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University of Colorado Cancer Center

University of Colorado Cancer Center, A National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center
 

Meet Our Doctors & Scientists

Doctors and scientists at the University of Colorado Cancer Center are trying to make a difference in the fight against cancer in their laboratories, clinics, hospitals and every day lives. These individuals care deeply and personally about finding treatments and have devoted their careers to discovering cures for cancer. Read our doctor and researcher stories and be inspired by their dedication.

Sonia Okuyama, MD

Sonia Okuyama, MD

As the director of the Cancer Center’s Cancer Information and Counseling Line (CICL), Sonia Okuyama, MD, develops and implements interventions that help patients cope with the many challenges of cancer outside the traditional conception of physical health.

Read Dr. Okuyama's story

Clayton Smith, MD

Clayton Smith, MD

Clayton Smith, MD is director of the Bone Marrow Transplant Program at the University of Colorado Cancer Center.

Read Dr. Smith's story

Lia Gore, MD, University of Colorado Cancer Center

Lia Gore, MD

Lia Gore, MD, is director of the experimental therapeutics program at Children's Hospital Colorado and associate professor of pediatrics and medicine at the CU medical school

Read Dr. Gore's story

Natalie Serkova, PhD, University of Colorado Cancer Center

Natalie Serkova, PhD

Natalie Serkova is associate professor in the Departments of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology and Radiology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and director of the Animal Imaging Shared Resource at Cancer Center.

Read Dr. Serkova's story

Arthur Liu, MD, University of Colorado Cancer Center

Al Barqawi, MD

By his own account, Dr. Al Barqawi is "a simple man." But simple or not, he's a man on the cutting edge of treating prostate cancer - without actually cutting anything.

Read Dr. Barqawi's story

Arthur Liu, MD, University of Colorado Cancer Center

Arthur Liu, MD, PhD

Pediatric radiation oncology is the proverbial double-edged sword. On one hand, there are few specialists because there isn't a lot of demand. On the other hand, for the youngest cancer patients, treatment presents challenges only a specialist such as Arthur Liu are equipped to provide.

Read Dr. Liu's story

Arthur Liu, MD, University of Colorado Cancer Center

Madeleine Kane, MD

Twice a month for almost three years, Madeleine Kane, MD, has been catching a 6:30 a.m. flight from Centennial Airport near Denver to care for patients at the San Luis Valley Regional Medical Center in Alamosa, Colo.

Read Dr. Kane's story

Choon-Kee Lee, MD, University of Colorado Cancer Center

Choon-Kee Lee, MD

For Dr. Choon-Kee Lee, "It all comes down to one big question: Can I make these people live longer?" It's hardly an uncommon goal for cancer researcher and care provider, but Lee is focused on an uncommon disease: multiple myeloma, a blood cancer that begins in the bone. 

Read Dr. Lee's Story

Monique Spillman, University of Colorado Cancer Center

Monique Spillman, MD, PhD

Dr. Monique Spillman is the gynecologist you never want to have to meet. She is one of just eight gynecological oncologists in Colorado and about 900 nationwide. Spillman has devoted her career to identifying the biological underpinnings of ovarian cancer. 

Read Dr. Spillman's Story

Doug Thamm, VMD, University of Colorado Cancer Center

Doug Thamm, VMD

Doug Thamm, VMD, grew up with a menagerie of animals. He thought he wanted to be a scientist and a veterinarian, but didn't know exactly how to put the two together. Then at age 23, he was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

Read Dr. Thamm's Story

Read more doctor & scientist stories in C3 Magazine