Faculty and Staff

Dr. Anand P. Jillella, Professor of Medicine & Section Chief

 

Dr. Anand P. Jillella attended medical school at the Government Medical College in Kurnool, India and performed his internship and residency at MCG.  He was fellowship trained at Yale University School of Medicine and is certified by the American Board of Medical Oncologists.  He joined MCG as an Assistant Professor of Medicine on July 1, 1996.  He completed intensive training in Bone Marrow Transplantation at Johns Hopkins Oncology in 1999 and was subsequently appointed as the Director of the Bone Marrow /Stem Cell Transplant Program at MCG.  He was  promoted to the rank of Associate Professor in July 2000.  On August 1, 2002 he joined Fox Chase Cancer Center.  He returned to MCG as the Chief of the Section of Hematology/Oncology on July 1, 2005.

His area of clinical interest is bone marrow transplantation.  His areas of study include bone marrow transplantation, leukemia, lymphoma, multiple myeloma and blood-related cancers.

Dr. Anand P. Jillella, FACP, is the only Augusta area physician named one of the 2,000 named America’s Top Doctors for Cancer listed in a national patient reference guide published by Castle Connolly Medical Ltd.  Dr. Jillella is Professor of Medicine at the Medical College of Georgia, and Chief of the Division of Hematology/Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplantation at MCG Health System.  Dr. Jillella was named among America’s Top Cancer Doctors on February 9, 2007 in Augusta, GA.

 

Genitourinary Oncology

Dr. Teresa Coleman is an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Section of Hematology/Oncology in Department of Medicine at the Medical College of Georgia as a hematologist/oncologist.  Most recently, she was an attending physician at the Phoebe Cancer Center in Albany, Georgia and a faculty member at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.  Dr. Coleman went into the classroom following a 15-year career in the U.S. Army. 

 

Board certified in Internal Medicine, Hematology and Oncology, Dr. Coleman specializes in hematological malignancies, prostate cancer, and head & neck cancers. She has conducted extensive research in oncology and hematology.  Published frequently in scholarly journals, Dr. Coleman has also served as the principal investigator in numerous clinical trials.  Dr. Coleman is currently accepting new patients, either by physician referral or direct contact from cancer patients and their families.

 

 

Gastrointestinal Oncology

 

Dr. Asha Nayak-Kapoor is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Medical College of Georgia, Department of Medicine in the Division of Hematology/Oncology.  Dr. Nayak has a particular interest in the field of gastrointestinal malignancy including colon cancer, esophageal cancer, and stomach cancer.

 

Dr. Nayak completed her medical degree from Maulana Azad Medical College, University of Delhi, India.  She finished her residency in Internal Medicine at the Coney Island Hospital, Brooklyn, New York, followed by a hematology fellowship. Dr. Nayak completed her oncology fellowship at the Medical College of Georgia.  She is board certified in Internal Medicine, Hematology and Medical Oncology. Dr. Nayak is currently accepting new patients either by physician referral or direct contact from cancer patients or their families.

 

 

Breast Oncology

 

Dr. Thomas Samuel is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Medical College of Georgia Department of Medicine in the Division of Hematology/Oncology specializing in breast and lung cancer care. Dr. Samuel most recently was an assistant professor of medicine at Fox Chase Cancer Center with a joint appointment at the Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At Fox Chase, Dr. Samuel worked with the nationally renowned Fox Chase Pain Management and Palliative Care Center, where he specialized in cancer-related pain issues and hospice care. At Temple, Dr. Samuel specialized in general solid tumor oncology with a concentration in breast and lung cancer, providing compassionate and focused care to a diverse population of patients.

 

Dr. Samuel completed his undergraduate training at Swarthmore College and obtained his medical degree from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Stony Brook. He finished a residency in internal medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, followed by a specialty fellowship in hematology/oncology at Fox Chase Cancer Center and Temple University School of Medicine. Board certified in internal medicine and medical oncology, his particular interests are in breast and lung cancer treatment with a focus on supportive oncology, cancer pain management, and palliative care. Dr. Samuel is accepting new patients, either by physician referral or direct contact from patients or families.

 

 

General Oncology

 

Dr. Paul Bilodeau is an Associate Professor of Medicine at the Medical College of Georgia
Department of Medicine in the Division of Hematology/ Oncology.  Dr. Bilodeau received his medical training and residency in internal medicine at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.  After practicing general internal medicine here, in Augusta, for six years, he completed a fellowship in medical oncology at the Medical College of Georgia.  He was in a private practice in medical oncology in Augusta for sixteen years before joining the faculty at MCG. Board certified in Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology, he joins our faculty with a broad range of interests and clinical experience in solid tumor oncology.  Dr. Bilodeau is accepting new patients.

 

 

 

Dr. Paul Dainer is a Associate Professor of Medicine at the Medical College of Georgia Department of Medicine in the Division of Hematology/ Oncology. Dr. Dainer joined the faculty in 1992. His interests include lung cancer care and general medical oncology. Dr. Dainer completed his medical training at Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Following a straight medical internship at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital he finished his residency in internal medicine at the Medical College of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He entered the United States Navy Medical Corps and later completed a fellowship in Hematology/Oncology at the Naval Regional Medical Center in San Diego, California.  After military tours of duty in Charleston, South Carolina and Bethesda, Maryland, he assumed consecutive faculty positions at Shand’s Hospital, Jacksonville, Florida and the Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina.

 

Since arriving at the Medical College of Georgia, Dr. Dainer has actively participated in clinical trials relating to more effective management of lung cancer and other malignancies, both on the main campus and at the affiliated Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Augusta. He also holds major responsibilities in teaching of medical students and postgraduate trainees the compassionate care of the cancer patient. Dr. Dainer is accepting new patients at the Medical College, either by physician referral or direct contact from patients or families.

 

 

Dr. Amanda May is Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Medical College of Georgia Department of Medicine in the Division of Hematology/Oncology specializing in breast and lung cancer care. Dr. May joined the Faculty at MCG in 2002. She received her MD in 1997 from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, School of Medicine.  She completed Internship and Residency in Internal Medicine here at the Medical College of Georgia. Following that, she received subspecialty training in Hematology/Oncology at the Medical College of Georgia, which was completed in 2002. Currently, Dr. May is Chief of Hematology/Oncology at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center here in Augusta, GA., and has an interest in Lung Cancer, Breast Cancer, and Melanoma. Dr. May is Board certified in Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology. Dr. May is accepting new patients at the Medical College, either by physician referral or direct contact from patients or families.

 

 

Dr. Russell Moores is Professor of Medicine at the Medical College of Georgia Department of Medicine in the Division of Hematology/ Oncology.  Dr. Moores completed his medical training at the University of Arkansas, his postgraduate training at the University of Rochester – Strong Memorial Hospital, Washington University – Barnes Hospital and the NIH, and served two years in the Navy. Following his Navy years, Dr. Moores has been a faculty member in Hematology/Medical Oncology at the Medical College of Georgia.  Apart from two brief forays into the field of hospice care – St. Joseph’s Hospice and Portsbridge Hospice – he has been a faculty member at the MCG since July 1965. Dr. Moores currently sees patients with a broad range of hematology and medical oncology conditions.

 

 

Hematology

 

Dr. Abdullah Kutlar is a Professor of Medicine in the Section of Hematology/Oncology, an Associate Professor in the School of Graduate Studies and serves as the Director of the Medical College of Georgia's Adult Sickle Cell Center.  Dr. Kutlar earned his M.D. degree from Ankara University's School of Medicine in Ankara, Turkey.  Following residency and fellowship training in hematology, he focused primarily on red cell disorders including thalassemia and sickle cell disease.  He also served as a Research Fellow at the Sickle Cell Center at the Medical College of Georgia, in 1982-1983.  He returned to the Sickle Cell Center in Augusta in 1984 where he worked in the research laboratories until 1990 under the directorship of the late Professor Titus H.J. Huisman.  Dr. Kutlar was named Director of the Sickle Cell Center in 1994.  Under his leadership, the Sickle Cell Center Laboratory has served as a core lab for NIH and pharmaceutical sponsored clinical trials as well as a clinical site for many multicenter, national, and international studies of sickle cell disease. 

Dr. Kutlar has served on several NIH review panels, served as a member of DSMB, and serves on the Steering Committee of the Candidate-gene Association Resource (CARE) program of the NHLBI.  Dr. Kutlar’s research interest in recent years has been in the area of genetic modifiers of sickle cell disease and the elucidation of risk factors for various complications.  He is also interested in the development of novel therapies and evidence-based recommendations for the treatment of SCD.

 

 

Dr. C. Lawrence Lutcher entered Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO following graduation from Whitman College.  He completed training in Internal Medicine in 1963 before entering a Fellowship in Hematology and Blood Coagulation at the University of Oregon (1963-1967).  Dr. Lutcher was drafted at the peak of the Vietnam conflict in 1967 and was stationed at Madigan Army Hospital in Tacoma (1968-1970).  While there, he established the hospital’s first hematology subspecialty service. 

Upon completion of his military service, Dr. Lutcher took a position at MCG in Augusta, GA where he established the state’s first diagnostic coagulation laboratory.  He also developed and directed federally funded programs for the comprehensive care of patients with hemophilia and sickle cell anemia. Dr. Lutcher was instrumental in the development of MCG’s bone marrow transplant program following the identification and referral (to the University of Washington) of a patient with a hematologic malignancy.  That patient, identified in 1970, remains the world’s longest living survivor of a bone marrow transplant for a malignancy.  The patient is currently a pastor at a church in South Carolina.

Dr. Lutcher was the Director of Hematology and Medical Oncology from 1978-1997 before retiring from full-time academic practice.  He now works part-time at MCG and continues to enjoy teaching and caring for patients.  He has been recognized as one of “America’s Top Doctors” (Castle Connolly Publishers) for each of the last five years.

 

 

Dr. Ferdane Kutlar is an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology/Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation and serves as the Director of the Hemoglobinopathy Laboratory.  Dr. Kutlar earned her MD degree from Istanbul University, Turkey, in 1971.  Following residency and fellowship training in Nephrology, she focused primarily on laboratory research in hemoglobinopathies, specifically thalassemia and sickle cell disease.  Dr. Kutlar joined the Sickle Cell Center in Augusta in 1984 where she worked in the research laboratories under the directorship of the late Professor Titus H.J. Huisman. 

 

Dr. Kutlar now serves as Director of the Hemoglobinopathy Laboratory.  Her research focus is on detection of single gene mutations, deletions, and insertions with DNA based methods in human genes (globin genes, hemochromatosis, methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase, angiotensin converting enzyme, uridine diphosphate glucuronosyle transferase, factor V Leiden, prothrombin genes), genetic testing involving, JAK2, STR PM (ME/Chimerism), and BCR/ABL gene fusion (MRD) detection.

 

 

Dr. Kavita Natarajan  is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Section of Hematology/Oncology and the Adult Hemophilia Program Director.  Dr. Natarajan was awarded her Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) from Baroda Medical College in Baroda, Gujarat, India, in 1994. She performed an internship at Baroda and served a residency in internal medicine at St. Barnabas Hospital, Livingston, N.J. She completed a fellowship at the Medical College of Georgia in hematology/oncology in 2005.  Dr. Natarajan is board-certified in hematology, oncology and internal medicine.