Oral Oncology Fellowship Faculty

Alessandro Villa, D.D.S., Ph.D., M.P.H., is chief of oral medicine, oral oncology and dentistry at Miami Cancer Institute where he also serves as the Program Director of the Oral Oncology Fellowship. In addition, he is a Professor at the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, FIU. Dr. Villa specializes in treating oral mucosal and salivary gland diseases, oral precancers and oral complications from cancer treatment. Prior to joining Miami Cancer Institute in 2022, Dr. Villa was an attending physician at the University of California San Francisco, Medical Center and an associate clinical professor of oral medicine and otolaryngology at University of California San Francisco (UCSF). He also directed the oral medicine residency programs at UCSF and Harvard.

Dr. Villa’s research focuses on oral dysplasia, oral complications from cancer therapy and prevention of HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancers. He is involved in several investigator initiated and sponsored clinical trials and has published more than 130 peer-reviewed manuscripts.

Noah Kalman, M.D., MBA, is a radiation oncologist specializing in the treatment of gynecologic, head and neck, thoracic and pediatric cancers, melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers and sarcoma. He has special training and expertise in advanced radiation therapies such as stereotactic body radiation therapy, linear accelerator-based stereotactic radiosurgery, and proton therapy. Dr. Kalman is actively involved in clinical research to improve treatment efficacy and patient outcomes. He has been recognized for his academic and clinical excellence. He serves as an editorial reviewer for several peer-reviewed scientific journals. He also is widely published in numerous medical journals and lectures at scientific symposiums.

Geoffrey D. Young, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.C.S. specializes in the surgical treatment of cancers affecting the head and neck, including the mouth, throat, larynx, swallowing passages, thyroid, and salivary glands as well as skin cancers on the scalp, face, or neck. He has special expertise and experience in transoral robotic surgery and transoral laser microsurgery. These advanced procedures utilize a robotic system to make more-precise movements, often resulting in a quicker recovery and fewer complications for people with mouth and throat cancers. Dr. Young’s research efforts focus on cancer immunology and molecular biology to further the understanding of disease processes and improve methods for diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of disease. He has presented his clinical findings at numerous national and international scientific conferences. Dr. Young serves on several editorial review boards. He has facilitated numerous courses on “Communication in Health Care” and “Cross-Cultural Communication”. His professional society memberships and committees include the American College of Surgeons, American Head and Neck Society (research committee), Society of Surgical Oncology and American Thyroid Association (surgical affairs committee).

Ariel Perez Perez, M.D., is a hematologist and medical oncologist at Miami Cancer Institute. Dr. Perez Perez specializes in bone marrow transplant, cellular immunotherapy, and malignant hematology. He is fluent in English and Spanish. Dr. Perez Perez joined Miami Cancer Institute from the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute in Tampa, where he completed a fellowship in bone marrow transplant and cellular immunotherapy. During his fellowship, he was involved in clinical research in CAR T-cell therapy for patients with relapsed refractory B-cell lymphomas. He served as chief resident and chief fellow during his residency and fellowship programs. Dr. Perez Perez earned several academic achievement awards, including the Internal Medicine and Hematology-Oncology Academic Achievement Awards at Orlando Health. He also graduated medical school with honors (Summa Cum Laude). Dr. Perez Perez’s research has been published in peer-reviewed publications, including the Transplantation and Cellular Therapy Journal, Journal of Clinical Oncology, Journal of Thoracic Oncology and Annals of Oncology. He has also presented his research at numerous research meetings, industry conferences and events. Dr. Perez Perez’s approach to patient care is to establish and maintain communication and trust with his patients while providing the highest level of evidence-based medical care. When he is not treating patients, Dr. Perez Perez enjoys spending time with his family, reading, playing soccer and watching movies.

Cesar Ochoa, M.D., is a medical oncologist at Miami Cancer Institute, part of Baptist Health. Dr. Ochoa specializes in the treatment of lung, head and neck cancers. He is fluent in English and Spanish. Prior to joining Miami Cancer Institute in 2021, Dr. Ochoa was on staff at the Billings Clinic Cancer Center, where he worked as a medical oncologist. Throughout his career, Dr. Ochoa has been involved in research focusing on the role of intrinsic and extrinsic airway inflammation in the development and growth of lung cancer. This work has had major implications in the improvement of currently available therapies to better understand lung cancer. Dr. Ochoa’s research has been published in numerous peer-reviewed publications, including Cancer Research, Cancer Prevention Research, Molecular Cancer, Oncoimmunology, Expert Review of Anticancer Therapy and others. He has also presented his work at multiple national and international conferences. Dr. Ochoa believes that the needs of his patients always come first. He strives to help them understand their disease, prognosis and treatment options while learning about their personal goals and what matters most to them. This way, together, they can develop a management plan that aligns with the patient’s values. When he is not treating patients, Dr. Ochoa enjoys reading, music, exploring the outdoors and visiting new restaurants.