Ghulam Abbas, MD, MHCM, FACS, is a board certified thoracic surgeon with interest in robotic and endoscopic lung and esophageal surgery. He completed his general surgery residency in North Shore –LIJ system in New York and his cardiothoracic surgery fellowship at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.

He serves as the surgical director of the thoracic oncology department for West Virginia University Cancer Institute and as a professor in the department of cardiovascular and thoracic surgery.

Dr. Abbas is the author of various publications and book chapters, and is actively involved in clinical research. He serves as a guest reviewer for many peer-reviewed journals and is on the editorial board of two of them. He is a member of many national and international scientific societies and is on the executive committee for the Eastern Cardiothoracic Surgical Society and the board of directors for the Society of Robotic Surgery.

Dr. Nicole L. Stout is a research assistant professor at the West Virginia University Cancer Institute and a research assistant professor at the West Virginia University School of Public Health in Morgantown, WV.

Dr. Stout’s research interests include cancer rehabilitation and survivorship care.  She studies implementation of survivorship supportive care services in cancer care delivery and oversees WVUCI’s survivorship research agenda, quality improvement initiatives, and supportive care infrastructure development. Her research focus is on development and implementation of cancer care delivery models and interventions that prevent functional decline during and after cancer care. Key funded components of her research agenda include (i) studying the implementation of prospective, risk stratified functional assessment and symptom management strategies across cancer care delivery, (ii) studying community outreach and engagement strategies with primary care providers to enable implementation of cancer prevention and control interventions.

Dr. Stout received her Bachelor of Science degree from Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania in 1994, a Master of Physical Therapy degree from Chatham University in 1998 and a clinical Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions in 2013. She has a post graduate certificate in Health Policy from the George Washington University School of Public Health.