ABOUT PCG

OUR MISSION

Proton Collaborative Group (PCG) is committed to improving the outcomes of cancer patients by working collectively to advance the role of particle radiotherapy in cancer treatment. PCG serves as the link between state-of-the-art treatment centers, expert physicians, innovative and high-quality collaborative research, and the largest and most comprehensive proton therapy database in the world.

NON-PROFIT
CORPORATION

Originally launched to serve one private company’s treatment centers in 2009, PCG has evolved into an independent 501(c)3 non-profit corporation that currently provides proton therapy-specific clinical research oversight to nine independent treatment centers and institutional members across the US.
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OUR RESEARCH

PCG’s partnership with proton treatment centers throughout the country has grown exponentially throughout the years, providing robust data for scientific review. PCG has been represented at several industry conferences, and our research data has been published in the most widely read peer-reviewed journals.

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PCG BOARD OF DIRECTORS

  • Charles Simone, MD
  • President
  • New York Proton Center
  • Andrew Chang, MD
  • Vice President/Treasurer
  • The California Protons Therapy Cancer
  • James Snider, MD
  • Secretary
  • Proton International
  • Julie A. Bradley, MD, MHCDS
  • Member at Large
  • UFHealth Proton Therapy Institute
  • Dr. Michael Chuong
  • Member at Large
  • Miami Cancer Institute
  • Dr. Minesh Mehta
  • Member at Large
  • Miami Cancer Institute
  • Dr. Carlos Vargas
  • Member at Large
  • Mayo Clinic AZ

PCG STAFF

Jillian Plochocki-Smallwood, MS
Executive Director

Matthew Morocco
Regulatory & Training Manager

Edith Maritato, ACRP-CP
Research Manager

Amy Conley
Clinical Research Associate

Karen Brown
Clinical Research Associate

Jennifer Yetter
Clinical Registry Coordinator

WANT TO LEARN MORE?

Contact Proton Collaborative Group (PCG) today and a member of our highly trained staff will reach out to discuss any questions you may have.

CONTACT US

Jillian Plochocki-Smallwood, MS

Jillian received her BS in Biology and her MS in Health Services Administration from the University of Saint Francis. Jillian brings 13 years of experience working in the non-profit sector, with a focus in oncology.  She has worked for both the American Cancer Society and most recently with Northwestern Medicine’s psychosocial oncology program as the program director.

Jennifer Yetter

Jennifer has received her associates degree from College of DuPage and will receive her Bachelor of Science degree from Liberty University in Spring 2025. Jennifer has 12 years of experience working in various healthcare roles. She is a certified phlebotomist and has worked in the field of oncology for over 5 years, which is where she first became interested in working with cancer patients and seeing how new treatments help patient outcomes.

Amy Conley

Amy received a B.S. in Nursing from Purdue University. Her research experience began at University of Colorado Hospital in the Clinical Translational Research Center (CTRC). She worked on a broad range of studies during her 5-year employment at the CTRC. Amy also has 11 years of experience as a Clinical Research Coordinator at Northwestern Medicine West Region Cancer Centers where she coordinated study activities for patients enrolled in medical, surgical, and radiation trials.

Karen Brown

Karen received her bachelor’s degree from Eastern Illinois University. She has worked in oncology for many years and has several years of clinical research experience, including working on proton therapy studies as a clinical research coordinator at Northwestern Medicine. Most recently, she was a research compliance analyst at the Advocate Aurora Health Research Subject Protection Program & IRB.

Michael Chuong, MD

Michael Chuong, M.D., is a board-certified radiation oncologist with Miami Cancer Institute, a part of Baptist Health South Florida. At Miami Cancer Institute he is the Medical Director of the Proton Therapy Center, the Physician Director of the MRI-Guided Radiation Therapy Program, and the Director of Radiation Oncology Clinical Research. Dr. Chuong is an internationally recognized expert in the use of radiation therapy for gastrointestinal cancers. He serves on several national committees including the NRG Oncology GI committee and he is the Disease Site Chair for the Proton Collaborative Group. His professional affiliations include the American Society of Clinical Oncology, American Society for Radiation Oncology, and the American College of Radiation Oncology.

Carlos Vargas, MD

Carlos E. Vargas, M.D. is a radiation oncologist and the research chair of Mayo Clinic Arizona’s Department of Radiation Oncology. He treats numerous cancers such as bladder, breast, prostate, and testicular using advanced radiation techniques including stereotactic body radiation (SBRT), intensity modulated radiation, image guided radiation, and spot scanned proton therapy. Dr. Vargas earned his medical degree at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogota, Colombia, and he completed his residency at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan. After completion, he headed the Prostate Cancer Program at the University of Florida in Jacksonville. Currently, Dr. Vargas works as an associate professor of radiation oncology at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science. He is the principal investigator in multiple clinical studies for breast, prostate, and bladder cancer; as well as studies addressing questions about the effect of radiation on the cancer and normal tissue.

Mary Beth Henry

Mary Beth received her BS in Marketing from Northern Illinois University. Mary Beth has over 40 years of experience in Marketing and IT, and most recently she worked for Northwestern Medicine’s psychosocial oncology program for 11 years.

Edith Maritato

Edith received her Bachelor’s degree from Northern Illinois University. She has several years of oncology research experience in numerous phase II and Phase III clinical trials for solid and hematological diseases. She also has experience coordinating specialized external and systemic radiation studies for Neurological, Head & Neck and blood cancers. Prior to coming to Proton Collaborate Group, she worked as a clinical research coordinator for Northwestern Medicine Cancer Centers in Chicago’s West Region.

Matthew Morocco

Matthew received his BS in Biology from Western Illinois University.  He has worked in oncology for 11 years and has been in oncology research for the past 4 years.  Matthew also has a background and formal training in emergency medicine.  His passion and experiences in the medical field is what drove his interest in pursuing oncology research.  Most recently he served as a study coordinator for Northwestern Medicine Cancer Centers in Chicago’s West Region.

Rossio Rodriguez, CTR

Rossio received her BS in Health Information Management and a minor in Allied Health from Southwestern Oklahoma State University.  She has been working in the oncology field for the past 9 years. Rossio is a Certified Tumor Registrar and has worked in the hospital setting as a Cancer Registrar.  Her knowledge in this field is what sparked her interest to take a role in clinical research.  She has been with PCG for 5 years.

Charles Simone, MD

Charles B. Simone, II, MD, FASTRO, FACRO is Research Professor and Chief Medical Officer of the New York Proton Center and Full Member in the Department of Radiation Oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. He is an internationally recognized expert in proton therapy, reirradiation, stereotactic body radiation therapy, and innovative clinical trial strategies in thoracic oncology.

Dr. Simone was previous Chief of the Thoracic Oncology Service at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Director of the Penn Mesothelioma and Pleural Program, and Director of Clinical Research and Operations in Radiation Oncology at UPenn. He was then Medical Director of the Maryland Proton Treatment Center, and at UMaryland, he also served as Chair of the Clinical Research Committee for their Comprehensive Cancer Center, proton therapy Fellowship Director, and Director of the Stereotactic Radiation Therapy Program. He completed undergraduate and medical school at UPenn and radiation oncology residency at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), NIH, serving as chief resident. 

He is an NIH, National Science Foundation, and Department of Defense funded investigator who published >640 scientific articles/chapters, given >560 national/international scientific lectures, and is national Principal Investigator/Co-Chair of 8 NIH-funded cooperative group trials (NRG Oncology=5, SWOG=1, ECOG-ACRIN=1, PCG=1). He is a three-time Association of Residents in Radiation Oncology Educator of the Year Award winner. He is the Proton Collaborative Group (PCG) Board President. He Chairs: American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) Annual Meeting Scientific Committee Lung/Thoracic Track, ASTRO Lung Resource Panel Committee, ASTRO Blue Ribbon Lung Panel, NRG Oncology Particle Therapy Work Group, PCG Lung Committee, American Radium Society Appropriate Use Criteria Thoracic Committee, Particle Therapy Co-Operative Group Thoracic Subcommittee, American College of Radiation Oncology Scientific Program Committee, NCI/Radiosurgery Society SFRT and Flash Working Group, Varian FlashForward Consortium Scientific Committee, and Varian Proton Connect Users Group. He is Annals of Palliative Medicine Editor-in-Chief.

George Laramore, PhD, MD

Dr. Laramore received a PhD in Theoretical Physics from the University of Illinois and an MD from the University of Miami. He is Board certified in Therapeutic Radiology and Radiation Oncology and also served as the Chair of Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Washington from 1999-2013. Dr. Laramore is the founding Medical Director of the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance Proton Facility. His primary research interest is in biological properties of high linear energy transfer (LET) radiation.

Dr. Minesh Mehta

Dr. Mehta is a world-renowned expert in radiation oncology, proton therapy and cancer research.  He was named Deputy Director and Chief of Radiation Oncology of Miami Cancer Institute at Baptist Health South Florida in November of 2015 to oversee South Florida’s first and only Proton Therapy Center as well as other responsibilities.

He comes to Baptist Health from the University of Maryland’s Proton Treatment Center, where he launched the mid-Atlantic’s first dedicated pencil-beam proton treatment center and served as its Medical Director. In addition, he was associate director of clinical research at the University of Maryland School of Medicine’s Department of Radiation Oncology.

Previously, he was the chairman of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health’s Department of Human Oncology, where he led numerous research studies, innovative technology innovation and implementation (Tomotherapy), and substantial practice expansion of the University of Wisconsin Cancer Center Clinical operations.  He was also program leader for the University of Wisconsin’s Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Imaging and Radiation Sciences Program for under 15 years, led a program project grant in radiation oncology, and has been the chair of the RTOG/NRG oncology’s brain tumor committee for over 15 years.

Dr. Mehta has designed and led several national and international clinical studies, receiving NIH and NCI grants and been awarded many honors.  He has held national leadership positions in numerous organizations including the American Board of Radiology, the FDA Radiological Devices Panel, the American Society for Radiation Oncology, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the Society of Neuro-Oncology, etc.

A well-respected clinician and researcher, Dr. Mehta has over a thousand publications, including medical journal manuscripts, book chapters, and professional abstracts, and serves on the editorial board of several peer-reviewed journals.

Dr. Mehta graduated from the University of Zambia School of Medicine and completed his residency at the University of Wisconsin, where he was chief resident in radiation oncology.

Robert Miller, MD

The primary research activities of Robert C. Miller, M.D., are focused on testing existing medications to determine if they can be used to reduce the negative symptoms associated with radiotherapy. This is being done through a series of national, multi-institutional phase III randomized controlled trials performed through the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology. Additionally, Dr. Miller is leading the design of clinical trials for the Mayo Clinic Proton Beam Therapy Program.

Jillian Plochocki-Smallwood, MS

Jillian received her BS in Biology and her MS in Health Services Administration from the University of Saint Francis. Jillian brings 13 years of experience working in the non-profit sector, with a focus in oncology.  She has worked for both the American Cancer Society and most recently with Northwestern Medicine’s psychosocial oncology program as the program director.

Andrew Chang, MD

Dr. Chang is a radiation oncology specialist with expertise in treating patients with breast cancer and pediatric cancer patients with proton beam therapy. He is also extensively involved in research and is the Principal Investigator in an ongoing multi-institutional trial utilizing proton therapy for partial breast irradiation. Before coming onboard at California Protons, he served as the director of the pediatric programs at the Hampton University Proton Therapy Institute, the Midwest Proton Radiotherapy Institute, as well as the ProCure proton therapy center. He completed a pediatric internship and residency in radiation oncology at Loma Linda University Medical Center and subsequently did a fellowship in pediatric oncology at St. Jude Children’s Hospital.