Investigators

Bimal J. Patel, M.D.
Dr. Patel obtained his medical degree at M.S. University, Baroda, India. After moving to the United States, he received his post-doctoral training in Tumor Immunology in Birmingham, Alabama. He then went on to do his Internal Medicine residency at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. He completed his Hematology/Oncology fellowship at Yale University. Dr. Patel is board certified in Internal Medicine, Hematology and Medical Oncology. Dr. Patel moved to the Bay Area to join Epic Care in 1992.

Matthew N. Sirott, M.D.
Dr. Sirott was born and raised outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He graduated from a six-year medical program, receiving his B.A. from Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and his M.D. from the Medical College of Pennsylvania. He completed a three-year residency in Internal Medicine at Montefiore Medical Center of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City. Following this he completed his oncology fellowship at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and his hematology training at New York Hospital, Cornell University Medical Center, both in Manhattan. He is board certified in Medical Oncology and board eligible in Hematology. 

Dr. Sirott has been in private practice in Walnut Creek, California since 1992. He currently serves as President of both Diablo Valley Oncology and Hematology Medical Group and California Imaging and Treatment Center, and is on the board of the Bay Area Cancer Research Group. At John Muir Medical Center, he serves as the Chairman of the Pharmacy & Therapeutics Committee and the Cancer Committee, as well as being the Principal Investigator for Oncology Research. He lives in Walnut Creek with his wife, Arlene and their two sons, Sammy and Eric.

Tiffany H. Svahn, M.D. 
Dr. Svahn was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and raised in Westchester County, New York. She graduated with a B.A. in Molecular Biology/Biochemistry and English Literature from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. She received her M.D. from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. She completed her internship and residency in Internal Medicine at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Cornell University Medical Center in Manhattan. She then completed her Medical Oncology fellowship at Stanford University Medical Center. She is board certified in Medical Oncology.

Dr. Svahn joined private practice with Drs. Sirott, Robles and Johl in Walnut Creek in 2006. She lives in Orinda with her husband, Jonathan Svahn, M.D., and their daughters, Sarah and Annika.

Ostap G. Melnyk, M.D.
Dr. Melnyk received his Doctor of Medicine from University of Chicago, Chicago, IL. He served as an Assistant Professor at the University of California, San Francisco. He was a Fellow of Hematology/Medical Oncology at the University of California, San Francisco. He completed his Internal Medicine Residency at Michael Reese Medical Center in Chicago, IL.

John T. Ganey, M.D.
Dr. Ganey has been practicing medicine in the East Bay for the last fifteen years. After earning his BS from Boston College, he then accepted a commission in the United States Navy and attended the Uniform Services University of Health Sciences. His fellowship training was at the combined Navy-NCI program in Bethesda, MD. At the completion of his Navy career at Oaknoll Naval Hospital in Oakland, Dr. Ganey joined Epic Care in 1996. Dr. Ganey is board certified in Internal Medicine, Hematology, and Medical Oncology.

Ravinder K. Arora, M.D.
Dr. Arora earned a Doctor of Medicine at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India. He was a Fellow in Medical Oncology at Tufts Medical School in Boston and did his Internal Medicine residency at Hahnemann Medical College and Hospitals in Philadelphia. Dr. Arora has practiced Medical Oncology and Hematology in the East Bay for the past 27 years.

Robert L. Robles, M.D.
Dr. Robles was born in Phillipi, West Virginia and raised in Tucson, Arizona. He graduated with a B.A. in Chemistry from Pomona College in Claremont, California and received his M.D. from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His internship and residency were completed at Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and Pennsylvania State University in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Following this he completed his fellowship in medical oncology/hematology at the University of California at San Francisco where he also served as a Clinical Instructor. He has been a clinical assistant professor at both UCSF and San Francisco General Hospital. He is board certified in both Medical Oncology and Hematology. 

Dr. Robles joined private practice with Drs. Sirott and Oyer in Walnut Creek in 1997. He currently serves as Co-Director of Bay Area Cancer Research Group. He lives with his wife, Donna DiCenzo, M.D., and their three children Roxanne, Luke and Renata.

Jewel Johl, M.D.
Dr. Johl was born and raised in Chandigarh, India. He graduated with a B.S. degree in Biochemistry from University of California at Davis and received his M.D. from Loyola University in Chicago, Illinois. He completed his internship and residency in Internal Medicine, as well as his fellowship in Hematology and Medical Oncology at University of California, Davis Medical Center in Sacramento.

Dr. Johl joined private practice with Drs. Sirott, Oyer and Robles in Walnut Creek in 2005. He lives in Concord with his wife, Jasdeep Johl, D.D.S. and daughter Nimmer.

Jeffrey Cronk, M.D.
Dr. Cronk graduated from Cornell University with Distinction. He received his MD degree from The University of Virginia School of Medicine in Charlottesville, Virginia and completed his medical training and fellowships in Hematology and Medical Oncology at The University of Virginia Health Sciences Center in Charlottesville, Virginia. After serving on the staff at The Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville Florida, Division of Hematology-Oncology Blood and Marrow Transplantation, he had a private practice in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. He subsequently practiced in Georgetown and Murrell’s Inlet South Carolina until his relocation to the East Bay. Dr. Cronk is board certified in Internal Medicine, Medical Oncology and Hematology. He is an active member of The American Society of Clinical Oncology, American Society of Hematology and The Association of Northern California Oncologists.

Shoba Kankipati, M.D.
Dr. Shoba Kankipati received her medical degree at St Georges University School of Medicine. She completed her post-graduate Internal Medicine Residency at Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia. She obtained her Hematology/Oncology training at UMDNJ Cancer Institute of New Jersey at Cooper University Hospital, where she also served as Chief Fellow. Dr. Kankipati moved to the Bay Area to join Epic Care. Dr. Kankipati is board certified in Internal Medicine, Hematology and Oncology.

Sarah Buenviaje, O.N.P.
Sarah received her B.S. in Nursing from University of Southern California in 1992 and earned her M.S.N. in the Oncology Nurse Practitioner program at UCLA Medical Center in 1996. She has been practicing as an Oncology Nurse Practitioner since 1996 with Drs. Sirott, Oyer and Robles in Walnut Creek. Sarah lives in Danville with her husband, Ben Buenviaje, M.D., and their two sons, Justin and Nathan.

Michelle Rooney, M.S.N.
Michelle received her B.A. in Psychology from Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington in 1998 and her M.S.N. in the Family Nurse Practitioner program from Samuel Merritt College in Oakland, California in 2002. She is an Oncology Certified Nurse and has been practicing as a Nurse Practitioner since 2004 with Diablo Valley Oncology.  Michelle resides in Concord. 

Donna Saba, F.N.P.
Donna graduated from Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing.She worked 6 years at the medical center on the University of North Carolina campus where she was involved in taking care of both pediatric and adult oncology patients. She then attended the University of Washington where she received her Masters of Nursing and Clinical Nurse Specialist degree. While at the UW, she received a full graduate school scholarship from the American Cancer Society and was elected into Sigma Theta Tau, the National Honor Society of Nursing. She worked a year at Children’s Hospital, Oakland before taking time off to be a mom! She then worked 5 years as an oncology RN in a Walnut Creek practice before returning to Samuel Merritt College in Oakland, where she received a Family Nurse Practitioner certification. Donna is nationally certified by the American Nurses Credentialing Center as a Family Nurse Practitioner and the Oncology Nursing Society as an Advanced Oncology Certified Nurse Practitioner.

Stacey Teicher, C.N.P.
Stacey graduated with honors from San Jose State with a BS in nursing. She served 4 years in the US Army at Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington D.C. After her military service, Stacey obtained a Masters degree at the University of Maryland, graduating with honors, and became certified through ANCC as a Nurse Practitioner. She moved back to the Bay Area and spent 6 years working as a Nurse Practitioner in pediatric oncology at Stanford Children’s Hospital. Stacey is very active in Camp Okizu (camp for children with cancer) doing volunteer work with the children. She is also active in Team in Training and ran a marathon in Nashville and rode a tri-state Century in New England in order to raise money for cancer research. Stacey is a member of theAmerican Nurses Credentialing Center, California Association for Nurse Practitioners, Oncology Nursing Society and the Sigma Theta Tau honor society. She is certified by the American Nurses Credentialing Center as a Nurse Practitioner and the Oncology Nursing Society as an Advanced Oncology Certified Nurse Practitioner.