The NEXT Oncology Team
Medical Director
CEO & Founder
Dr. Anthony Tolcher is a medical oncologist and co-founder of NEXT Oncology. He is dedicated to the development of new anticancer agents — including clinical trials and therapies — for patients looking for their next option now that their current
San Antonio Team
Medical Oncologist / Director of Clinical Research
Dr. David Sommerhalder specializes in and is board certified in medical oncology and hematology and is also board certified in internal medicine. He works at NEXT Oncology San Antonio as an investigator on numerous clinical trials, where he helps to find additional treatment options for patients who otherwise may be out of options. He does this with the ultimate goal of finding more and better treatments for future cancer patients, but his priority is always the patient he is actively caring for.
BACKGROUND:
Dr. Sommerhalder earned his medical degree from the Ross University School of Medicine. He completed his internal medicine residency at Louisiana State University Health, Shreveport, Louisiana where he also served as Chief Resident. Dr. Sommerhalder was also the Chief Fellow at Feist-Weiller Cancer Center at LSU Health, Shreveport.
Medical Oncologist
Medical Oncologist and Clinical Investigator
Dr. Rodriguez is a Phase 1 clinical investigator at NEXT Oncology in San Antonio, Texas. He is board-certified in internal medicine, hematology, and medical oncology. He leads multiple clinical trials at NEXT and is thrilled to offer clinical trial options for the diverse community of San Antonio. One of his goals is to expand patient education and access to clinical trials.
BACKGROUND:
Dr. Rodriguez earned his medical degree from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas and completed his internal medicine residency at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Program in Austin, Texas. He served as a chief resident at the Dell Medical School in Austin. Dr. Rodriguez completed his medical oncology and hematology fellowship at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City where he also served as chief fellow. With a focus in liquid tumors early in his career at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, he made a shift to focus on Phase I clinical research and offer patients an opportunity for additional treatment in their cancer care.
Medical Oncologist
Dr. Sharon T. Wilks is a valuable member of the Phase 1 Clinical Investigation Team. She focuses on research and advancement in the treatment of breast cancer with more than 32 years of research and clinical experience as a hematologist and medical oncologist. Dr. Wilks has been involved in breast cancer research since her early career in the Air Force. At NEXT Oncology she is involved in all Phase I and drug development projects with a dedication to breast cancer research.
BACKGROUND:
Dr. Wilks was born in Baltimore and received her medical degree at Uniformed Services University of Health Science in Bethesda, Md. She obtained additional training and her fellowship in hematology and medical oncology at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio.
She received the Air Force Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster, was the 2003 American Cancer Society Volunteer of the Year for the San Antonio Metro Unit. She is a member of the American Society of Hematology, the American Society of Oncology, and a 2004 inductee into the San Antonio Women’s Hall of Fame. She received the KLRN Women’s Health Award for 2000 and the Chi Eta Phi Sorority Humanitarian Award, San Antonio Chapter.
Austin Team
Medical Oncologist
Dr. Andrae Vandross is trained, and board certified in medical oncology and internal medicine. He leads the Phase 1 clinical trial group at NEXT Oncology in Austin. Dr. Vandross is experienced in comprehensive and clear discussions with advanced cancer patients who are navigating the complex decisions associated with novel therapeutics. His highest priority is patient education in the context of Phase 1 clinical trials.
BACKGROUND:
Dr. Vandross earned his medical degree from the Pritzker School of Medicine at the University of Chicago. He performed residencies in general surgery and internal medicine at Yale New Haven Hospital in Connecticut. He was a Hematology/Oncology Fellow at the University of California, Los Angeles, and an assistant clinical professor-hematology/oncology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.
Medical Oncologist
Dr. Sheena Sahota is originally from Missouri. She is a medical oncologist and hematologist. She is board certified in internal medicine, nephrology, hematology and oncology. She went to medical school at the University of Missouri-Kansas City where she completed the six year BA/MD program. From there she slowly made her way east through her various trainings including completing her internal medicine residency at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, IL as well as her nephrology training. She worked for a year at the University of Chicago before continuing her training in Hematology/Oncology at Weill Cornell Medical Center/New York Presbyterian in New York City. Prior to joining NEXT, she was working for Stanford Healthcare and her focus was in breast cancer treatments. She is excited to be a part of the team and work in early drug development.\
Outside of work, she loves spending time with her two daughters and husband. She enjoys hiking, running, going home to Missouri and traveling the world.
Barcelona Team
Medical Director
Dr. Josep Tabernero, who founded the IOB Institute of Oncology in Barcelona, coordinates both units. NEXT Oncology – Barcelona is in the Hospital Quirónsalud Barcelona and headed by site coordinator Dr. Elena Garralda. The opening of the two units boosts continued research activity and creates a great opportunity to promote clinical research in Spain.
Josep Tabernero holds MD and PhD degrees from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain. He is currently the Head of the Medical Oncology Department at the Vall d’Hebron Barcelona Hospital Campus, and Director of the Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO).
He also co-directs the VHIO´s Gastrointestinal and Endocrine Tumours Group and the Research Unit for Molecular Therapy of Cancer (UITM) and is Principal Investigator of several Phase I pharmacodynamic studies and translational projects with molecular targeted therapies, as well as phase II and III studies with novel chemotherapeutics.
Dr. Tabernero serves on the Editorial Boards of various top tier journals including Annals of Oncology, ESMO Open, Cancer Discovery and Clinical Cancer Research. He has (co) authored approximately 450 peer-reviewed papers.
Dr. Tabernero was on the Executive Board of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) having served as ESMO President 2018 – 2019. He is also member of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), and has been appointed as member of several Educational and Scientific Committees of ESMO, ASCO, AACR, AACR/NCI/EORTC, ASCO Gastrointestinal, and ESMO-GI/WCGIC meetings.
Medical Oncologist / Director of Clinical Research
Dr. Garralda is a medical oncologist and clinical investigator who focuses her research on targeted agents, early drug development, translational research, and immunotherapies. She received her medical degree from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and completed her medical oncology specialization at the Hospital Universitario Madrid. Dr. Garralda also earned a Master’s degree in molecular oncology from the Centro de Estudios Biosanitarios Madrid.
Medical Oncologist
Dr. Omar Saavedra is a medical oncologist and clinical investigator currently dedicated entirely to early drug development. He was trained as a clinical researcher at the Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology for more than 5 years where he was principal investigator of numerous clinical trials, as well as being part of translational studies in which he continues to work. Currently his work is focused on providing to his patients the latest cancer treatments as next generation immunotherapies, targeted agents and epigenetic therapies.
Medical Oncologist
Dr. Racca graduated in Medicine in 2006 from the National University of Rosario, Argentina. He subsequently completed his first medical specialty in Internal Medicine and later specialized in Medical Oncology at the Vall d' Hebron Hospital in Barcelona from 2012 to 2017. Primarily Dr. Racca in his interest in the development of new treatments and with the desire to fight cancer from multiple angles, since 2022 he has joined the forefront of clinical trial development at the Phase 1 Next Oncology Clinical Trials Unit in Barcelona. He is currently Principal Investigator/Co-Investigator of more than 20 early phase clinical trials and his main commitment is to offer the best treatment, which means making our research and care work, a place of first international level.
Medical Oncologist
Guzmán Alonso, MD is a medical oncologist consultant dedicated to clinical research at NEXT Barcelona. He obtained his Medical Degree by the University of Cantabria in 2009 and completed his specialized formation in Medical Oncology at Hospital Clínico Universitario de Valencia, Madrid during 2014 and 2019. Once completing his residency, and with the aspiration of furthering her career as an Investigator, Dr. Alonso moved to Barcelona as a fully registered oncologist and completed a 2-year Clinical Research Fellowship focused on Early Drug Devoplment at VHIO (Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology). Afterwards, he has continued working at VHIO as a consultant.
In 2022, he joined NEXT Barcelona as a clinical researcher dedicated to early clinical trials and drug development with special focus on targeted therapies, DNA repair and cancer immunotherapy. He is currently the Principal Investigator/Co-Investigator of over 40 early phase clinical trials of novel anticancer agents for patients with advanced solid tumors and he has pioneered the development of new anticancer drugs.
Dallas Team
Medical Oncologist / Director of Clinical Research
Dr. Shiraj Sen is a medical oncologist and director of NEXT Oncology Dallas. Meeting some of the first individuals with cancer treated on modern immunotherapy clinical trials and watching them feel better and live longer after being told that there were no further standard treatments for them to receive motivated him to pursue a career in drug development in order to continue bringing the newest treatments to individuals with cancer. As a native Texan, Dr. Sen calls NEXT Oncology a perfect fit for him both personally and professionally as it allows him to serve his community and provide compassionate care while developing new treatments against cancer and offering them to his patients if standard treatments are no longer helping.
BACKGROUND
Dr. Sen received his undergraduate degree from the University of Texas at Austin and his MD and PhD degrees from the University of Texas at Houston and MD Anderson Cancer Center Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. His post graduate training in internal medicine was performed at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas prior to completing his hematology and medical oncology fellowship at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Dr. Sen is Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology and is the recipient of numerous awards for his research such as the Waun Ki Hong Award for Achievement in Clinical Investigation, the Marion D. Edwards Fellowship in Hepatic Oncology, and the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Conquer Cancer Foundation merit award. He has also authored more than 30 peer-reviewed publications, presented his research at over 20 international conferences, and has served as a member of the ASCO Scientific Program Committee.
Medical Oncologist
Dr. Cheedella is board-certified in internal medicine, specializing in hematology, and medical oncology. She is now part of NEXT Dallas as a Phase 1 clinical investigator.
Madrid Team
Medical Director
Dr. Josep Tabernero, who founded the IOB Institute of Oncology in Barcelona, coordinates both units. NEXT Oncology – Barcelona is in the Hospital Quirónsalud Barcelona and headed by site coordinator Dr. Elena Garralda. The opening of the two units boosts continued research activity and creates a great opportunity to promote clinical research in Spain.
Josep Tabernero holds MD and PhD degrees from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain. He is currently the Head of the Medical Oncology Department at the Vall d’Hebron Barcelona Hospital Campus, and Director of the Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO).
He also co-directs the VHIO´s Gastrointestinal and Endocrine Tumours Group and the Research Unit for Molecular Therapy of Cancer (UITM) and is Principal Investigator of several Phase I pharmacodynamic studies and translational projects with molecular targeted therapies, as well as phase II and III studies with novel chemotherapeutics.
Dr. Tabernero serves on the Editorial Boards of various top tier journals including Annals of Oncology, ESMO Open, Cancer Discovery and Clinical Cancer Research. He has (co) authored approximately 450 peer-reviewed papers.
Dr. Tabernero was on the Executive Board of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) having served as ESMO President 2018 – 2019. He is also member of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), and has been appointed as member of several Educational and Scientific Committees of ESMO, ASCO, AACR, AACR/NCI/EORTC, ASCO Gastrointestinal, and ESMO-GI/WCGIC meetings.
Medical Oncologist / Director of Clinical Research
Dr Boni received her MD with honors cum laude in 2005 from the Catholic University of Rome, Italy. In 2009, she completed her medical training in oncology at the “Agostino Gemelli” University Hospital in Rome, Italy. Her interest in clinical research led her to join as Clinical Researcher, the Pharmacogenomic lab at the Center for Applied Medical Research (CIMA), in Pamplona, Spain, working on translational oncology, mainly focused on predictive biomarkers discovery and precision medicine. She subsequently earned her PhD in medicine from the University of Navarra in 2011 for her work entitled “Role of miRNAs as predictive biomarkers in metastatic colorectal cancer” with honors cum laude. In 2013, she joined the ECCO-AACR-EORTC-ESMO workshop on methods in clinical cancer research (Flims), Switzerland.
From 2011, Dr Boni focused her work on the design and clinical early drug development leading several clinical trials. She has participated as Principal Investigator and co-investigator in more than 200 phase ½ studies, including First-in-Human, immunotherapy trials, combinations of targeted therapies and immunotherapies, biomarker-driven trials and trials in molecularly selected populations with special emphasis on breast cancer, gynecological tumors and melanoma. She has pioneered the development of new anticancer drugs now approved such as larotrectinib, selpercatinib, dostarlimab, lurbinectedin. Dr Boni’s research interests include the Phase I and early drug development of new anticancer agents as well as molecular genetic targets, immunotherapies, antibody drug conjugates, epigenetics and precision medicine for cancer therapy.
She authored and co-authored several papers in peer-reviewed journals including New England Journal of Medicine and Nature as well as of communications at different national and international congresses. She served as Faculty Member for the American Society of Clinical Oncology and as Clinical Associated Professor of Medicine at the European University, Madrid. She has participated in setting up the Spanish Molecular Tumor Board at GETTHI and in her institution where she is coordinating the precision medicine program centered on molecular analysis of patients’ tumors and molecular prescreening including circulating DNA and expression profiling to select the best anti-cancer therapy for any single patient and for better delivering precision medicine in clinical practice. Dr. Boni is member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology and of the European Society of Medical Oncology. She serves as an ad-hoc reviewer of various oncology journals.
Medical Oncologist
Edwin Bellido, MD, MSc, is a Medical Oncologist and Clinical Investigator in the NEXT Oncology Early Drug Development Unit at Hospital Universitario Quirónsalud Madrid. Edwin Bellido, received his medical degree from the Public University of Cusco in Peru, in the upper third, and immediately after completed a master's degree in research methodology in the area of health at the University of Salamanca, Spain. Edwin Bellido completed his medical oncology training at the Valencian Institute of Oncology in Valencia, Spain, with stays at the Gustave Roussy Hospital in France in the breast cancer unit and in the drug development and innovation unit, phase 1 trials. Edwin Bellido also developed programs related to finance in the health sector at the University of Piura in Peru and a program called "Mindset Digital" at the IESE business school. He also participated as a collaborator and professor at the Human Business School founded in Barcelona, in the field of telemedicine. Currently in the academic field Edwin won a scholarship of excellence to study the Master in Molecular Oncology at the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos. And is also leading a project of artificial intelligence in the early detection of cancer on digital biopsies. In the last years, Edwin Bellido have been focused on phase 1 trials, especially in gynecological tumors. His topics of interest include the application of new technologies in the early detection of cancer and the discovery of new biomarkers to help patients which is my underlying motivation that drives me every day.
Medical Oncologist
Jesús Fuentes Antrás, MD, MSc, is a Medical Oncologist and Clinical Investigator in the NEXT Oncology Early Drug Development Unit at Hospital Universitario Quirónsalud Madrid. Dr. Fuentes Antrás received his MD with honors in 2015 from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. He completed his Medical Oncology training at Hospital Clínico San Carlos in Madrid, and subsequently joined the Drug Development and Breast Cancer Units at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre – University Health Network in Toronto, Canada, as a clinical research fellow. Dr. Fuentes Antrás holds a Master’s degree in Molecular Oncology and is a PhD candidate in Translational Research in breast cancer from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Dr. Fuentes Antrás has been recipient of early-career clinician and investigator merit awards from the Spanish Agency Against Cancer (AECC), the Spanish Society of Medical Oncology (SEOM), and the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), including a SEOM “Somos Futuro” for best medical oncology resident in the country, an ASCO Conquer Cancer Foundation Young Investigator Award, or a Novartis Young Canadian Investigator Award. His clinical practice is focused on the care of patients participating in phase I trials testing novel anti-cancer molecules and including first-in-human studies. Dr Fuentes Antrás’ research interests include early drug development, multi-omic profiling, circulating biomarkers, and preclinical research models with the goal of advancing precision medicine for cancer patients.
Virginia Team
Medical Oncologist / Director of Clinical Research and CEO
NEXT Oncology - Virginia is headed by Alex I. Spira, MD, PhD. FACP, who serves as the site’s clinical director and CEO, as well as the co-director of the Virginia Cancer Specialists Research Institute. He is the director of the thoracic and Phase I program and a clinical assistant professor at John Hopkins.Dr. Spira sought to expand the clinic’s Phase I and developmental therapeutics cancer research program and bring the latest in new agents and anticancer treatments to its Research Institute.
Medical Oncologist
Mohamad Adham Salkeni, MD, FRCPC earned his medical degree from the University of Damascus. He then completed his residency in internal medicine at St. Louis University and fellowship in hematology and oncology at the University of Cincinnati. During his medical training, he was engaged in bench and translational research investigating inflammatory modulation of the blood-brain barrier in vivo, published in the Journal of Neuroimmune Pharmacology; and established a tumor-informed assay for detecting circulating mutant DNA of brain cancer, published in the Journal of Neuro-Oncology. Following training completion, he joined West Virginia University as an Assistant Professor and was later promoted to Associate Professor, where he also served as Medical Director for the Clinical Trials Research Unit and Co-Chair of the Breast Cancer Leadership Committee. Interested in early drug development, Dr. Salkeni elected to move on to the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health (NCI/NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland, where he completed a fellowship in Advanced Developmental Therapeutics. During his time spent at the NCI, he participated in concept development and design of early phase clinical trials of novel immunotherapeutics and small molecules, and authored a book chapter on resistance mechanisms to immunotherapy.
Dr. Salkeni is a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), American Society of Hematology (ASH), and the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC). Dr. Salkeni joined Virginia Cancer Specialists as a Clinical Investigator in Phase 1 cancer clinical trials, in collaboration with NEXT Oncology. In his spare time, he enjoys swimming and spending time outdoors with family.
Medical Oncologist
Mitul Gandhi, M.D. attended Rutgers University where he graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry. He earned his medical degree from Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School where he received the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Research Award among other honors. Dr. Gandhi then completed his residency and internship in Internal Medicine at University of Michigan Health System.
Dr. Gandhi joins Virginia Cancer Specialists after serving as Chief Fellow in the Medical Oncology and Hematology Fellowship program at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. During his time at Northwestern, Dr. Gandhi actively participated in clinical research, with a focus in high risk lymphoma. He has presented at major national meetings, won the American Society of Hematology’s Abstract Achievement Award in 2013, and has several publications including a recent article in Blood on double hit lymphomas. Dr. Gandhi is currently an Associate Member of both the American Society of Hematology and the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
In his spare time, Dr. Gandhi enjoys traveling with his wife, reading and writing, and spending time with family and friends.
Management Team
Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer
Vice President of Regulatory Affairs & Administration
Chief Financial Officer
Director of Clinical Trial Management
Director of Laboratory Services & Tissue Procurement
Regulatory Affairs Assistant Director
Pharmacy Manager
Manager of Clinical Operations
Research Coordinator Manager
BioBank and Tissue Procurement Manager
In Loving Memory
