Team

Dr. Zulfa Omer is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology at the University of Cincinnati and serves as the Disease Research Group Leader for Malignant Hematology at the UC Cancer Center. She completed her medical degree at the University of Khartoum, Sudan, and her Internal Medicine residency at Lincoln Medical Center and her Hematology/Oncology fellowship at the University of Cincinnati.

Dr. Omer’s research focuses on developing innovative early-phase clinical trials, with an emphasis on investigating small molecule inhibitors and T-cell therapies, aiming to improve outcomes and enhance the quality of life for CLL and lymphoma patients. She currently leads multiple investigator-initiated and industry clinical trials.

Thomas D. Ryan, MD, PhD, FAAP, FACC, FAHA is the Associate Director of the Advanced Cardiomyopathy Program, Director of the Cardio-Oncology Program at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC), and Professor of Pediatrics-Clinical at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.

Dr. Ryan earned both an MD and PhD at the University of Alabama School of Medicine/University of Alabama at Birmingham. He completed general pediatrics residency and pediatric cardiology fellowship at CCHMC and was the first graduate of the CCHMC Heart Institute’s Advanced Fellowship in Pediatric Heart Failure, Cardiomyopathy, and Cardiac Transplantation.

Dr. Ryan’s clinical and research interests focus on inherited and acquired cardiomyopathy as well as cardiac transplantation. He has published over 95 manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals and is author of more than 10 textbook chapters. He was on the founding Leadership Council for the Cardio-Oncology Member Section of the American College of Cardiology and was the first Chair of the Pediatric Working Group and is co-founder of the Pediatric Cardio-Oncology Consortium. Dr. Ryan serves as Co-Chair of the Institutional Review Board at CCHMC, as well as Section Editor for the journal Cardio-Oncology and Associate Editor for the journal Progress in Pediatric Cardiology.

Dr. Erin Scott is an associate professor in the Palliative Medicine Division of the Department of Internal Medicine at The Ohio State University. As an outpatient palliative care physician, she manages symptoms and cancer-related stress for individuals diagnosed with solid-tumor and hematologic malignancies. Dr. Scott serves as Program Director for the Hospice and Palliative Medicine fellowship and the Co-Program Director the Medical Oncology/Hospice and Palliative Medicine fellowship at OSU. Dr. Scott’s clinical interests are focused on providing high quality care and symptom management for patients and their loved ones who are facing a serious illness.

Dr. Elizabeth (Beth) Shaughnessy hails from the Chicago Metropolitan area.  She obtained her BS at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign In Honors Biology before completing medical school at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She completed her residency in general surgery in Chicago before her fellowship in surgical oncology at the City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center in California.  There, she was introduced to the concept of cancer survivorship, which intrigued her. She brought that interest with her to the University of Cincinnati where she helped in the early formation of Cancer Survivorship.  Later, as a cancer survivor, she joined forces to assume administrative responsibilities and grow educational and research programs.

Liya Shuster-Bier is the founder and CEO of Maia Oncology, the first comprehensive virtual Onco-primary clinic for cancer patients and survivors in the country. Maia is seeded and co-incubated in partnership with Takeda Digital Ventures and Yosemite, with additional support from American Cancer Society’s BrightEdge, BBGV Ventures and Coalition Operators.

On January 11, 2018, on the cusp of her 30th birthday, six months after graduating from Wharton, Liya was diagnosed with a rare form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Taking the knowledge gained from experiencing the gaps in care from her hospital bed, Liya built Maia to stitch the gaps between oncology and primary care. Prior to Maia, Liya founded Alula, an oncology symptom management marketplace anchored by Mckesson-Med Surgical. Liya sold Alula to Maia Oncology in April 2023.

Prior to Alula, Liya built a career in community development and impact investing, partnering with mayors and governors across the country to create innovative financing solutions that improved community outcomes. She started her career at Goldman Sachs, on the corporate currency derivatives team. In addition to receiving her MBA in Entrepreneurial Management from The Wharton School, Liya is a proud Dartmouth alum, native Queens girl, and an immigrant from Baku.

Dr. Sophia Smith is an Associate Professor with Tenure at the Duke School of Nursing and earned her PhD and MSW degrees at UNC-Chapel Hill School of Social Work. Her research explores ways to improve the quality of cancer care including post-treatment survivorship and palliative care with a primary focus on leveraging technology in delivering behavioral health interventions to the community. She is leading efforts to integrate clinical cancer care and research in building the scientific evidence that informs evidence-based practice through her current and past membership on the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Survivorship Guidelines Panel and American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Survivorship Committee. Dr. Smith’s research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the American Cancer Society, NCCN, and Pfizer Grants for Independent Learning and Change.

Dr. Michael D. Stubblefield is Medical Director for Cancer Rehabilitation at Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation, National Medical Director for Select Medical’s ReVital Cancer Rehabilitation Program and National Medical Director for Complex Medical Rehabilitation for Select Medical’s Inpatient Rehabilitation Hospital Division. He is President of the International Cancer Rehabilitation Foundation and the former Chief of Cancer Rehabilitation at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. He is a Clinical Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. He is board certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R), Internal Medicine, and Electrodiagnostic Medicine. His primary clinical expertise is in the identification, evaluation, and rehabilitation of neuromuscular, musculoskeletal, pain, and functional disorders resulting from cancer and its treatment, particularly those caused by radiation and neurotoxic chemotherapy.

Dr. Stubblefield is an accomplished researcher who has published extensively, not only in the rehabilitation literature, but in oncology, pain management, palliative care, neurophysiology, and other journals. He has authored numerous review articles and book chapters in the field of cancer rehabilitation and is the editor of Cancer Rehabilitation: Principles and Practice, the only comprehensive textbook in this emerging field now in its 3rd edition. Dr. Stubblefield is a fierce advocate for the development of cancer rehabilitation and survivorship programs and champions their role in restoring function and quality of life to cancer patients.

Emily Tonorezos, MD MPH is Director of the Iris Cantor Survivorship Program and Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology /Oncology at Weill Cornell Medicine. Prior to this position, Dr. Tonorezos served as Director of the Office of Cancer Survivorship at the National Cancer Institute. She has published widely on the multitude of issues facing people who have been diagnosed with cancer, including the side effects of treatment and care delivery.

Dr. Tonorezos has led and co-led numerous cancer survivorship guideline-writing committees within COG, ASCO, and the International Guideline Harmonization Group, and was a member of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Committee on Childhood Cancer and Disability. She earned her MD from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and her MPH from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She completed her internal medicine residency and served as chief resident at Columbia University Medical Center, followed by a general internal medicine fellowship at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Alique Topalian is a 2-time cancer survivor. She is now in remission and using her voice to passionately raise awareness about the unique needs of cancer patients. Her experience with childhood cancer inspired her to obtain a Master’s in Public Health and a Ph.D. in Health Promotion and Education completing her degree in 2020. Little did she know that in March of 2021 she would relapse with AML, the first person to ever relapse after 22 years. During her time in active treatment, she used every opportunity to network, participate in psychosocial programming, and educate herself on resources available to patients in all stages of treatment. Alique was selected as a 2022 recipient of the 40 Under 40 in Cancer award and was recognized as 100 Influential Women in Oncology in 2024. She is sharing her experience with The University of Cincinnati as a Research Scientist to research patient experience, oncology primary care, cancer related cognitive impairment, AYAs, and survivorship.

Tina Walter, C-IAYT, is a Mind-Body Intervention Specialist at the Osher Center for Integrative Health at UC where she provides evidence-based yoga therapy interventions to patients and their caregivers throughout their cancer journey from prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and end of life. For over a decade, Tina has designed and provided protocols for oncology patients at local hospitals to manage the adverse effects of treatment and improve clinical outcomes. She teaches meditation and both private and group yoga classes for people and their caregivers at UC Health.

Tina is certified by The International Association of Yoga Therapists and has advanced training in yoga for cancer and chronic illness. She is past chair of the Yoga SIG for the Society for Integrative Oncology and is a contributing author of a book on yoga therapy for cancer. She has co-authored published articles including a manuscript on the efficacy of yoga therapy during cancer treatment, has presented her research at local and national conferences, and is currently involved in a study on the effects of mind/body interventions on hospitalized oncology patients. At present, Tina is studying to become a board-certified health coach, adding another dimension to her yoga therapy credentials.

A mother of five children, Tina resides in Cincinnati with her husband, Bob. In her free time, she enjoys gardening, cooking, walking in nature, and taking care of their new grandbaby.