Our Team

Board of Directors

  • binay-Shah-MD-2.

    Binay Shah, MD

    Dr. Binay Shah is a hematologist oncologist and the co-founder of the Binaytara Foundation. He grew up in Nepal and came to the United States for residency training after completing medical school at the BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences in Nepal. During his residency training in New York City, Dr. Shah and his wife Tara began working on their vision to improve access to healthcare in the United States and globally. After Dr. Shah's internal medicine residency training, the Shahs moved to Chicago for his fellowship training in Hematology-Oncology. They registered the Binaytara Foundation (BTF) as a public charity in Illinois in October 2007 to improve health equity and minimize disparities. As a community hematologist/oncologist who has practiced in various settings across the country, Dr. Shah is aware of cancer care disparities that usually arise when the latest updates are not easily accessible to oncology clinicians. Therefore, BTF started annual hematology and oncology conferences in 2012. Today, BTF is a leading hematology and oncology medical education provider in the United States. Under Dr. Shah's leadership, Binaytara Foundation has established itself as the leader in promoting equitable access to cancer care through education, advocacy, and innovation.

    Binaytara Foundation - President

    Binaytara Foundation - Board Member Read More

  • Tara Shah, RN

    Binaytara Foundation - Executive Director

    Binaytara Foundation - Board Member Read More
  • Timothy B. Erickson, MD - Medical Toxicology in the Department of Emergency Medicine

    Timothy B. Erickson, MD

    Dr. Erickson earned his M.D. from The University of Health Sciences / Chicago Medical School. He completed an emergency medicine residency training at the University of Illinois and his medical toxicology fellowship at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, IL. Dr. Erickson is a Fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians, American College of Medical Toxicology, American Academy of Clinical Toxicology, and the National Geographic Explorers Club. Previously, Dr. Erickson served as the Director for the UIC Center for Global Health and Professor of Emergency Medicine and Medical Toxicology at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Dr. Erickson also served as the Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs, Graduate Medical Education, and Continuing Medical Education at the UIC College of Medicine. He was an acting and interim Head in the Department of Emergency Medicine and has held other multifaceted appointments ranging from EM Residency Program Director to Chief of Medical Toxicology. Timothy B. Erickson, MD is currently an emergency medicine physician at Mass General Brigham in Boston, MA where he serves as the Division Chief of Medical Toxicology in the Department of Emergency Medicine and at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Erickson is also a core faculty member at the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative in Cambridge, MA with expertise in environmental toxicology, crisis in climate change, wastewater-based epidemiology, chemical/biological/radiological/nuclear/explosive (CBRNE) threats, wilderness medicine, and emergency oncology. He has active humanitarian health projects in Nepal, Bhutan and India as well as in conflict regions of Syria and Ukraine.

    Brigham And Women's Hospital

    Binaytara Foundation - Board Member Read More
  • David Aboulafia, MD - hematologist/oncologist

    David Aboulafia, MD

    Dr. David Aboulafia is a hematologist/oncologist at Virginia Mason Clinic where he has been on staff since 1990, and has served as the Section Head in the department of Hematology/Oncology. His clinical focus involves benign and malignant hematology and primary and subspecialty HIV care. He has published over 250 articles in peer-reviewed journals that have focused on the medical care of patients he sees  in his clinical practice. He is a principal investigator of the National Cancer Institute-funded AIDS Malignancy Consortium and chair of the AMC outreach, education, recruitment, and retention committee. He is also a Clinical Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology at the University of Washington.
    Since 1992, Dr. Aboulafia has been the Medical Director of Bailey-Boushay House in Seattle. Bailey-Boushay provides care to people with HIV disease, promoting their health, well-being, and functional independence. Its goal is to ensure that every person with HIV/AIDS in our community has equal access to positive outcomes. Bailey-Boushay emphasizes acceptance of all people, compassion, safety, and the dignity and autonomy of individuals. Dr. Aboulafia also serves on the University of Washington Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) Committee, is Chair of the  Benaroya Research Institute Scientific Review Committee, and is a member of the HIV Medical Association and the International Association of Physicians for AIDS Care.
    Dr. Aboulafia became a BTF board member after taking a trip to Nepal in 2020 and seeing first-hand the work of the Foundation I was truly surprised and inspired by Dr. Shah and his wife Tara's vision to build a cancer center in Janakpur. Equity in cancer care and respect for all people is a guiding principles in all that they do. I came away from that trip knowing I wanted to help make an impact in a larger way on the lives of people with cancer and this was a way to do so. Although small, the BTF has already accomplished goals that I had previously thought were unattainable. Their unwavering but practical vision, their humanitarian goals, and their ethics really resonate with me and have helped inform my vision of what is possible in cancer care on a global stage.

    Virginia Mason Medical Center

    Binaytara Foundation - Board Member Read More
  • Shaji Kumar, MD - Hematological Malignancies

    Shaji Kumar, MD

    Shaji K. Kumar, MD, is a Consultant in the Division of Hematology and Mark and Judy Mullins Professor of Hematological Malignancies at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. He is the Chair of the Myeloma, Amyloidosis, and Dysproteinemia Disease Group at Mayo Clinic, Research Chair for the Division of Hematology, and Associate Chair for Research in the Department of Medicine. Dr. Kumar received his medical degree from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, India. His postdoctoral training included a residency in Internal Medicine from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, followed by an Internal Medicine residency and a hematology/oncology fellowship at the Mayo Graduate School of Medicine in Rochester, Minnesota. He then completed a Mayo Foundation Scholar at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. Dr. Kumar’s research focuses on the development of novel drugs and drug combinations for the treatment of myeloma. He is the Principal Investigator of several phase 1, 2, and 3 clinical trials. He also focuses on the mechanisms of disease progression from precursor conditions and risk stratification of plasma cell disorders. His laboratory focuses on understanding the role of the bone marrow microenvironment in the development and progression of myeloma.Dr. Kumar serves as Co-Chair of the NCI Myeloma Steering Committee and as Chair of the NCCN Multiple Myeloma Guidelines Panel. He is the President-Elect of the International Society of Amyloidosis and the Treasurer of the International Myeloma Society. He is the Editor in Chief of The Hematologist. Dr. Kumar has been associated with Binaytara Foundation for over a decade, educating cancer care providers at BTF's CME accredited hematology oncology conferences in different parts of the country.

    Mayo Clinic School of Medicine

    Binaytara Foundation - Board Member Read More
  • Siddhartha Yadav, MD - Assistant Professor of Oncology

    Siddhartha Yadav, MD

    Dr. Siddhartha Yadav is an Assistant Professor of Oncology in the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and has authored more than 50 scientific articles and expert contents in high-impact journals. Dr. Yadav chairs the education committee of Binaytara Foundation and is actively involved in our educational activities as well as our global oncology programs.
    He earned his medical degree from the Institute of Medicine, Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu, Nepal, and completed his Internal Medicine residency training at William Beaumont Hospital in Michigan. He then became a Chief Resident there and eventually moved to Minnesota for his oncology training at Mayo Clinic. Dr. Yadav has received numerous awards including Mayo Brothers Distinguished Fellowship Award and William H. J. Summerskill Award from Mayo Clinic, Young Investigator Award from American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), Outstanding Fellow Award from Minnesota Society of Clinical Oncology, Merit Award from ASCO, Scholar-in-Training Award from American Association for Cancer Research and Clegg Scholarship from the British Medical Journal. Dr. Yadav has also received a research grant from the Conquer Cancer Foundation of ASCO. His research and clinical interests lie in breast and gynecological cancers.

    Mayo Clinic

    BTF Education Academy Co-Chair Read More Read More
  • Aparna Parikh, MD - specializes in gastro-intestinal cancers

    Aparna Parikh, MD

    Dr. Aparna Parikh is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Parikh specializes in gastro-intestinal cancers. She is very passionate about improving access to cancer care in low-income countries.

    Dana Farber/Mass General

    Binaytara Foundation - Board Member Read More
  • Andrea Veatch, MD - Oncologist and Hematologist in Puyallup

    Andrea Veatch, MD

    Dr. Andrea Veatch is a Board-Certified Oncologist and Hematologist in Puyallup, WA. Dr. Veatch joined the Binaytara Foundation Board of Directors in January 2023.

    Northwest Medical Specialties

    Binaytara Foundation - Board Member Read More
  • Mark Pegram, MD - Professor of Medical Oncology

    Mark Pegram, MD

    Mark Pegram, MD, is the Suzy Yuan-Huey Hung Endowed Professor of Medical Oncology at the Stanford University School of Medicine. He currently serves as the Associate Director of Clinical Research at the Stanford Comprehensive Cancer Institute (SCCI). Dr. Pegram also serves as the Associate Dean for Clinical Research Quality at the Stanford University School of Medicine, and is the Medical Director of the Stanford Clinical Translational Research Unit – a unit specializing in first-in-human phase I clinical trials. Dr. Pegram is the recipient of BTF Eternal Service award for his dedication to educating doctors, and improving the lives of cancer patients through his breakthrough research and clinical care.

    Stanford University School of Medicine

    Binaytara Foundation - Board Member Read More

Education Committee

  • Akshat Jain MD, MPH, FRCP - pediatric hematologist oncologist

    Akshat Jain MD, MPH, FRCP

    Dr. Akshat Jain is a pediatric hematologist oncologist at the Loma Linda University. Dr. Jain is a member of the Binaytara Foundation Education Academy Hematologic Malignancies subcommittee.

    Loma Linda University

    Binaytara Foundation - Education Committee Member Read More

  • Ali Raza Khaki, MD

    Dr. Ali Khaki is an assistant professor of medicine at Stanford School of Medicine. Dr. Khaki specializes in Genitourinary Cancers. Dr. Khaki chairs the Genitourinary Cancers subcommittee of the Binaytara Foundation Education Academy.

    Stanford School of Medicine

    Binaytara Foundation Education Academy GU Cancers Subcommittee Chair Read More
  • Avijeet Kumar Mishra, MBBS - specializes in Hematology/Oncology/BMT

    Avijeet Kumar Mishra, MBBS

    Dr. Avijeet Kumar Mishra is a Clinical Fellow in Haematology/Oncology/BMT at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust, London. Dr. Mishra is a member of Binaytara Foundation Education Academy.

    University College London

    Binaytara Foundation - Education Committee Member Read More

  • Benjamin Garmezy, MD

    Sarah Cannon Research Institute

    Education Academy Committee Member Read More

  • Bhawna Sirohi, MD

    Dr. Bhawna Sirohi is a leading Medical Oncologist with an exemplary experience of more than 25 years. She is a renowned senior consultant across the globe who specializes in treating Breast Oncology and Gastrointestinal Cancers. Dr. Bhawna has worked with the top Oncology Centres & Oncologists around the world. She is currently a Medical Oncologist with Apollo Proton Cancer Center in Chennai, India.

    Apollo Proton Cancer

    Binaytara Foundation - Education Committee Member Read More

  • Bo Wang, MD

    Willamette Valley Cancer Institute & Research Center

    Education Academy General Oncology Subcommittee Member Read More

  • Charity Huang, MD

    Harbor-UCLA Medical Center

    Education Academy General Oncology Subcommittee Member Read More

  • David J. Benjamin, MD

    Hoag Health Network

    Education Committee Member Read More

  • David Zhen, MD

    Dr. David Zhen is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Washington and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, where he joined as faculty in 2017. He obtained his Bachelor's Degree in Cellular, Molecular, and Developmental Biology at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan and his medical degree at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. He subsequently completed his residency in Internal Medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota followed then by hematology/oncology fellowship at University of Michigan. He is a gastrointestinal medical oncologist and cares for patients with all gastrointestinal malignancies but has a specific clinical and research focus in neuroendocrine tumors and gastroesophageal cancers. During his tenure, he has led the development of a neuroendocrine tumor program at his institution, including creating a multidisciplinary neuroendocrine tumor board in conjunction with his colleague, Dr. Delphine Chen of Nuclear Medicine, to not only discuss challenging cases but also to provide education on findings of new research that inform clinical practice for patients with neuroendocrine tumors. He is a member of the neuroendocrine tumor panel for the NCCN guidelines consensus and serves as an early career member of the NCI Neuroendocrine Task Force of the NCI GI Steering Committee. His research is focused on identifying new therapies through clinical trials incorporating translational research with the goal of identifying biomarkers that better predictor response and resistance to therapy. He is the national PI for an actively enrolling clinical trial he developed through the SWOG cooperative group evaluating immunotherapy with standard chemotherapy for poorly differentiated neuroendocrine carcinomas, works on investigator initiated trials for both neuroendocrine tumors and gastric cancers, and serves as the local PI for multiple industry sponsored clinical trials in gastrointestinal cancers. Dr. Zhen chairs the GI Oncology subcommittee of the Binaytara Foundation Education Academy.

    University of Washington

    Binaytara Foundation - Education Committee Member Read More
  • Fengting-Yan-MD.

    Fengting Yan, MD

    I am Fengting Yan, currently a breast oncologist at True Family Women’s Cancer Center at Swedish Cancer Institute in Seattle. I was trained at the Fred Hutch Cancer Research Center/University of Washington for my hematology/oncology fellowship. My career goal is to translate my research from bench to bedside to improve women’s health. I have been interested in translational research in women’s cancer and public education in women’s health. My interest comes from my background in clinical training in Ob & Gyn in China, years of public education in women’s health through internet and TV talk shows, Internal medicine residency training and Hematology-Oncology fellowship training in the US, as well as extensive basic lab research training as a post-doctoral researcher. My primary research interest has been to identify oncogenic markers and design inhibitors of these markers for developing new drugs to treat cancer patients and to deliver updated health-related education to women

    Swedish Cancer Center

    Binaytara Foundation Education Academy Women's Cancers Subcommittee Chair Read More

  • Inas A Abuali, MBCHB, FACP

    Dr. Inas Abuali is a hematologist/oncologist at Mass General Cancer Center at Newton-Wellesley.

    Mass General Cancer Center

    Binaytara Foundation - Education Committee Member Read More

  • Joseph Rosales , MD

    I have been a Hematologist & Medical Oncologist since 2003, and have been in both single-specialty private practice and multi-specialty hospital-based practice settings. My clinical activities center on thoracic oncology, including lung cancer and esophageal cancer, as well as improving the patient clinical experience. Dr. Rosales is the recipient of BTF's 2022 Rising Star for Health Equity Award for his significant contributions to improving access to cancer care through education.

    Virginia Mason Medical Center

    Binaytara Foundation - Education Committee Member Read More
  • Karine Tawagi, MD - Education Committee Member

    Karine Tawagi, MD

    University of Illinois

    Education Committee Member Read More

  • Natalie Reizine, MD

    University of Illinois at Chicago

    Education Committee Member Read More

  • Sanjay Hinduja, MD

    University of California, San Francisco Fresno

    Education Academy General Oncology Subcommittee Chair Read More

  • Shipra Gandhi, MD

    Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center

    Education Academy Breast Cancer Subcommittee Member Read More

  • Srinivas K. Tantravahi, MBBS, MRCP

    Dr. Tantravahi received his medical degree from Guntur Medical College, India. He then completed an Internal Medicine residency and Hematology and Oncology fellowship training at the University of Utah Hospital. His clinical practice is focused on the management of myeloproliferative neoplasms, chronic myeloid leukemia, aplastic anemia, and inherited bone marrow failure syndromes. Dr. Tantravahi has been involved with Binaytara Foundation’s accredited continuing education activities and hematology oncology conferences for the past ten years. Dr. Tantravhi chairs BTF’s ASH Annual meeting reviews in the pacific northwest. BTF has been hosting accredited hematology oncology continuing education activities in Montana, Idaho, Oregon, and Utah for the last several years where Dr. Tantravahi has participated as a chair, moderator, and speaker As the co-chair of BTF’s Education Academy, Dr. Tantravahi is focused on improving patient outcomes by bringing cutting-edge oncology continuing education to clinicians practicing both in Academic and Community settings. He is committed to advancing the Foundation’s mission of improving access to cancer care for all.

    Huntsman Cancer Institute

    Binaytara Foundation - Education Academy Co-chair Read More

Global Oncology Advisory Board

  • Hari B. Keshava, MD, MS

    University of California, Irvine

    BTF Global Oncology Advisory Board Member Read More

  • Dan Milner, MD, MSc, MBA

    American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP)

    BTF Global Oncology Advisory Board Member Read More
  • Jerald Radich, MD - BTF Global Oncology Advisory Board Member

    Jerald Radich, MD

    Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center

    BTF Global Oncology Advisory Board Member Read More

  • Nitin Jain, MD

    MD Anderson Cancer Center

    BTF Global Oncology Advisory Board Member Read More
  • Gilberto Lopes, MD - Board Member at BTF Global Oncology

    Gilberto Lopes, MD

    University of Miami

    BTF Global Oncology Advisory Board Member Read More

  • Siddhartha Ganguly, MD, FACP

    Houston Methodist Hospital

    BTF Global Oncology Advisory Board Member Read More
  • Saurabh Jha, MBBS, MRCS, MS - BTF Global Oncology Advisory Board Member

    Saurabh Jha, MBBS, MRCS, MS

    University of Pennsylvania

    BTF Global Oncology Advisory Board Member Read More
  • Evan Glazer, MD, PhD, FACS, FSSO - Board Member at BTF Global Oncology

    Evan Glazer, MD, PhD, FACS, FSSO

    The University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center

    BTF Global Oncology Advisory Board Member Read More
  • Steven Kussick, MD, PhD - Board Member at BTF Global Oncology

    Steven Kussick, MD, PhD

    Phenopath

    BTF Global Oncology Advisory Board Member Read More

  • Daniel J. Ferraro, MD, PhD

    Springfield Clinic

    BTF Global Oncology Advisory Board Member Read More

  • Arjun Singh, MDS, MFDS, RCPS

    Tata Memorial Centre

    BTF Global Oncology Advisory Board Member Read More

  • Scott Howard, MD, MSc

    The University of Tennessee Health Science Center

    BTF Global Oncology Advisory Board Member Read More