Dr. Nafisa K. Kuwajerwala

Dr. Angeles is an Associate Professor with Tenure of Surgery, Associate Professor of Dermatology, and Faculty Member in the Cancer Biology PhD Program at the University of Michigan in the Division of Surgical Oncology. She earned her medical degree at Tufts University School of Medicine. She completed general surgery residency at New York Presbyterian-Weill Cornell Medical Center. While in residency she completed a two-year basic/translational science Surgical Oncology Research Fellowship at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) focusing on the molecular biology and novel therapeutics for sarcoma. After residency, Dr. Angeles returned to MSKCC and completed a clinical Complex Surgical Oncology Fellowship. Dr. Angeles is board-certified in both General Surgery and Complex General Surgical Oncology. She is the Director of the Regional Cancer Therapies Clinic at University of Michigan/Rogel Cancer Center. Dr. Angeles is a nationally recognized surgeon-scientist dedicated to advancing cancer care through innovative research and compassionate patient care. As the lead investigator for multiple clinical trials at the Rogel Cancer Center, she is at the forefront of developing new treatments for melanoma and sarcoma. Her laboratory studies the immune system’s role in fighting cancer, with a special focus on how resident memory T cells can help create long-lasting protection against tumors. By combining basic science and translational research, Dr. Angeles and her team are working to transform discoveries in the lab into effective new therapies for patients. Dr. Angeles’s research has been supported by the American Cancer Society, the Melanoma Research Alliance, the Society of Surgical Oncology, and the National Institutes of Health’s National Cancer Institute (NCI-NIH).Committed to excellence in both science and patient care, Dr. Angeles is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, a Fellow of the Society of Surgical Oncology, and an active member of professional societies including the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO), the Connective Tissue Oncology Society (CTOS), and the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC). She also serves as Chair of the Society of Surgical Oncology's Research Committee, helping to shape the future of cancer research and treatment.Clinical Specialization:Dr. Angeles is a board-certified surgical oncologist whose clinical practice focuses on patients with soft tissue cancers including sarcoma, melanoma, and non-melanoma cutaneous malignancies. Dr. Angeles cares for patients in a robust multidisciplinary fashion and provides education and counseling to her patients in order to allow shared decision making for the surgical management of their disease. Dr. Angeles is highly rated in 26 conditions, according to our data. Her clinical expertise encompasses Liposarcoma, Adult Soft Tissue Sarcoma, Melanoma, Splenectomy, and Nephrectomy. Dr. Angeles is board certified in Surgery and Complex General Surgical Oncology.

Dr. Bednar is a faculty member in the Department of Surgery at the University of Michigan.His undergraduate training was done at Princeton University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in molecular biology in 2000. After that he transitioned to the Lewis Katz School of Medicine of Temple University in Philadelphia. Dr. Bednar spent seven years in the combined MD/PhD program where he earned an MD and PhD in Microbiology and Immunology in the laboratory of Dr. Thomas Rogers. His dissertation thesis focused on how human monocytes respond to the complex external environment present during an infection or inflammatory state. After the completion of his medical training he was accepted to the General Surgery Residency program at the University of Michigan. During his time in Ann Arbor, he also spent two years in a postdoctoral research fellowship in the laboratories of Dr. Diane Simeone and Dr. Marina Pasca di Magliano. During Dr. Bednar's research time, he studied the basic biology of pancreatic cancer, which led to his evolving interest in cancer patient care. He finished his clinical training in the Complex General Surgical Oncology Fellowship program at the University of Pittsburgh and was recruited back to the University of Michigan to become a part of the pancreatic cancer research group that has developed here in the past decade. Dr. Bednar is a board-certified general surgeon and currently undergoing board certification for additional specialization of Complex General Surgical Oncology. He is also BLS/ACLS certified.Dr. Bednar's clinical and research effort up to now has been recognized through several awards. He received the Dr. Herman Brown Award for Excellence in the Study of the Art and Science of Surgery from the Department of Surgery, Lewis Katz School of Medicine, Temple University as a recognition for his care of the surgical patients and his research work while he was a medical student. Dr. Bednar's work on pancreatic cancer was recognized and supported by an American College of Surgeons Research Fellowship. He also received the Robert V. Danto Cancer Research Award from the Michigan chapter of the American College of Surgeons for his postdoctoral research work. His work was chosen to be presented at the Owen Wangensteen Surgical Forum during the annual American College of Surgeons meeting in 2013 and received the Best Oral Presentation award at the 24th Annual Moses Gunn Research Conference of the Department of Surgery at the University of Michigan in 2012.Clinical Specialization:Dr. Bednar is a practicing general and oncologic surgeon. His practice encompasses the full gamut of general surgery and complex abdominal and soft tissue surgical oncology. During his fellowship training, he also received specific instruction on the DaVinci robotic surgery platform and hope to continue to support the already-established efforts in this arena. Dr. Bednar is highly rated in 17 conditions, according to our data. His clinical expertise encompasses Pancreatic Cancer, Neuroendocrine Tumor, Familial Pancreatic Cancer, Pancreatectomy, and Small Bowel Resection. Dr. Bednar is board certified in Surgery and Complex General Surgical Oncology.

Eliza Beal is a Surgical Oncologist practicing medicine in Detroit, Michigan. Dr. Beal is highly rated in 17 conditions, according to our data. Her clinical expertise encompasses Gallbladder Cancer, Cholangiocarcinoma (Bile Duct Cancer), Gallbladder Disease, Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Surgery, and Hepatectomy.