Our Mission
To serve as a forum for clinical care providers and researchers focused on the diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric disorders and neuropsychiatric complications experienced by people with cancer.
- To increase collaboration between members through use of Groupsite and SIG meetings throughout the year
- To increase membership attendance at the annual meeting
- To develop collaborations with other physician/APP organizations that reach providers caring for patients with cancer
Meet Our Chairs
Kaleena Chilcote, MD
Dr. Kaleena Chilcote discovered her passion for psycho-oncology as a
psychiatry resident at the University of North Carolina. She completed
a clinical fellowship in Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry and
Psycho-Oncology at the Brigham and Women's Hospital/Dana-Farber Cancer Institute before serving as the Director of Psychosocial Oncology at
the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center and later the WVU Cancer Institute. She
is currently the Director of Psycho-Oncology at the Cleveland Clinic
Taussig Cancer Institute where she sees patients with all cancer
types. Board certified in Obesity Medicine, she has become
particularly interested in the interplay between mental health, eating
disorders, and weight management in cancer survivorship. She is
passionate about medical education across disciplines and loves the
opportunities that come from APOS and this SIG!
Deepti Chopra, MD, MPH
Dr. Deepti Chopra is drawn to the existential and the neuropsychiatric aspects of psycho-oncology. She is faculty at MD Anderson Cancer and serves as the Patient Safety and Quality Officer for the department of Psychiatry. In this capacity, she actively participates in various patient safety related policy discussions and other initiatives related to behavioral concerns at MD Anderson Cancer Center. She is equally committed to advancing proactive psychiatry consultations and other quality improvement initiatives. Among her distinctive clinical interests is her work in body image in cancer care where she collaborates with various surgical oncology services and mentors’ multidisciplinary trainees including breast surgical oncology fellows not just about body image, but also psycho-oncology. She is excited about the opportunity to co-chair the psycho-oncology SIG and looks forward to collaborating with others. In addition to the current experience at MD Anderson Cancer Center, she brings in prior work experience as a consultation liaison psychiatrist (Hartford Hospital) and has trained in consultation liaison psychiatry from Yale University plus general psychiatry training from University at Buffalo. She is originally from Mumbai, India, where she also completed her medical school from Grant Medical College.
We Welcome New SIG Members
One of the APOS member benefits is to join the conversation on Groupsite with any of the 10 Special Interest Groups (SIGs). This is a very engaging conversation platform and the Executive Office is happy to help you navigate this platform and help you set up your profile to begin networking.
