About the Division of Hematology & Oncology

A. Craig Lockhart, M.D., MHS, FASCO, is Chief of the Division of Hematology & Oncology in the MUSC Department of Medicine and Associate Director of Clinical Science at Hollings Cancer Center. With over 20 years of experience conducting clinical trials, a key part of his role as Associate Director is facilitating efforts to bring scientific discoveries from Hollings' laboratories into clinical application through clinical trials.

John Kaczmar, M.D., is the Clinical Trials Office Deputy Medical Director and Director of the Phase 1 Clinical Tials Program at MUSC Hollings Cancer Center. Dr. Kaczmar also serves as Director of the Anderson Advanced Cancer Therapy Clinic which is a specialized unit that provides a team of clinicians who are completely dedicated to the needs of patients participating in Phase 1 clinical trials. Dr. Kaczmar is a medical oncologist who specializes in caring for patients with head and neck cancers.

Priyal Agarwal, MD, is a medical oncologist specializing in sarcoma and breast cancer care. She received her medical degree with honors from Kasturba Medical College in Manipal, India, followed by an Internal Medicine residency at Michigan State University and a Hematology/Oncology fellowship at the University of Nebraska. She is a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. Dr. Agarwal is committed to keeping up with the latest advancements in her field. Her passion lies in providing compassionate and comprehensive care to sarcoma and breast cancer patients. At Hollings Cancer Center, she works collaboratively with a multidisciplinary team to deliver exceptional cancer care for patients. Dr. Agarwal is deeply committed to addressing the unique oncologic and psychosocial needs of young adults navigating cancer. She is passionate about expanding survivorship programs and advancing treatment options through clinical trials, ensuring patients receive comprehensive support throughout their journey.

Dr. Steven Akman has been practicing hematology-oncology for more than 43 years. During his long career, he has taken care of patients with a range of non-malignant hematologic conditions, malignant hematologic conditions, and solid tumors. His area of emphasis has been in the medical oncologic management of breast cancer. He directed the Breast Cancer Center of Excellence of the Wake Forest University Comprehensive Cancer Center for 17 years.

His wealth of experience allows him to bring maturity, patience, insight, and empathy to every patient interaction. He plans to spend the next five years taking care of hematology/oncology patients in the outpatient setting. His goal is to provide every patient with the highest possible quality of care and the educational and emotional support required for an effective partnership. Providing the highest possible quality of care includes the opportunity to provide access to clinical trials.

Jonathan Alexander, M.D. was born and raised in Cape Town, South Africa, before moving to the United States to begin his medical training. He received a Master of Science from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City. He then received his medical degree from St George's University School of Medicine, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude. He completed his internal medicine residency at the University of Louisville School of Medicine, followed by a fellowship in Hematology/Oncology at the Medical University of South Carolina. He chose to pursue an additional year of training at Stanford University in California, where he completed a fellowship in Bone Marrow Transplant and Cellular Therapy. His clinical and research interests include myeloid neoplasms, focusing on acute myeloid leukemia and bone marrow transplant.

Dr. Mariam Alexander is a physician in the Hematology/Oncology division. Her clinical and research interests are in solid tumor biology, with a special focus on lung cancer and targeted therapies. Her mission is to improve access to state of the art, personalized care for cancer patients and support them through their challenging diagnoses.She earned her Ph.D. in molecular biology and genetics at the University of Toronto, Canada. Her training in hematology and oncology was done at the Montefiore Medical Center in NYC. Prior to that, she did her medical training at Saba University School of Medicine and completed her internal medicine residency at SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, NY.

Dr. Mohammad Alhousani is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) with expertise in lymphomas and related B- and T-cell disorders, including both aggressive and indolent non-Hodgkin lymphomas, Hodgkin lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL), Waldenström macroglobulinemia, and central nervous system (CNS) lymphoma. Dr. Alhousani's clinical and research interests focus on bringing the latest advances in lymphoma care to his patients. He has a particular interest in CAR T-cell therapy, bispecific antibodies, clinical trials, and blood and marrow transplantation for patients with lymphoma. His approach emphasizes integrating innovative therapies with personalized, compassionate care tailored to each patient's needs and goals. He completed his internal medicine residency at Marshall University and his hematology and oncology fellowship at Allegheny Health Network (AHN). He then pursued an advanced fellowship in Blood and Marrow Transplantation at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, where he was deeply involved in the care of patients with lymphoma and CAR T-cell therapy. Dr. Alhousani is committed to advancing the field of lymphoma and cellular therapy through clinical research, multidisciplinary collaboration, and a patient-centered approach to cancer care.

Dr. Katherine Antel earned her medical degree from the University of Cape Town, South Africa and where she went on to complete an internal medicine residency and a fellowship in hematology and bone marrow transplant. Dr. Antel went on to pursue 3-year research fellowship in lymphoid genomics at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston U.S. Her research area of interest is in lymphoid biology, and lymphoid genomics. Dr. Antel is an associate professor at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. Her clinical and research areas of interest include the biology and genomics of aggressive lymphoma and the development of clinical assays to detect and diagnose lymphoma using cell-free DNA.

Medical School: Andhra Medical College, Visakhapatnam, India
Residency: Internal Medicine, Saint Joseph Hospital, Chicago, IL
Fellowship: Hematology and Oncology, Drexel University/Hahnemann University Hospital, Philadelphia PA
Additional degree: Master's in Public Health, East Tennessee State University
Clinical and Research Interests: Treatment of acute leukemia, myelodysplastic disorders, and understanding the novel targetable mechanisms in myelodysplastic syndromes in the clinical setting. He also enjoys teaching and training future generations of medical professionals.

Dr. Bechhold practiced for over 30 years in Cincinnati as a partner in one of the largest private oncology groups in the country. The group had a robust clinical trials program and she headed several breast cancer trials. She also served on numerous professional and community organizations, edited the Medical Society magazine, was a writer for Cancer- a journal for oncologists, and a popular public speaker. She served as Medical Director for one of the largest hospice programs in the country for 27 years. She was named a Woman of the Year by the Cincinnati Enquirer and a Career Woman of Achievement by the YWCA.

Dr. Bechhold is passionate about helping cancer patients understand their disease and how to manage the treatment options to their best outcome.

She and her husband, Chris, raised two daughters. Dr. Bechhold is thrilled to be in Charleston where she loves to play tennis, golf, and do needlepoint. She is an avid reader and writes a book column for the Daniel Island News as well as publishing a reading blog.

Dr. Kevin Becker is a medical oncologist who cares for patients with genitourinary cancers, including prostate, kidney and bladder. Dr. Becker received his medical degree from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in 2004. He completed an Internal Medicine residency and a Hematology and Oncology fellowship at New York Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center. In 2020, he received a Master of Medical Management degree from Carnegie Mellon University. He completed the Northwell Health Physician Leadership Development Program in 2021. Dr. Becker's research aims to expand and improve treatment options through cancer treatment clinical trials.

Dr. Joseph Caveney is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology and Oncology. Before joining MUSC, Dr. Caveney was on faculty at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo, NY and an attending physician at the Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center at HonorHealth in Scottsdale, AZ. Dr. Caveney completed much of his medical training in his home state at West Virginia University School of Medicine, including medical school, internal medicine residency and a hematology/oncology fellowship. He further subspecialized with an advanced BMT-CT fellowship focused on hematopoietic cell transplantation and cellular therapy at Stanford University. He is board-certified in medical oncology, hematology and internal medicine. Dr. Caveney's area of expertise is transplant and cellular therapy, particularly allogeneic/autologous transplantation, chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) and T-cell engager (TCE) therapy. He looks forward to serving the patients of MUSC with rapidly expanding treatment indications in cellular therapy and exciting advances in blood and marrow transplantation.

Alexander Coltoff, M.D. received his medical degree from SUNY Downstate College of Medicine. He then completed his internal medicine residency at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, followed by a fellowship in Hematology/Oncology at New York Presbyterian - Columbia, both in New York. His clinical and research focus is on hematologic malignancies, particularly myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), acute myeloid leukemia (AML), and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). He has been published as a clinical investigator and received an American Society of Hematology (ASH) award for developing research scientists.

Assistant Professor

Dr. Brian Hess earned his medical degree from the University of Missouri School of Medicine and went on to complete an internal medicine residency at Loyola University of Chicago. He furthered his training by completing a fellowship in hematology and oncology at Washington University. Dr. Hess is an associate professor at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. His areas of interest include lymphoma and bone marrow transplant.

John Kaczmar, M.D., is the Clinical Trials Office Deputy Medical Director and Director of the Phase 1 Clinical Tials Program at MUSC Hollings Cancer Center. Dr. Kaczmar also serves as Director of the Anderson Advanced Cancer Therapy Clinic which is a specialized unit that provides a team of clinicians who are completely dedicated to the needs of patients participating in Phase 1 clinical trials. Dr. Kaczmar is a medical oncologist who specializes in caring for patients with head and neck cancers.

A. Craig Lockhart, M.D., MHS, FASCO, is Chief of the Division of Hematology & Oncology in the MUSC Department of Medicine and Associate Director of Clinical Science at Hollings Cancer Center. With over 20 years of experience conducting clinical trials, a key part of his role as Associate Director is facilitating efforts to bring scientific discoveries from Hollings' laboratories into clinical application through clinical trials.

Medical School: Ross University, School of Medicine, Portsmouth, Dominica
Residency: Internal Medicine, Henry Ford Hospital
Fellowship: Hematology-Oncology, Henry Ford Hospital

Dr. Wrangle provides consultation to investigators as they navigate the trial development process. Whether it is connecting to potential funding partners or facilitating collaboration among other researchers at MUSC or other cancer centers, HART supports the efficient activation of new investigator-initiated clinical trials.