About the Care Oncology Clinic
Care Oncology Clinic was established in October 2014 by SEEK Group. Headquartered in London, SEEK is involved in research and development, sales of over the counter and prescription medicines and management and operation of clinics. It undertakes all these activities in order to bring safe, effective and low cost medicines to patients in the shortest time possible to radically improve human health in major disease areas.
Executive Team
Gregory Stoloff, Founder – Director of Strategy and Finance
Gregory Stoloff founded SEEK – formerly known as PepTcell – in 2004 after a distinguished career in investment banking spanning 20 years, working in a broad range of institutions including Deutsche Bank and UBS. He initially concentrated on corporate finance and was involved in numerous mergers and acquisitions and structured finance with an emphasis on the healthcare industry, including mergers by GlaxoSmithKline, Aventis and Pfizer. Gregory then moved on to concentrate on project finance and was involved in financings for major pharmaceutical companies such as Roche, Merck and Novartis and across various other sectors. Gregory also has a wealth of experience in advising and working with medical research companies.
Gregory is a qualified Chartered Accountant and has spent many years researching scientific medical issues, specifically related to the immune system. He has also been involved in several publications, recounting research in the peptide space and is listed as an inventor in numerous patents for cancer, HIV, mosquito-borne diseases and influenza.
Gregory has been instrumental in the development of the concepts pursued by SEEK and has been the driving force behind the Group’s continued growth and diversification.
Dr Robin Bannister, Founder – Director of Research & Development
Robin joined the group in 2008 when his company, Biocopea, was acquired by SEEK – then known as PepTcell. Robin focuses on the discovery of novel biology based on existing drugs and drug templates and the subsequent identification and exploitation of high–value, low-risk products.
In his role at Care Oncology, Robin works closely with the clinical team to define and optimize the combination protocols which comprise the clinic’s metabolic treatment.
Robin has worked at senior levels in many pharmaceutical and biotech companies, including GSK, Celltech, Chiroscience and Smith Kline and French. Before founding Biocopea, Robin co-founded Arakis in 2000, which was a major supplier to Novartis and was subsequently sold to Japanese pharma company Sosei in 2005, creating a £110m exit for investors within 5 years.
Robin is a chemist by background training and studied at Imperial College, London receiving his PhD in 1988.
Raphael Swery, Chief Executive Officer
Raphael joined to head the clinic business in 2015 and is responsible for business development and strategy. He also manages the day to day operations of the clinic in London, UK, heading up the team of doctors and nurses at the practice. Together with the senior clinicians, he also leads new staff recruitment.
Raphael has twenty years’ experience running teams in business and finance consulting, including roles at Robert Walters Plc and Armstrong International. He was a founding partner of Edge Search Ltd, an executive search firm for Capital Markets in London and internationally.
He holds a degree in French and International Political Studies from the University of Warwick.
Declan Monaghan, Chief Financial Officer
Declan joined the clinics business in 2017 and alongside his finance role, works closely with Raphael on business development and strategy.
He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Certified Accountants (FCCA). He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree and a Master’s degree in Business Studies from University College Dublin, and a Sloan Master’s degree in Leadership and Strategy from London Business School.
Declan has almost thirty years’ experience in the commercial and financial sectors working as a financial markets trader for 15 years for Mizuho International plc, where he traded a range of money markets, credit and high yield products. In 2011, he joined Fujitsu, where he was responsible for the successful launch and development of the Fujitsu Global Cloud Platform in the UK & Ireland. In 2015, he was the founding CEO of a One Health charity “The Humanimal Trust”.
Clinical Team
Paul Zhang, M.D., Ph.D.
Paul Zhang, M.D., Ph.D. is the founder of the Institute of Integrative BioOncology (I2B). As a physician-scientist, he is board-certified in medical oncology and internal medicine and board-eligible for medical acupuncture. He has more than 10 years of clinical experience and has specialized in medical treatment of gastroenterological, lung, and prostate cancers. As a member of the Society of Integrative Oncology, he strongly advocates the application of evidence-based comprehensive and integrative approaches to treatment and health restoration.
He was named as one of “America’s Top Physicians” in 2008. Dr. Zhang is a well-known researcher and clinician in the areas of cancer stem cells, novel therapies, and solid tumors. He was among the first to define the growth requirements of cancer stem cells. He described the use of a novel class of drugs that induces cancer differentiation and cell death, histone deactylase (HDAC) inhibitors, and Zolinza (vorinostat) was the first FDA-approved HDAC inhibitor. His recent work focuses on the role of cancer stem cells in the response to novel drug combinations. He is a member of the Society of Integrative Oncology.
Dr. Zhang received his medical degrees from Hebei Medical University and Beijing University, was a resident physician at Columbia University, and a medical oncology fellow at Yale University. Dr. Zhang’s areas of and expertise include gastrointestinal (GI), lung. and prostate cancers. In his position, he works closely with other physicians, including oncology surgeons, radiologists, and clinical investigators. He has presented his work at numerous national and international conferences. He is also the scientific director of the translational research at I2B where novel anti-cancer cocktails are being developed.
Expertise, experience, and dedication to quality matter a great deal to Dr. Zhang. He has been in community practice and academia for over 10 years, and innovation has become his lifelong passion. Cancer research has been the focus of his career. Dr. Zhang has dedicated an additional 3 years to pursue a fellowship in cancer research at the world-renowned Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. His clinical and research interests include: solid tumor oncology, particularly colon, esophageal, gastric, pancreatic, prostate, and lung cancers. Other areas of expertise include: cancer immunotherapy; cancer stem cells; medical treatments, and acupuncture for pain management in cancer patients.
Education and Credentials
- Clinical Fellowship: Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
- Cancer Research Fellowship: Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY
- Internal Medicine Residency: Columbia University, New York, NY
- Medical Acupuncture Certificate: Helms Institute at Stanford Medical School, Stanford, CA
Academia
Former Assistant Professor of Medicine: Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX
Dr Ndabezinhle Mazibuko
MBBS
Clinical Research Fellow in Clinical Neuroscience (Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience – King’s College London)
Dr Ndabezinhle Mazibuko is Clinical Research Fellow in Clinical Neuroscience (Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience – King’s College London) whose work includes clinical trial design, management and data analysis with respect to pharmacological and neuro-imaging studies in both the academic and industry sectors.
His academic role includes medical student tutoring and periodic lectures. Prior to that he was an Acute Stroke and Neurology Registrar at King’s College Hospital and has several years’ experience as a clinician in varied disciplines within the NHS in addition to clinical experience in Australia (where he trained) and also in Africa.
He has a keen interest in Public Health Medicine and now also assists The Health Services and Population Research Department at King’s College London with data analysis with a view to policy creation and implementation for Non Communicable Diseases.
Since October 2014 he has clinically reviewed patients through the Care Oncology Clinic, implementing the protocol for the clinic. The medication regime that the clinic uses has its foundation in metabolic treatment with which Dr Mazibuko has extensive clinical experience.
Dr R. Saso
MD MPhil PhD
Haemato-Oncologist/Transplant Physician
Dr Saso was born, educated and medically trained in Yugoslavia. He worked in different university hospitals as a junior doctor at home and abroad (USA, UK) and completed his postgraduate studies at the Immunology Research Centre, University of Belgrade.
Going forward, he worked on studies in the field of haematology, immunochemistry and neuro-immunology. His research focused on defining and staging lympho-proliferative diseases, as well as acute leukaemias, CML, AA/PNH and MDS and he completed his training in internal medicine, haematology/oncology at home and abroad.
He spent a year as a British Council Scholar at St Thomas’ Hospital and RPMS at Hammersmith Hospital. In addition to gaining clinical experience, he furthered his studies in internal medicine and haematology. He also undertook research on the role of different lymphokines and soluble factors in antigen presentation and T-lymphocyte proliferation. Results of the research were presented at the annual BSI Congress.
After obtaining his doctorate, he was promoted to Assistant Professor in Internal Medicine/Haematology in 1991 at the University of Saints Cyril & Methodius, Skopje.
In 1992, supported by the British Council, he returned to the UK and continued his work and professional development in haemato-oncology, initially at St George’s, and since then, at several other leading UK teaching hospitals and cancer centres.
Dr Saso’s long-term interest is in haemato-oncology and bone marrow transplantation. During the course of his career he has introduced new treatment modalities and diagnostic methods in haemato-oncology. He also helped to establish and run the Anticoagulant Clinic at the Royal Brompton Hospital. He has published many papers in peer-reviewed journals and presented his work at international conferences and meetings (ASH, BSH, EBMT etc).
Dr Samir Agrawal
MRCP FRCPath PhD
Barts Health NHS Trust and Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
Samir Agrawal is a Senior Lecturer in Haematology at the Queen Mary University of London and a Consultant Haemato-Oncologist at St Bartholomew’s Hospitals and The Barts Health NHS Trust, London UK.
Dr Agrawal qualified at the University of Bristol, UK, trained at The Royal Marsden Cancer Hospital, London, UK, and was awarded his PhD in Tumour Immunology from the University of Paris, France. He is Director of the Stem Cell Laboratory of the Barts Health NHS Trust, and has an interest in diagnostic immunophenotyping. He was a winner of the NHS Innovator Award in 2006 for the introduction of new diagnostic tests for the diagnosis of human leukaemias.
Dr Agrawal’s clinical activities stretch across all areas of haematological cancers, ranging from intensive chemotherapy for acute leukaemia to outpatient non-intensive chemo-immunotherapy for lymphoid diseases, particularly chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) and other lymphoid malignancies. Dr Agrawal has designed, funded, and implemented studies on myelodysplastic syndromes, invasive aspergillosis and CLL. A former member of the UK CLL Trials Committee, he is a trustee for CLLSA (the patient-led support organisation for patients in the UK with CLL), as well as a NICE reviewer and the haemato-oncology representative on the UK IVIg initiative. He is a member of the European group (ECIL) for guidelines for infection management.
Dr Agrawal’s research activities are focussed on CLL biology and developing novel approaches to treating this incurable disease; and improving patient experience with the development of the “remote patient monitoring programme”, which allows specialist follow-up without requiring attendance at the hospital. His current activities in the field of invasive fungal disease include a diagnostic study of high-risk haematology patients looking at improved and earlier diagnosis. He is also working to develop clinical guidelines and integrated care pathways for managing infection in the high-risk haemato-oncology setting and to promote best practice and highlight new developments through educational meetings.
Dr Agrawal has published over 70 papers in journals such as the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Journal of Immunology, Blood, the British Medical Journal, and the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Dr Padman Vamadevan
MA MBBS
Dr Padman Vamadevan undertook a Natural Sciences degree at Queens’ College, Cambridge, and subsequently completed his medical degree on the fast-track programme at Guy’s, King’s and St Thomas’ School of Medicine in London. He subsequently secured an Academic Foundation training post at Guy’s & St Thomas’ Hospitals, during which he was seconded to Quintiles Drug Research Unit where he was involved in trial design and management and data analysis.
Following this, he was appointed as an Academic Clinical Fellow in Clinical Pharmacology at St George’s Hospital and during this period, published multiple peer-reviewed papers, whilst also receiving a travel fellowship to speak at the European Respiratory Society congress. Subsequently, he has taken up a variety of Haematological and Oncological posts at a variety of leading cancer institutions in London, which have afforded him significant relevant clinical experiance.
He has worked at the Care Oncology Clinic for over two years, and his familiarity with Biochemistry, Clinical Pharmacology, Clinical Research Studies and Oncology are consistent with the academic lineages that underpin the metabolic treatments offered by the clinic.
Dr. Rodney Dean Larson
Dr. Larson was born and raised in the upper mid-west of the USA. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of North Dakota. He continued at UND School of Medicine for 2 years of medical school before transferring and finishing a Doctor of Medicine at Michigan State University. Returning to North Dakota he completed a residency training in Family Practice and then spent nearly his entire career working in the state of South Dakota with the Indian Health Service and the Veterans Administration of the US Government. His current practice and interest in Emergency Medicine stems from working part time in the ER of both institutions.
Personal contact and rapport with patients has always been a plus in his style of practice. He has a special interest in how medications work, including alternative or off label uses for medication. Of particular interest are retroactive studies which demonstrate that many medications already in use for common illness can have significant effect on treatment and prevention of nearly all forms of cancer stem cell lines. Dr. Larson is interested in integrating these medications with patients’ lifestyles.
The belief that additional forms of treatment can be effectively combined with current standard therapies for various cancers is rapidly becoming accepted by large cancer treatment centers. Dr Larson has a personal stake in the use of these concepts and derives satisfaction from being involved with patients who wish to explore additional evidence-based strategies to help manage their disease.
Dr. Daniel Thomas, DO, MS
Dr. Thomas earned his medical degree from Des Moines University and served his hospital intern-ship at Northwest General Hospital in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Because medical education only begins in medical school, he didn’t stop there. In addition to a medical degree, Dr. Thomas earned a post-doctoral Master of Science degree in Metabolic and Nutritional Medicine from the University of South Florida College of Medicine. This advanced degree provided a deeper understanding of cellular biochemistry and human physiology than was taught in medical school.
The Master’s degree gave Dr. Thomas a greater understanding of the intimate connections between aging and disease, and metabolic dysfunction and faulty nutrition. It allowed him to provide even better care to his patients by giving him the knowledge on how to use the science of metabolic and nutritional medicine to prevent and reverse age-related diseases (including cancer), and stimulate metabolism, immunity, and cellular rejuvenation. Out of the 900,000 physicians in the United States, less than 0.01% have this important and cutting-edge degree.
In addition to a Master’s degree, Dr. Thomas has a post-doctoral Graduate Certificate in Metabolic Endocrinology and another in Clinical Neuroscience—both from the University of South Florida College of Medicine. This was followed by a Fellowship in Integrative Cancer Therapy with the Metabolic Medical Institute. Dr. Thomas also has a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry from Andrews University as well as a Certificate in Plant-Based Nutrition from Cornell University. He is currently serving a two-year Fellowship in Advanced Metabolic Cardiology.
Elizabeth Sherwood RN MS ANP-C
Nurse Educator and Consultant
Coaching, counseling and wellness services for individuals impacted by cancer, including those with a diagnosis and caregivers, incorporating an integrative, whole person approach. Trainings for professionals and volunteers working in oncology related settings including survivorship and physical concerns, self-care, psychosocial concerns, communication skills, and wellness practices.
Kristin Wohlschlagel, RN
is an experienced and compassionate nurse, specializing in Oncology and Hospice/Palliative care. She is well-versed in both conventional and alternative or integrative therapies. She has advanced knowledge in the use of medicinal cannabis for both symptom management as well as integrative care protocols for serious chronic diseases.