Dr. Panayotis Ledakis

Dr. Lipson is an internationally-recognized skin cancer and immunotherapy specialist at Johns Hopkins. He received his medical degree in 2005 from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, where he graduated with distinction in research. He completed his internship and residency in Internal Medicine at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, and completed a Medical Oncology fellowship at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center. Dr. Lipson leads cutting edge clinical trials for patients with melanoma and other skin cancers. As a member of the Johns Hopkins Melanoma and Cancer Immunology Programs, he focuses on evaluating novel therapies for patients with high-risk or advanced disease. Dr. Lipson’s publications include the first reports of organ transplant recipients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors for advanced cancer, and the first description of kidney retransplantation performed after immunotherapy–related organ rejection. Based on his published work, Dr. Lipson initiated a clinical trial testing a novel combination of immune-based therapies for kidney transplant recipients with advanced selected cancers. Results from this trial - the first of its kind - were reported in 2022 at an international oncology meeting. Dr. Lipson is a leader in the clinical development of relatlimab, an antibody blocking the LAG-3 immune checkpoint. He leads a phase 2 trial testing combination immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy—including anti-LAG-3—for patients with advanced basal cell carcinoma. In June 2021, Dr. Lipson presented findings from the first phase 3 study establishing the LAG-3 pathway as the third immune checkpoint pathway in history, after CTLA-4 and PD-1, for which blockade has clinical benefit. This trial supported the FDA's approval of a new therapy for patients with advanced melanoma. In addition to his research activities, Dr. Lipson is an educator in the field of cancer immunotherapy. Many of his lectures focus on the management of immune-mediated drug toxicities associated with novel cancer drugs. Dr. Lipson conducts regular clinical practices in Baltimore, Maryland and at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, D.C. as part of the multidisciplinary Melanoma Program at Johns Hopkins. Dr. Lipson is rated as a Distinguished provider by MediFind in the treatment of Merkel Cell Carcinoma. His top areas of expertise are Melanoma, Merkel Cell Carcinoma, Melanoma of the Eye, Metastatic Uveal Melanoma, and Pancreaticoduodenectomy.

Dr. William H. Sharfman is an associate professor of oncology and dermatology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. His areas of clinical expertise include cutaneous oncology, dermatology and immunotherapy. He helped create the well-established Melanoma Program at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center in 1994. Dr. Sharfman serves as the director of cutaneous oncology and clinical co-director for oncology at the Johns Hopkins Melanoma Program. He earned his M.D. from the University of Toledo College of Medicine. He completed his residency at Cleveland Clinic and performed a fellowship in hematology and oncology at Cleveland Clinic. Dr. Sharfman's research interests include novel therapies for high risk and advanced melanoma patients. Dr. Sharfman is rated as a Distinguished provider by MediFind in the treatment of Merkel Cell Carcinoma. His top areas of expertise are Melanoma, Merkel Cell Carcinoma, Eccrine Porocarcinoma, and Familial Pancreatic Cancer.

Sekwon Jang is a Hematologist Oncology specialist and an Oncologist in Falls Church, Virginia. Dr. Jang is rated as a Distinguished provider by MediFind in the treatment of Merkel Cell Carcinoma. His top areas of expertise are Melanoma, Merkel Cell Carcinoma, Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma (CTCL), and Squamous Cell Skin Carcinoma. Dr. Jang is currently accepting new patients.