Mitchell Terk, M.D. Medical Director Best Doctors 2011-2012
Mitchell Terk special area of expertise is with prostate cancer. He is the medical director of our world renowned
prostate cancer program.
He has been performing prostate seed implants since 1994. He has personally performed well
over 3000 seed implants in recent years alone, and routinely performs hundreds of implants a year.
He is an internationally
acclaimed lecturer on this topic and has presented personal research at major medical centers and a myriad of conferences.
He has been involved with training physicians throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, and Africa in the Procision™
technique of prostate seed implantation and in Intra-operative Dosimetry.
He has also published research on breast,
gynecological, and gastrointestinal cancers.
His personal interests include the arts, antique automobiles and travel.
He was elected a member to the Explorers Club in 1991. He enjoys spending time with his wife, family, and his two Australian
Shepherds.
Ryan J. Burri, M.D., was born in St. Joseph, Missouri, and grew up in Marquette, Michigan. He graduated summa cum
laude with a B.S. in biochemistry from Northern Michigan University. He was awarded A.O.A. membership during medical school
at Michigan State University's College of Human Medicine, where he received his M.D. degree. Dr. Burri did his internship
training at St. Vincent's Hospital in Manhattan. He then completed his residency in radiation oncology at the Mount Sinai
School of Medicine in New York City, where he served as Chief Resident. He was on faculty in the Department of Radiation Oncology
at Columbia University in New York for two years before moving to Florida in 2011.
While at Mt. Sinai, Dr. Burri became
a highly skilled prostate brachytherapist under the tutelage of Dr. Richard Stock, an international authority on prostate
cancer. He is involved in several research projects involving prostate cancer treatment. Dr. Burri has authored several peer-reviewed
scientific articles on prostate cancer treatment, with additional articles on the genetic basis for radiation side effects.
He recently authored a chapter on salvage prostate brachytherapy in the latest edition of Scardino's Comprehensive Textbook
of Genitourinary Oncology.
Dr. Burri has a special interest in the application of image guided radiation therapy, intensity
modudulated radiation therapy, and prostate brachytherapy. In addition, he is a member of the Children's Oncology Group, the
American Society of Radiation Oncology and the American Board of Radiology. He has given lectures across the United States
on how to successfully cure prostate cancer using seed implants. He also has a particular interest in helping patients make
the right personal decision regarding their cancer care among an often-overwhelming array of potential treatment choices.
Dr. Cesaretti A native of Blue Springs, Missouri, Dr.
Cesaretti is now in private practice in Jacksonville Florida, where he and his partners perform over 500 prostate seed implants
per year. He learned his technique while a resident at Mount Sinai. He stayed on as faculty for four years during which time
he studied the reasons behind why patients develop side effects during and following radiation therapy for prostate cancer.
The Department of Defense awarded Dr. Cesaretti a large grant that allowed him to complete important investigations in this
area. He and his research group were also awarded funding by the American Cancer Society, the National Institutes of Health,
and the American Society of Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology.
Dr. Cesaretti joined FROG in 2008. He has a special interest in the application of both stereotactic body radiosurgery
and prostate brachytherapy. In addition, he is a member of the Children's Oncology Group, the Annual Meeting Subcommittee
of the American Society of Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology and the American Brachytherapy Society. He has given many talks
about how to successfully cure prostate cancer using seed implants in Japan, South Africa, Spain, Italy, Germany, Portugal,
and throughout the United States. He has authored many articles, written several protocols, and contributed the prostate brachytherapy chapter to the most recent edition of the Johns Hopkins
textbook about the treatment of prostate cancer. In addition, at the 2009 World Brachytherapy Conference he served as a course
instructor for the prostate seed procedure. He also has a particular interest in helping patients make the right personal
decision regarding their cancer care among an often-overwhelming array of potential treatment choices.
Alan R. Forbes, M.D. Ph.D. completed his Radiation Oncology training at Harvard University's Joint Center. He is
a graduate of the University of Miami School of Medicine. Dr. Forbes has both a Masters and a Doctorate degree from the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology in Nuclear Engineering and Applied Nuclear Physics. He was on faculty at the M.D. Anderson Cancer
Center Orlando where he was Chief of Radiation Oncology.
Dr. Forbes' clinical interests are centered on the use of highly
targeted treatments such as IGRT (image guided radiation therapy) and brachytherapy for the most effective minimally invasive
treatment. Dr. Forbes believes strongly in the physician team approach, to provide the best care for the patient's cancer
and individual needs. Dr. Forbes has extensive experience in the use of IGRT and intensity modulated radiotherapy in the treatment
of prostate cancer. He was a primary developer of gold fiducial markers, which are placed in the prostate for image guided
treatment. He has more than 20 years experience performing prostate seed implants, having first brought them to Central Florida
in 1991.
Dr. Forbes has extensive publications in the areas of prostate cancer, lung cancer, head & neck, brain
and gynecological cancers. His research has appeared in journals such as the Journal of Clinical Oncology, and the International
Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology and Physics. He has been on the board of researchers for multiple national multi-institutional
research boards such as NIH and was a Principal Investigator for RTOG. He is on the Medical Staff of Orlando Health including
Orlando Regional Medical Center, Dr. Phillips hospital, and, South Seminole Hospital.
He has been named one
the Best Physicians in Orlando for many years by Orlando Magazine.
Dr. Niraj Pahlajani was born and raised in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. He graduated with honors from Georgetown University
and pursued his medical education at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ). During his 3rd year of
medical school, he was awarded the prestigious Simon Kramer externship in Radiation Oncology and conducted clinical research
in prostate cancer at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Upon graduation from medical school, Dr.
Pahlajani completed his radiation oncology residency at the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. While there,
he developed expertise in IMRT and brachytherapy for prostate cancer.
Dr. Pahlajani's research interest is the optimization
of treatment for prostate cancer. He continues to publish on this subject in well-respected journals such as Cancer
and International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics. Dr. Pahlajani has presented his research at national
meetings including the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) and American Radium Society. He is a member of several
national medical professional societies, including the American Medical Association, ASTRO, the American Brachytherapy Society
and the CyberKnife Society.
In his spare time, Dr. Pahlajani remains highly active in vocal performance, and has been
trained in Indian classical music. He has sung in languages including Spanish, Italian, French, German, Hebrew, Swahili, Hindi,
Gujarati and Sindhi. He is married to Dr. Anokhi Jambusaria-Pahlajani, who is a dermatologist at The Mayo Clinic, and together
they both enjoy traveling, playing tennis, and working out at the gym.
Dr. Richard Stock has dedicated his career to delivering the highest quality care to patients using the most
advanced technology available, including intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), Novalis shaped beam radiosurgery, real-time
ultrasound guided prostate seed implants and Mammosite, all of which allows for meticulously targeting the tumor while achieving
maximal sparing of normal tissues.
Dr. Stock has served on the board of American College of Radiology Testing
and the American Brachytherapy Society, where he is member at large, and as guest editor of a special Brachytherapy issue
of Techniques in Urology. He has lectured and presented at dozens of meetings and symposiums across the country and internationally,
including New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, Spain, Holland, France and Japan. Dr. Stock completed his
internship at Beth Israel Medical Center and his specialty training at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. He is listed
in America's Top Doctors.
Dr. Vargas trained in Radiation Oncology at William Beaumont Hospital, in the Detroit metropolitan area.
Upon completion of training, Dr. Vargas relocated to Jacksonville, Florida as faculty at the University of Florida Shands
Hospital in Jacksonville. At the Shands Proton Center in Jacksonville, Dr. Vargas developed and ran their proton beam program
for prostate cancer for many years.
Dr. Vargas is an internationally recognized expert on the use of proton beam
radiation for prostate cancer and other diseases. He has over 40 publications regarding the treatment of prostate cancer,
having made important contributions to the advancement of proton beam radiation, brachytherapy, seed implants, external radiation,
IMRT, and image guided prostate cancer treatment (IGRT). Dr. Vargas has additional expertise in the use image guidance
and stereotactic treatments for brain and lung cancers. He also helped in the development of a sophisticated intensity modulated
image guided adaptive process for head and neck patients.
Dr Vargas is the principal investigator for several prostate
cancer research studies. His research includes the uses of different forms of radiation and image guidance, as well as combined
treatment with systemic agents. He is frequently invited to speak at both national and international meetings about using
radiation to cure prostate cancer. He has multiple publications and presentations that can found in peer review journals.
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In his free time, Dr. Vargas enjoys spending time with his family, playing golf, and the other activities in the Jacksonville
area.
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