Dr. George Van Buren

Dr. Alastair Thompson is a surgical oncologist specializing in breast cancer. He is the Professor and Chief of the Division of Surgical Oncology, Section of Breast Surgery at Baylor College of Medicine, where he holds the Olga Keith Wiess Chair of Surgery. He also serves as Co-Director of the Lester and Sue Smith Breast Center and is Co-Associate Director for Clinical Research at the Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center.Dr. Thomspon’s clinical interests include: ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS); nipple and skin sparing mastectomy; breast conservation surgery; and sentinel lymph node biopsy. His research interests include: multidisciplinary patient care alongside “bench to bedside” studies; and innovative clinical trials in cancer. He initiated and led a successful breast cancer laboratory program; provided leadership for a cancer center in the United Kingdom; chaired the UK national breast cancer trials portfolio of 120 studies; and engaged in a range of pivotal roles in key drug, radiation therapy and surgical trials involving the UK, Europe, United States and Australia.Dr. Thompson also has preclinical and practical experience in the design, implementation, monitoring and reporting of early- to late-phase drug and medical device trials. Dr. Thompson received his MBChB in Medicine Surgery and medical degree in Molecular Biology from the University of Edinburgh in Edinburgh, Scotland. He completed his residency in general surgery at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh and a Research Fellowship at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund in Edinburgh.Dr. Thompson has co-chaired the Comparison of Operative to Monitoring and Endocrine Therapy (COMET) Trial for low-risk DCIS; and the National Cancer Institute (NCI)-Breast Cancer Steering Committee proposed “no surgery” clinical trial planning committee. He is a member of the NCI BOLD taskforce and has held leadership positions in the Translational Breast Cancer Research Consortium and SWOG Cancer Research Network.Dr. Thompson is also a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, Association of Breast Surgery, British Association of Surgical Oncology, British Breast Group, American Society of Breast Surgeons, American Association for Cancer Research, Moynihan Chirurgical Club, and the Society of Surgical Oncology. Dr. Thompson is highly rated in 6 conditions, according to our data. His top areas of expertise are Breast Cancer, Triple-Negative Breast Cancer, Inflammatory Breast Cancer, Mastectomy, and Tissue Biopsy.

Dr. William E. Fisher is Professor and Vice-Chair for Clinical Affairs, Department of Surgery and the George L. Jordan, M.D. Chair in General Surgery at Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Fisher also serves as Director of the Elkins Pancreas Center at BCM; and is Vice President, Medical Staff and Chief of the Surgery Service Line at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center.An internationally-known leader in pancreatic surgery, Dr. Fisher has focused entirely on surgery for pancreatic tumors and cysts in his practice for over 20 years and has extensive experience in advanced, minimally-invasive robotic pancreas surgery.Dr. Fisher’s professional interests include: pancreaticoduodenectomy (Whipple procedure); minimally invasive/laparoscopic/robotic pancreatic surgery; pancreas cancer; distal and central pancreatectomy; pancreas resection; surgical oncology; common bile duct resection; Puestow procedure; Frey procedure; and laparoscopic pancreatectomy.Dr. Fisher has served as PI of two NIH-funded multicenter randomized clinical trials that generated practice-changing impact on the use of drains during pancreatectomy, and the subsequent development of a multicenter pancreatic-surgery-outcomes consortium. His basic science lab has studied the influence of gastrointestinal hormones on pancreatic cancer growth, the relationship between diabetes and pancreatic cancer, and genomic analysis of pancreatic cancer, resulting in over 160 peer-reviewed publications.Having served as principal investigator on more than 15 clinical trials for patients with pancreatic cancer, Dr. Fisher is currently PI at BCM for the NIH Consortium to Study Chronic Pancreatitis, Diabetes and Pancreatic Cancer.Dr. Fisher received a B.A. from Wittenberg University and earned his medical degree from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.  He held a research fellowship and completed his residency at The Ohio State University.Among his numerous honors and awards, Dr. Fisher has been recognized as one of America’s Top Doctors for Cancer (Castle Connolly Medical Ltd.), Top 1% of Doctors in the U.S. (U.S. News and World Report), and “Texas Super Doctor” (Texas Monthly). He is also the recipient of the Master Clinician Award for Excellence in Patient Care from BCM and has twice received the DeBakey Distinguished Service Award from the Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery at BCM. Dr. Fisher is highly rated in 20 conditions, according to our data. His top areas of expertise are Chronic Pancreatitis, Pancreatic Cancer, Hereditary Pancreatitis, Pancreaticoduodenectomy, and Pancreatectomy.

Seth P. Lerner, MD, is Professor of Urology and holds the Beth and Dave Swalm Chair in Urologic Oncology, in the Scott Department of Urology, Baylor College of Medicine. He is Director of Urologic Oncology and the Multidisciplinary Bladder Cancer Program and Faculty Group Practice Medical Director for the Urology Clinic. He earned his medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine, completed a surgical internship at Virginia Mason Hospital in Seattle, and returned to Baylor for his residency training. He completed a two-year fellowship at the University of Southern California in urologic oncology and reconstructive surgery under Peter Jones and Don Skinner before returning to join the full-time Baylor faculty in 1992. His clinical practice, education, and research activities are devoted to urologic oncology and particularly lower and upper tract urothelial cancer. Dr. Lerner is author of more than 160 peer-reviewed articles, and co-editor of a comprehensive Textbook of Bladder Cancer. Dr. Lerner is an active member of the prestigious American Association of Genitourinary surgeons and is listed routinely among America's Top Doctors and Best Doctors in America. He established and directs the multi-disciplinary Bladder Cancer Research Program at Baylor, and his research interests include use of selective estrogen receptor modulators for treatment of bladder cancer, gene therapy, targeted molecular therapeutics, and outcomes of radical cystectomy and pelvic lymphadenectomy. He has 22 years of experience as a clinical investigator for both NCI and industry funded clinical trials. He is the PI of the ongoing SWOG NCI Phase III trial comparing extended vs. standard pelvic lymphadenectomy at time of radical cystectomy for muscle invasive bladder cancer. He is active in the leadership of several national bladder cancer research enterprises including chair of the Local Bladder Cancer committee of SWOG, co-chair of the NCI's Bladder Cancer Task Force and the Analysis Working Group of The Cancer Genome Atlas Project for muscle invasive bladder cancer. He is very active in the Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network (BCAN) as a member of the Board of Directors, past chair of the Bladder Cancer Think Tank and co-chair of the management committee of the Bladder Cancer Research Network. Dr. Lerner is highly rated in 12 conditions, according to our data. His top areas of expertise are Bladder Cancer, Urothelial Cancer, Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer, Cystectomy, and Lymphadenectomy.