Leadership

Matthew J. Carpenter, Ph.D., is the Flora McLeod Edwards Distinguished Chair in Cancer Research and a clinical psychologist with strong research expertise in behavioral science, particularly addictive behaviors and smoking cessation. In his associate director role, he provides strategic direction, research leadership, and program development to advance behavioral, epidemiologic, and population science across the cancer continuum, with an emphasis on cancer prevention, early detection, health disparities, survivorship, and implementation science.

A professor of public health sciences, Marvella E. Ford, Ph.D., oversees the center’s effort to address the state’s critical cancer disparities. Through community outreach and educational programs, Ford and her team work with leaders throughout the state to build bi-directional, trusting, and long-lasting partnerships, which are critical to Hollings investigators in tailoring culturally and contextually knowledgeable cancer interventions. She also works with the South Carolina Department of Public Health to implement cancer-focused initiatives, including the State Cancer Plan.

Denis C. Guttridge, Ph.D., joined MUSC in 2018 as the Hollings Cancer Center associate director of translational science and the director of the Charles P. Darby Children’s Research Institute. Guttridge holds a robust research funding portfolio and has authored more than 130 peer-reviewed publications. He has received numerous recognitions for his contributions to cancer research and his dedication to fostering multidisciplinary and collaborative science.

Amanda C. LaRue, Ph.D., is director of the Flow Cytometry & Cell Sorting Shared Resource and a professor of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine in the College of Medicine. As Associate Director of Shared Resources, she oversees the ongoing evaluation, development and growth of Hollings' shared resources. These shared facilities provide access to critical technologies, services and consultation that enhance scientific interaction and productivity of cancer center members.

Dr. Craig Lockhart is the Director of the Division of Hematology & Oncology at MUSC and Associate Director for Clinical Science at MUSC Hollings Cancer Center. His research specialty is gastrointestinal cancers, and he has been a principal investigator on more than 100 Phase I/II and III trials.

Prior to joining MUSC, Dr. Lockhart was on the faculty and in leadership roles at the University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis/Siteman Cancer Center, and at Vanderbilt University/Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center.

Dr. Lockhart has been conducting early-phase clinical trials for over 20 years. His specific research interests are developing and conducting Phase I/II clinical trials of novel therapeutics applied to gastrointestinal cancers. In treating these cancers, he aims to incorporate novel agents or molecular/genetic-based treatments into therapeutic trials in the pursuit of personalized cancer care. He has developed and led multi-institutional clinical trials involving the treatment of GI tumors through national cooperative groups as well as investigator-initiated studies. He has been an investigator and co-investigator on individual grants, on successful SPORE grant applications and on successful multi-institutional UM1 grant applications.

Dr. Lockhart has also served on several committees for the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), including the scientific and career development committees. He has been a member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines committee for gastric and esophageal cancers. He also serves as faculty at the ASCO/American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Methods in Clinical Cancer Research Workshop, mentoring fellows and junior faculty on the development of gastrointestinal cancer therapeutic protocols.

Dr. Lockhart graduated from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School at Dallas in 1993. He completed residency training at Barnes Hospital at Washington University, fellowship training in hematology/oncology at Duke University and a fellowship in drug development at GlaxoSmithKline in the North Carolina Research Triangle Park. He also earned a Master of Health Science degree in clinical trials at Duke University. He completed his undergraduate degree, a bachelor’s in biology, at Rice University.

Besim Ogretmen, Ph.D., is a professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and the SmartState Endowed Chair of Lipidomics and Drug Discovery. An internationally renowned investigator, Ogretmen has over 25 years of experience in cancer research, specializing in the field of lipid signaling and metabolism. In his associate director role, Ogretmen integrates fundamental discoveries across multiple discipline areas, helping to accelerate translational advances into the clinic. His overall goal is to improve survival outcomes of cancer patients by developing collaborative/team science-based research projects between basic and clinical researchers.

Travis Poole, MHA, serves as the Chief Administrative Officer at Hollings Cancer Center. He is responsible for administrative leadership, oversight, and support for the research infrastructure and activities of Hollings. He promotes and coordinates the cancer center’s inter-programmatic and transdisciplinary activities, provides fiscal oversight of Hollings’ operational budget, and leads the execution and monitoring of Hollings’ strategic priorities. This support extends across the cancer center’s research programs and core facilities, as well as the essential offices that play a pivotal role in facilitating educational opportunities, engaging with our community to promote awareness, and the development of lifesaving clinical trials.

Dr. Nicholas Shungu is a family medicine physician at MUSC Health who strives to provide compassionate and high quality care to patients of all ages and backgrounds. His clinical interests include chronic disease management, self-care, care for underserved populations, and medical student education. He provides office-based procedures including trigger point injections, joint injections, long-term contraception, and treatment of warts and calluses. He has a special interest in care for adolescents and individuals with HIV.

Dr. Shungu attended Duke University for college and received his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He completed his residency in family medicine at Thomas Jefferson University, where he also served as chief resident. He practiced in Philadelphia and Chapel Hill before relocating to Charleston. While practicing in North Carolina, he was recognized with the UNC Health Care and UNC Faculty Physicians Award for Carolina Care Excellence. He has also been the recipient of the Thomas Jefferson University Department of Family Medicine Faculty Teaching Award.

Dr. Shungu is committed to addressing healthcare disparities through patient care, teaching, and research. He loves to learn from and grow with his patients. His favorite part of practicing medicine are the relationships he is able to establish with a diverse group of people. He is proudly Safe Zone trained.

Benjamin Toll, Ph.D., a professor of public health sciences and psychiatry at MUSC, specializes in the treatment of tobacco use disorders and improvement of health behaviors. As associate director, his goal is to provide well-structured and effective education and training opportunities for pre- and post-doctoral students and junior faculty at Hollings Cancer Center.

David Long, Ph.D., is the director of graduate training for the Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and associate director of the Integrative Training in Oncogenic Signaling (ITOS) T32 program. As assistant director of cancer research and mentored training for Hollings Cancer Center, Dr. Long focuses on faculty mentorship, graduate and early-career development, and academic training programs.

Mrinmoyee Majumder, Ph.D., provides strategic, operational, and scientific leadership for the Translational Science Lab Shared Resource (TSL), overseeing day-to-day operations while driving service integration, quality, and growth to support translational and clinical research. She partners closely with investigators to design and execute high-impact correlative studies, ensures compliance with institutional and NCI standards, and collaborates with external vendors and industry partners to advance scientific capabilities and expand service offerings. Through these efforts, she leads the continuous evolution of TSL to meet the changing needs of Hollings Cancer Center members and MUSC.

In her role as Assistant Director of Shared Resources Education & Training, Dr. Majumder collaborates with institutional leadership to develop and implement coordinated training initiatives that enhance awareness and utilization of shared resources. She plays a key role in strengthening engagement across the research community, fostering connections among trainees, faculty, and staff to support a collaborative and well-integrated research environment.

Joni Nelson, Ph.D., has dual appointments in the Department of Public Health Sciences in the College of Medicine and the Department of Biomedical & Community Health Sciences in the James B. Edwards College of Dental Medicine, where she also serves as chief of the Division of Population Oral Health. As assistant director of OWD, she works to promote workforce development and advance organizational culture at Hollings Cancer Center.

Research Interests: Dr. Rojewski is a psychologist with a focus on cancer control. Her research interests include tobacco treatment interventions for populations with medical comorbidities and implementing tobacco treatment interventions in the health care system.

Sara J. Sidles, Ph.D., is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine. As Assistant Director of Shared Resources Integration at Hollings Cancer Center, her work focuses on expanding and strengthening a highly collaborative Shared Resource Program that leverages innovative technologies to support cancer center members and advance impactful research.

My expertise is in analyzing healthcare databases for understanding the epidemiology of diseases and assessing the health outcomes of medical interventions. My statistical expertise supplements the methodological rigor required to conduct observational database research. Over the last ten years, my research has been focused on understanding disparities across the cancer continuum (prevention, screening, and treatment) among vulnerable and underserved groups. I have extensive experience in conducting research using national surveys, surveillance data, commercial claims databases, electronic medical records, and data from clinical studies.

South Carolina Cancer Surveillance for Population Health Research and Outreach Tool

Dr. Wallen specializes in care and treatment of patients with cancers of the prostate, kidney, bladder and testis. He was an early adopter and innovator in robotic surgery in urology. He is an expert in robotic kidney and prostate surgery. Dr. Wallen is a strong advocate for patient-centered care, who counsels patients so that they can make informed decisions about their care, such as having surgery for a small kidney tumor or having an MRI, a biomarker test, or a biopsy for elevated PSA (the blood test that screens for prostate cancer). He uses the latest prostate biopsy techniques to decrease pain and the risk of infection.

As a member of the Hollings Cancer Center, he also works closely with community groups, especially those with a higher risk of prostate cancer, to raise awareness and increase access to healthcare in rural and underserved communities.

A native of Setauket, New York, Dr. Wallen graduated from Yale College, then attended UCLA Medical School and completed urology training at Stanford University. His first faculty appointment was at Dartmouth Medical School where he established a minimally invasive urology program. He was on faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for over 20 years prior to his appointment as MUSC Chair of Urology in November 2024.

During his tenure at UNC Chapel Hill Dr. Wallen established the robotic urology program and served as Vice Chair of Education, Urology Program Director, Director of the UNC Men’s Health Program, member of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Medical Director of the UNC System Supply Chain. An acclaimed educator in the field, Dr. Wallen was awarded the national American Urological Association’s (AUA) “Teacher of the Year” Award, and in 2020 was elected the Chair of the ACGME Residency Review Committee for Urology. In 2021, Dr. Wallen received the UNC School of Medicine Academy of Educators Lifetime Achievement Award in Medical Education, which recognized his 20+ years of sustained excellence in teaching and mentoring medical students, residents, and fellows.

Dr. Wallen’s commitment to global health has taken him to Cuba and China on multiple visiting professorships. He was part of the development of the UNC Project Malawi, establishing an elective rotation for urology residents to experience healthcare delivery in Malawi, starting in 2017.

Dr. Wallen is the author of over 150 publications and book chapters. He has presented his research nationally and internationally. He is certified by the American Board of Urology, is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons, and is a member of the American Urological Association, the Society of Academic Urology, the Society of Urologic Oncology, and the Endourologic Society.

As a senior clinical investigator, David Marshall, M.D., leads the Hollings clinical trials office and mentors Hollings investigators to support the growth and high-performance of Hollings clinical trials. As the chair of Radiation Medicine, contact PI for the MUSC NCI Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP), and with over a decade of service on the IRB, Marshall helps integrate clinical and research activities within MUSC and MUSC's statewide partners.

John Kaczmar, M.D., is the Clinical Trials Office Deputy Medical Director and Director of the Phase 1 Clinical Tials Program at MUSC Hollings Cancer Center. Dr. Kaczmar also serves as Director of the Anderson Advanced Cancer Therapy Clinic which is a specialized unit that provides a team of clinicians who are completely dedicated to the needs of patients participating in Phase 1 clinical trials. Dr. Kaczmar is a medical oncologist who specializes in caring for patients with head and neck cancers.

Tricia Adrales Bentz, MHA, MHS-HIA, oversees the Hollings Clinical Trials Office which provides centralized clinical, regulatory and financial support services to Hollings investigators. She leads initiatives to expand patient access to innovative cancer clinical trials and promote high quality assurance and clinical research education services. She obtained her masters in health administration and health information management and has over 20 years of oncology research experience.

I am a lung cancer pulmonologist with expertise in the evaluation, management, and improvement of outcomes of patients with lung cancer. I conduct patient-oriented clinical research studies that encompass nearly every aspect of lung cancer care, including lung cancer screening, disparities in cancer care, shared decision-making, and the evaluation and management of pulmonary nodules. I have a graduate degree in the evaluative clinical sciences, and I apply the health services research techniques I learned to many aspects of lung cancer care.

Katherine Vosburgh, BSN, RN, engages in clinical trial activities across all CTO Administrative and Clinical Operation Units, and supports executive level functions regarding all oncology clinical research activities at Hollings, Hollings satellite sites, MUSC Health Regional Health Network (RHN) sites, and MUSC NCI Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP) affiliate sites. She supports Hollings leadership in the development and implementation of initiatives to enhance trial accrual, trial time to activation, and quality assurance.

As a physician providing cancer care daily to people who come to Charleston from across the state, Jason Newman, M.D., believes deeply in the importance of the strategic growth of cancer programs at Hollings Cancer Center. The expansion of clinical care, research and clinical trials makes innovative treatments more accessible to more patients and helps Hollings reach populations in rural and underserved areas. As the network grows, regional teams will be able to deliver care to patients locally with specialized treatment available in Charleston. In his role as the Oncology Integrated Center of Clinical Excellence (ICCE) chief, Newman oversees the clinical activities and performance of Hollings and executes strategies for program development and growth.

Dr. Kevin Becker is a medical oncologist who cares for patients with genitourinary cancers, including prostate, kidney and bladder. As Associate Chief for the Oncology ICCE, he is focused on statewide ambulatory and infusion services, including access, clinical trial engagement, quality, and standardization across the MUSC Health network.

Dr. Becker received his medical degree from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in 2004. He completed an Internal Medicine residency and a Hematology and Oncology fellowship at New York Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center. In 2020, he received a Master of Medical Management degree from Carnegie Mellon University. He completed the Northwell Health Physician Leadership Development Program in 2021. Dr. Becker's research aims to expand and improve treatment options through cancer treatment clinical trials.

Kristin Mensonides, MHA, MLS, FACHE, oversees the administrative and strategic initiatives for the Oncology ICCE, ensuring alignment with MUSC Health's mission to provide cutting-edge, patient-centered cancer care and advance cancer research across the state of South Carolina. With over 15 years of senior health care leadership experience, Kristin has served in prominent roles across nationally recognized institutions, including UC Davis Health, Sutter Health, Cleveland Clinic and BJC Healthcare, where she developed a reputation for operational excellence, strategic vision, and relentless focus on improving patient outcomes.