Roswell Park Appoints Chief Medical Officer, Four New Chiefs Leading Key Clinical Programs

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center is announcing its latest slate of physician promotions, including naming Julia Faller, DO, as Chief Medical Officer. 

Most recently serving in the role of Chief of Perioperative Services, Dr. Faller joined Roswell Park in 2009 in a faculty role with the Department of Anesthesia, and served as Medical Director, then Chief of Perioperative Services beginning in 2015. She received her Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine and master’s degree from the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine and completed anesthesiology training with the University at Buffalo Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. 

“Dr. Faller has demonstrated great incisiveness and creativity across many projects and initiatives,” says Roswell Park President, CEO, and M&T Bank Presidential Chair in Leadership Candace S. Johnson, PhD. “Her close and effective collaboration with colleagues from every department and discipline have positioned her to be an outstanding leader and innovator.”

Dr. Faller, who led Roswell Park’s Medical Staff as President from 2019-2022, succeeds surgical oncologist Boris Kuvshinoff II, MD, FACS, who retired following a 22-year tenure with Roswell Park, the last nine as Chief Medical Officer, and now holds the title Professor Emeritus in the Department of Surgical Oncology.

Additionally, four Roswell Park staff physicians – including three newer recruits to the cancer center – have earned the role of chief in their respective clinical departments:

Aleodor “Doru” Andea, MD, MBA, has been named Chief of Dermatopathology and Director of Molecular Dermatopathology. Previously with the University of Michigan — Ann Arbor, Dr. Andea served in an academic role as well as Director of its Dermatopathology Fellowship. A subspeciality, dermatopathology studies skin disease at the microscopic and molecular levels; a critical step in providing patients with precise diagnoses. Dr. Andea received his medical degree from Victor Babes University of Medicine in Romania and completed residency at Wayne State University as well as fellowships at the Medical University of South Carolina and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. 

Kenan Onel, MD, PhD, was appointed Chief of Clinical Genomics and founding Director of the Center for Precision Oncology. Internationally known for his work on genetic contribution to cancer risk/response to therapy, Dr. Onel brings two decades of leadership and expertise to the Buffalo-based cancer center. He most recently served as Senior Vice President of Translational Genetics at health intelligence company Sema4. At Roswell Park, Dr. Onel will focus on a translational research program as well as innovations in precision medicine and care for patients at high risk of cancer due to genetics or family history. He is a graduate of the Weill Cornell/Rockefeller/Memorial Sloan Kettering Tri-Institutional MD/PhD program in New York City. 

Jenny Romero, MD, has been appointed Chief of Head & Neck Medicine and General Medical Oncology. Board-certified in internal medicine and medical oncology, Dr. Romero has spent two decades in public and private practice across New York State. She earned her medical degree from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey–Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and completed fellowships at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. 

Zhongbo "Jerry" Yang, MD, has been promoted to Chief of Cytopathology, a branch of pathology that applies special tools and technology to examine cells closely in order to determine a diagnosis. On staff at Roswell Park since 2019, Dr. Yang focuses his research on head and neck cancers as well as molecular testing of solid tumors. He is a graduate of Shandong Medical University in China and board-certified in three fields: molecular genetic pathology, cytopathology and anatomic/clinical pathology. 

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From the world’s first chemotherapy research to the PSA prostate cancer biomarker, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center generates innovations that shape how cancer is detected, treated and prevented worldwide. Driven to eliminate cancer’s grip on humanity, the Roswell Park team of 4,000 makes compassionate, patient-centered cancer care and services accessible across New York State and beyond. Founded in 1898, Roswell Park was among the first three cancer centers nationwide to become a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center and is the only one to hold this designation in Upstate New York. To learn more about Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Roswell Park Care Network, visit www.roswellpark.org, call 1-800-ROSWELL (1-800-767-9355) or email ASKRoswell@RoswellPark.org.