Technology pushed in fighting cancer.

When he was just a kid, Dr. Afshin Safa watched his grandmother undergo treatments for cancer over many years.

Back then, the field had not progressed much, and the impression it left on the young Afshin stayed with him.

Today, as clinical director of research and co-medical director, Safa has been instrumental in bringing some of the most advanced technology to the Leavey Cancer Center at Northridge Hospital Medical Center.

The Cancer Center is the only San Fernando Valley facility to offer Intensity Modulated Radiation Treatments, the most advanced form of radiation therapy, and the only Valley facility to offer Gama Knife radiation surgery, an advanced form of treating brain tumors without an incision.

"(Safa) and (Dr.) Dave Huang have basically pioneered that program and developed it from ground up," said Dr. Michael L. Steinberg, medical director of the Cancer Center and himself a leader in the field of radiation oncology.

Bringing such technology to a medical facility requires not only acquiring funding for the equipment, but also involving a collaborative team of physicians across a number of disciplines, a difficult task that fell largely to Safa.

"He's a soft spoken but authoritative, charming person who uses those skills to gain trust, which allows him to develop superior, technically complicated programs that require the cooperation of multiple physicians and ancillary staff," said Steinberg.

Safa received his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering at UCLA, but he soon realized that the field did not provide much opportunity to work with patients.

"I wanted the most technical aspect of medicine, and that was radiation," said Safa. "So many technologies have evolved over the past 10 years, and that made me excited."

Safa attended the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and became chief resident in the department of radiation oncology at UCLA.

An Assistant Clinical Professor at UCLA, where he teaches surgical radiation oncology, Safa is also chairman of the Los Angeles Radiological Society continuing education committee and he serves on the health economics committee for the American Society of Therapeutic Radiation Oncology.

His peers selected him to be included in "Best Doctors in America."

But it is his patients that Safa considers among his greatest accomplishments.

"Bringing new technologies which will help and has helped my patients--that's my most challenging accomplishment," he said.

The Honoree: Rising Star

Dr. Afshin Safa

Clinical Director of Reserach/Co-Medical Director

Leavey Cancer Center Northridge Hospital Medical Center

The Finalists

Derek Berz

Providence Holy Cross Medical Center 

Derek Berz is responsible for imaging, laboratory and respiratory services at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center, ensuring quality of care for patients and fast results for physicians. He has helped improve physician and patient satisfaction scores at Providence Holy Cross by allowing more prompt and complete care for Medicare patients so that they can spend less time in the hospital, improving financial performance at the hospital and establishing an online system to track patient care.

The Finalists

Dr. Jonathan Davidorf

Davidorf Eye Group

Jonathan Davidorf is on the cutting-edge of laser vision correction and lens implant surgery. He has published the definitive scientific papers on implantable contact lenses and bioptics vision correction surgery. Davidorf is also the co-author of Lasik: Principles and Techniques, the first medical textbook on Lasik. He has educated surgeons around the world on the most advanced ophthalmologic procedures. He is a clinical instructor at UCLA School of Medicine's Jules Stein Institute and a co-director of Friends of Vision Foundation.