2020-2021 Advisory Committee

Priscilla “Lilly” Allen, PhD, LMSW, is a Professor at Louisiana State University School of Social Work. She also serves as the Associate Director of LSU's Life Course and Aging Center and Associate Editor of the Journal of Comparative Social Welfare. Dr. Allen’s research interests are in long-term care, healthy aging, policy issues and aging, and ageism. She currently serves as a board member of Louisiana Enhancing Aging Through Dignity Empowerment and Respect (LEADER), Louisiana’s first nursing home culture change coalition. Dr. Allen’s research interests are in long-term care, healthy aging, policy issues and aging, and ageism.

Previously, Dr. Allen worked as a long-term care ombudsman advocating for the rights and care of 3,400 nursing home residents in southwestern Connecticut. She has also worked in the nursing home industry as a social worker as well as serving as a town social worker in rural Connecticut.

She earned a PhD from Fordham University, an MSW from the University of Connecticut, and a BA in Sociology from Keene State College.

Peggy Burhenn is a Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) in geriatric oncology. In her current role as Professional Practice Leader for Geriatric Oncology at City of Hope in Duarte California, she is involved in education, research, and care management of the older adult with cancer. Her focus has been to teach nurses about caring for the older adult with cancer. She is co-investigator for an NIH R25 grant to educate oncology nurses about geriatric oncology. Her work focuses on a diversity of geriatric related issues such as: geriatric assessment, delirium, sleep promotion, fall prevention, cognition, pain in the older adult, and guided imagery.

In 2013 she received the Margo McCaffery Excellence in Pain Management award and the Values in Action award at City of Hope for Intellectual Curiosity and in 2014 the Advanced Oncology Certified Nurse of the Year from the Greater Los Angeles Oncology Nursing Society. In April 2015 she received the Oncology Nursing Society national award for Excellence in Caring for the Older Adult with Cancer.

William Dale, MD, PhD, is the Arthur M. Coppola Family Chair in supportive care medicine. He completed his medical and graduate school training at the University of Chicago and his residency in internal medicine and fellowship training in geriatrics at the University of Pittsburgh. He is a board-certified geriatrician and palliative medicine physician with a doctorate in health policy.

Dr. Dale has devoted his career to the care of older adults with cancer. In 2006, he established the Specialized Oncology Care & Research in the Elderly (SOCARE) Clinic at the University of Chicago, which offers interdisciplinary, individualized, and integrated treatment to optimize quality of life for older cancer patients.

He has over 100 publications on medical decision-making, behavioral economics, quality of life, and frailty evaluation in older adults, primarily those with cancer. He has been funded by the National Institute on Aging, National Cancer Institute, American Cancer Society, the John A. Hartford Foundation, and the Foundation of Informed Medical Decision-Making, among others. He is a co-investigator for the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP), a national survey and biomeasure collection on the health, well-being, and social life of over 3,000 older adults.

Steven D'Amato, BSPharm, BCOP, is the Executive Director and clinical pharmacy specialist at New England Cancer Specialists in Scarborough, Maine. He is a clinical associate professor at the University of Tufts College of Medicine. He is a member of ASCO, ACCP, ACCC, and HOPA.

A member of the Maine Medical Center Institutional Review Board in Portland, Maine, Mr. D’Amato has 30 years of experience in clinical oncology in both the hospital and private practice settings. He has extensive knowledge of EMR implementation, utilization, and practice management.

He has lectured extensively on pain management, end-of-life care, and oncology practice. He is a board member of the Community Cancer Center in South Portland, Maine, a non-profit organization providing education and support to cancer patients.

He is a past President of the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC), and is the ACCC Delegate Representative for New England Cancer Specialists. He earned his undergraduate degree from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy in Boston, Mass.

Dr. Dotan is an Associate Professor in the Department of Medical Oncology and the Program Director of the Hematology/Oncology Fellowship Program at the Fox Chase Cancer Center.  She specializes in treatment of patients with gastrointestinal cancers and geriatric oncology. Dr. Dotan is chair of the NCCN Older Adult Oncology Panel and a member of the Pancreatic Cancer Guideline Panel. She is also a member of the International Society of Geriatric Oncology (SIOG) and the Cancer and Aging Research Group (CARG). Her research interests include clinical trials of novel treatments for gastrointestinal cancers with specific attention to the treatment of older patients with these cancers.

Dr Pamela Ginex is the Senior Manager for Evidence-based Practice at the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS). She is the proud recipient of the Connie Henke Yarbro Excellence in Cancer Nursing Mentorship Award for her work with oncology nurses and is a Fellow at the New York Academy of Medicine.  She received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Masters in Public Health from the University of Pittsburgh and her Doctorate in Nursing from Teacher’s College at Columbia University. 

Dr. Loh graduated from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and completed her internship and residency at Baystate Medical Center/Tufts University School of Medicine. She is currently pursuing a fellowship in combined geriatrics and hematology/oncology at University of Rochester/Strong Memorial Hospital, James P. Wilmot Cancer Center. At the University of Rochester, she works very closely with her mentors, Dr. Supriya Mohile and Dr. Karen Mustian, in multiple projects related to geriatric oncology. Her current research interests include the decision-making process in older adults with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and the use of mobile health technologies in coordinating care and delivering supportive care interventions such as exercise to older adults with cancer. Her clinical interest is in older adults with hematologic malignancies. She is part of the Young SIOG Leadership Team and the ASCO Trainee Council.

Dr. Karuturi is currently medical oncologist and Assistant Professor, Department of Breast Medical Oncology, Division of Cancer Medicine, at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas. Dr. Karuturi’s research interests and publications include approach and management of breast cancer in the elderly, fractures in older adults with cancer, understanding cognition in older patients with cancer, and an interprofessionally developed geriatric oncology curriculum for hematology–oncology fellows.

Kristine LeFebvre, MSN, RN, AOCN joined the Education Team at the Oncology Nursing Society in 2004. In the role of Oncology Clinical Specialist, she works on a variety of educational and collaborative projects, including the ASCO/ONS Chemotherapy Administration Safety Standards, ONS Chemotherapy and Biotherapy Guidelines, and many ONS leadership initiatives. Ms. Lefebvre has more than 25 years of oncology nursing experience, including the roles of staff nurse, nurse manager, and clinical nurse specialist in oncology and bone marrow transplant.

Dr. Lichtman is the President of the International Society of Geriatric Oncology (SIOG) and is a practicing medical oncologist and member of the Gynecologic Oncology Disease Management Team at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC).  He is interested in the treatment of older cancer patients and participates in the Weill Cornell Medical College 65+ Clinical Geriatrics Program. Dr. Lichtman is a member of the MSKCC Cancer in the Elderly Taskforce and the Cancer in the Elderly Committee of the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology. He also serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Geriatric Oncology. In 2014 Dr. Lichtman received the ASCO BJ Kennedy Award for Scientific Excellence in Geriatric Oncology (2014).

Dr. Carol Mathew is a medical oncologist and hematology/oncology fellow at UMass Memorial Medical Center. She received her medical degree from Ross University School of Medicine.

Ginah Nightingale, PharmD, BCOP, is a full-time faculty member in the Department of Pharmacy Practice at the Jefferson College of Pharmacy (JCP) in both the didactic and experiential settings. Dr. Nightingale’s clinical practice sites include the inpatient Medical Oncology unit at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and the ambulatory Senior Adult Oncology Center at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Kimmel Cancer Center where she provides medication management services, medication adherence counseling and medication education.

Dr. Nightingale’s research interests include senior adult oncology, specifically, medication related problems including polypharmacy, potentially inappropriate medication use, adverse drug events and medication adherence in senor adults living with cancer. She has authored several papers on the prevalence of polypharmacy in older adults with cancer and the impact of polypharmacy on patient outcomes in older adults with cancer.

Dr. Nightingale is an active member of the Hematology Oncology Pharmacy Association (HOPA), the International Society of Geriatric Oncology (SIOG), and the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) and the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC). Dr. Nightingale earned her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, Rutgers University in New Jersey. She is a Board Certified Oncology Pharmacist through the Board of Pharmacy Specialties.

Dr. Randall A. Oyer is a practicing medical oncologist at the Ann B. Barshinger Cancer Institute at Penn Medicine Lancaster General in Pennsylvania, where he serves as the medical director. Dr. Oyer is also the medical director of oncology, the chair of the Cancer Committee, the chair of the Oncology Physicians Advisory Council, and the medical director of the Cancer Risk Evaluation (Cancer Genetics) Program at Penn Medicine. Dr. Oyer is a member of the Cancer Service Line Executive Committee and the Cancer Service Line Quality Committee at the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

Dr. Oyer divides his time among patient care, program administration, program development, and community outreach. He works closely with a multidisciplinary team that includes nursing, social work, pharmacy, chaplaincy, and medical specialties focused on strategy, implementation, and patient care. A long-standing active member of ACCC, he served as president from 2020 to 2021. Dr. Oyer is also an ex-officio member of the National Cancer Policy Forum and commissioner of the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer, where he represents ACCC. Dr. Oyer is a graduate of Georgetown University and Georgetown University School of Medicine, and is Clinical Professor of Medicine at Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Presley is currently working at The Ohio State Comprehensive Cancer Center as a thoracic and geriatric oncologist and researcher, specializing in the treatment of older adults with advanced lung cancer.  Her main research objectives are to optimize functional status and minimize treatment burden of older adults with lung cancer using geriatric-assessment-directed interventions, integrated oncopalliative care delivery models, and patient reported and universal health outcomes.

Dr. Presley is an active member of the Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy and Effectiveness Research Center (COPPER), the Yale Program on Aging, and the national Cancer and Aging Research Group (CARG).

Dr. Presley earned her medical degree from Dartmouth Medical School and completed residency in Internal Medicine and combined fellowship in Geriatric Oncology and Hematology at Yale-New Haven Hospital.