Radiation Oncology Residency

Sidra T. Ahmad, M.D.

Sidra is originally from Plainfield, Indiana. She completed both her undergraduate education and medical school at Indiana University before relocating to Texas for residency training. She went on to complete her Transitional Year at Baylor All Saints Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas.

Her current research interests include the central nervous system (CNS), clinical outcomes, and clinical trials. Outside of her professional work, Sidra enjoys playing soccer, traveling, learning new languages, and spending time with friends and family.

Kasey Cargill, M.D., Ph.D.

Kasey completed her undergraduate education at the University of New Haven, where she majored in Forensic Science. She earned a PhD in Molecular Genetics and Developmental Biology from the University of Pittsburgh, then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at MD Anderson Cancer Center. Motivated to translate her research into direct patient care, she returned to the University of Pittsburgh to complete medical school.

Her research focuses on cancer metabolism and biomarker discovery, with the goal of improving risk stratification and guiding personalized radiation therapy. She is also interested in addressing broader patient challenges, including health policy and financial toxicity in cancer care. Outside of medicine, she enjoys reading, running, and spending time with her dogs.

Samyukta Jhavar, M.D., MBA

Samy attended the University of Texas at Austin for her undergraduate studies and went to Baylor College of Medicine for medical school. Interested in learning more about health systems and operations, she completed an MBA at the Rice Jones Graduate School of Business.

Samy is deeply interested in exploring topics of health equity in radiation therapy as well as topics related to gynecological malignancies. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family, listening to music, and finding new recipes to cook.

Silpa Karipineni, M.D.

Silpa earned her medical degree at University of Southern California School of Medicine. In her free time, she enjoys hunting for the best coffee shops, cross stitching and embroidery projects, and spending time with her family. Her research interests include the combination of radiation with immunotherapy, improving patient access, and medical education.

Scott Simmons, M.D.

Scott attended Washington and Lee University in Lexington, VA, where he earned his undergraduate degree in biology and played varsity baseball. He went on to receive his medical degree from the UAB Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine in Birmingham, AL.

Outside of work, He enjoys basketball, golf, reading, exploring new cuisines, and reviewing movies. His research interests include medical education, improving access to cancer screening, and optimizing radiotherapy delivery in conjunction with other oncologic treatments.

Chang Su, M.D., Ph.D.

Chang earned her medical degree and PhD from Duke University School of Medicine. Outside the clinic and lab, she enjoys board games, experimenting with new recipes (with mixed but enthusiastic results), spending time with her dog Eva, and traveling with family and friends.

Her research focuses on the interaction between radiotherapy and the immune system, with the goal of improving treatment responses for patients with solid tumors.

Ethan Damron, M.D., often jokes that he is a “man without a home” because of how many places he has lived over the years, including Montana, Vermont, Arizona, Minnesota, Utah, and now Texas. He graduated from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah in 2019 and then moved down to Houston to attend McGovern Medical School at UTHealth.

Throughout medical school he completed numerous research projects in radiation oncology and served on the MD Anderson Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Advisory Council advocating for the unique needs of young adults being treated for cancer. After graduation medical school, Ethan joined the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and is now a PGY1 in the Department of Radiation Oncology. Outside of the hospital, Ethan loves to read, spend time outdoors, and, most importantly, spend time with his wife and 3 young daughters.

Darien Colson-Fearon, M.D., MPH earned her medical degree at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Outside of work, Darien enjoys running, cooking, listening to audiobooks, and playing the upright bass.

Her research focuses on identifying and mitigating disparities in cancer screening, diagnosis, and care, particularly related to gynecologic malignancies and brachytherapy.

Liam F. Spurr, M.D. attended The George Washington University in DC, where he majored in biological sciences and minored in computer science. He then spent two years as an associate computational biologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Broad Institute in the Meyerson Lab, where he worked on using large-scale clinical genomic data to personalize therapeutic approaches. Liam attended medical school at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, where he continued my genomics research in the Pitroda Lab with a special focus on predicting response to combination radiation and immunotherapy. He completed an internal medicine internship at the University of Chicago/Endeavor Health program. His current research interests revolve around building computational methods to understand the interplay between genomics and radiation therapy, including how tumors evolve under selective pressures created by radiation. He is also interested in using genomics in a translational setting to personalize therapeutic approaches and improve outcomes for patients treated with radiotherapy. Outside of work, Liam enjoys playing chess, drawing, painting, hiking, and baking.

Ryan Ko, M.D. earned his medical degree at Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine. In his spare time, Ryan enjoys live music, traveling, weight-lifting, fantasy football, and exploring new cuisines with his wife, Amanda. His research interests include the clinical translation of FLASH radiotherapy, radiotherapy for oligometastatic disease, and quality improvement using artificial intelligence.

Jennifer Livschitz, M.D. MS earned her medical degree from Medical College of Wisconsin. In her free time, Jennifer enjoys playing board games, camping, exploring hiking trails and trying new recipes. Her research interests include medical education, patient experience, and women’s health.

Marcus Florez, M.D., Ph.D. earned his medical degree and PhD from Baylor College of Medicine. In his free time, Marcus enjoys spending time with his wife and son, playing basketball, tennis, and board games. His research interests include clonal hematopoiesis and the underlying mechanisms of cancer immunology.

Cira Mollings Puentes, M.D. earned her medical degree at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. Outside of work, Cira enjoys dancing, floral arrangement, and watching international dramas. Her research interests include quality improvement and implementation science.

Harshath “Harshi” Gupta, M.D. earned his medical degree at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. In his free time, Harshi enjoys board games, escape rooms, salsa dancing, and cooking. His research focuses on cancer genetics and epigenetics, biomarkers for response to radiation treatment, and radiomics.

Forrest Kwong, M.D.  earned his medical degree at  Oregon Health and Science University School of Medicine.  In his spare time, Forrest enjoys playing tennis, running, and board games. His research focuses on central nervous system malignancies, intracranial arteriovenous malformations, and metabolic predictors of survival in pancreatic cancer.

Pranalee Patel, M.D. earned her medical degree from Duke University School of Medicine.  In her free time, Pranalee enjoys board games, playing pickleball, and trying new vegan recipes. She is interested in predictors of acute and long-term toxicities following radiation therapy and optimizing radiation techniques to reduce toxicity development.

Ansel Nalin, M.D, Ph.D. earned his medical degree from  Ohio State University College of Medicine and Public Health. In his free time, Ansel enjoys distance running, golf, and board games. He is interested in mechanisms of cancer immunology, the effects of radiation on the immune response and tumor microenvironment, and the combination of radiation and immunotherapy.

Jane Pearce, M.D.  earned her medical degree from  Wake Forest University School of Medicine.  In her spare time, Jane enjoys running, yoga, traveling, reading, and spending time with family and friends. Pearce is dedicated to health equity, patient-reported outcomes, and precision medicine.

Rehema Thomas, M.D. earned her medical degree from George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. Outside of work, Rehema loves traveling, pilates, spending time with friends, and watching reality TV and true crime shows. Her research interests include sexual toxicity, breast and GYN cancers, access to care, and workforce diversity.

Patrick Carriere, II, M.D., Ph.D. earned his medical degree at  Wake Forest University School of Medicine. Patrick is passionate about being a husband, father, and man of faith, and loves traveling, landscape photography, and supporting the Lakers.

His research focuses on FLASH radiation therapy, the interplay between radiation and immunology, patient-reported outcomes, patient access and outcome disparities, predictive biomarkers for radiation sensitivity, and global oncology.

Jordan McDonald, M.D. earned her medical degree at  USF Health Morsani College of Medicine.  In her spare time, Jordan enjoys running, playing sports (especially volleyball), lifting, board/card games, spending time with friends and family, playing with dogs, and enjoying Houston's food scene. Her research interests include quality of life, patient experience, medical and patient education, and radiomics.

Cesar Marquez, M.D., Ph.D. earned his medical degree at  Stanford School of Medicine.  Outside of work, Cesar  loves traveling, urban hiking, exploring eclectic shops, reading historical fiction, and dancing to various Latin music genres. His research interests include diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers, targeted biologics in solid tumors, and the integration of AI in treatment delivery, with a focus on equitable care.

Robert Warren Floyd, M.D., Ph.D.  earned his medical degree at Duke University School of Medicine.  In his spare time, Warren loves adventures with his family, perfecting dad jokes, watching football, reading fantasy and science fiction, traveling, hiking, and playing narrative action/adventure video games. His research focuses on radiologic and biologic markers of tumor and normal tissue treatment response to guide personalized, adaptive radiotherapy.

Troy Kleber, M.D. earned his medical degree at Emory University School of Medicine.  In his spare time Troy enjoys reading science fiction, eating barbecue, and spending time outdoors. His research interests include data analytics, meta-epidemiological research, and optimizing treatment options for brain metastases.