Faculty

Caroline Behler, M.D., M.S.

Program Director

Caroline completed her undergraduate degree in Cell and Molecular Biology at the University of Washington (UW) in Seattle, where she particularly enjoyed seminars that explored the connections between the humanities and science. She then pursued a degree in Medicine and a master’s degree in Pathobiology at UW.

Her internship and residency took her to University of California, San Francisco, where she then completed a fellowship in Hematology and Oncology. After spending several years on faculty in Malignant Hematology and Bone Marrow transplant at UCSF and General Hematology and Oncology at the San Francisco V.A. Medical Center where she was Chief of Malignant Hematology, she joined Pacific Hematology Oncology Associates and the California Pacific Medical Center staff. Her clinical interests remain strong in malignant hematology; she also has expertise in benign hematology and a wide range of solid tumors.

Caroline has always had a passion for education, starting as an anatomy T.A. in medical school, and teaching students and trainees at UCSF and at CPMC, where she is the Education Coordinator for the Hematology/Oncology teaching program. Since joining CPMC she has explored the possibility of a Hematology/Oncology fellowship program here, and is thrilled to lead the initiation of the program this year.

Outside of the clinic and wards, she enjoys gardening, travel, and spending time with her family, including her husband, two girls and two dogs.

Kevin Kim, M.D.

Associate Program Director

Dr. Kim is a recognized expert in the field of melanoma, and his research has focused on targeted therapy and immunotherapy. His research has helped early clinical development of BRAF inhibitors, such as vemurafenib, dabrafenib, MEK inhibitors, and trametinib, which are now standard of care for patients with BRAF mutated melanoma. His research has included the clinical investigation of therapy for other mutations, including cKIT and NRAS and also antiangiogenic drugs as well as novel immunotherapy, such as ipilimumab, anti-PD1 antibodies and cancer vaccines. He is also a senior editor for the journal Melanoma Management.

Ari Baron, M.D.

Department Chair, Hematology/Oncology
Medical Director of Clinical Oncology Research

Ari did his undergraduate degree at Wesleyan University in Connecticut and received his MD from Tufts University in Boston. He did his postgraduate training in Medicine and Hematology and Oncology at UCSF in San Francisco, He is currently Chief, Division of Hematology-Oncology at California Pacific Medical Center, and Clinical Professor of Medicine at UCSF. His interests are mainly in GI and GU cancers, and he serves as the Medical Director for Clinical Oncology Research at CPMC. He has published in NEJM, Lancet, JAMA and JCO. He struggles at guitar and tennis when time allows.

Mohammed Kashani-Sabet, M.D.

Medical Director, CPMC Cancer Center
Co-Medical Director, Bay Area Oncology Service Line, Sutter Health Research Faculty

Mohammed received a B.A. in Biochemistry from Harvard College, and an M.D. from State University of New York at Stony Brook. Following an internship in internal medicine at SUNY Stony Brook, he trained at University of California San Francisco (UCSF), where he completed a residency in dermatology and a modified fellowship in dermatology and medical oncology. He served as director of the UCSF Melanoma Center until he moved to establish the Center for Melanoma Research and Treatment at CPMC in 2009. Dr. Kashani has also served as Medical Director of the CPMC Cancer Center since 2013. He specializes in the management of patients with cutaneous malignancies, with a focus on melanoma and cutaneous lymphoma. He is involved in various categories of cancer research, including clinical trials, clinical research, and laboratory-based research. His NIH-funded laboratory is focused on the identification and development of novel biomarkers and targeted therapy for melanoma and other solid tumors. He has published extensively, including in NEJM, JCO, PNAS, JNCI, Cancer Research, and Clinical Cancer Research, and has served on several NCI study sections. He has supervised numerous students, residents, and fellows both in his clinic as well as in his research endeavors.

Milana Dolezal, M.D., MSc

Core Faculty

Milana received her M.D. and MSc from Thomas Jefferson Medical College and Graduate School in Philadelphia where she was the President of Medical students for Choice and a Gibbon MD/PhD scholar. As a student, she worked on medical projects in Africa and Ecuador. Dr. Dolezal completed her fellowship at the UCLA School of Medicine/Johnsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and has a strong interest in research and started as a bench scientist at NCI, NIH as a teenager.

Her past positions include:

• Adjunct Clinical Instructor at the Stanford School of Medicine and Attending in the Breast Cancer Clinic at the Stanford School of Medicine.
• Associate Medical Director at Genentech for four years working on all phases of cancer therapy Trials and translational/personalized medicine.
• Medical Director of Cancer Survivorship Program, GI Maligancies Director, Sutter Research Consortium East Bay Lead and Hematology/Oncology Attending at the Alta Bates Summit Medical Center (ABSMC) for eight years.

She has been in the Sutter community since 2009 and joined CPMC in 2018 as a Hematology/Oncology Attending in the PHOA Pacific Hematology Oncology Associates practice and as Director of the Cancer Survivorship and Supportive Services Program. She has a special interest in Women’s malignancies including Breast cancer treatment, trials and awareness. Her dedication to improving the health and quality of life in cancer patients extends into her personal life. Her passion for cycling lead her to partner with BMS and Live Strong for the Tour of Hope bike ride across the USA to raise clinical trials awareness.

Dr. Dolezal also adds swimming and running into her sporting repertoire as a past sponsored athlete member of the Zoom Elite triathlon team and has completed an IRONMAN triathlon competition. She has worked with the Leukemia Lymphoma Society TNT to participate in and coach triathlons to raise vital funding for continued clinical research.

When not caring for patients or running, swimming, or cycling, Dr. Dolezal enjoys traveling abroad to visit family in Ecuador, Argentina, Peru, and the Czech Republic and traveling abroad for fun with her husband and two children.

Stephanie Jeske, M.D.

Core Faculty

Gauri Kelekar, M.D.

Core Faculty

Gauri received her undergraduate degree from UCSD in San Diego and her MD from Drexel University in Philadelphia. She did her postgraduate training in Internal Medicine at Cedar’s Sinai and Hematology/Oncology fellowship at UCLA Olive View/Cedars Sinai in Los Angeles. She is a full time staff physician in the Division of Hematology-Oncology at California Pacific Medical Center and volunteer faculty at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital. She focuses her practice in GI oncology and hematology. She participates in clinical trials at CPMC. In her free time she loves to hike, cook and spend time with her family.

Bertrand Tuan, M.D.

Core Faculty

Bertrand is a graduate of Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx. Subsequently he trained in internal medicine at Boston City Hospital and trained at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital as a clinical and research fellow in medical oncology and hematology. He has been in private practice at Pacific Hematology-Oncology Associates and an attending physician at California Pacific Medical Center for over 25 years with a special interest in benign hematology evaluating patients with clotting and bleeding disorders as well as quantitative disorders of platelets and white and red blood cells. He is also actively involved in the treatment of patients with a wide spectrum of hematological malignancies as well as common and rare solid tumors.

When not spending time with his family he plays violin and golf.

Wei Wang, M.D.

Core Faculty