Duty, Brian D MD

Alan Kadison, MD, is a surgical oncologist at Northwell Health and assistant professor at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell.He became especially interested in pancreatic cancer as a medical student at SUNY Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse, where he first participated in complex surgical procedures. His interest in the surgical management of cancer continued during his residency in general surgery at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, where he also spent a year in the lab doing pancreatic basic science research.Dr. Kadison likes the multidisciplinary aspects of surgical oncology, which involves coordinating patient care with his medical oncology and radiation medicine colleagues and participating in tumor boards. During his fellowship in surgical oncology at the John Wayne Cancer Institute in Los Angeles, he learned the value of patient communication."When talking to patients and explaining things to them, I quickly realized that people think of cancer in very dire terms, yet many early-stage cancers are very treatable," he says. "When they hear that, you can see them relax and they feel empowered. The surgical oncologist is often the first cancer doctor a patient sees, so being positive and giving them hope is very important early in the process."Dr. Kadison joined Northwell in 2003 and has been able to build programs, innovate and participate in clinical trials and translational research, while continuing to maintain a busy clinical practice. He started the peritoneal surface malignancy program in 2014. In 2019, he performed the first robotic mastectomy in the country, a surgery that requires only a small incision in the armpit, with no incision on the breast. That means less pain, faster recovery and a shorter hospital stay. He is principal investigator for Northwell on a multi-center national trial to get FDA approval for the procedure.As a member of the medical school faculty, Dr. Kadison teaches first- and third-year medical students, and he has been training residents in the General Surgery program at Northwell for the past two decades. "We opened an American Council on Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Complex General Surgical Oncology fellowship program in 2021 to train future surgical oncologists, which is very exciting."

Michael Schulder, MD, is the vice chair of neurosurgery at North Shore University Hospital and Long Island Jewish Medical Center. He is also the director of the Brain Tumor Center at the Institute for Neurology and Neurosurgery-which treats more than 600 patients annually-and co-director of the Center for Stereotactic Radiosurgery, where his team offers the latest treatment technologies. His research focuses on improving methods of image guidance for brain tumor surgery, and on new techniques for radiosurgery."I've always been fascinated by the workings of the brain and how it gives rise to our thoughts, memories and personalities in ways that aren't fully understood," Dr. Schulder says. He attended medical school at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, and completed his residency in neurological surgery at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Dr. Schulder also trained in stereotactic neuro-oncology at the University of Florida and the Brigham and Women's Hospital.Dr. Schulder works with neuro-oncologists, radiation oncologists and other neurosurgeons to create evidence-based treatment plans. "We offer close multidisciplinary collaboration to help avoid delay in seeing patients," he says. The team strives to offer minimally invasive treatments as often as possible.With a keen interest in neurosurgical image guidance-the use of real-time images of the brain to make procedures safer and more precise-Dr. Schulder is studying the next generation of intraoperative MRI. He runs a brain tumor clinical trials program, giving his patients ready access to innovative approaches to care. While performing complex neurosurgery is one of the most satisfying parts of Dr. Schulder's job, "empathizing with patients and their families throughout treatment is equally fulfilling," he says.In addition to treating brain tumors, Dr. Schulder performs functional neurosurgery to manage pain conditions like trigeminal neuralgia, and movement disorders including essential tremor and Parkinson's disease. He is the program director of neurosurgical residency training at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell. Dr. Schulder is active in organized neurosurgery, where among other offices he is past president of the World Society for Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery, director-at-large of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, and historian of the American Academy Neurological Surgery.

John Wang, MD, is a top surgical oncologist specializing in minimally invasive approaches, with a focus on upper gastrointestinal and hepato-pancreato-biliary surgeries. He has been named a Castle Connolly Top Doctor since 2017.He earned his medical degree at University of Maryland School of Medicine and completed his residency at St. Vincents Catholic Medical Center. He completed four fellowships, including two in minimally invasive surgery, surgical oncology and surgical critical care. Dr. Wangs extensive background reflects his intense passion for offering patients only the very best care. My job as a surgeon is to be a spongeto absorb, learn and grow, he says. Ive been exposed to a wide variety of techniques, and Ive incorporated them all along the way. He enjoys figuring out solutions for the most complex cases and continuing to build his knowledge for every future procedure. Dr. Wang is one of only a few surgeons at Northwell who can treat right-sided colon cancers by using a suprapubic approach, which leaves no visible incision on the patients abdomen, offering better cosmetic outcomes. He has trained his surgical partners on the approach as well, noting the importance of working together as a team and sharing knowledge. Each member of my surgical team brings a different set of experiences to the table, he says. For our most complex cases, two sets of eyes and four hands is better than one set and two hands. Dr. Wang sees this group effort as vital to the patients care and experience, which are his topmost priorities. When you see a patient doing well after a successful operation, thats better than doing the operation itself, Dr. Wang says. Its the most satisfying feeling in the world.