About Us

Doan Y Dao, M.D., is a Founder and Member, Board of Directors of V-VHA. He is also an Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Fluent in English and Vietnamese, Dr. Dao’s personal passion and professional commitment is the study of and care for patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV).  He has worked in the HBV field including clinical research, basic science training, patient care, and outreach and advocacy programs for more than 12 years, beginning early in medical school when he took two years off to do HBV translational research. His devotion to HBV in partly stemmed from the large unmet needs in HBV endemic underserved areas of Africa and Asia. He was born and grew up in Vietnam.

Dr. Dao obtained his post-graduate clinical training in Internal Medicine/ Gastroenterology & Hepatology (2012-2019), as part of the Physician Scientist Training Program (PSTP), at UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas. PSTP is a formal mechanism to facilitate and support the development of physician-scientists in academic medicine.

Dr. Dao manages patients with general gastrointestinal diseases or chronic liver diseases. His research focuses on HBV cure. He also dedicates a large portion of his time and efforts to live and work in his native Vietnam towards viral hepatitis elimination.

In addition, Dr. Dao was a past co-Chair of the National Task Force on Hepatitis B: Focus on Asian and Pacific Islander Americans, USA from 2014 – 2018.

In 2010, as a medical student, he established and served as Director (2010-2012) and Advisor (2012-present) of the Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) Hepatitis B Free. Under Dr. Dao’s leadership and support, the DFW Hep B Free has been serving thousands of individuals in the metropolis area and is recognized statewide by Dr. David Lakey, Commissioner of the Texas State Department of Health in 2011 and nationally as a Hep B United Champion in 2015 by Hep B United, a national coalition to address the public health challenge of HBV. In 2016, the Hep B Free was honored by White House for hepatitis awareness efforts.

Supported by a National Institutes of Health (NIH) sponsored T-32 training grant for his basic research in HBV immunobiology, Dr. Dao was also awarded the 2014 Hepatitis Fund for the Cure Postdoctoral Research Fellowship by the American Liver Foundation. In 2016, Dr. Dao was awarded the Asian Heritage Award in Public Health by the Asian Heritage Society, CA, USA. Also in 2016, Dr. Dao was named Everyday Hero by the American Liver Foundation, USA for his effort “tackling hepatitis B from all directions, both in the U.S. and his home country of Vietnam”.

Robert R. Gish, M.D., FAASLD, is a co-founder and Secretary of V-VHA.  Dr. Gish began his medical training in 1974 when he was enrolled in the Pharmacy School at the University of Kansas. He transferred to the University of Kansas Medical School in 1977 and finished his MD degree in 1980.

Dr. Gish went on to complete a 3-year Internal Medicine residency at the University of California, San Diego and a 4-year Gastroenterology and Hepatology fellowship including transplant medicine at the University of California Los Angeles during which time he was awarded the NIH Physician Scientist Award to study calcium signaling in liver cells.

After completing his training, Dr. Gish moved to San Francisco and took a position at the California Pacific Medical Center (formerly known as Pacific Presbyterian Hospital). He became the Co-Medical Director of the Liver Transplant Program in 1988 and then the Medical Director of the Liver Transplant Program in 1994 until 2010. In that role, he developed an outreach program that eventually served over 35,000 patients in the Northern California and Nevada regions and made the CPMC a leading liver transplant center.

Dr. Gish had and continues to have an active research program in viral hepatitis, liver transplant, bioartificial livers, and public policy especially related to liver cancer, liver transplantation, and viral hepatitis. Although his primary research focus is clinical research, he frequently collaborates with basic scientists in his research activities. He has published more than 600 original articles, review articles, abstracts and book chapters.

Dr. Gish is also actively involved in numerous professional societies and is a long-term member of the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease, European Association for the Study of Liver Disease, Asian Pacific Association for the Study of the Liver, and the American Society of Transplantation.

He is a fellow of both the American College of Physicians and the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease. Dr. Gish has served on the editorial boards of American Journal of Gastroenterology, Journal of Hepatology, Digestive Diseases and Sciences, Gastroenterology, Hepatology, Liver Transplantation and Surgery, and Journal of Viral Hepatitis among many others. He has co-authored a public health policy for liver health in Vietnam and is also assisting with the development of healthcare policies in Armenia and the Philippines.

In December 2010, Dr. Gish moved to San Diego to join the faculty of UCSD as a Clinical Professor of Medicine, Section Chief of Hepatology, and Director of the Center of Excellence for Hepatobiliary Disease and Abdominal Transplantation (C.H.A.T.).

In September of 2013, Dr. Gish left UCSD to form a consulting company, Robert G. Gish Consultants LLC to provide consultative support to Hepatology Centers and Liver Transplant Programs who wish to start or grow their programs through pathways of quality and optimal patient care that is integrated with research and education.

At that time, Dr. Gish joined Dr. Manch at St Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center to start a liver transplant center and worked to establish a UNOS and Medicare certified program in 2016. Between April 2014 and June 2019, Dr. Gish served at Stanford’s Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology and Liver Transplant Service Line as a Staff Physician with major roles with in-reach and outreach as well as program development.

Over the years of 2012 to current, Dr. Gish has been and continues to be very active with the National Viral Hepatitis Round Table (NVHR) a patient and community advocacy non-profit organization. In February of 2014, Dr. Gish joined the Hepatitis B Foundation, (HBF) as their Medical Director to lend his policy, advocacy and clinical science skills to their armamentarium.

Today, Dr. Gish is an Adjunct Professor of Medicine at the University of Nevada School of Medicine in Las Vegas, a Clinical Professor at the University of Nevada Reno School of Medicine, and a Clinical Professor at the University of California Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. In addition, he is also the Medical Director of the Hepatitis B Foundation and Medical Director of the Asian Pacific Health Foundation. Dr. Gish has joined the consulting faculty at La Maestra in San Diego to establish a liver care program in the Federally Qualified Health Care clinic.

Gary Mize, MBA, is a co-founder and first Board Chairman of V-VHA. Mr. Mize serves as a Senior Management Advisor to V-VHA.  Mr. Mize has been playing a key role in developing VVHA’s first strategic plan and its first plan for hepatitis screening and access to care in Vietnam.

Prior to his retirement, Mr. Mize was a Vice President at Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) where he was in charge of Worldwide Strategic Product Planning for the cardiovascular area. Prior to that, he was Vice President of Marketing in the Bristol-Myers U.S. Pharmaceutical Division. Mr. Mize’s career at BMS spanned over 20 years following his service in the Army Medical Service Corps where he achieved the rank of Captain while working as Chief of the Management Services Division for a 150-bed Army hospital.

After retiring from Bristol-Myers Squibb, Mr. Mize became a management consultant and advisor to BMS, DuPont-Merck Pharmaceutical Company, Mead Johnson Nutritionals, Bristol-Myers Squibb – China, and the Center for Applied Value Analysis – a company founded to develop value analytics solutions in the health care area.

Mr. Mize received his BS in General Management from Indiana University and his MBA from the Indiana University Graduate School of Business.

William M. Lee, M.D., FACP, FAASLD, is a co-founder and Board member of V-VHA.  Dr. Lee is a renowned liver disease expert and Professor at UT Southwestern. He completed training at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, and Kings College Hospital, London before embarking upon a career in academic medicine. He joined the UT Southwestern Medical Center faculty in 1990. Dr. Lee’s clinical research and patient care has focused on all forms of hepatitis—causes of inflammation and damage to the liver.

Dr. Lee became a hepatologist because the diseases of the liver are fascinating and represent unusual and important lessons in medicine.

After completing his medical degree from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, Dr. Lee completed his residency in Internal Medicine at Presbyterian Hospital, New York City, where he also served as Chief Resident. He then went on to serve as Honorary Registrar and Research Fellow to Dr. Roger Williams at the Liver Unit, Kings College Hospital, London from 1973-74. Dr. Lee joined the UT Southwestern faculty after more than two decades of experience as both a clinician and researcher.

Dr. Lee remains active in clinical research on viral hepatitis and drug-induced liver injury. He has been site investigator for four National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases-sponsored Networks: the HALT-C Trial, the Acute Liver Failure Study Group, the Drug-Induced Liver Injury Network, and the Hepatitis B Research Network.

Dr. Lee says he chose UT Southwestern because it has tremendous research depths in the basic and clinical sciences.

He is a member of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) and the American Gastroenterological Association, and is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and the American College of Gastroenterology. In 2009, he gave the prestigious Leon Schiff Memorial Lecture at the Annual AASLD meeting and in 2011 he received the Award for Excellence for Outstanding Contributions in Health/Sciences from the Dallas Historical Society. During the past year, he has given numerous lectures on topics related to his research.

Dr. Lee obtained his B.A. from Amherst College and received his medical degree from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. He did his training in Internal Medicine at the Presbyterian Hospital, New York City (Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center) and served as Chief Resident on the Internal Medicine service. He was Honorary Registrar and Research Fellow to Dr. Roger Williams at the Liver Unit, Kings College Hospital, London from 1973-74. He has been on the faculty of Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, and was Director of the Gastroenterology Division at the Medical University of South Carolina before coming to UT Southwestern in 1990.

Ronald E. McAdams, MBA, is a co-founder and Board member of V-VHA. He has broad business experience, serving since 1979 as President, CEO, or Chairman of a number of companies, both private and public. He has founded over 10 companies, ranging from high technology companies in Silicon Valley to a natural meat company in Billings, MT.

In his early career Mr. McAdams worked in corporate finance for two Fortune 500 companies in the energy and chemical markets, ending as Treasurer of Raychem, Inc. in 1979. He started his first company after leaving Raychem, resulting in an IPO in 1984. This company and a number of other companies he founded were in the medical technology field, an area where he has extensive experience. In 1986 he became Chairman and CEO of a public medical company, leading a turn-around that advanced the stock price from $1.50 to $21.50 before resigning to move to Montana in 1991. Soon after that he bought a company that he relocated to Montana. He sold that company in 2006.

Mr. McAdams has also taught Entrepreneurship and Strategic Management at the university level, including being Executive Entrepreneur in Residence at Montana State University for four years. Mr. McAdams has a BS from the University of Evansville and an MBA in Finance from the Wharton School, where he was a Joseph Wharton Fellow. Prior to receiving his degrees he was in the military, working first at several Naval Hospitals before being assigned to Alpha Company, 1stBattalion1stMarines, in Vietnam, as a medical corpsman with the USMC. In summer of 1966 he attended the Intensive Vietnamese Language Program in Danang, Vietnam. And, in January 1967 he received the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star with Combat “V” for Valor.