Advisory Committee

Archana Ajmera, MSN, ANP-BC, AOCNP is a board-certified adult nurse practitioner and advanced oncology-certified nurse practitioner at US San Diego Health. She cares for patients with prostate cancer, renal cell carcinoma, urothelial carcinoma, testicular germ cell tumors and penile carcinoma, and has expertise in chemotherapy, immunotherapy, targeted therapy, and investigational agents. She plays an active role in clinical research by serving as a sub-investigator and serves as the genitourinary oncology board member for the Alliance Oncology Nursing Committee. In addition to her clinical role, Ajmera is a strong advocate for advanced APP (Advanced Practice Provider) practice and is the APP Supervisor for the Division of Hematology Oncology.

Prior to joining UC San Diego Health, Ajmera was an oncology nurse practitioner at UC San Francisco, where she cared for adults with hematologic malignancies and bone marrow transplant candidates, as well as women receiving breast cancer treatment. She was also an oncology nurse practitioner at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, where she managed the care of women undergoing treatment with surgery and chemotherapy for gynecologic malignancies.

Ajmera earned her master's degree in nursing from MGH Institute of Health Professions School of Nursing in Boston and earned her bachelor's degree in nutritional sciences from UC Berkeley. She is a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, Alliance Clinical Trials Network, Advanced Practice Society for Hematology and Oncology, and National Comprehensive Cancer Network.

Pedro C. Barata, MD, MSc, FACP is the director of Clinical Genitourinary Medical Oncology Research Program at University Hospitals Siedman Cancer Center and associate professor of Medicine at Case Western University in Cleveland, Ohio. He is co-leader of the Genitourinary Disease Team, a medical oncologist, and a renowned clinical trialist. His research interests include experimental therapeutics and molecular profiling of tumors and genomic-based therapies for genitourinary tumors, while his clinical interests include kidney, prostate, and bladder cancers.

Dr. Barata is an active member in numerous professional committees and societies, including the American Urological Association, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the American Association for Cancer Research, and the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer. He is the recipient of numerous research and educational grants and has authored and co-authored dozens of publications.

Dr. Barata is American board-certified in Medical Oncology and Internal Medicine. He completed his clinical fellowship in experimental therapeutics in genitourinary tumors at the Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Center in Cleveland, Ohio. During that time, he also rotated at the phase I / Experimental Therapeutics Department at MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas. He completed his fellowship in medical oncology at Alameda Santo Dos Capuchos in Portugal, and his medical degree at the University of Lisbon.

Dr. Erik Castle is a Professor of Urology at Tulane University School of Medicine, specializing in urologic oncology surgery and minimally invasive/robotic surgery. Dr. Castle's surgical expertise includes robot-assisted radical cystectomy, prostatectomy, retroperitoneal lymph node dissection, and partial nephrectomy. He pioneered robot-assisted radical cystecomy in 2005 and robot-assisted RPLND in 2008 being one of the first surgeons in the world performing these surgeries at that time. Dr. Castle has demonstrated many of these procedures internationally and has published extensively across topics of urologic care and science. He serves on the Early Detection of Prostate Cancer Panel for the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN). 

He earned his medical degree from University of Texas, Southwestern Medical School. He completed Urology Residency at the University of Kansas Medical Center and followed with a Laparoscopic and Reconstructive Urologic Surgery fellowship at Mayo Clinic of Arizona. Dr. Castle's research focus includes prostate, bladder, testicular, and kidney cancers. He has experience in clinical trials, health sciences research, outcomes research, and basic science research.

Dr. Holle completed her Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy and post-baccalaureate Doctor of Pharmacy from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She completed a specialized oncology residency at UT M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, and is a board-certified oncology pharmacist. Dr. Holle has worked as an oncology pharmacist for over 20 years in a variety of settings including private hospitals, academic medical centers, and medical communications. Currently, Dr. Holle is an Associate Clinical Professor at the UConn School of Pharmacy and Associate Professor at the UConn School of Medicine. Her practice site is at the UConn Health Carole and Ray Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center, where she works in a team-based ambulatory care clinic focusing on genitourinary and gastrointestinal cancers and in another team based-clinic focusing on hematologic malignancies.

Dr. Holle is a Past President of HOPA and a past Secretariat member and Treasurer of the International Society of Oncology Pharmacy Practitioners (ISOPP). She is also an active member in many other professional oncology and pharmacy organizations. Dr. Holle’s clinical research program focuses on numeracy and patient decision-making, oncology quality improvement initiatives, medical marijuana, and oral anticancer therapy management.