Na Tosha N Gatson

PROFESSIONAL PROFILE I am the Medical Director of Neuro-Oncology at Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center in Phoenix, AZ working to service the largest health system (Banner Health) in Arizona leading our new Multidisciplinary Brain Tumor Program. I am also involved educating our future leaders in medicine as an Associate Professor of Medicine and Research at the University of Arizona, Phoenix, AZ. I am the former Director of the Neuro-Oncology Division at Geisinger Health Neuroscience and Cancer Institutes and currently serve in adjunct roles as Associate Professor of Research and Medicine and Assistant Dean of Equity and Inclusion within the Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (GCSoM) in Pennsylvania. I am encouraged as I pursue Associate Professor rank with a planned faculty affairs assessment in 2020. I also chaired the GCSoM’s Center of Excellence Health Equity Group, developed from a $3.4 million NIH grant, and dedicated to the professional development of our clinical faculty and establishing mentorship opportunities between these faculty and our talented underrepresented minority medical students. As a leader in both the clinical and academic domains, it has been an honor to witness moving the needle toward measurable outcomes and improving the lives of patients and strengthening the mission of the institution. Most importantly, I remain an enthusiastic educator recently named the Department of Neurology’s 2019 Distinguished Faculty of the Year, signifying both faculty and trainee endorsement. I completed a two-year neuro-oncology fellowship at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC) in Houston, TX and dedicated a significant portion of my training to research and clinical education in neurosurgery, hematology/oncology, and palliative medicine to better balance my neuro-oncology focus. Prior to fellowship, I spent 14-years training at The Ohio State University (OSU, Columbus, OH) where I earned a MD/PhD as part of the Medical Scientist Training Program with a graduate research focus in neuroimmunology; neurology residency with an enfolded 1-year NIH/NINDS R25 Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship in neurosurgery focused on viral-oncolytic targeting of glioblastoma. My current clinical and research interests include brain tumor imaging, cancer neuroimmunology, and defining sex/gender-based disparities in the field of neuro-oncology. Yet, I have a strong commitment to trainee education as a physician-scientist and believe that contemporary learners and educators thrive best at institutions that allow for these merging pathways in clinical/translational research as part of the academic curriculum. I have demonstrated a commitment to neurology/neuro-oncology through leadership activities within the primary subspecialty societies including the American Academy of Neurology, Society for Neuro-Oncology, American Society of Clinical Oncology, American Brain Foundation, Society for Clinical Neurology, and NRG Oncology. My short-term career goals include leading in research funding, clinical trial development, publications, and trainee education. Finally, I am committed to abating inequitable health disparities through efforts to attract, mentor, and promote talented persons from diverse backgrounds to careers in research and medicine, and hope to grow my institution’s national recognition through these initiatives.