Cancer Services Medical Team
Medical Teams by Department
Dr. Claudia Nugent
Certification: Board Certified in Gastroenterology
Medical School: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Dr. Dave Ramkumar
Certification: Board certified in gastroenterology, hepatology and internal medicine
Medical School: University of the West Indies, Kingston, Jamaica, WI
Dr. Qazi Khusro
Certification: American Board of Internal Medicine
Medical School: University of Leicester, England
Dr. Karen Draper
Certification: Board Certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine – Gastroenterology and the American Board of Internal Medicine
Education: University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, Chicago, IL
Dr. Douglas J. Jones
Certification: General Surgery (Board Certified)
Medical School: Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA
Dr. Rafael Ruggieri
Certification: Board Certified in General Surgery
Medical School: University of Illinois College of Medicine at Urbana-Champaign
Dr. Mohammed Eikram
Residency: State University of New York, Internal Medicine
Internship: State University of New York, Internal Medicine
Medical School: Dow Medical College, Karachi, Pakistan
Dr. Kathleen Naegele
Residency: St. James Hospital, Olympia Fields, IL, Internal Medicine
Medical School:Benedictine University
Dr. Laura Darko
Certification: American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Medical School: Ross University School of Medicine in Portsmouth, Dominica, West Indies
Dr. Tamara Helfer
Certification: American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Medical School: University of Illinois College of Medicine, Peoria
Dr. Candace McGregor
Certification: American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Medical School: University of Chicago, Pritzker School of Medicine, Chicago, IL
Dr. Michael Smith
Certification: Board Certified by the American Board of Obstetrics & Gynecology
Medical School: Indiana University School of Medicine
Dr. Sarah Young
Certification: Board Certified – American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Medical School: Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Carbondale
Dr. Sumra Tayebaly
Certification: American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
Medical School: Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Dr. Juliana Garr
Residency: Obstetrics and Gynecology at Beaumont Hospital in Dearborn, Michigan
Medical School: St. George’s University School of Medicine in Grenada in the West Indies
Professional Organizations: American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Medical Association
Dr. Amit Date
Certification: American Board of Otolaryngology
Medical School: University of Illinois, College of Medicine, Urbana-Champaign, IL
Dr. Willard Noyes
Education: Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA.
Dr. Stuart King
Certification: Board certified with American Board of Anesthesiology and the American Board of Pain Management, Interventional Pain Practice (Fellow)
Medical School: University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago
Dr. Salim Khazoum
Certification:
Medical School: Damascus University Faculty of Medicine
Dr. Krishnarao Tangella
Certification: Anatomic Pathology and Clinical Pathology
Medical School: Madras Medical College
Sheena Garland
Sheena Garland has worked in healthcare since graduating from Parkland College in 1987. In her 30 year nursing career, she has provided bedside patient care at both Presence Medical Center and Carle Hospital. She comes to Christie Clinic from a large insurance provider where she worked as a Complex Care Manager. Sheena has personal experience navigating the healthcare system with her now adult child who is successfully managing chronic pulmonary disease. Her work and life experience enables her to identify and help address barriers patients encounter while receiving care. Sheena has lived in Central Illinois since 1981 and now makes her home in Mahomet.
Dr. Kaushik Patel
Certification: Board Certified in Internal Medicine, Pulmonary, Critical Care Medicine, and Quality Assurance
Medical School: University of Nairobi, Kenya
Dr. Danish Thameem
Certification: Internal Medicine, Board Certified in Pulmonary Medicine and Critical Care
Medical School: Madras (Chennai) Medical College and Research Institute
Dr. Paramesh Dakshinesh
Certification: Board Certified in Pulmonary Medicine and Internal Medicine
Medical School: Bagalore Medical College, India
Dr. Abdul Hassan Siddiqui
Dr. Steven Damore
Certification: Board certified Radiation Oncologist
Medical School: Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO
Radiation oncologists are the only doctors who have specialty training and have passed a national board examination in the use of radiation to treat cancer. Our team is led by our board certified Radiation Oncologist, Steven Damore, M.D. Dr. Damore graduated cum laude with a B.S. in biology from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and then earned his M.D. from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. He completed internship at St. Mary’s Medical Center in San Francisco and then residency training at the University of California, Irvine, where he served as chief resident. He served as an assistant clinical Professor at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine prior to coming to Christie Clinic. He is currently a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois School of Medicine. He is a member of a ASTRO and the AMA.
Dr. Damore has 19 years of experience fighting all types of cancer at every stage. He has subspecialty experience and interest in prostate, breast, and CNS cancers. He has extensive experience in the use of stereotactic radiation therapy and has published several articles on the use of brachytherapy.
Dr. Damore sees patients in consultation, confers with patients’ other doctors to coordinate the treatment plan that includes the radiation dosage and number of treatments needed, sees patients each week during the treatment, manages side effects, monitors the response to treatment, and manages patients after treatment. He oversees a dedicated team that includes a board certified medical physicist, medical dosimetrist, certified radiation therapy technicians, and a registered nurse. The team works together and with other doctors to keep everyone informed during each step of the patient’s journey.
Dr. Dolores Fernandez
Certification: American Board of Radiology
Medical School: Loyola-Stritch School of Medicine, Forest Park, IL
Dr. Tina Molis
Certification:
Medical School: Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center
Dr. Maneesha Bhatt
Certification: Board Certified in Radiology
Medical School: Chicago Medical School/Rosalind Franklin University, North Chicago, IL
Dr. Terri King
Dr. Eric Helfer
Certification:
Medical School: University of Illinois College of Medicine, Peoria
Dr. John Regan
Certification: American Board of Urology
Medical School: Indiana University School of Medicine, Bloomington