Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center appoints several leaders

Issue: February 25, 2018

Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center appointed seven people to leadership positions.

Five of them are Roswell Park employees who have been promoted or reappointed, and two joined the institution from other centers.

“It’s exciting to see our team grow with the addition and promotion of such accomplished professionals,” Candace Johnson, PhD, president and CEO of Roswell Park, said in a press release. “Their experience and unique talents are helping us advance our mission. I’m looking forward to what we’ll be able to accomplish together.”

Charles LeVea, MD, PhD, has been appointed chair of the Roswell Park department of pathology and laboratory medicine. LeVea, who served as interim chair of the department for about a year, joined Roswell Park in 2003 as assistant professor. He since served as director of surgical pathology, associate professor of oncology, and vice chair of the department of pathology and laboratory medicine/director of anatomic pathology.
Gissou Azabdaftari, MD, has been appointed clinical chief of cytopathology. Azabdaftari, who joined Roswell Park in 2010, holds a joint appointment as associate professor of oncology in the departments of pathology/laboratory medicine and urology. She also is head of Roswell Park’s genitourinary pathology program.
Amy Case, MD, has been named the inaugural chair of the department of supportive care. Case also holds joint appointments as the palliative medicine fellowship program director for University at Buffalo, and as associate professor in University at Buffalo’s division of geriatrics and palliative medicine.
Holly Bowser, MBA, CMPE, has been named vice president of organizational performance improvement. She previously served as vice president at Catholic Health, where she launched neuroscience and vascular service lines.
Thomas Summerill, MBA, MHSA, has been appointed executive director of payer relations. Summerill, who previously served as executive director of University of Maryland Quality Care Network, has more than 30 years of experience working with payers, physicians and health care systems.
Sara Randolph has been named director of payer relations. Randolph, who joined Roswell Park 3 years ago, previously served as administrator of managed care operations. In that role, she advanced the center’s relationships with national, regional and local health plans and other stakeholders.
David Tear, MBA, has been appointed senior executive director for disease site strategy group implementation and management. Tear served as executive director of ambulatory care services at Roswell Park from 2014 to 2016. He also has held roles at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Long Island College Hospital.