David Pierce Mysona, MD

William G. Hawkins, M.D. is a surgical oncologist with 20 years of experience treating patients with some of the most challenging abdominal cancers. His clinical practice focuses on surgery for abdominal cancers, including pancreas cancer, liver cancer, gallbladder cancer, and sarcoma. Dr. Hawkins also cares for patients with complex benign abdominal cases, such as those in need of surgical intervention for bile duct injuries. With a longstanding commitment to leadership, patient care, education and research, Dr. Hawkins has spent 20 years at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and its Siteman Cancer Center, where he obtained and directed a prestigious Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) grant to conduct multiple projects investigating pancreatic cancer. While there, he served as the chief of Hepatobiliary Pancreatic and Upper Gastrointestinal Surgery. In his administrative leadership role, Dr. Hawkins is the deputy director of the Hollings Cancer Center, where he focuses on strengthening translational research, increasing clinical trials across South Carolina, and assisting Jason Newman, M.D., FACS, chief of the Oncology Integrated Center of Clinical Excellence, with making clinical operations more efficient. He also serves as the Vice Chair for Clinical Affairs in the MUSC Department of Surgery. Dr. Hawkins completed fellowships in surgical oncology and research at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York; served as chief during his surgical residency at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts; and received both his medical and bachelor's degrees at the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

Kathryn E. Engelhardt, M.D. M.S. is double board-certified in thoracic surgery and general surgery; she specializes in surgery of the lung, airway, esophagus, stomach, chest wall, and mediastinum. She has advanced expertise in cancer care, lung transplantation, and robotic surgery. Whenever possible, Dr. Engelhardt performs surgery using minimally invasive robotic technology, providing optimal outcomes, quicker recoveries, and shorter hospital stays. Dr. Engelhardt graduated from Cornell University before returning to her home state of Ohio to complete medical school at the University of Cincinnati. She started her post-graduate medical training here at the Medical University of South Carolina in general surgery. After finishing general surgery training, she traveled to Barnes-Jewish Hospital/Washington University in St Louis; a hospital consistently ranked among the best in the country by US News and World Report. There she spent two years in advanced training to specialize in cardiothoracic surgery. She now has brought her expertise back to the low country to serve the people of South Carolina and the surrounding communities. Dr. Engelhardt has earned numerous awards, including the Curtis P. Antz MUSC Surgical Society Award for Excellence, the MUSC Yarbrough Award for Excellence in Resident Research, the Southeastern Surgical Congress Gold Medal Forum, American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress Excellence in Research, and she was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honors Society.

Dr. Ben Allen Strickland's major area of clinical interest is brain, skull base, and pituitary surgery. His practice incorporates a variety of endoscopic and minimally invasive open neurosurgical techniques as well as stereotactic radiosurgery. He is a South Carolina native from Columbia. He graduated summa cum laude from Clemson University with a double major in Economics and Biology. He received his medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine. He completed his neurosurgical training at the University of Southern California. He received advanced fellowship training in minimally invasive brain tumor and skull base oncology under Dr. Gabriel Zada. After residency, he completed an additional fellowship in skull base and cerebrovascular neurosurgery under Dr. Dan Barrow at Emory University. He is passionate about applying cutting-edge technology toward the comprehensive management of brain tumors to his patients. Dr. Strickland also has a strong academic interest in brain tumor and skull base surgery. During his training, he completed an NIH research year investigating differential epigenetic expression patterns in meningioma. He has published over 130 peer-reviewed articles and dozens of book chapters and has received several grants, mostly focusing on brain and skull base tumors. He runs a laboratory to translate basic cancer immunology into novel therapies against aggressive meningioma and glioblastoma. He aims to develop targeted immunotherapies against tumors not amendable to surgical interventions.