Advisory Committee

Michael Baine, MD, PhD, is a physician-scientist in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, where he acts as a treating radiation oncologist and brachytherapist. His clinical work focuses primarily on genitourinary malignancies, particularly prostate and bladder cancers. Dr. Baine’s research is focused on improving diagnosis, the ability to provide a meaningful prognosis, and radiation-based outcomes in patients.

Dr. Baine earned his MD and PhD at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. He remained there for an internship in internal medicine followed by a residency in radiation oncology, from which he graduated in 2019. 

Dr. Nadine J. Barrett is Senior Associate Dean for Community Engagement and Equity in Research at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and Atrium Health. Prior to that she held senior leadership roles as CTSI Co-Director for Equity and Stakeholder Strategy.

A medical sociologist by training, Dr. Barrett is a health disparities researcher, expert equity strategist, and a nationally-recognized leader in facilitating community/stakeholder and academic partnerships to advance health equity and developing training and methods to address implicit bias and structural and systemic racism that limits diverse participation in clinical and translational research and access to quality healthcare. Her goals are to integrate diverse stakeholder engagement in the research process and quality improvement in healthcare systems, enhance enrollment and retention of underrepresented groups in research through innovative interventions such JUST ASK, a nationally recognized program adapted by ACCC and ASCO, and diversify the healthcare workforce, and advance health equity.

Prior to her aforementioned role at Duke, Dr. Barrett was the founding director of the Duke Cancer Institute’s Office of Health Equity, where for eight years she led a team to create a nationally awarded community engagement model to advance health equity, through patient navigation, nationally funded pipeline training programs for underrepresented race and ethnic groups, and authentic community partnerships to inform and drive research and quality healthcare as advisors, experts, and participants. Her leadership in both nonprofit and academia spans local, national, and international partnerships to better serve and engage historically marginalized and underserved populations.

Frank dela Rama is a prostate cancer nurse navigator and advanced oncology clinical nurse specialist at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF), where he has been supporting patients across Alameda, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz counties in California for over 22 years. During his tenure with PAMF, he helped expand the radiation oncology nursing service, established the role of oncology nurse navigator, and created PAMF’s Cancer Genetics program, which provides genetic counseling and testing predominantly for BRCA1/2 genes (Hereditary Breast/Ovarian Cancer syndrome) and Lynch syndrome genes (Hereditary Colorectal Cancer). He is actively involved in developing additional programs and services at PAMF, including survivorship, oncology nurse navigators, a Prostate Cancer Buddy Program, and studies on cancer treatment decision-making strategies. He is also a senior oncology/cancer genetics nurse navigator for Navvisa, helping to build an innovative oncology navigation model program.

Mr. dela Rama has been serving as co-chair of the Academy of Oncology Nurse and Patient Navigators (AONN) and the Genetics/Genomics Committee since 2018. He served as president of the board of directors for Breast Cancer Connections, a nonprofit organization located in the San Francisco Bay Area, offering free programs and services for those affected by breast cancer and their loved ones. He also serves on the editorial board for several oncology nursing publications, including the Journal of Oncology Navigation and Survivorship, and has written chapters for Oncology Nursing Society publications geared specifically towards navigators. He is a featured speaker on prostate cancer and genetics at conferences and events, sharing his passion for quality cancer care.

Mr. dela Rama earned a bachelor’s degree in genetics from the University of California, Davis as well as a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of San Francisco. He went on to complete his master’s degree at the University of California, San Francisco to become an advanced oncology clinical nurse specialist (AOCNS) in Oncology/Genomics. 

Dr. Heather Honoré Goltz is a licensed master social worker and doctoral-level health educator with over a decade of experience developing and implementing clinical interventions to improve quality of life and health outcomes of patients and caregivers impacted by complex medical and behavioral health conditions.

Dr. Goltz has co-authored almost 30 peer-reviewed articles, primarily focusing on aspects of genitourinary cancer survivorship and sexual health. She has also co-authored or collaborated on several research studies funded by the American Cancer Society, NIH, DOD, and VA.

Dr. Goltz earned a Ph.D. in health education from Texas A&M University prior to completing post-doctoral fellowships at the Michael E. DeBakey VAMC and Baylor College of Medicine. She earned a B.S. in Biology (Scientific Inquiry concentration) from the Louisiana Scholars’ College at Northwestern State University and a M.S.W. (Mental Health concentration) and M.Ed. (Curriculum & Instruction-Teaching) from the University of Houston

Nynikka Palmer, MPH, DrPH, is an assistant professor of medicine at the University of California San Francisco, with secondary appointments in the Departments of Urology and Radiation Oncology. As a mixed-methods public health researcher, Dr. Palmer is committed to unraveling cancer disparities by using community engagement, relationship-centered communication, and multilevel strategies to enhance the delivery of high-quality cancer care. Dr. Palmer has been funded by the National Cancer Institute to work to enable low-income African American men to access high-quality prostate cancer treatment. She seeks to do this by anchoring the evidence-based intervention of peer navigation in the relational concept of African American brotherhood to foster trust and empowerment and optimize patient-centered communication, treatment decision-making, and quality of care.

Dr. Palmer is the co-leader of the Prostate Cancer Task Force of the San Francisco Cancer Initiative, which works to eliminate prostate cancer disparities through community engagement and education, targeted early detection, appropriate follow-up of aggressive disease, navigation and support services, and institutional partnerships that ensure high-quality care city-wide. Dr. Palmer is also on the Board of Directors for the Academy of Communication in Healthcare, as the Expert in Communication Research to Promote Health Equity.

Edith Peterson Mitchell, MD, MACP, FCPP, has spent her medical career helping individuals in medically underserved areas realize that simple changes in lifestyle can have a dramatic impact on cancer care. Through her work, Dr. Mitchell has demonstrated the importance of community service and outreach, especially to individuals who may not have the means to seek out more conventional medical advice.

Dr. Mitchell’s research in breast, colorectal, and pancreatic cancers and other GI malignancies involves new drug evaluation and chemotherapy, development of new therapeutic regimens, chemoradiation strategies for combined modality therapy, patient selection criteria, and supportive care for patients with gastrointestinal cancer.

Dr. Mitchell holds leadership positions in the American Society of Clinical Oncology and was the 116^th President of the National Medical Association, serving from 2015-2016. She travels nationally and internationally teaching and lecturing on the treatment of gastrointestinal malignancies. She serves on the National Cancer Institute Review Panel, the Cancer Investigations Review Committee, and the Clinical Trials and Translational Research Advisory Committee. Dr. Michell is the co-chair of the NCI Disparities Committee, and she is a member of the NIH Council of Councils. She was selected to serve as a member of the NCI’s Blue Ribbon Panel convened to advise the National Cancer Advisory Board on Vice President Biden’s National Cancer Moonshot Initiative. In 2019, Dr. Mitchell began service as a member of the President’s Cancer Panel.

Samuel L. Washington III, MD, MAS, is an Assistant Professor of Urology in the Departments of Urology and Epidemiology & Biostatistics at the University of California, San Francisco, in San Francisco, CA. Dr. Washington’s primary research focuses on racial disparities in patients with genitourinary malignancies, with specific interests in understanding racial/ethnic disparities in diagnosis, management, and treatment and examining and how these differences in treatment strategies based on race and socioeconomic factors impact survival outcomes for patients with genitourinary cancers.

Dr. Washington’s research interests have led to positions as the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center Prostate Cancer Program Community Outreach and Engagement Liaison, a member of the NCCN Guidelines for Prostate Cancer Early Detection Panel, as well as serving on national committees focused on improving health equity including the Association of Community Cancer Centers Bladder Cancer Advisory Committee and Oncology Clinical Pathways Development Teams for Bladder Cancer, Kidney Cancers, Prostate Cancer for the Veterans Health Administration. 

Dr. Washington completed his undergraduate education at University of California, Davis with a Bachelor of Science degree in Genetics, and a minor in Latin. He completed his medical school training at University of California, San Francisco and was selected by the Department of Urology to complete his urology residency. He stayed on at UCSF to complete his urologic oncology fellowship and a Master of Science degree in Clinical Research.

Evan Y. Yu, M.D., is a medical oncologist specializing in prostate, bladder, and testicular cancer treatment and research at both the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (SCCA) and the University of Washington Medical Center (UWMC). He graduated Alpha Omega Alpha from the University of Washington School of Medicine. Dr. Yu is the Clinical Research Director for GU malignancies, Core Director for the Pacific Northwest Prostate Cancer SPORE and co-PI of the DoD Prostate Cancer Clinical Trials Consortium for his institution. He is the institutions Principal Investigator for the National Cancer Trials Network Lead Academic Performance Site (LAPS) Grant, SWOG, and ECOG/ACRIN. His research focuses on testing the next wave of novel molecular targeted therapies and immunotherapy techniques, with a complementary focus on imaging biomarkers. In addition to an active clinical and research practice, he also is the Medical Director for Clinical Research Services at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Consortium. Previously, he served as a Hematology/Oncology Fellowship Program Director for a decade at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. He has regularly been voted a “Top Doctor” by Castle Connolly, U.S. News and World Report, Seattle magazine, and Seattle Met magazine. He has served for many years on the National Cancer Institute Genitourinary Cancers Steering Committee and is the Co-Chair for the National Cancer Institute Prostate Cancer Task Force. Dr. Yu has held various roles within ASCO, AACR, and also serves as a senior editor for Clinical Cancer Research and Uro-Today.