Colorectal Cancer Symposium

Ms Camille Stoddard

Ms Stoddard serves as the Lead Specialist for the Office of Experiential Programs at the Jerry H. Hodge School of Pharmacy, Amarillo Campus, bringing 13 years of service to TTUHSC. Having accompanied her husband during his 20-year tenure in the United States Navy, Camille settled in Amarillo after his retirement. Over the subsequent 13 years, she and her husband supported their two sons as they pursued military careers—one in the United States Navy and the other in the United States Marine Corps. During her leisure time, Camille indulges in her passion for photography and cherishes moments spent with her grandchildren.

Trey Bowen, MD

Dr. Bowen is the clinical services director at Heal the City Free Clinic, a non-profit organization providing free quality medical care and referral services with dignity and compassion to the uninsured of the community. He was born and raised in Amarillo and attended medical school at UT Southwestern before completing his internal medicine residence at the Yale Primary Care Program. He lives in Amarillo with his wife and three boys.

Rodney Young, MD, FAAFP

Dr. Young is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine in Amarillo.  He is magna cum laude graduate of Abilene Christian University, and both a top 20 graduate and distinguished alumnus award winner of the Texas Tech School of Medicine.  He completed his family medicine residency at the Texas Tech Health Sciences Center in Lubbock, where he also served as Chief Resident.  He is a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha national honor medical society and a recipient of numerous teaching and practice awards, including having been named Texas Family Physician of the Year by the Texas Academy of Family Physicians.  He is passionate about primary care and its central role in improving our healthcare system.  He has worked extensively on physician distribution, workforce issues, and medical education for both the Texas Medical Association and the Texas Academy of Family Physicians.

Tarek Naguib, MD

Dr. Naguib is a triple-boarded physician in internal medicine, infectious disease, and nephrology, with over three decades of expertise in clinical medicine, medical education, and hospital governance. He provides extensive daily teaching rotations and has meaningfully mentored and trained over 500 currently practicing physicians in the U.S. and abroad. He is the Regional Chair of Internal Medicine in Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, the Founding Director of the Amarillo Center of Excellence for Covid Research and Pandemics, and the Immediate Past President of the American College of Physicians (Texas Chapter). Dr. Naguib received his MBA degree from George Washington University in healthcare, has numerous publications, and provides community service outreach in our Amarillo are hospitals including the VA.

Ako Bradford, MD

Dr. Bradford was born in Tougaloo, MS and graduated high school from the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science in Columbus, MS in 1992. After graduating cum laude with a BS from Tougaloo College in 1996, he spent two years conducting research and publishing at the National Institutes of Health in Rockville, Maryland. Dr. Bradford subsequently attended the Virginia Commonwealth University / Medical College of Virginia School of Medicine in Richmond, Virginia. After graduating in 2002, he and his wife moved to Amarillo where he completed his Internal Medicine Residency at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in 2005. He currently is a full partner at Amarillo Medical Specialists, LLP.  He is also currently the Director of Diagnostic Imaging, the Director of Interim Healthcare and the Amarillo Deputy Public Health Authority.  Because Dr. Bradford has an aggressive desire to serve patients and assist them in functional health, he specializes in Primary Care Internal Medicine for adult men and women.

Ms Carla O'Brien

Ms O'Brien is the Community Liaison for Kinder Hearts Hospice. She is a West Texas native married to her best friend for 27 years with 3 amazing grown sons and one sweet grandson. She started her healthcare journey in 1996 as a CNA. She has worked in a variety of capacities in the non-profit and for-profit sector throughout her career, holding leadership roles and mentoring new healthcare workers along the way. She is excited to support the community she loves. She has helped thousands of patients over her career make the best decision about at home care.

Jennifer Puryear, BS

Ms Puryear works as an Associate Director, Community Partnerships within the Patient Support Pillar in the Southern Region of the American Cancer Society.  In this role, she manages partnerships with Federally Qualified Health Centers, CoC-accredited Cancer Centers, Primary Care Associations, coalitions and other community-based organizations in the primary areas of cancer detection, prevention, and survivorship. She covers the vast territory of West, Central, South and the Panhandle of Texas.  As a trained Quality Improvement Coach, she offers free consultative guidance, facilitation, and technical assistance on evidence-based strategies that assist to improve quality measures and outcomes.  Ms. Puryear has a Bachelor of Science in Community Health from the University of Texas at San Antonio and has been with the American Cancer Society for over 7 years. She has worked in various non-profit settings for almost 20 years.

Haq Nawaz, MD

Dr. Nawaz specializes in endoscopic ultrasonography and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography.  He is Amarillo’s only advanced endoscopist.  Dr. Nawaz completed his medical education at Aga Khan University in Karachi, Pakistan. He completed both and residency and a Fellowship in Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition at the University of Pittsburg Medical Center.  He completed an Advanced Endoscopic Fellowship at the Maine Medical Center.

Kuldip S. Banwait, MD

Dr. Banwait is a gastroenterologist serving the digestive health needs of patients in Amarillo, TX and surrounding areas of the Panhandle. He completed his fellowship training at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia. He also did advance endoscopic training in ERCP, EUS (endoscopic ultrasound), EMR (endoscopic mucosal resection) after completing his fellowship. According to the U.S. NEWS & World Report, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital is ranked as the 17th Best Hospital in the Country (from nearly 5,000 hospitals). Dr. Banwait is certified by the American Board of Internal Medical for Gastroenterology and Hepatology. He has also done extensive basic and clinical research and had presented his research in many national and international conferences. He has also over 30 publications to his credit

Javed Shinwari, MD

Dr. Shinwari completed his fellowship from University of Miami, Sylvester Comprehensive cancer center. He is board certified in Medical oncology / hematology and has been in private practice for over 20 years. Dr. Shinwari currently practices at Harrington Cancer Center in Amarillo, TX.

 

Srini Reddy, MD

Dr. Reddy received his premedical degree from Hyderabad Public School and his medical degree from Osmania Medical College in India.  He completed his Internship and Residency at St. Francis Hospital in Evanston, IL, and his Fellowship in breast oncology, hematology and medical oncology at the University of Kansas in Kansas City, KS.  He had additional training in breast cancer management in the comprehensive breast cancer program at the University of Kansas Medical Center.  He was also a research fellow in the Department of Experimental therapeutics at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX.  His special areas of interest include breast cancer and gastrointestinal malignancies.  Dr. Reddy has been in Texas for several years, with a brief stay in Kansas for his fellowship training.  He is an active member of the Amarillo Breast Center of Excellence Steering Committee, which is the only nationally accredited breast cancer program of excellence in the Texas panhandle area.  He has been interviewed by local newspapers about important cancer-related topics and is on the teaching staff of Texas Tech University medical sciences.  Dr. Reddy is a member of the Texas Medical Association.  He received a merit scholarship from the federal government of India for 5 consecutive years.  Dr. Reddy received a Gold Medal in Biology in pre-med and an Academic Achievement Award for Excellence during his Residency at St. Francis Hospital in Evanston, IL.  He also served as chief fellow at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City, KS.  

Madhava Kanakamedala, MD

Dr. Kanakamedala completed his radiation oncology residency and a Clinical Fellowship in Radiation Oncology at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson.  Dr. Kanakamedala earned a Bachelor’s of Medicine and Surgery at Guntur Medical College in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India.  Post graduate training in Radiation Oncology was completed at the MNJ Institute of Oncology and Regional Cancer Center, Osmania Medical College, Hydearbad, India.  Dr. Kanakamedala is a member of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiation Oncolgy, the Radiosurgery Society and the Leksell Gamma Knife Society.  He is a 2016 Ladislau and Melita Steiner Fellow as well as House Staff of the Year 2013: Radiation Oncology Service, G.B. (Sonny) Montgomery VA Medical Center in Jackson, MS.  He has practiced at Singleton Hospital, Swansea NHS Trust in the UK, at Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson and finally in Amarillo at Texas Oncology-Amarillo Cancer Center.

Rachel A. Weinheimer, MD, FACS

Dr. Weinheimer is board-certified in general surgery and colon and rectal surgery and sees patients in Amarillo and surrounding areas. She is the only female provider performing colonoscopies in the Texas Panhandle. Dr. Weinheimer earned her medical doctorate at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.  She completed residency at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in the Department of Surgery and completed a fellowship in colon and rectal surgery at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston in the Division of Colon and Rectal Surgery.  Dr. Weinheimer regularly volunteers at Heal the City, a non-profit clinic that provides free healthcare to members of the Amarillo community. She supports the Christian Relief Fund, an organization that aims to reduce child poverty.

Dr. Rachel Weinheimer and her husband, Dr. Kent Weinheimer, have three young children. She enjoys taking walks in the neighborhood, playing tennis, and eating other people’s cooking. She was a performance harpist throughout college, medical school, and residency. She is fluent in Spanish and has spent months working in missionary hospitals throughout South America. 

Izi Obokhare, MD

Dr. Obokhare is an Associate Professor in the Division of Minimally Invasive Laparoscopic and Robotic Surgery at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Amarillo (TTUHSC). He is certified by the American Board of Surgery and is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and the International College of Surgeons. He brings significant expertise and experience in providing minimally invasive surgical care and provides general and acute care along with colorectal care using advanced laparoscopic techniques and the Da Vinci robotic platform. Dr. Obokhare obtained his medical degree from Howard University College of Medicine in Washington D.C. and did his General Surgery Residency at Case University Hospitals of Cleveland in Cleveland, Ohio. He did his Research Fellowship for Colorectal Surgery at the Ochsner Clinic Foundation in New Orleans, Louisiana where he obtained additional training in the diagnosis and treatment of benign and malignant diseases of the colon, rectum and anus. He has a special interest in state-of-the-art minimally invasive techniques and approaches to anorectal tumors such as robotic surgery, trans-anal minimally invasive surgery (TAMIS), laparoscopic colectomy for colon cancer, familial colon cancer syndromes, diverticulitis, colonic inertia and ulcerative colitis. Having a vibrant practice in general surgery with a solid interest in colon and rectal surgery, more than 70% of his practice involves patients with colon and rectal disorders specifically neoplastic disease. He has a strong focus on screening and prevention of colon and rectal cancer in the Texas Panhandle as evidenced by his involvement in community outreach and education targeting the underserved population.