Current Radiation Oncology Residents

First Year Residents

  • Zachary Kiss, DO

    My three brothers and I were raised by a schoolteacher and an architect. Our parents taught us to share and care for each other through our most formidable battles over the best seat in the minivan on long trips. I learned the value of perseverance as I witnessed my mother’s family work together to run a small-town plumbing business. I appreciated how lifelong learning can help others as I saw my father’s family cultivate careers in academia and consulting. When I got to college, I studied theater and geography—disparate disciplines about people—how we interact with each other and our environments. Yet, arts and humanities would be lonely without sciences. After performing on stage in London and presenting on healthcare accessibility in Manhattan, I worked as a research scientist in molecular biophysics and applied to study medicine. In medical school, I investigated oxidative stress signaling, one of the many processes cancer cells exploit to adapt to treatments. Understanding stress response is a potential avenue for optimizing treatment efficacy and reducing harm. Following medical school, I completed my intern year at the Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital in New York. I am humbled and honored to continue my training in Radiation Oncology at the Fox Chase Cancer Center, where I will continue to pursue my passion for finding safer ways to care for our patients.

     

  • Maryanne Judy Lubas, DO

    I was born and raised in the suburbs of Philadelphia, and attended college locally at West Chester University. Following graduation, I worked as a research assistant in clinical oncology at the University of Pennsylvania's Abramson Cancer Center at Penn Presbyterian before attending medical school. I then completed my preliminary medicine intern year at Einstein Medical Center, where I was named outstanding preliminary intern, prior to starting at Fox Chase. I am interested in research pertaining to rarer gastrointestinal malignancies, notably neuroendocrine tumors, as well as breast cancer and precision medicine. I also have a vested interest in both global health and health equity, and was fortunate enough to hold a leadership position in a global health non-profit during my clinical years of medical school. In my spare time, I enjoy running, spending time at the beach with my husband and traveling to Brooklyn to visit my newborn nephew.

Second Year Residents

  • Peter Lin Lee, MD, PhD

    Originally born in Utah, I moved around the country as a child, but spent most of my formative years growing up just outside of Boston in Wayland, MA. I went to Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH for undergrad, where I pursued degrees in both Physics and Nutritional Biochemistry. It was there that I developed an interest in leveraging and applying the physical sciences to human health. After undergrad, I enrolled in the MD-PhD program at UMass Medical School, where I completed my thesis studying mTOR signaling in adipocytes and its relationship with white and brown adipocyte development. I also had the opportunity to work closely with the radiation oncology department as a medical student, participating in research projects studying SBRT in hepatocellular carcinoma. After medical school, I completed my internship in a transitional year program at MetroWest Medical Center in Framingham, MA. Outside of medicine, I am heavily involved in olympic weightlifting, in which I compete at the national level. My other hobbies include skiing, golfing, sailing, and exploring local restaurants.

  • Alexander Lukez, MD

    I grew up in Lexington, MA before going to upstate New York for an undergraduate degree in Biochemistry from the University of Rochester. Before attending medical school, I worked at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute as a clinical research coordinator. After graduating from the University of Massachusetts Medical School, I completed PGY1 at the Lemuel Shattuck Hospital transitional year program. My research interests include patient quality of life, digital health, and SBRT. Outside of work, I like to explore Philadelphia, dine out or try cooking new recipes, and play soccer.

Third Year Residents

  • Timothy Dougherty, MD

    Landing at Fox Chase has been a homecoming of sorts, as I grew up just over the bridge in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Prior to residency and medical school, I attended Georgetown University where I majored in Chemistry and minored in Philosophy. After graduation, I had the opportunity to teach seventh and eighth grade math and science before returning to Washington, DC, to attend my alma mater for medical school. Finally, prior to joining the team at Fox Chase, I completed my intern year at Temple University Main Hospital where I gained experience with a wide range of medical and socioeconomic issues. My current interests include health care policy, the role of predictive and prognostic biomarkers in cancer care, as well as the relationship between metabolic health and cancer. Outside of residency, I enjoy golf, disc golf, rock climbing, amateur astronomy, and most activities that will get me outdoors.

  • Aneesh Pirlamarla, MD

    I hail from the charming town of South Brunswick in central New Jersey. Following the completion of my undergraduate degree at Rutgers University, I relocated to the Bronx, NY and attended the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. During this time, I enjoyed eating Jollof rice at my favorite family-owned Ghanaian eatery and making surprise appearances at Shabbat dinners while politely dismissing the rabbi’s efforts to convert me. I am excited to finally begin my radiation oncology training, but I am just as eager to regularly display my Eli Manning jersey to the notoriously abrasive Eagles fanbase. My research interests are broad, but I aspire to restructure the delivery and cost of high quality cancer care in both developed and developing nations. My hobbies include shooting the breeze with custodial staff, amateur stock trading, playing tennis, enthusiastically citing information from podcasts, being a cinephile, knowing new tech, hiking mountains, and traveling frugally to less-traveled-to countries.

  • Hilario Yankey, MD

    I grew up on the south-west coast of Ghana in a small village of about a 1000 people. I came to the United States for my undergraduate degree in Cell, Molecular Biology and Genetics at Drexel University. I further earned my medical degree from the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University. After medical school, I did my transitional year in Internal Medicine at Crozer Chester Medical Center. I enjoy playing soccer and I like to believe I could have gone pro if I got the chance. I also spend my leisure time fishing, cooking, and watching soccer highlights and tactics. I live in the Fishtown-East Kensington area with my incredibly supportive wife and two crazy stress-relieving dogs (Juno and Mars).

Fourth Year Residents

  • Charles Lee, PharmD, MD

    At the age of 4, I came to the United States. After moving all along the east coast, my parents and I settled in Ridgewood, NJ, where I spent most of my childhood years. Following high school, I went to a 6-year pharmacy program and graduated with a PharmD in 2014. Wanting to be more directly involved with patients, I immediately went to medical school at Temple University. Throughout my medical school, pharmacy school, and even high school education, I was involved with basic and clinical oncology research. Thus, combined with an interest in physics, radiation oncology was a perfect fit for me. Outside of residency, I enjoy mountain biking, snowboarding, cooking as well as eating out, and playing with dogs while trying to find the perfect one to adopt.

  • Rebecca Shulman, MD

    My family home is in New Hope, Pennsylvania. I received my undergraduate degree from New York University, with a major in psychology, and graduated from the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University. Beginning as an undergraduate volunteer, I have pursued an interest in improving the healthcare available to under-served communities, focusing especially on Spanish-speaking patients and support for URiM medical students. At FCCC, I have been involved in several research projects linked by an understanding that new technologies, including genetic screening and computer-based deep learning, will enhance our ability to individualize radiation protocols and to minimize treatment toxicity. Outside of medicine, I enjoy painting, dancing, cooking, and creative writing.