Our Team

Dianne Shumay, PhD

Director of Psycho-Oncology
Attending Clinical Psychologist

Dr. Dianne Shumay is a clinical health psychologist, Health Sciences Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, and Director of the Psycho-Oncology Psychology Service at UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. In her 10 years at UCSF, Dr. Shumay has been committed to bringing all that psychology has to offer to improve the lives of cancer patients and their families. Dr. Shumay trained at Stanford University, University of Hawaii at Manoa, University of Florida, Oxford University in the U.K. and VA Palo Alto. Her specialized skills emphasize evidence-based approaches to assist oncology populations with symptom management, decision making strategies, emotional wellbeing, navigating treatment and survivorship, palliative care and much more. At UCSF, she has been very active in engaging Cancer Center leadership to enhance and provide supportive care to all patients and families. Her research focuses on longitudinal studies of distress and emotional functioning in breast cancer and other cancer patients. She is currently studying an Acceptance and Commitment therapy (ACT) behavioral mindfulness intervention to reduce the impact of anxiety and fear in the lives of cancer survivors.

 

Lawrence E. Kaplan, D.O.

Clinical Psychiatrist

Lawrence E. Kaplan, D.O. an Assistant Health Sciences Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at UCSF, and attending psychiatrist in the Psycho-Oncology Department at Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. He earned his medical degree at Touro University College of Osteopathic Medicine and completed his residency training at Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences of Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, followed by Fellowships in Psychosomatic Medicine and Psycho-Oncology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Dana Farber Cancer Institute at Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. He is a Board Certified psychiatrist and Board Eligible in Psychosomatic Medicine.

As a psychiatrist who specializes in working with patients diagnosed with cancer, Dr. Kaplan is involved in the longitudinal course; from diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship, with specific emphasis on cancer related neuropsychiatric and cognitive symptom management, pharmacology, therapeutic modalities and coping with spiritual/existential related issues. Areas of research include investigations into relationships between REM Sleep Behavior disorder, PTSD and Parkinson’s disease.

 

Patty Moran, PhD

‎Attending Clinical Psychologist

Patty Moran, PhD is a Clinical Psychologist at the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer, and a Research Specialist at the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at UCSF. She received her PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Iowa in 2000, with a focus on health psychology. She completed an American Psychological Association-approved clinical internship with a Behavioral Medicine Specialization at the Palo Alto VA Hospital, and a post-doctoral fellowship in Psychology and Medicine at UCSF.

In Psycho-Oncology, Dr. Moran uses cognitive-behavioral, emotion-focused, and mindfulness-based approaches to help cancer patients and their family members cope with a wide array of concerns and symptoms related to cancer diagnosis, treatment and survivorship.

At the UCSF Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, Dr. Moran has been the Project Director for several NIH-funded studies, including two Center of Excellence in Research grants on mindfulness-based interventions for HIV and obesity, as well as a study examining care preferences and coping at the end-of-life in patients and caregivers with cancer and HIV.

Jamie Alexis Cohen, PsyD

Attending Clinical Psychologist

Dr. Cohen earned her Psy.D. from the PGSP-Stanford Psy.D. Consortium in Palo Alto, CA. She completed her pre-doctoral internship at the Northport VA Medical Center in New York, followed by a post-doctoral fellowship with an emphasis in primary care psychology at the San Francisco VA Medical Center. Her clinical interests include motivational processes involved in adaptive health behavior change, facilitating integrative and interdisciplinary approaches to comprehensive healthcare, as well as assisting patients and their families cope with the challenges associated with cancer diagnosis, care, and survivorship. As a member of the psycho-oncology team, some of the services she is honored to assist patients with include goal-setting and problem navigation in the context of cancer treatment, as well cognitive, behavioral, and mindfulness-based interventions for managing pain, insomnia, fatigue, stress, and more.

 

Neha Goyal, PhD

Clinical Psychologist

Dr. Neha Goyal is a Clinical Psychologist at the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer. Dr. Goyal is passionate about working with patients and families to support their mental health as they cope with a cancer diagnosis. Dr. Goyal received her PhD in clinical psychology from The Ohio State University. She completed a clinical internship with a Behavioral Medicine Specialization at the Palo Alto VA. She then went on to complete a clinical post-doctoral fellowship in Hospice and Palliative Care at the Palo Alto VA and a research post-doctoral fellowship in Cancer Survivorship at the Wake Forest School of Medicine. In Psycho-Oncology, Dr. Goyal uses cognitive-behavioral and mindfulness-based approaches to help patients and their family members cope with the emotional and physical challenges of a cancer diagnosis, from active treatment to survivorship and end-of-life. Dr. Goyal’s research interests include the development and implementation of psychological interventions to improve quality of life in patients with cancer.