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Seza Gulec, MD, FACS

Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer


Dr. Seza Gulec has 30 years of experience in medicine. His career is dedicated to helping cancer patients and research in oncology. He is the founding Chief of Surgical Oncology and Endocrinology and Director of Surgical Research at Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine. Dr. Gulec received his medical degree at Ankara University College of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey. He is trained in surgery at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans, LA, in nuclear medicine and nuclear oncology at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, NY, and in surgical oncology at the John Wayne Cancer Institute in Santa Monica, CA. Dr. Gulec's areas of clinical expertise include treatment of thyroid and parathyroid diseases, carcinoid and neuroendocrine tumors, melanoma, breast cancer, primary and metastatic liver cancers, and pancreatic cancer. Dr. Gulec is an established researcher in surgical and nuclear oncology fields. The main focus of his research is molecular imaging and targeted radionuclide therapy in solid tumors. His laboratory is actively involved in the development of novel positron Emission tomography (PET) imaging agents, and radioimmuno, radiopeptide and radiomicrosphere therapy strategies. Dr. Gulec has authored landmark publications in lymphatic mapping, sentinel node biopsy, radioguided surgery, radionuclide therapy, and molecular imaging. Dr. Gulec is a Fellow of American College of Surgeons and member of Society of Surgical Oncology and Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging

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J. Patrick O'Leary, MD, FACS

Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer


Dr. J.Patrick O'Leary assumes the leadership role in the integration of research and clinical visions of the institute and the development of a translational research platform for academic and community physicians to collaborate. Dr. O'Leary is the Executive Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs Assistant VP for Strategic Planning, Office of Clinical Affairs at the FIU Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine. He is a former associate dean of Clinical Affairs and former interim dean of LSU Health Sciences Center. He remains Emeritus Professor and Emeritus Chairman of the Department of Surgery. From 1984-1989 he was Seeger Professor of Surgery at Baylor University Medical Center, in Dallas, Texas. He is active in a number of regional and national professional organizations. He has held several leadership positions with the National Board of Medical Examiners, has served as the president of the Southeastern Surgical Congress, the Association of Program Directors of Surgery and as the first vice president of the Southern Surgical Association. Most recently he has been Chairman of the Board of Governors and the first vice president of the American College of Surgeons. Dr. O'Leary has written more than 200 peer-reviewed scientific publications and is the author of four editions of the Physiologic Basis of Surgery Textbook . He is an authority in the field of surgical gastroenterology.


Anthony McGoron, PhD

Secretary, Chief Operating Officer


Anthony McGoron received his PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, LA and postdoctoral training in the Department of Pharmacology and Cell Biophysics at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. Following his postdoctoral fellowship, he held an appointment as Assistant Research Professor in the Department of Radiology, Divisions of Nuclear Medicine and Medical Physics at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. The main focus of his research was to develop new drugs for nuclear medicine imaging and to understand the mechanisms of the drug’s transport. Dr McGoron is currently a Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Florida International University College of Engineering. The primary focus of his current research is drug delivery and molecular imaging (nuclear and optical), primarily for cancer, and specifically the development of multimodal drugs that simultaneously image and provide therapy.​

Marisabel Davalos, MSEd

Treasurer, Chief Financial Officer