UM Cancer Network Leadership
Ashkan Bahrani, MD
Co-Medical Director, Kaufman Cancer Center at University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Health
Dr. Bahrani completed his medical education at Wake Forest University School of Maryland in Winston Salem, NC. His post-graduate training includes an internal medicine internship and residency at Eastern Virginia Medical School and a Fellowship in hematology/oncology at Georgetown University.
Dr. Bahrani was also an instructor and Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine at East Virginia Medical School in the early 2000s. He is triple board certified in hematology, medical oncology and internal medicine and specializes in lymphoma and colon cancer cases. Dr. Bahrani has been named a top doctor in the 2015 through 2018 issues of Baltimore magazine.
Gavin Henry, MD
Medical Director, Tate Cancer Center at University of Maryland Baltimore Washington Medical Center
Director of Clinical Operations, Division of Thoracic Surgery
Assistant Professor of Surgery, University of Maryland School of Medicine
Dr. Henry is medical director of the Tate Cancer Center. He is an attending thoracic surgeon and chair of thoracic surgery at UM Baltimore Washington Medical Center. Dr. Henry is director of clinical operations for the Division of Thoracic Surgery and an assistant professor of surgery at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.
He specializes in treating conditions of the esophagus, lung and mediastinum and offers minimally invasive robotic surgery for most thoracic procedures and leads the lung cancer screening program at the Tate Cancer Center at UM BWMC.
Dr. Henry earned his medical degree from the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, where he also had his internship and residency with the Division of General Surgery. Dr. Henry completed a fellowship as a cardiothoracic clinical associate and staff fellow through a joint program between the University of Maryland Division of Cardiac Surgery and the George Washington School of Medicine in Washington, DC. He was also a cardiothoracic resident in the Division of Cardiac Surgery at the University of Maryland Medical Center.
Dr. Henry is certified by the American Board of Surgery and the American Board of Thoracic Surgery. He is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a fellow of the Southeastern Surgical Congress.
V. Dixon King, Jr., MD, MBA
Co-Medical Director, Kaufman Cancer Center at University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Health
Chair, Department of Pathology, University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Health (UM UCH)
President and CEO, HCT Pathology
V. Dixon King, Jr., MD, MBA, received his BS in biology from Auburn University and his medical degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He completed his residency in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology and a Fellowship in Medical Microbiology at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. He recently earned his MBA from the University of Massachusetts.
Dr. King has been a practicing pathologist for over 30 years with a special interest in breast, gastrointestinal and gynecologic pathology. At UM UCH, he serves as Chair of the Cancer Committee and the Breast Cancer Advisory Committee. He is also proud to be the Physician Champion of the UM UCH HPV Vaccination Initiative. He has served as President of the Maryland Society of Pathologists and currently serves as Vice President of the Medical staff at UM UCH. Dr. King is currently pursuing a Master's of Science in Applied Statistics in Health Sciences from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland. He is an avid runner and runs the New York City Marathon each year to raise money for cancer research.
Mark V. Mishra, MD
Associate Director, University of Maryland Cancer Network
Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology, University of Maryland School of Medicine
Dr. Mishra focuses on treatment of patients with tumors of the central nervous system and genitourinary tract, as well as breast cancer. His research is centered on evaluating the comparative- and cost-effectiveness of new and complex radiation technologies, such as proton beam therapy, as well as evaluating novel uses of radiation therapy alone or in combination with other therapies. He is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and completed his residency in Radiation Oncology at Thomas Jefferson University.
Dr. Mishra oversees all clinical trial activities for Radiation Oncology at UMGCCC and at affiliated practices across the state of Maryland. He has been named a recipient of the National Cancer Institute Cancer Center Investigator Team Leadership Award and his research has resulted in more than 75 peer-reviewed publications with more than 1100 citations to date. He has also been recognized as a “Top Doctor” by Baltimore magazine.
Taofeek Owonikoko, MD, PhD
Executive Director, University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center
Senior Associate Dean of Cancer Programs, University of Maryland School of Medicine
Vice President of Cancer Programs, University of Maryland, Baltimore
Dr. Taofeek Owonikoko specializes in the treatment of patients with lung cancer and other cancers arising in the chest cavity including mesothelioma and thymic cancers. He has particular research interest and expertise in a subset of lung cancer called Small Cell Lung Cancer. Dr. Owonikoko chose to focus on this area because of the opportunity to combine his love of patient care with a passion for research to develop new and better treatment approaches for patients. He has led important research work in the lab and in the clinic seeking new options of treatment for patients with lung cancer. He was recognized for his expertise in this field with the Heine Hansen Award for Small Cell Lung Cancer Research by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer during its annual meeting in 2017.
After completing his oncology training at the University of Pittsburgh, Dr. Owonikoko moved to Emory University in Atlanta where he practiced for 13 years and served as the leader of the Lung Cancer Program at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory. He was recruited back to the University of Pittsburgh’s Hillman Cancer Center to lead the Division of Hematology/Oncology in 2021. He currently sees patients at the UMMC downtown campus.
Kimberly Wyn Schlesinger, MD
Medical Director, The Cancer Institute at University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center
Kimberly Wyn Schlesinger, MD, has board certifications in hematology, medical oncology and internal medicine. A highly experienced cancer physician, she most recently served as medical director with the Riverside Tappahannock Cancer Care Center in Tappahannock, Virginia. Prior to that, she practiced at Hematology Oncology Associates of Fredericksburg; Peninsula Cancer Institute, where she was medical director of the Breast Cancer Program; and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Cancer Centers.
Dr. Schlesinger completed her fellowship in hematology and medical oncology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, where she received her medical degree. She completed her residency in internal medicine at University of Virginia Health Sciences Center. She has been named "Top Doc" by Virginia Living magazine, Northern Virginia Magazine and Hampton Roads Magazine.
