A new chapter of clinical trial excellence at Tennessee Oncology

Ian W. Flinn, M.D., Ph.D., is the Chief Scientific Officer of the Greco-Hainsworth Tennessee Oncology Centers for Research. He also serves as the Chief Scientific Officer of OneOncology, both in Nashville TN.

In addition to his leadership positions, Dr Flinn is a hematologist/medical oncologist specializing in the care of patients with lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia and is an active clinical investigator in these diseases His research has been published more than 250 times in scientific publications, including The New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Blood, and Lancet.

Previous positions included founding program director of the Sarah Cannon Blood and Marrow Transplant Program, Director of the Sarah Cannon Center for Blood Cancers, Program Director of the Blood Cancer Research Program, and the Lymphoma Research Program at the Sarah Cannon Research Institute. Prior to joining Sarah Cannon, Dr. Flinn led the lymphoma program at Johns Hopkins and held numerous leadership positions in clinical research at Johns Hopkins.

Dr. Flinn earned his medical degree and Ph.D. in clinical investigation from The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He then completed his internal medicine residency at the University of Michigan Medical Center, followed by a hematology and oncology fellowships at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Katy Beckermann, MD, PhD is a GU medical oncologist dedicated to advancing cures and treatment options for patients with kidney, bladder, prostate, penile, and testicular cancers through clinical trial research. She earned her MD and a PhD in biochemistry at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where she also completed her residency in internal medicine and fellowship in medical oncology, including serving as chief fellow.

Dr. Beckermann joined the faculty at Vanderbilt with a focus on clinical and translational research in GU cancers, acting as the principal investigator for both industry-led and investigator-initiated clinical trials.

In 2025, Dr. Beckermann will join Tennessee Oncology as the Medical Director for GU Research, where she will continue her commitment to providing exceptional patient care and driving innovation in cancer treatment through clinical research.

Jesús G. Berdeja received his undergraduate degree from Stanford University and medical degree from Harvard University. He completed his internship and residency in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of California in San Francisco and fellowships in medical oncology and hematology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. An active researcher, Dr. Berdeja has been the principal investigator of many funded clinical trials in the field of multiple myeloma and cellular therapy. He has published extensively in the peer-reviewed literature and is a frequent invited lecturer.

Dr. Byrne earned his medical degree from the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, completed Internal Medicine Residency at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, fellowship at the University of Florida, and advanced fellowship in Blood and Marrow Transplantation at the University of California San Francisco.  He began his career at Vanderbilt University Medical Center where he was a member of the transplant and cellular therapy program.  During this time, he led the donor program and was the medical director of the quality and data programs. 

Dr. Byrne joined Tennessee Oncology in August 2021 and leads the practice’s malignant hematology tumor board and led the efforts to launch Tennessee Oncology’s outpatient commercial cellular therapy program.  In addition, he is the principal investigator of several lymphoma trials.

Dr. Iams earned his medical degree from the University of Michigan, completed Internal Medicine Residency and a Chief Residency at Vanderbilt University, and completed his fellowship in medical oncology at Northwestern University. Prior to joining Tennessee Oncology, he was on faculty at Vanderbilt University Medical Center for six years, including three years as the Director of Thoracic Clinical Trials.

Dr. Nunnery earned her medical degree from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center and completed her Internal Medicine Residency at the University of California, San Francisco. She completed her fellowship in hematology/oncology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and also completed her Master of Science in Clinical Investigation from Vanderbilt University. She was previously a breast oncologist at the Vanderbilt Breast Center and on faculty as an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Her goal at Tennessee Oncology is to bring the latest clinical trials with cutting-edge therapies to patients with breast cancer across the communities of middle and east Tennessee.

Dr. Russell earned his MD from the University of Texas at San Antonio, his PhD in Biomedical Sciences from Univ of Texas/MD Anderson, and his MBA from Temple University. He completed internal medicine training at UCSF and his fellowship in medical oncology at Stanford University. Dr. Russell was an assistant professor at Moffitt Cancer Center (Tampa, FL) specializing in head and neck cancers and then served as a Senior Medical Director of Early Clinical Development for Oncology at Janssen Pharmaceuticals. He then moved to the Huntsman Cancer Institute (Salt Lake City, UT) as an associate professor working with head and neck and cutaneous oncology patients. Throughout his academic career, he has been heavily involved in running and managing early and late phase clinical trials and his time in the pharmaceutical industry has given him a unique perspective on clinical trial development.