Dr. Daniel
Tucson, AZ
North Campus
3838 N. Campbell Ave.
Tucson, AZ 85719
(520) 626-6339
Michigan State University - 2000
Michael Debakey Dept. of Surgery at Baylor College of Medicine; Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School
MD Anderson Cancer Center
Dr. Jonathan Daniel is a thoracic surgeon at the University of Arizona Cancer Center and an assistant professor in the university’s Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery. He specializes in cancerous and non-cancerous diseases of the lungs and esophagus. Dr. Daniel is credited with performing the first-ever extrapleural pneumonectomy in southern Arizona – an intricate type of surgery aimed at treating mesothelioma.
Educational Background
After attending medical school at Michigan State University, Dr. Daniel completed a residency in general surgery in the Michael Debakey Department of Surgery at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. Upon completing that residency, he undertook another, this time in cardiothoracic surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School under the guidance of mesothelioma expert Dr. David Sugarbaker. Additionally, Dr. Daniel completed a molecular research fellowship at Houston’s MD Anderson Cancer Center in the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. He is board certified by the American Board of Surgery.
Clinical and Laboratory Research
Dr. Daniel works to treat thoracic malignancies, including tumors of the lung, esophagus, thymus and chest wall. In June 2010 – just five months after arriving at the University of Arizona Cancer Center from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston – Dr. Daniel performed the first successful extrapleural pneumonectomy on a mesothelioma patient in southern Arizona. Since then, Dr. Daniel has performed several similar successful surgeries.
In the extrapleural pneumonetomy procedure, Dr. Daniel removed the patient’s malignant tumor, the lung, the covering of the heart (known as the pericardium) and the diaphragm. The doctor then replaced the pericardium with a synthetic material called Gore-Tex, a material commonly used in ski gloves. The patient – a 65-year-old retired Marine – received a dose of radiation during the surgery to prevent the cancer from returning and also received chemotherapy.
The surgery’s success is good news for mesothelioma patients in the Southwestern states. With this surgical option now available close to home, mesothelioma patients in Arizona no longer have to travel to far-away cities to locate surgeons capable of performing these highly specialized procedures. Working alongside mesothelioma oncologist Linda Garland and Alexander Chi, Dr. Daniel said he hopes to create a center for mesothelioma treatment at the University of Arizona Cancer Center.
Additional Work
Dr. Daniel is a member of the American Association for Cancer Research, American College of Surgeons and American College of Chest Physicians.
Relevant Publications
Receptor tyrosine kinase and phosphoinositide-3 kinase signaling in malignant mesothelioma. Rascoe PA, Cao X, Daniel JC, Miller SD, Smythe WR. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2005 Aug; 130(2):393-400.
Adenoviral transfer of mda-7 leads to BAX up-regulation and apoptosis in mesothelioma cells, and is abrogated by over-expression of BCL-XL. Cao XX, Mohuiddin I, Chada S, Mhashilkar AM, Ozvaran MK, McConkey DJ, Miller SD, Daniel JC, Smythe WR. Mol Med. 2002 Dec;8(12): 869-76.
Sources
Jonathan Daniel, MD
http://surgery.arizona.edu/faculty-profile/jonathan-daniel-md
“Surgeon Extending Lives in Battle Against Mesothelioma”
http://www.azcc.arizona.edu/node/2634
“Thoracic Surgeons Jonathan Daniel, MD Joins UA Department of Surgery”
http://surgery.arizona.edu/news/2009/thoracic-surgeon-jonathan-daniel-md-joins-ua-department-surgery
