Meet the Cancer Center Team
David Buck, MD - Radiation Oncology
Originally from Radford, Va., David Buck, MD, completed a nuclear engineering degree from the University of Virginia. He graduated from the Medical College of Virginia and completed his transitional residency internship at the Carilion Health System in Roanoke. He then completed a radiation oncology residency at the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond.
Prior to joining Oncology and Hematology Associates of Southwest Virginia, Dr. Buck served as the chief resident of the Department of Radiation Oncology at the Medical College of Virginia.
A member of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, and the American Brachytherapy Society, Dr. Buck has contributed to various publications. He is board certified by the American Board of Radiology.
Robert C. Heath, MD - Radiation Oncology
Robert C. Heath, MD attended Oakland University in Rochester, Mich., where he received a bachelor’s degree in biology. He graduated from the University of Michigan School of Medicine in Ann Arbor, Mich., and completed residencies in both internal medicine and radiation oncology. His internal residency was at Michigan State University in Lansing, Mich.; his radiation oncology residency was at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Board certified by both the American Board of Internal Medicine and the American Board of Radiology, Dr. Heath has practiced in Roanoke for 18 years and is currently the Medical Director for the Carilion Radiation Oncology Department. He is an active member of the American Society of Therapeutic Radiology and the CyberKnife Society. He formerly served as the MidAtlantic Society of Radiation Oncology president.
Dr. Heath enjoys working on his farm and spending time with his wife and three children.
John Rogers, MD - Radiation Oncology
John Rogers, MD, is a native of New Orleans. After graduating cum laude with a degree in physics from Hobart College in Geneva, N.Y., he graduated from the Louisiana State University School of Medicine. He completed his internship in internal medicine at the Alton Ochsner Foundation Hospital and Clinic in New Orleans. He then completed his residency in radiation oncology at the Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C., where he also served as chief resident.
An active member of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology, the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the American Medical Association, Dr. Rogers has participated in research and had original work published in several scientific journals.
Dr. Rogers also serves as a captain in the U.S. Air Force Reserve and is an active member of the 156th Airlift Wing. He enjoys flying, woodworking, and spending time with his wife and four children.
Zev Elias, MD - CyberKnife Neurosurgeon
A Philadelphia native, Zev Elias, MD, graduated from Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania, where he majored in biology and lettered in varsity football. He then attended Temple University Medical School in Philadelphia, where he received a scholarship to the Air Force Health Professions Scholarship Program and was inducted to the Reserves as a second lieutenant.
After medical school, he was promoted to the rank of captain and began his internship at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he continued as a neurosurgical resident.
Following his residency, Dr. Elias served at Wilford Hall USAF Medical Center in San Antonio, with the rank of major. He was appointed chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery and while serving in this role, was appointed as the consultant to the Air Force Surgeon General.
Dr. Elias entered private practice at Lehigh Valley Hospital in Allentown, Pa., following his military experience. There he was appointed Head of the Section of Neurotrauma. He then moved to Danville, Pa., to work at Geisinger Medical Center followed by a move to Roanoke where he helped initiate the Carilion Neurosurgery Care practice.
Dr. Elias is actively involved in the Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine trauma program, and helps educate medical students and residents of multiple specialties. Dr. Elias has special interest and expertise in pituitary surgery, head injury and stereotactic radiosurgery (CyberKnife).
John C. Fraser, MD - CyberKnife Neurosurgeon
A Chicago native, Dr. Fraser attended Haverford College in Philadelphia, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in classics then received his medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.
He completed his neurosurgical residency at the University of Tennessee in Memphis. Dr. Fraser then entered practice in Hartford, Conn., where he and his partners combined a private practice of neurosurgery with responsibilities as the primary clinical teaching faculty, training neurosurgical residents.
He then moved to Florence, Ala., where he joined a former fellow resident as part of the Semmes-Murphey Clinic, a large neurosurgical and neurological group based in Memphis, Tenn. There he continued to practice a wide range of general neurosurgery, including brain, spine and peripheral nerve cases.
While practicing in Alabama, he also lectured to nurses, primary care physicians and in community education programs, and became active in the neurosurgical society of Alabama, serving as its president in 2001 and 2002.
Dr. Fraser moved to Roanoke for the opportunity to work with Drs. Simonds, Elias, and Dunker in their growing practice.
Gary Robert Simonds, MD - CyberKnife Neurosurgeon
Gary Robert Simonds, MD grew up in New Jersey and in England. A biochemistry graduate from Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, he went on to graduate from Rutgers Medical School in New Jersey as a recipient of an Army HPSP Scholarship and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army Reserves.
Dr. Simonds completed seven years of neurosurgery residency training at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, in Washington D.C., where he earned a residency diploma in neurosurgery and an additional fellowship diploma in medical research.
Dr. Simonds spent the next four years as an active duty Army Neurosurgeon at Fitzsimons Army Medical Center in Denver and then back at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. He left active duty military to join the Geisinger Medical Clinic. In 2003, he moved to the Roanoke Valley where he and Dr. Zev Elias, helped initiate the Carilion Neurosurgical Care practice.
His subspecialty interests/expertise include pediatric neurosurgery, brain and spinal cord tumor surgery, and epilepsy surgery. He also has vast experience in the treatment of degenerative spine disease, spinal fractures, head injuries and chronic pain.
Lisa Apfel, MD - CyberKnife Neurosurgeon
Lisa Apfel, MD received her medical degree and completed a neurosurgical residency at the State University of New York at Buffalo. She is board eligible with the American Board of Neurological Surgery, and has experience in basic and complex spine surgery, brain tumor surgery, stereotactic and endoscopic cranial surgery, and pediatric neurosurgery.
Dr. Apfel joined Carilion Neurological Care in 2006, and enjoys biking, horseback riding and autocross racing.
