• Clinic Team
• Research Team
• Why did we write this? 
• Who Created This Website?

Clinic Team

Paul Nghiem, MD, PhD.  Dr. Nghiem oversees both the clinic and research teams. He is a dermatologist/scientist who moved 'back home' in 2006 from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute to the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. He specializes in skin cancers with a particular interest in optimizing the management of patients with Merkel cell carcinoma.  He has cared for over 500 patients with MCC and has read, lectured and written about this uncommon and challenging disease.  Dr. Nghiem conducts basic science research on cancer biology at the University of Washington and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle.  His contributions to the MCC literature can be viewed at his laboratory website at http://www.pnlab.org.  With a goal of defining more optimal treatment for MCC, he is maintaining a clinical database and tumor bank to better analyze this rare disease. In addition, he is leading genetic studies to further understand the biology of MCC. He has also founded the MCC Multicenter Interest Group, with representatives from over 20 institutions to pool resources and expertise on this challenging cancer. Dr. Nghiem describes the warning signs of MCC on Seattle's King 5.

Paul Nghiem, MD, PhD

	Katy Leptich, RN [email] Clinic Nurse Katy works with Dr. Nghiem at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance Skin Oncology Clinic caring for patients with Merkel cell carcinoma.
	Amy Alering, RN [email] Clinic Nurse Amy works with Dr. Nghiem at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance Skin Oncology Clinic caring for patients with Merkel cell carcinoma.
	Loveleen James [email] Patient Care Coordinator Please contact Loveleen James if you would like to make an appointment for consultation with Dr. Nghiem at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. phone: 206-288-2167

Multidisciplinary Team

Dr. Shailender Bhatia Medical Oncology Dr. Bhatia has a special interest in developing approaches to harness the immune system for managing Merkel cell carcinoma and melanoma. He is the Principal Investigator for the Interleukin-12 electroporation trial and is working on developing several other clinical trials for MCC. SCCA Link Dr. David Byrd Surgical Oncology Dr. Byrd is the head of Surgical Oncology at the University of Washington and the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. He is a national leader in developing cancer staging systems, including those for Merkel cell carcinoma and malignant melanoma. He is a key participant in the management of most of our patients and is particularly expert in the use of sentinel lymph node biopsies for managing complex skin cancers. SCCA Link Dr. Peter Neligan Plastic Surgery Dr. Neligan is highly experienced in removing skin cancers, even extremely large ones, from the face and reconstructing normal structures afterwards. He routinely integrates sentinel lymph node biopsies into management of MCC patients. UW Link Dr. Upendra Parvathaneni Radiation Oncology "Dr. P" has extensive expertise in managing MCCs with the use of radiation therapy. His clinical pracice is based at the University of Washington and he works very closely with us on the majority of MCC cases. In some cases, patients are treated by him in Seattle, and in other cases, he consults with the patient's radiation oncologist closer to home to ensure the best possible management for their cancer. SCCA Link

[ back to top ]

Research Team

	Olga Afanasiev [email] Graduate Student Olga is a MD/PhD student who joined the Nghiem lab in August 2009.  She is studying MCC's cause and potential therapy. Olga will continue to see patients, who inspire and motivate her to become an academic clinician.
	Amy Bestick email Undergrad Research Assistant Amy joined the lab in 2012, tracking and updating MCC patients status and assisting with translational research
	Astrid Blom, MD [email] Clinical Research Fellow Astrid joined our team in January 2012. She is a dermatologist from France. She is involved in caring for patients and enrolling them in clinical trials. In addition, she is managing the MCC clinical database and investigating the immune response against Merkel cell polyomavirus.
	Kaifeng Hung, MD [email] Graduate Student Kaifeng joined our lab in December 2009.
	Dafina Ibrani [email] Research Scientist Dafina joined our team in December 2011.  She graduated from UCLA in 2010.
	Jayasri Iyer, MD [email] Research Fellow Jayasri joined our team in May, 2008. She is a dermatologist from India. Her main focus is investigating the immune response against Merkel cell polyomavirus. In addition, she is managing the MCC clinical database and is involved in patient management.
	Masaoki Kawasumi, MD, PhD [email] Research Fellow Masaoki joined our team in April, 2004. He focuses on more general mechanisms of cancer, but he provides great experience and guidance to others in the lab.
	Chris Lewis email Undergrad Research Assistant Chris joined the lab in 2012, tracking and updating MCC patients status and assisting with translational research.
	Kaushik Parvathaneni email Student Researcher Kaushik joined the lab in 2011 and works during summers and holidays in the lab. He helps us keep track of our many hundred MCC patients and helps to determine relevant signs of Merkel cell carcinoma and the best possible treatments. Kaushik's Father, Upendra Parvathaneni is a key colleague and leader of our MCC radiation oncology treatment team.
	Kelly Paulson (Garneski), MD, PhD [email] Internal Medicine Resident Kelly joined our team in June, 2006. She is an MD/PhD student who focuses on understanding the genetics of MCC for her PhD thesis, building the foundation for a career in translational medicine.
	Lola Yelistratova email Research Scientist Lola joined the lab January 2010 working as a research scientist as she applies for medical school. Her main focus is working on the MCC serology assay and investigating the immune response against Merkel cell polyomavirus.

Why did we write this?

We have assembled this information to answer frequently asked questions about Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC). Since MCC is an uncommon malignancy, few patients are familiar with the disease and few doctors are familiar with its treatment. Easy access to understandable information is often difficult to obtain. In this resource, we have combined our review of the best available literature and our experience caring for over 500 patients with MCC at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. This information is designed to facilitate key therapeutic decisions that need to be made within weeks to months of initial diagnosis of MCC. Please discuss any questions that you may have about the information presented below with your doctor.

[ back to top ]

Who created this website?

Sheela Gupta, MD. Dr. Gupta graduated from Boston University School of Medicine.  She has an interest in academic dermatology, in particular cutaneous oncology and patient education. She completed dermatology residency at the Harvard Medical School Program.

Linda Wang, MD, JD. Dr. Wang began work on this project began while she was a Chief Resident at the University of Chicago Section of Dermatology and was funded by a 2004 Mentorship Award through the Women's Dermatologic Society (http://www.womensderm.org). She now sees MCC patients as the Director of the Merkel Cell Carcinoma Program at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland.

Some key Merkel team members (L to R) Isabel Longo, MD, PhD;

Linda Wang, MD, JD, and Sheela Gupta, MD.

[ back to top ]