I am excited and grateful for this nomination to apply for the NNECOS Board of Directors.  I am a practicing neuro-oncology at the University of Vermont Medical Center and an Associate Professor of Neurological Sciences at the University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine. My roots are in New England.  I was born and raised in Rumford, Maine and completed my undergraduate training at Bowdoin College in Neuroscience.  I then attended a joint medical school program at Dartmouth and Brown Medical Schools.  I did my residency in Neurology at Dartmouth Hitchcock, followed by a two-year fellowship in Neuro-Oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.  I happily returned to New England in 2015 to start my faculty position at the University of Vermont.

I am active as a clinician, clinical researcher, and medical educator, both locally at the University of Vermont and in national and regional professional societies.  I work in close collaboration with clinical colleagues in medical oncology, radiation oncology, neurosurgery, and palliative care to care for patients with primary and metastatic brain tumors throughout our region.  I am the past president of the Northern New England Neurological Society, and through this role I have organized meetings to provide up-to-date clinical continuing medical education to neurologists throughout our region and clinical educational outreach to primary care providers in New England.  I am also an active member of the Society for Neuro-Oncology, where I co-chair the membership committee, and I have served on the Women and Diversity, External Outreach, and scientific abstract committees. 

My research focuses on interventional treatment trials for patients with malignant brain tumors and quality of life and supportive care studies for the brain tumor population.  I am honored to be a recipient of a NNECOS grant to study venous thromboembolism prevention in patients with malignant gliomas, as well as to be a mentor for a NNECOS grant on the neuro-cognitive effects of immunotherapy.  I am active in the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology Neuro-Oncology section.  I am passionate about medical education, and I serve as the Residency Program Director for Neurology at the University of Vermont. At the national level, I am a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Education Editorial Board, where I help to develop podcasts, expert answers, and tumor boards for ASCO, and I am a member of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Neuro-Oncology Education working group, where I am working to develop a national neuro-oncology curriculum for neurology residents.  

I would be delighted to serve on the NNECOS board and to bring my passions for clinical research at education to this organization. I believe that my experiences would position me well to fulfill the NNECOS mission of providing the highest quality care for patients through professional networking, education, and research.  Thank you for your consideration.

​My New England journey began in 2003 with a subinternship at Dartmouth. When I stepped off the plane from Southern California, my first thought was that the air smelled much better in New Hampshire. I spent residency and fellowship at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center and grew to love understated and gritty New Englanders.

My first job after fellowship was in Bone Marrow Transplant at Dartmouth. I then joined Lahey Health to start a new oncology clinic from scratch in Salem, NH in association with Parkland Medical Center. There I served as the Chairman of the IRB. In 2017, I joined Massachusetts General Physicians Organization to practice at Exeter Hospital in Exeter, NH. About half of my practice is Hematology, and I am the designated oncologist for the Head and Neck Cancer and the Genitourinary Multidisciplinary Groups. I enroll patients on clinical trials at our facility. In addition to clinical duties, I have also served on the Cancer Center redesign committee and am the physician leader of the Survivorship Care Team.

I first joined NNECOS as a fellow in 2007 and presented my research several times. I have also participated in activities for fellows through NNECOS. In 2008, I began a long list of talks to physicians, nurses, and community members on Hematology and Oncology topics at hospitals in New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, and Massachusetts and have twice spoken at King Edward VII Hospital in Bermuda. I was first elected to the NNECOS board of directors in 2019. As President-Elect, I have had the honor of chairing this year's annual meeting planning committee. I will assume the presidency after this year's annual meeting. 

Moving to New England has been a wonderful adventure for me so far, and I intend to never leave. I look forward to many more years of providing not only sound hematologic and oncologic care for gritty New Englanders but also educating them, bringing them cutting edge care through research trials, and helping to cultivate a new generation of Hematologists and Oncologists.

Elizabeth received her DNP in 2015 at Northeastern University. Elizabeth is an advanced practice nurse currently employed at Dartmouth Health as a nurse practitioner in the Gastrointestinal Program in the Dartmouth Cancer Center. She is Director of Survivorship at DCC and leads the Distress Subcommittee. Elizabeth has over thirty year’s oncology experience and has worked in a variety of practice settings in Vermont and New Hampshire, including radiation therapy and medical oncology. 

Elizabeth has extensive clinical expertise and holds certification as an Adult Geriatric Acute Care Nurse Practitioner, as well as an Advanced Oncology Nurse Practitioner and an Advanced Certified Hospice and Palliative Care Nurse. Elizabeth is Co-Chair of the NNECOS Nursing and Allied Health Professional Advisory Committee, has led the OCN review course for NNECOS since 2015, and  serves as the nurse planner for our educational meetings. 

Elizabeth was appointed to the NNECOS Board of Directors in January of 2015, and appointed as the first At Large Associate Executive Committee Member in 2017. Elizabeth is a 2018 recipient of a NNECOS Distinguished Service Award.

Elizabeth also serves as an Associate Editor on the ASCO eLearning Editorial Board.

Medical Director

Dana-Farber/New Hampshire Oncology-Hematology

John M. Hill, Jr., MD

Director, Allogeneic Transplant and Cellular Therapy Program, Section of Hematology, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC); Associate Professor of Medicine, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth

Senior Genetic Counselor, Familial Cancer Program at Dartmouth Health

It is a privilege to be considered for a position on the board of NNECOS. I have always been impressed by the quality of NNECOS meetings and educational programs. It brings together a diverse community of oncology practitioners from around the region in a nurturing and supportive environment. Especially when we are geographically dispersed, the chance to meet with our peers in person and virtually is invaluable.

After graduating from SUNY Upstate University in Syracuse, I trained in Internal Medicine and Oncology/Hematology at the University of Rochester/Strong Memorial Hospital. There I received not just superior medical training, but a humanistic education. I have been with New Hampshire Oncology-Hematology since graduation. I practice in both our Concord office and in our Londonderry Dana-Farber satellite office. Being in these two locations gives me insight into different models of care within oncology. Our Concord office is a pure private practice, while in Londonderry we share leadership with Dana-Farber. Both models offer great opportunities to optimize patient care.

I have served as the Medical Director of our Londonderry site for 10 years. This entails working with on-site leadership on day-to-day issues, and with the broader satellite leadership group. The relationship with Dana-Farber has evolved over the years and created an abundance of opportunities for our practice as we forge deeper ties with individual providers and the institute as a whole. I serve as the treasurer of our practice, as well as on the board of our profit sharing plan. I have been a dedicated participant in Pedaling for Payson, the yearly cycling fundraiser for our Concord cancer center. I serve in an advisory position on the AntiCancer Lifestyle program that has grown from a local offering to a robust online resource. I recently agreed to act in a similar capacity with the new Laconia Gilda’s Club.

I am excited to be more involved with NNECOS as a board member.

Dr. Hill received is BA from Princeton University and his MD from the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. He completed his Internal Medicine Internship and Residency at the National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, MD. During Hematology/Oncology Fellowship at the Navy/National Cancer Institute (NCI), he also undertook subspecialty training in Bone Marrow Transplantation at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA. He then served as Transplant and Hematology/Oncology Attending Physician at the National Naval Medical Center and Walter Reed Army Medical Center before joining the Staff of Norris Cotton Cancer Center, DHMC, in 2003. Since assuming his position at Dartmouth, John has strived to expand the Allogeneic BMT Program while continuing to optimize outcomes for an increasing population of older and more diverse patients with hematologic malignancies. His efforts have included the early initiation of non-myeloablative, reduced intensity and unrelated transplants, then haplo-identical transplants, along with FACT (Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy) accreditation and program participation in the Radiation Injury Treatment Network (RITN) for the past several years.

Dr. Hill is particularly interested in the use of cellular immunotherapy (both hematopoietic stem cell transplant and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy) for the treatment of patients with hematologic malignancies and in minimizing morbidity and mortality, optimizing functional status and promoting survivorship following such therapy. This includes early detection of and intervention for graft rejection, graft-versus- host disease (GVHD), cardio-pulmonary sequelae, cytokine release syndrome, neurotoxicity and relapse of malignancy.  Most recently, he has played an instrumental role in the implementation and oversight of CAR T-Cell Therapy at DHMC, with 20 patients having been successfully treated with this modality since April 2020. 

An additional focus of Dr. Hill’s has been the teaching and mentoring of medical students, residents and fellows, with projects that have included poster and podium presentations at numerous NNECOS annual meetings, two national American Society of Hematology (ASH) Honors Awards (2014; 2021), and poster discussions at both the American Society of Hematology (ASH) and Transplant and Cellular Therapy (TTC) national meetings. In this regard, the unique role that NNECOS plays in enhancing the education of our young clinicians has been a priority of his, along with the timely procurement of affordable anti-cancer agents for patients in the tri-state community.  John was appointed to the NNECOS Board of Directors in October of 2014 and served as NNECOS President during 2016-2017. He was humbled to receive the NNECOS Distinguished Service Award in 2021, and he looks forward to the prospect of continued involvement on the NNECOS Board.

Nicholas is a senior genetic counselor at the Familial Cancer Program (FCP) at the Dartmouth Health system. Nicholas graduated with his Master’s in Genetic Counseling from Arcadia University in 2018 and began working at the University of Pennsylvania Chester County Hospital Cancer Center as the sole genetic counselor for the satellite UPenn clinic. In this role, he oversaw the development of a clinical workflow for the genetics program and provided genetic counseling and testing for patients diagnosed with cancer as well as unaffected patients with family histories concerning for inherited risk factors. 

In the Spring of 2020, Nicholas accepted a genetic counseling position at the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, bringing him back to his fiancée’s hometown of Hanover, NH. He was recently promoted to Senior Genetic Counselor and is continuing to develop and oversee the FCP program which includes satellite clinics in Manchester, Nashua, Keene, St Johnsbury, and the Southern Vermont Medical Center in addition to the main hospital in Lebanon. Nicholas currently serves on the Northern New England Clinical Oncology Society (NNECOS) Nursing and Allied Health Professional Advisory Committee (NAHPAC) and  has participated in several NNECOS events, including his presentation at the 2021 Annual Meeting titled Precision Medicine in Oncology – A Genetic Counselor’s Perspective. 

Candidate Statement:

I am very grateful to be nominated to serve on the NNECOS Board of Directors. In my time with NAHPAC, I have seen how this group can directly benefit both medical professionals as well as their patients by creating opportunities to share knowledge and experience gained across the New England area and allow for planning of collaborative experiences across a variety of specialties and disciplines within oncology. As a newer resident of New England, the connections I have made through NNECOS are invaluable and I aim to continue to broaden and deepen these connections for the benefit of my own practice and the practices of my colleagues and coworkers. In the aftermath of Covid, our team sees patients and their family members in person, over the phone, and by video to ensure that even the most remote patients have equal access to our expertise without the need for long travel days to and from appointments. In my current role, I unfortunately saw our other three genetic counselors either retire or resign in late 2021 and early 2022. In that time, I have both kept our program afloat and recently hired three newly graduated genetic counselors who I am training to fill the void and bring our practice back up to speed.

I believe that these recent experiences of leadership and program development through my work, as well as my experiences through attending NAHPAC meetings to help plan future educational opportunities and participating in NNECOS conferences, have positioned me to excel as a member of the NNECOS Board of Directors. I hope to be given this opportunity to continue to weigh in on this society’s important impact on local collaboration and innovation which in turn leads to improved high-value care for the communities we serve.