NOS Board of Directors

President

Annabel Barber, MD, FACS
Professor of Surgery
University of Nevada, School of Medicine

Annabel E. Barber, MD, FACS, is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, professor of surgery, and chief in the division of endocrine and gastrointestinal surgery for the UNLV School of Medicine. A past president of the Nevada Chapter of the American College of Surgeons, her community service work includes working with indigent women with breast cancer, health screening for seniors, and engagement with support groups for black women with breast cancer.

Dr. Barber graduated from the University of Texas Medical School at Houston. She completed her general surgery residency at New York Hospital-Cornell University Medical College, where she was also a research fellow in surgical nutrition and metabolism. She has served as chief, general surgery clinics at University Medical Center and chief of staff at MountainView Hospital, where she was also chief of general surgery.

Her research interests include interventions in wound healing for diabetics, and therapies, including diet, for Gastroparesis, a disorder that slows or stops the movement of food from the stomach to the small intestine.

Dr. Barber has been an invited lecturer throughout the United States on topics ranging from “Surgical Options in Colorectal Cancer” and “New Surgical Techniques in Breast Surgery” to “Hard to Heal Wounds & Nutrition” and “Nutrition Across the Critical Care Spectrum.”

Treasurer

Michael Anderson, MD
Radiation Oncologist
Comprehensive Cancer Centers of Nevada

Michael Anderson, MD, is a radiation oncologist at Comprehensive Cancer Centers. He has authored/co-authored several publications and served as the Community Outreach Coordinator for the Sunrise Hospital Cancer Committee from 2007-2009 and was a member of the IRB Committee at University Medical Center from 2006-2009. Dr. Anderson was vital in starting and developing the practice’s accelerated partial breast irradiation program. Prior to joining Comprehensive in 2012, he worked in private practice as a radiation oncologist in Las Vegas. Dr. Anderson was the associate director for the department of radiation oncology at the NYC Health and Hospitals/Elmhurst from 2001-2002.

Dr. Anderson has been recognized as a Medical Marvel by the Nevada Business Magazine and Top Doctors by Castle Connolly, Vegas Inc., Greenspun Media Group, and Vegas Seven magazine. He has also been recognized by the American Registry as America’s Most Honored Professional.

Secretary

Lee S. Schwartzberg, MD, FACP
Chief, Section of Medical Oncology
Renown Health
Reno, NV

Lee Schwartzberg, MD, FACP, is chief in the section of medical oncology for Renown Health in Reno, Nevada. He completed fellowship training in medical oncology and hematology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where he also served as Chief Medical Resident and was a founding member of the institutional ethics committee.

Dr. Schwartzberg is President/CMO for Vector Oncology, an oncology-specific SMO/CRO. He was awarded the 2004 Jefferson Award for community service. He served as the founding editor-in-chief of the journal Community Oncology and the website OncologySTAT.com and serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Supportive Oncology. Dr. Schwartzberg’s major research interests are new therapeutic approaches to breast cancer, targeted therapy, and supportive care. He has authored over 110 research papers and maintains a private practice in medical oncology focusing on breast cancer.

Immediate Past President

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Dan L. Curtis, MD
Radiation Oncologist
Comprehensive Cancer Centers of Nevada

Dan Curtis, MD, is a radiation oncologist and one of the founding members of Comprehensive Cancer Centers. He is currently chief, subdivision radiation oncology at Summerlin Hospital Medical Center as well as chairman of its Cancer Conference, Breast Cancer Conference, Radiation Safety Committee, and tumor board. He is also assistant professor of internal medicine (radiation oncology) at University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine as well as clinical assistant professor of internal medicine at UNLV School of Medicine.

In 2004, Dr. Curtis started the intravascular brachytherapy program at Valley Hospital. He also pioneered and facilitates regular cancer conferences and breast cancer conferences at Summerlin Hospital and in 1998, he started its prostate brachytherapy program.

Previously, Dr. Curtis was a radiation oncologist at Nevada Radiation Oncology Centers, which became Comprehensive in 2000. He was also part of a multispecialty group practicing internal medicine from 1984 to 1987.

Dr. Curtis has been named Top Doctor by Castle Connolly, US News & World Report, Desert Companion, Vegas Seven, Vegas Inc., and Greenspun Media Group. He has also been recognized by the American Registry as America’s Most Honored Professional.

Board Members-at-Large

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Max Coppes, MD, PhD, MBA, FAAP
Director of the Pennington Cancer Institute (PCI)
Renown Health
Professor of Pediatrics and Internal Medicine
UNR Med

Dr Max J Coppes is the Director of the Pennington Cancer Institute (PCI) at Renown Health and a Professor of Pediatrics and Internal Medicine at UNR Med. He went to Medical School at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands, served in the Dutch Air Force, completed his Pediatric Residency at the Wilhelmina Children’s Hospital in Utrecht in the Netherlands, and trained in pediatric Hematology/Oncology at the Institut Gustave Roussy, Villejuif in France and at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. He obtained his PhD from the University of Amsterdam and an MBA from the Haskayne School of Business in Calgary. Prior to relocating to Reno, he served as the Director of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at the Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary, the Senior Vice President of the Center for Cancer and Blood disorders at Children’s National Medical Center, Washington, DC, and the President of the BC Cancer Agency, Vancouver, Canada. In Reno he served as the Chief Medical & Academic Officer of Renown Health and the Nell J Redfield Chair of Pediatrics at UNR Med & Physician-in-Chief of Renown Children’s Hospital, before becoming the Director of the PCI.

His clinical area of expertise is childhood cancer and he has served in multiple national and international leadership positions. He has been actively involved in laboratory, translational, clinical, and epidemiologic research and has published over 150 manuscripts Currently, Dr. Coppes is interested in helping to elucidate what can be learned from patterns derived from ‘big data’, including health record data, environmental data, genetic background, and socioeconomic factors. He is also actively involved with UNR’s School of Public Health in determining the effects of healthcare related media messages on different audiences.

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Lawrence Dardick, MD
Retired

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Guy Jones, MD
Medical Director
Oncology Nevada

Dr. Jones serves as Medical Director for Oncology Nevada in Reno which cares for patients throughout Northern Nevada and California. He was a Research Scholar for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and completed his training in Radiation Oncology at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, MD with additional training in brachytherapy at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX. He has a long history of publishing peer-reviewed manuscripts and is active in local, state and national medical societies. Dr. Jones’ specializes in treating cancers of the bladder, prostate, breast, lung, head & neck, and CNS as well as radiotherapy for benign conditions such as Dupuytren's Disease, Plantar Fasciitis, Arthritis, and others. His personal interests include running, rock-climbing, hiking, and fishing.

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Anu Thumala, MD
Medical Oncologist/ Hematologist
Comprehensive Cancer Centers of Nevada

Anu Thummala, MD is a medical oncologist and hematologist who focuses on the treatment of all cancer types with a special interest in breast cancer, colon cancer, lung cancer, and hematological malignancies. She is also on the frontlines of clinical research at Comprehensive, where she serves as principal and sub-investigator for many trials, including collaborations with US Oncology Research, UCLA, and Pharma Research.

In the broader Southern Nevada medical community, she currently serves as vice chair of the Department of Medicine at Summerlin Hospital Medical Center and is a board member for peer review and the nominating committee. At MountainView Hospital, she is chair of the cancer committee and an adjunct faculty member at UNLV School of Medicine. Dr. Thummala sits on Nevada State Cancer Coalition’s board of directors, is a board member of the Nevada Oncology Society, and is a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the Clark County Medical Society.

Her prior leadership positions include serving as the past chair of Comprehensive’s pharmacy and therapeutics committee. She also chaired MountainView Hospital’s quality control committee.

Dr. Thummala has been recognized as Top Doctor by VEGAS INC Health Care Quarterly consistently for the last several years as well as a Medical Marvel by Nevada Business Magazine. Additionally, she was the recipient of the 2014 Athena Leadership Award through the Women’s Chamber of Commerce and inducted into the Women’s Chamber of Commerce Hall of Fame in 2015. Among her other accolades, she has been named Preceptor of the Year by the University of Nevada School of Medicine, was among America’s Most Honored Professionals by The American Registry and received the Compassionate Doctor and Patients’ Choice awards from Vitals.com.

Throughout her career, she has published numerous studies, including ones that have addressed the treatment of hot flashes in women with breast cancer; a study on using preoperative ceftuzumab in rectal cancer patients; and a randomized phase 2 study of PD 0332991, a cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) 4/6 inhibitor, in combination with letrozole vs. letrozole alone for first-line treatment of ER+/HER2- advanced breast cancer. Her phase 2 study on metastatic triple negative breast cancer with G1T28 and Gemcitabine/Carboplatin was accepted for publication at ESMO Congress and Lancet.

Prior to joining Comprehensive in 2006, Dr. Thummala practiced in a single specialty group in Texas (Richardson Hospital Medical Center), where she served on the board and acted as the physician liaison appointed by the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer. She also served on the practice’s cancer committee and, separately, worked as a hospice director for Texas-based Harris Hospice.

Dr. Thummala is fluent in Hindi, Urdu, Telugu, and understands Tamil.

EDUCATION
Anu Thummala, MD, received her medical degree from Andhra University, India, where she received several academic awards and honors, and was awarded “the best outgoing student” and “best final year student” in her class. She attended the Mount Sinai-Elmhurst Hospital Residency program in New York, where she was the best resident for two consecutive years and also served as the chief resident in the department of medicine. She completed her fellowship training in hematology and oncology at the University of Rochester in New York. During her fellowship, she received the Amgen Fellowship Training Award, Empire State Grant and several cancer action grants for clinical and laboratory research.

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W. Andrew Wang, MD
Radiation Oncologist
Comprehensive Cancer Centers of Nevada

W. Andrew Wang, MD, is a radiation oncologist at Comprehensive Cancer Centers of Nevada, where he brings the most modern experience in technology and procedures to the practice. Prior to joining Comprehensive Cancer Centers, Dr. Wang was a radiation oncology resident at the William Beaumont Hospital where he served as chief resident from July 2017-July 2018. His research and findings have appeared in a number of publications including the Journal of Neurosurgery, the Journal of Neuro-Oncology, and Physics in Medicine and Biology.

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Lauren Zion, PharmD, BCOP, BCPS
Oncology Pharmacy Clinical Specialist
Renown Health

APP Membership Liaison

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Shannon Southwick, MSN, APRN, FNP-BC, OCN
Nurse Practitioner
Comprehensive Cancer Centers of Nevada

Shannon Southwick, MSN, APRN, FNP-BC, OCN, is a board certified family nurse practitioner at Comprehensive Cancer Centers of Nevada (CCCN) where she provides oncology care and follow-up care to patients. She also teaches an introduction to chemotherapy class to all new patients.

Shannon has held various positions at CCCN including manAger of nursing services, implementation manager of electronic medical records, and registered nurse. Prior to joining CCCN, she worked as a registered nurse at Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center.

Shannon is a member of the Oncology Nursing Society and American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, and served as former president and vice president of the Greater Las Vegas ONS Chapter.