Dr. Bruce Stechmiller established Gainesville Hematology Oncology Associates in 1979. Our mission is provide our patients with the most comprehensive and compassionate medical care, promote patient and family education, offer modern treatments for cancer and blood related disorders, including research studies, and support our community-wide cancer resources.

The practice offers the following services:

• chemotherapy and hydration infusions, phlebotomies and administration of research medications
• case management for collaboration of all aspects of the patient’s care including nursing, financial assistance
• coordination of ancillary services.
• patient education and resource center.
• radiology Services within minutes of the office, including PET, CT Scan, Cyberknife, radiation therapy and cancer-related robotic surgery
• on-site dispensary to fill patient prescritions

Research has been a vital part of the practice for the past ten years. Our research department has been among the top recruiters in the nation for several clinical trials. The staff has experience in all four phases of research. We have worked with following sponsors:

• AstraZeneca
• Genentech
• GlaxoSmithKline
• Amgen
• Orthobiotech
• Roche
• Johnson and Johnson
• Novartis
• Pfizer
• Point Therapeutics
• Bristol-Myers Squibb
• GTx
• ImClone

• PPD
• PRA
• MDS Pharma
• Kendle
• Battelle
• Pharmnet
• Pharmatech
• Battelle
• Pharmnet – delete this one(duplicate)
• International Oncology Network
• Sarah Cannon Research Institute

The office provides chemotherapy, utilizing state-of-the-art equipment, the ability to process most types of blood work and a financial department on site to assist patients with financial aid and billing questions. Take a virtual tour on our Gainesville Hematology/Oncology Associates website. We are currently expanding our services and facilities to accommodate our growing number of patients. We are conveniently located within minutes of the Gainesville Regional Airport, several interstate highways, and a major medical center.

Dr. Lucio Gordan, Director of the Research Department, was born in Curitiba, Brazil. He received his medical degree from the State University of Londrina College of Medicine located in Londrina, PR-Brazil and later trained at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics from 1994-1997. He received his Internal Medicine Board Certification in 1997 and was a member of an Internal Medicine Group for three years. Dr Gordan went on to complete a three year Oncology-Hematology Fellowship at the University of Florida in 2003. He is also Board Certified in Hematology and Oncology since 2003. He is an active member of the cancer team at the North Florida Medical Center and Shands at Alachua General Hospital.

Credentials include:

• Principal Investigator for numerous clinical trials.
• Advisor for the American Board of Internal Medicine
• Consultant for several major pharmaceutical companies
• Hematology/Oncology Expert Opinion Consultant for our local newspaper.

Dr. Andres Bhatia was born in Santurce, Puerta Rico. He received his medical degree from UCCEM, Puerto Rico. He completed his internal medicine residency at Cleveland Clinic Foundation in 1990. He completed his Hematology Oncology Fellowship at Cleveland Clinic Foundation in 1993. He has been certified in Internal Medicine since 1990, Medical Oncology since 1993 and Hematology since 1993. He joined Gainesville Hematology/Oncology Associates in 1993. He is a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, American College of Physicians, American Medical Association and the Alachua County Medical Society. He is an active member of the cancer team at Shands at AGH and North Florida Regional Medical Center.

Dr. De La Puerta was born in Madrid, Spain. He received his medical degree from Universidad Complutense in Madrid. He completed his internal medicine residency at Polyclinic medical Center in Harrisburg. Pennsylvania in 1992. He was a fellow in hematology and oncology at the University of Florida and then was an internist and oncologist for the Veteran’s Administration Hospitals in the Gainesville area. He joined Gainesville Hematology Oncology Associates in 2001. He won the American Society of Clinical Oncology Travel Award for his research in apoptosis. He is Board Certified in Oncology and Hematology. He is a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the American Society of Hematology and Alachua Medical Society. He is an active member of the cancer team at Shands at AGH and North Florida Regional Medical Center.

Dr. Acs received his medical degree from Debrecen University, Hungary in 1993. Between 1994 and 2000 he did cancer research at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland. His main area of interest was cellular carcinogenesis and tumor promotion. He published several papers in prominent scientific journals and obtained a Ph.D. degree based on his work at the NCI. He did his internship and medical residency at Huron Hospital, Cleveland Clinic Health System, in Cleveland, Ohio from 2000 through 2003, then completed a fellowship in Hematology and Medical Oncology at the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, D.C. He joined Gainesville Hematology Oncology Associates in July, 2006. Dr. Acs has been a diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine since 2003. He has been board-certified with the American Board of Hematology and Oncology since 2006. He is a member of the American Society of Hematology and the American Society of Clinical Oncology. He has published more than 30 scientific articles and 4 book chapters, last one in Colman’s Textbook: Hemostasis and Thrombosis (2005), the most prestigious textbook in the field of benign hematology. Dr. Acs practices medical oncology, benign and malignant hematology with special interests in malignant lymphoproliferative diseases (CLL, lymphomas, myeloma), recurrent miscarriages and gastrointestinal malignancies. He is on active staff at North Florida Regional Medical Center and Shands Alachua General Hospital. Dr. Acs also speaks Hungarian fluently.

Dr. Dickerson grew up in California. She received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of California at Berkeley in civil engineering. She was president of the Berkeley chapter of Chi Epsilon, the national civil engineering honor society. She received her medical degree from Wake Forest University. She completed both her internal medicine internship and residency at the University of Florida, where she received the Internal Medicine Excellence in Ambulatory Care Award. She went on to complete her three year hematology and oncology fellowship at the University of Florida. Her research interests during her fellowship included osteonecrosis of the jaw in cancer patients treated with zoledronic acid and/or pamidronate as well as venous thromboembolism prophylaxis in neurosurgical patients. She received a Fellows Grant Program Award from the American Society of Hematology in 2004. She joined Gainesville Hematology Oncology Associates in 2007. She is a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the American Society of Hematology. She is an oncology and hematology consultant for the local newspaper, the Gainesville Sun. She is an active staff member at both North Florida Regional Medical Center and Shands at Alachua General Hospital.

Tracey Curtis, M.S.N., A.R.N.P, is an American Nurses Credentialing Center Certified Family Nurse Practitioner. She joined the practice in January, 2003. She was previously employed in the Burn Center of Shands Teaching Hospital at the University of Florida. She received her Master of Science and Bachelor of Science in Nursing at the University of Florida.

Jennifer S. Bhatia, M.S.N., A.R.N.P., O.C.N., is an American Nurses Credentialing Center Certified Adult Nurse Practitioner. She joined the practice in 1996, initially as a Chemotherapy Nurse. After obtaining her Master of Science in Nursing in 1999 from the University of Florida, she began practicing as an Adult Oncology Nurse Practitioner. She has been an Oncology Certified Nurse since 1996 by the Board of the Oncology Nursing Certification Corporation.

Elaine Zapata, M.S.N., A.R.N.P., is an American Nurses Credentialing Center Certified Family Nurse Practitioner. She received her Master of Science and Bachelor of Science in Nursing at the University of Florida. She joined the practice in August of 2005. She was a member of the Bone Marrow transplant Unit at Shands at the University of Florida. She is a member of the American Academy of Nurse Practictioners, American Nurses Association, Florida Nurses Association and the Oncology Nursing Society.

Olivia M. Shaw is a certified physician assistant by the national commission on certification of physician assistants (NCCPA). She also has a master’s degree from the University of Florida in physician assistant studies. She joined the practice in 2007. She has been in Gainesville since 1999, first completing her bachelor’s degree in business administration with a minor in chemistry and then continuing on to graduate school.

The research staff consists of three registered nurses:

Raquel Beauchamp, R.N.,O.C.N., C.R.C, the Research Department Manager, has twelve years of hematology/oncology experience and has been in the research department for the past four years.

Nicole Kosch, R.N., B.S.N., C.R.C has eight years of experience in all four phases of research in many different fields of research.

Frances Brandt, R.N., B.S.N., C.R.C has over twenty years in the nursing profession and has been in the hematology/oncology field for the past six years.

The Research Department has been among the top recruiters in the nation for several major clinical trials. The nursing staff has a solid background in chemotherapy, oncology, hematology and all four phases of research.

Gainesville is a progressive medical community. Research is a high priority for physicians and patients. The majority of our patients at Gainesville Hematology/Oncology Associates seek treatment for lung, colon, breast, prostate, head and neck cancers as well as hematology disorders.

Our site utilizes a central IRB. We provide a wide scope of clinical trials for a variety of cancers as well as hematologic disorders for phase II and III of the studies.

CenterWatch is listing the following trials that are actively recruiting patients at this center.

• A Phase II Study of Abraxane and Nexavar in the First-line Treatment of Locally Advanced or Metastatic Breast Cancer
• A Phase III Study of Chemotherapy and Bevacizumab With and Without Panitumimab in the First Line Treatment of Subjects With Metastatic Colorectal Cancer
• A Randomized Phase II Study Of The Efficacy And Safety of Sunitinib Malate Schedule Four Weeks On And Two Weeks Off Versus Sunitinib Malate Continuous Dosing As First-Line Therapy For Metastatic Renal Cell Cancer (RENAL EFFECT TRIAL)
• A Randomized Phase III Trial of Cetuximab, Bevacizumab and Biweekly Infusional 5-FU/Leucovorin (FOLF-CB) versus Oxaliplatin, Bevacizumab, and Biweekly Infusional 5-FU/Leucovorin (Bev-FOLFOX) in First-line Treatment of Metastatic Colorectal Cancer
• A Randomized, Phase 2B Study of Sunitinib Plus Oxaliplatin, 5-FU, and Leucovorin (FOLFOX)versus Bevacizumab Plus FOLFOX as First-line Treatment in Patients with Metastatic Colorectal Cancer
• Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Dose-Finding Study of the Effect of GTx-024 on Muscle Wasting(Cachexia) in Patients with Cancer
• Phase II Randomized, Open-Label Study of IMC-1121B With Or Without Dacarbazine In Patients With Metastatic Malignant Melanoma
• Phase II trial of bevacizumab and rad001(Everolimus) in the treatment of patients with advanced clear cell renal carcinoma

For more information, please contact:

Raquel Beauchamp, R.N., C.R.C., O.C.N.
Research Department
Gainesville Hematology/ Oncology Associates
1147 N.W. 64th Terrace
Gainesville, FL 32605 USA
Phone: 352-264-2540
Fax: 352-331-3802
E-mail:

If you are interested in contacting this center to discuss placing a clinical trial there, please complete and send the E-mail form below. A representative from the research center will then follow up with you.

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Last updated on June 20, 2008