculty of the University of Michigan in 1996, and became the director of dermatopathology in 1997. She has been recognized in The Best Doctors in America, 1999 edition, and in the 2000 edition of The National Registry of Who's Who. Read more about Dr. Lowe
	Mathew W. Ludgate, M.B.,Ch.B. Clinical Lecturer Specialty: Dermatology Dr. Mathew Ludgate completed his medical degree with distinction at the University of Otago, in Dunedin, New Zealand. He then undertook four years of training in internal medicine and 18 months of advanced medical oncology training at the Dunedin Public Hospital. Subsequently, Dr. Ludgate pursued advanced dermatology and dermatologic surgery training under the supervision of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians at the Greenlane Clinical Center, Auckland, New Zealand. Dr. Ludgate was recruited in 2006 to complete additional training in an advanced surgical fellowship at the U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center. He serves as faculty staff in the U-M Melanoma and Cutaneous Oncology and Surgery Program.
	Linglei Ma, M.D., Ph.D. Assistant Professor Specialty: Pathology Dr. Linglei Ma graduated from Beijing Medical University in1996 and received a Ph.D. from the Johns Hopkins University Department of Biological Chemistry in 2001. She completed residency training in anatomic pathology at Yale-New Haven Hospital, Yale University School of Medicine, from 2001 to 2004. She went on to complete a fellowship in dermatopathology at New York University Medical Center in 2005. Dr. Ma is board certified in anatomic pathology and dermatopathology. Read more about Dr. Ma
	Ellen L. Mozurkewich, M.D. Assistant Professor Specialty: Obstetrics and Gynecology Dr. Ellen Mozurkewich completed her medical school education at Northwestern University in Chicago and her residency training at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics. She joined the staff of the University of Michigan in 1991, practicing primary care obstetrics and gynecology in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology/Division of Women's Health. In 1998, Dr. Mozurkewich became a fellow in the Division of Maternal - Fetal Medicine. Her research interests include perinatal epidemiology, and she has a clinical interest in the care of women who receive a new or recurrent diagnosis of melanoma during pregnancy. Read more about Dr. Mozurkewich
	Lori J. Pierce, M.D. Professor Specialty: Radiation Oncology Dr. Lori Pierce attended Duke University School of Medicine and completed a radiation oncology residency and chief residency at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital. She then became a senior investigator at the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md. In 1992, Dr. Pierce joined the faculty of the University of Michigan. Since coming to Michigan, she has served as residency director and clinical director in the Department of Radiation Oncology. In August 2005, Dr. Pierce was appointed by the University of Michigan Board of Regents to be Associate Provost for Academic and Faculty Affairs. Her research focuses on the use of radiotherapy in the multi-modality treatment of breast cancer, with emphasis on intensity modulated radiotherapy in node positive breast cancer and the use of radiation in women with breast cancer who also have a BRCA1/2 breast cancer susceptibility gene. Read more about Dr. Pierce
	Bruce G. Redman, D.O. Professor Specialty: Medical Oncology Dr. Bruce Redman received his doctor of osteopathy degree in 1981 from the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine and completed a fellowship in medical oncology at Wayne State University School of Medicine in 1987. From 1987 to 1997, he was a faculty member in the Division of Hematology and Oncology at Wayne State University, where he served as the program director of the Oncology Fellowship Training Program. In 1997, Dr. Redman joined the faculty of the University of Michigan and has since been appointed the co-director of the Tumor Immunology/Immunotherapy Program. His primary interest is in immunotherapeutic approaches to the treatment of cancer, especially as they apply to melanoma and kidney cancer. Dr. Redman is the author on more than 50 peer-reviewed publications and several book chapters.
	Riley Stanford Rees, M.D. Professor Specialty: Plastic Surgery Dr. Riley Rees completed his medical degree and internship at the University of Utah College of Medicine in Salt Lake City. He received his general surgical residency training at Louisiana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans, and his plastic surgery residency training at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville. Prior to joining the faculty at the University of Michigan in 1988, Dr. Rees was on the faculty at Louisiana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans, the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Nashville and Vanderbilt University in Nashville. He currently serves as the director of the University of Michigan Wound Care Center and chief of the Plastic Surgery Section of the VA Medical Center in Ann Arbor. In 1999, Dr. Rees was included in The National Registry of Who's Who and is internationally recognized for his research in wound care. Read more about Dr. Rees
	Michelle B. Riba, M.D. Professor Specialty: PsychOncology Dr. Michelle Riba is the director of the PsychOncology Program at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center. She is a clinical professor and the associate chair for Integrated Medical and Psychiatric Services in the Department of Psychiatry. Dr. Riba received a medical degree and psychiatry residency training at the University of Connecticut and was a faculty member there before coming to the University of Michigan in 1993. Her research interests are in the assessment and evaluation of distress in cancer patients and their families. Dr. Riba was a member of the panel that developed the National Comprehensive Cancer Network's guidelines for assessing distress in cancer patients. She is the immediate past-president of the American Psychiatric Association. Read more about Dr. Riba
	Michael S. Sabel, M.D. Associate Professor Specialty: Surgical Oncology Dr. Michael Sabel received his medical degree from Temple University, Pa., and completed his residency training at Rush - Presbyterian - St. Luke's Medical Center in Chicago. He then went on to a National Institutes of Health fellowship in immunology and a surgical oncology fellowship at Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, N.Y.. Dr. Sabel's clinical interests are in the treatment of melanoma and breast cancer. His research interests are in the areas of tumor immunology and immunotherapy, and he is investigating the use of cryosurgery in the treatment of benign and malignant breast disease. Read more about Dr. Sabel
	Jennifer L. Schwartz, M.D. Assistant Professor Specialty: Dermatology Dr. Jennifer Schwartz received her medical degree from Northwestern University Medical School and completed her internship in internal medicine at Northwestern Medical Center in Chicago. She completed her dermatology residency at the University of Michigan Department of Dermatology and two years of specialty training in melanoma at the U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center. Additionally, she completed advanced specialty training in cutaneous surgery treatment of benign and malignant lesions at the University of Michigan. In 1999, Dr. Schwartz became a faculty member of the Melanoma and Cutaneous Oncology and Surgery Program. Read more about Dr. Schwartz
	Andrew K. Vine, M.D. Professor Specialty: Ophthalmology Dr. Andrew Vine received his medical degree form McGill University, where he also completed his ophthalmology residency training. His fellowship training in vitreo-retinal diseases was completed at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Vine is the director of the Ocular Oncology Clinic at the University of Michigan's Kellogg Eye Center. Read more about Dr. Vine
	Timothy S. Wang, M.D. Assistant Professor Specialty: Dermatology Dr. Timothy Wang received his medical degree from Wayne State University, School of Medicine, and completed his internship in internal medicine at Northwestern Medical Center in Chicago. He completed his residency in dermatology with two years of additional specialty residency training in melanoma at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center in 1995. Dr. Wang completed additional advanced fellowship training in melanoma and cutaneous oncology and surgery at the U-M Cancer Center in 1997. Retained in 1997, he is presently a faculty member in the Melanoma and Cutaneous Oncology and Surgery Program. Read more about Dr. Wang
	Sandra L. Wong, M.D. Assistant Professor Specialty: Surgical Oncology Dr. Sandra L. Wong graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with an undergraduate degree in molecular and cell biology in 1992. She received her medical degree from Northwestern University Medical School, in Chicago. Dr. Wong went on to complete her general surgery residency at the University of Louisville School of Medicine, in Kentucky. In 2005, she completed a fellowship in surgical oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, in New York, where she served as the chief administrative fellow. Dr. Wong joined the faculty at the University of Michigan Health System in 2005. Dr. Wong's clinical interests are in general surgical oncology, with a focus on melanoma, sarcoma and gastrointestinal cancers. Her research has focused on clinical trials in oncology, and she has interests in surgical decision making and clinical outcomes research. Read more about Dr. Wong
	Peg Esper, N.P. Nurse Practitioner Specialty: Medical Oncology Peg has been a nurse for 30 years and a Nurse Practitioner in Oncology for 15 years. She currently works in collaborative practice with Dr. Bruce Redman seeing melanoma and kidney cancer patients. Peg is a lecturer locally and nationally on a variety of cancer topics. She has published numerous manuscripts on cancer care and has published two books on palliative care. When not at work, Peg loves spending time with her husband and two children. She enjoys fishing, hiking and being involved with her church worship team.