Our Team
Amy A. Smith, M.D., is a board certified physician in pediatrics and pediatric hematology/oncology/bone marrow transplantation with special education and experience in neuro-oncology. She is Director of Neuro-Oncology at Shands Children’s Hospital and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Florida. She will direct and oversee your child's medical care and management. She will be very involved regarding the diagnosis and treatment of your child. Once your child starts his/her treatment with chemotherapy and/or radiation, other providers will be involved as well.
Nurse Practitioner
Hillary Bess, MSN, ARNP is a nurse practitioner nationally certified in pediatrics. Her advanced nursing degree allows her to perform physical exams, order and monitor diagnostic and laboratory tests, order and monitor medications and manage illnesses in collaboration with your child's physician. Patient education and supportive counseling related to your child's tumor, treatment and care are an important aspect of her role.
David W. Pincus M.D, Ph.D. is the L.D. Hupp Term Professor of Pediatric Neurosurgery at the University of Florida/Shands Children’s Hospital. He performed his neurosurgical residency at the Neurological Institute of New York at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center. After fellowship training and a faculty position at the Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., he joined the Department of Neurological Surgery at the University of Florida where he has been Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery since July, 2000. He has a special interest in the surgical treatment of brain and spinal cord tumors in children and is carrying out laboratory analysis on stem cells derived from pediatric tumors.
Nurse Practitioner
Leigh Ann Perkins, MSN, ARNP is a nurse practitioner nationally certified in pediatrics. Her advanced nursing degree allows her to perform physical exams, order and monitor diagnostic and laboratory tests, order and monitor medications and manage illnesses in collaboration with your child's physician. Patient education and supportive counseling related to your child's tumor, treatment and care are an important aspect of her role.
Social Worker
Michelle Richey, LCSW is a clinical social worker with more than 10 years’ experience in pediatrics and oncology. She provides crisis and supportive counseling to patients and their families while meeting their psychosocial needs by providing assistance with resources and referrals, case management and discharge planning issues.
