Division of Surgical Oncology

Kevin Roggin, M.D., is a distinguished surgical oncologist, scholar, and educator. He serves as the clinical director for surgical oncology at the Hollings Cancer Center and as chief of the Division of Surgical Oncology, HPB, and Endocrine Surgery. Dr. Roggin specializes in the treatment of complex upper gastrointestinal and hepato-pancreato-biliary (HPB) cancers and is a recognized innovator in robotic surgery, having introduced minimally invasive approaches to procedures such as pancreaticoduodenectomy (Whipple procedure) and distal pancreatectomy, radical cholecystectomy, liver surgery, duodenal and small bowel resection, and gastric surgery.

At the Hollings Cancer Center, he has optimized patient care through the Next Day Access Program for Abdominal Cancer, which allows individuals with newly diagnosed, non-metastatic abdominal cancers to meet with a surgeon promptly to discuss treatment options. Plans are underway to expand the program to other cancer types, further improving timely access to care.

A nationally recognized leader in surgical oncology, Dr. Roggin has served two three-year terms on the Executive Council of the Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO) and as chair of the SSO Training Committee, where he guided the transition of SSO training programs to an ACGME-approved Complex General Surgical Oncology fellowship.

Andrea M. Abbott, M.D., MSCR is a board-certified surgical oncologist who specializes in the treatment of breast cancer, melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer, and soft tissue sarcoma. Her clinical interests are breast cancer, breast cancer during pregnancy, Hidden Scar surgery, skin and nipple-sparing mastectomy, breast conserving surgery, melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer, minimally invasive lymph node dissection, retroperitoneal sarcoma, and extremity soft tissue tumors.

Dr. Abbott obtained her medical degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City and completed her general surgery residency at the University of Minnesota. She also obtained a Master's degree in clinical research during her residency from the University of Minnesota. She completed her surgical oncology fellowship at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida.

In addition to her surgical practice, Dr. Abbott is involved in clinical research and evaluating ways to improve information delivery to patients in order to enhance the patient-physician relationship and decision-making process. She is also working on ways to reduce opioid addiction after cancer surgery. She is Hidden Scar certified and uses this approach to improve cosmetic outcomes after breast cancer surgery without compromising cancer care. She is committed to finding a way for each patient to receive the best possible cancer care while honoring each patient's individual wishes and goals for his or her care.

Dr. Denise Carneiro-Pla is a board-certified general surgeon who is focused in endocrine surgery. She was educated in Brazil including medical school and residency in general surgery. In 1998, shortly after her residency, she was invited to the United States to be a researcher in endocrine surgery which started her interest and commitment to this specialty. The research fellowship at the University of Miami School of Medicine lasted for a period of three-and-a-half years and then extended to another year and a half as a clinical fellow of endocrine surgery under Dr. George Irvin's mentorship.

Following these five years of specialized endocrine surgery training in this center of excellence, Dr. Carneiro-Pla was ready to start her career as an academic surgeon in the U.S. and she repeated the residency in general surgery at the University of Miami School of Medicine.

Dr. Carneiro-Pla has been a faculty of the Department of Surgery at the Medical University of South Carolina since 2007, with a practice exclusively dedicated to endocrine surgery treating thyroid, parathyroid and adrenal surgical diseases. She remains academically productive writing papers and book chapters in endocrine surgery, mainly in parathyroid disease and cervical ultrasonography, which are her special interests.

Dr. Carneiro-Pla currently sees patients in downtown Charleston at Hollings Cancer Center and at North Charleston Specialty Care, where ultrasonography is available as part of cervical physical examination and to guide necessary procedures. The indicated surgeries are performed at our state-of-the-art hospital, Ashley River Tower.

Dr. David J. Cole came to MUSC in 1994. In 2003, Dr. Cole was named the A. McKoy Rose, Jr., M.D. Endowed Chair in Surgical Oncology. He was selected as Chairman for the Department of Surgery in September of 2007 and elected President of MUSC Physicians in 2013. Dr. Cole held these esteemed titles until becoming President of MUSC on July 1, 2014.

Dr. Cole received his Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from New Mexico State University and he received his medical degree from Cornell University Medical College in New York. He interned and completed his residency at Emory University Affiliated Hospitals in Atlanta and his fellowship in Surgical Oncology at the NIH/NCI Surgery Branch in Bethesda.

As deputy director of MUSC Hollings Cancer Center, William Hawkins, M.D., focuses on strengthening translational research and increasing clinical trials across South Carolina.

With a longstanding commitment to leadership, patient care, education and research, Hawkins has expertise in investigating pancreatic cancer. He is also a professor in the Department of Surgery at MUSC and in the Division of Surgical Oncology.

Bernice Huang, M.D., is a fellowship trained endocrine surgeon who collaborates closely with the Hollings Cancer Center, bringing innovative techniques and procedures to endocrine patients in South Carolina. Dr. Huang has expertise in the posterior retroperitoneoscopic approach for adrenal surgery that accesses the adrenal gland through the back, simplifying the laparoscopic procedure and minimizing postoperative pain. She serves the MUSC Department of Surgery Education Division as the Medical Student Clerkship Program Director.

Dr. Huang completed her endocrine surgery fellowship at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and general surgery residency at Columbia University, where she also dedicated a year to clinical research in endocrine surgery. Dr. Huang received her medical degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in 2015 and a bachelor of science degree in biological engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Director, Hereditary Cancer Clinic at Hollings Cancer Center
Director, Cancer Genetics at Hollings Cancer Center
McKoy Rose Professor, Surgical Oncology
Medical Director, Bermuda Cancer Genetics and Risk Assessment Clinic
Professor Emeritus, Harvard Medical School

Kevin Hughes, M.D., Director of Cancer Genetics and McKoy Rose Professor of Surgery, is recognized nationally and internationally for his expertise in breast cancer, breast disease management, genetic testing and the identification and management of patients with hereditary breast cancer risk.

Dr. Hughes has been actively involved in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer for more than thirty years. Prior to joining MUSC, he spent the last 20 years at Massachusetts General Hospital and retains the title of Professor Emeritus, Harvard Medical School. He also serves as the Medical Director for the Bermuda Cancer Genetrics and Risk Assessment Clinic.

Dr. Hughes has published extensively on breast disease management and genetic testing and has helped set the standards for the treatment of breast cancer in older women and the use of genetic testing in clinical practice.

Dr. Hughes is a graduate of Dartmouth College and Dartmouth Medical School. He trained in Surgery at the Mercy Hospital of Pittsburgh and completed a fellowship in surgical oncology at the National Cancer Institute.

Dr. Lockett is a Professor of Surgery in the Department of Surgery where he works in the Surgical Oncology Division. He serves as the MUSC Health's Chief Quality Officer for Charleston, where he leads MUSC Health - Charleston in continued efforts to provide the safest and highest quality care for patients by building a culture and systems that foster excellence.

His academic interest lies in improving the quality, safety, and value of surgical care and addressing the surgical aspects of the opioid crisis. He is the principal investigator and surgeon lead for the South Carolina Surgical Quality Collaborative where he guides Continuous Quality Improvement work in eighteen hospitals across the state. He serves a similar role in the VA as the chief surgical consultant for Veterans Integrated Service Network 7 (Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina) where he provides guidance to seven surgical programs in the region. He works with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement on surgical projects and served as a member of the VA's General Surgery Advisory Board.

His primary areas of surgical expertise include the management of breast cancer and breast diseases. He has multiple peer-reviewed publications in both surgical oncology and general surgery. Dr. Lockett has a strong interest in surgical quality, safety, and value; surgical education, continuous quality improvement; system design, and pain management. He served as the surgical residency program director at East Tennessee State University before joining MUSC and the VA. He is the recipient of multiple teaching awards and has been an invited speaker at regional and national meetings.

He is a member of MUSC's Surgical Leadership Council, Quality Committee, and Clinical Council. Within the VA, Dr. Lockett chairs or participates in multiple local, regional, and national committees including: the Academic Partnership Council, Quality Executive Committee, Patient Care Improvement Conference, Clinical Executive Board; National, VISN, and local surgical work groups; VISN Healthcare Delivery Council, Peer Review Committee, Invasive Procedures Committee, and the Strategic Analytics for Improvement and Learning national work group.

Alisa Blumenthaler, M.D., is a breast surgical oncologist and is certified by the American Board of Surgery. Her clinical interests focus on providing up-to-date, comprehensive and multi-disciplinary care for patients with breast cancer as well as high-risk and benign breast conditions. She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery at Medical University of South Carolina.

Dr. Blumenthaler obtained her bachelor's degree from the University of Notre Dame, graduating with honors, prior to earning her medical degree from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. She completed her residency training in general surgery at Indiana University School of Medicine, during which she dedicated additional time to a clinical research fellowship at MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Blumenthaler completed specialized training in Breast Surgical Oncology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

In additional to her surgical practice, Dr. Blumenthaler is also involved in clinical research, with a focus on optimizing information delivery to improve patient-physician communication and patient decision-making in breast cancer care, as well as identifying ways to safely de-escalate cancer treatment without compromising cancer-related outcomes.

Tara Grahovac, M.D. is a board-certified breast surgical oncologist specializing in diagnosing, staging, and removing cancerous growths in the breast. Dr. Grahovac provides comprehensive and compassionate patient care to improve the health and wellness of women in the Beaufort and Bluffton communities. A fellowship-trained surgical oncologist, she is an expert in the medical treatment and surveillance programs for women with breast cancer and those at high risk for the disease.

Rochelle L. Ringer, M.D., is a board-certified surgical oncologist and a faculty member of the MUSC Department of Surgery. Her clinical interests include benign and malignant breast disease, breast cancer genetics, breast cancer surgical management, and management of patients at high risk for breast cancer.

Dr. Ringer received her medical degree from Indiana University School of Medicine and completed a general surgery residency at Good Samaritan Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio. Her fellowship in breast surgical oncology was completed at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

David Mahvi, M.D., is the MUSC Department of Surgery Vice Chair of Faculty Development and a surgical oncologist and innovator. He joined the faculty of MUSC in July 2016 as Professor of Surgery, chief division of oncologic and endocrine surgery, and chief of the oncology integrated center of clinical excellence (ICCE). Dr. Mahvi is a surgical oncologist.

Prior to his recruitment to MUSC Dr. Mahvi was the James R. Hines Professor of Surgery, chief division of gastrointestinal and oncologic surgery, and vice chair for clinical affairs Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. He served also as President of Northwestern Medical Group. Before joining Northwestern, Dr. Mahvi was on the faculty of the University of Wisconsin-Madison ultimately as Chief of Surgical Oncology and Director of the General Surgery Residency Program. He led a research laboratory in collaboration with the University of Wisconsin School of Engineering.

Dr. Mahvi's research interests have focused on the development of new biomedical devices in the treatment of liver cancer - he is a national and international authority in the field of hepatobiliary cancer, and has previously developed, manufactured, and performed clinical trials of novel biologics. He is Founder and Director of the MUSC Department of Surgery Human Centered Design Team, part of the Harvey and Marcia Schiller Surgical Innovation Center.

The American Board of Surgery (ABS), the national certifying body for surgeons elected Dr. Mahvi as Chair for 2014 through 2015. During his tenure, he developed national policy on the education and management of the surgical workforce. Dr. Mahvi joined the ABS in 2007 as a representative of the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract (SSAT), where he also served as President.

A native of Oklahoma, Dr. Mahvi completed his undergraduate work in microbiology and pre-medicine at the University of Oklahoma and went on to obtain his M.D. at the Medical University of South Carolina. He then served his residency and completed a research fellowship in immunology at Duke University Medical Center.