I was born in Leningrad, Russia, and immigrated to the United States with my family when I was nine years old. Growing up in Chicago, I learned the challenges and opportunities that come with starting over in a new country. Those early experiences fostered a curiosity about people, resilience, and communication—qualities that would shape both my career and my approach to caring for patients. It also probably fostered a sense of never quite belonging or a sense of being alone, a quality that I think helps me connect with vulnerable patients.
At Northwestern University, I studied psychology, fascinated by how people think, cope, and make decisions. After graduating, I worked as a mental health counselor and fully expected to become a psychiatrist. Yet as I spent more time with patients, I understood that I was equally drawn to the biological side of medicine and to the challenge of treating serious illness. That realization ultimately led me to medical school at the University of Pittsburgh. There, during a psychiatry rotation I realized that psychiatry is not for me, but was drawn to the intricacies and opportunities of internal medicine, ultimately discovering oncology—a field that combined science, long-term relationships with patients, psychology, and the opportunity to continually improve treatments through research. Together with a family history of cancer—a very close grandmother died of lymphoma—I chose to enter hematology/oncology.
Following residency in internal medicine at the University of Pittsburgh, where I served as chief resident, I completed a fellowship in hematology and medical oncology at the University of Chicago, serving as chief fellow in my final year. During fellowship, I developed interests that continue to define my career today: clinical trials, health outcomes research, medical ethics and genitourinary malignancies.
In 2013, I joined Fox Chase Cancer Center. My work has focused on cancers of the bladder, kidney, prostate, and testis, with an interest for designing clinical trials and pursuing health outcomes practical questions that physicians and patients face every day. Currently I am the Chief of Genitourinary Medical Oncology, Vice Chair for Quality Improvement, and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. I have served on national guideline committees, ethics committees, and has been part of national and international research collaborations.
Most importantly I have had the privilege of working alongside incredible colleagues at Fox Chase in oncology, urology, radiation oncology, and biostatistics who have helped me, pushed me, inspired me and gave me opportunities along the way.
By far, my most important work happens in the clinic. I greatly value the privilege of guiding patients through some of the most difficult moments of their lives and believe that excellent cancer care requires both scientific rigor and genuine human connection. I have also found fulfillment in mentoring fellows and junior faculty, helping the next generation of oncologists develop their own careers.
Outside of medicine, I am married to a physician scientist and we have three children with the oldest starting college this Fall—raising these children while balancing busy academic careers has not been easy. I try to work out, play chess, read and go on trips.