Get to Know Some of Moffitt Cancer Center’s Team Members

In honor of Labor Day, when our nation honors the contributions of its workers, we’re shining a spotlight on a few of our team members from across Moffitt Cancer Center.

Name: Isis Lamphier

Title: Manager of Infection Prevention

How long have you been with Moffitt: 2 Years

Why did you choose to work at Moffitt: I chose to work at Moffitt because I wanted to help prevent infections in our cancer patients. I value that our environment is patient and family centered and everyone comes to work with the mindset of putting patients first!

What is your favorite memory as a Moffitt team member: My favorite memories at Moffitt involve celebrating holidays with the Infection Prevention team! During the holiday season, we love decorating the office and eating holiday-inspired treats!

What is a random fact about yourself that you'd like to share: Dogs are my favorite animals and I have a golden retriever named Bluey!

Name: Dr. Vernon Sondak

Title: Chair, Cutaneous Oncology Program

How long have you been with Moffitt: 19 years and 5 months, but who’s counting?

Why did you choose to work at Moffitt: I came here specifically for the totally focused team approach to melanoma treatment, research and education, where everyone would work together for one aim, recognizing that we had an opportunity to make Moffitt’s Cutaneous Program one of the very best (and biggest) in the world.

What is your favorite memory as a Moffitt team member: My favorite part of every year is the Kids Clinic, when our pediatric melanoma patients come in for the annual checkup before the start of the school year. They have all become part of our Cutaneous family, and we look forward to seeing how much they’ve grown since last year. 

What is a random fact about yourself that you'd like to share: In high school I worked in a zoo, at the Worcester (now New England) Science Center, often carrying Lenore — a 15-foot-long reticulated python — around my neck or giving talks to the visitors about how the polar bears coped with the heat of summer.

Name: Robin Neary

Title: Speech-Language Pathologist

How long have you been with Moffitt: 6 years

Why did you choose to work at Moffitt: I chose to work at Moffitt because of the special role the speech-language pathologists play with cancer patients, especially those who are undergoing treatment for head and neck cancer. We can work with these patients to help them enjoy activities that many of us take for granted, such as eating a Thanksgiving dinner with family, or talking with their grandchildren on the phone after their voice box has been removed. Moffitt is one of the few medical facilities with clinicians who are specially trained to work with this population, and I feel grateful for the opportunity to help these patients.

What is your favorite memory as a Moffitt team member: My favorite memory was watching a patient say, "I love you" to his wife for the first time since he had his laryngectomy surgery, which removed his voice box.

What is a random fact about yourself that you'd like to share: I Love Lucy is my favorite TV show of all time!

Name: Dr. Andre Beer Furlan

Title: Skull base and endovascular neurosurgeon, Neuro-Oncology Program

How long have you been with Moffitt: 2.5 years

Why did you choose to work at Moffitt: Amazing culture and team members.

What is your favorite memory as a Moffitt team member: Having a beautiful sunset view from the parking garage after finishing a long surgery.

What is a random fact about yourself that you'd like to share: I lived in Japan for one year.

Name: Madison Skipper

Title:Lead Social Media Coordinator

How long have you been with Moffitt: 10 months

Why did you choose to work at Moffitt: I chose to work at Moffitt because I was passionate about the mission! I love the opportunity to use my knowledge of social media and content creation to highlight all the amazing things Moffitt is doing and spread the word on prevention and cancer screenings.

What is your favorite memory as a Moffitt team member: One of my favorite memories as a Moffitt team member was Moffitt Day at the Florida Capitol! I had the opportunity to capture this incredible event and share it across our social media accounts. It was incredible to celebrate the cyclists who rode from Tampa all the way to Tallahassee as part of the Ride for the Cure event. During the day, I took photos of Moffitt leaders and advocates meeting with legislators, as well as sat in on a senate hearing and went on a tour of the Capitol. I enjoyed representing Moffitt at this event and sharing all the behind the scenes content on our social media accounts.

What is a random fact about yourself that you'd like to share: While in college, I studied abroad in Denmark!

Name: Daniel Gaylor

Title: Outpatient social worker, Blood and Marrow Transplant and Cellular Immunotherapy Program

How long have you been with Moffitt: 4.5 years

Why did you choose to work at Moffitt: My previous work experience was hospice and medical social work, which I knew was my passion. Hospice provided me an opportunity to work with patients and families for end of life care, which was extremely special and rewarding, but I was ready to transition to a type of work and to be with patients and families during their cancer journey and to be a part of their support system and a part of their fight. Moffitt’s name and reputation speaks for itself, and I consider myself lucky to live in it’s backyard so I knew Moffitt was where I wanted and needed to be. To be working with the best doctors, nurses and every other discipline within our institution to help patients. At the end of the day, that was the important part. I needed to be somewhere where I could contribute to helping patients in need.

What is your favorite memory as a Moffitt team member: Wow, this is a tough question! And I don’t know if I have one specific memory. What I will say is my favorite memory is a summation of my work. Sitting with patients and families and engaging with them. Supporting them through good times and bad, laughing with them, maybe even crying with them. These patients show up on our doorstep as strangers, and they invite us and me into their lives during one of the most difficult experiences they will ever face. There is immense trust and value in that, which is not lost on me. So my favorite “memory” is all of the patients I’ve had the pleasure of meeting.

What is a random fact about yourself that you'd like to share: I used to be a semiprofessional paintball player!

Check out more of our team members on our social platforms: Instagram | Facebook