Midwest Gamma Knife Center Team
Jonathan D. Chilton, MD - Director, Midwest Gamma Knife Center
Dr. Jonathan Chilton is an accomplished neurosurgeon who has been practicing in Kansas City for 20 years. Dr. Chilton received his Masters in Public Health degree from Columbia University in New York City. He subsequently attended medical school at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry in Rochester, New York. He completed his neurosurgery residency at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C. in 1988 including training in pediatric neurosurgery at Children’s Hospital National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., training in neuropathology at the Armed Forces Institute of Neuropathology at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and training at the Atkinson Morley’s Hospital in London, England. He completed board certification in neurosurgery in 1991 (Diplomate of the American Board of Neurological Surgeons).
Dr. Chilton is the Director of the Midwest Gamma Knife Center, which was the first dedicated cranial radiosurgery facility in the five-state Midwest region (over 1,600 patients treated to date).
Dr. Chilton has been chairman of the Department of Surgery at Research Medical Center in Kansas City, MO., a major tertiary care referral hospital. He is an active member of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, the Congress of Neurological Surgery and the American Medical Association.
Dr. Chilton has subspecialty interests and expertise in many areas including:
- Brain tumor surgery (benign and malignant tumors)
- Spine tumor surgery (benign and malignant tumors)
- Gamma Knife Radiosurgery
- Degenerative disc disease (cervical and lumbar)
- Complex spine surgery (degenerative spine disease, degenerative scoliosis, spinal instrumentation and reconstruction)
- Peripheral Nerve Surgery (Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Ulnar Neuropathy)
- Trigeminal Neuralgia
- Cranio-cerebral trauma
- Spine trauma
He is currently the senior partner at Midwest Neurosurgery Associates, a well-respected, five-member private practice neurosurgery group serving greater metropolitan Kansas City and rural communities in Missouri and Kansas within a 150-mile radius. He works at Research Medical Center, Saint Luke's Hospital and the Heartland Surgical and Specialty Hospital.
Peter Basta, MD - Neurosurgeon
Dr. Basta attended medical school at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. He completed his neurosurgery residence at Saint Louis University and then headed to the Indianapolis Neurosurgical Group for a fellowship in cerebrovascular and skull base neurosurgery.
Dr. Basta is a member of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, the American Medical Society, Missouri State Neurosurgery Society, Missouri State Medical Association, the Metropolitan Medical Society and the Neurology/Neurosurgery Society of Kansas City.
Dr. Basta has subspecialty interests and expertise in many areas, including:
- Brain tumor surgery (benign and malignant)
- Cerebral aneurysm surgery
- Trigeminal neuralgia
- Skull base surgery
- Cerebrovascular surgery
- Carotid endarectomy
- Spine surgery
Geoffrey Blatt, MD - Radiation Oncologist
Robert Cullen, MD - Otolaryngologist
Gregory Hornig, MD - Neurosurgeon
Jay S. Robinow, MD - Radiation Oncologist
Dr. Robinow received his undergraduate degree from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. He went on to the University of Iowa to receive his medical degree. He completed his internship in internal medicine at Shadyside Hospital in Pittsburgh. In 1989, Dr. Robinow completed his residency in radiation oncology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.
Dr. Robinow began his career as a Senior Associate Consultant in the radiation oncology department at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. He then worked in the radiation oncology department at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida before joining Therapeutic Radiologists, Inc.
Dr. Robinow is a founding physician of the Midwest Gamma Knife program at Research Medical Center. This is a device that focuses radiation treatment on brain tumors and vascular malformations without making an incision in the scalp. Dr. Robinow is the current medical director of the Veterans Administration Radiation Oncology Services.
Dr. Robinow has made several scientific presentations to various professional groups and has been published in numerous professional journals. He is a member of several professional organizations including American College of Radiology, American Medical Association, American Society of Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology, and Metropolitan Medical Society of Greater Kansas City.
David T. Shaeffer, MD - Radiation Oncologist
Dr. Shaeffer completed his undergraduate education at the University of Kansas and earned a Masters in International Management, with honors, from the American Graduate School of International Management. He pursued a career in international business, living and working in Germany, prior to entering medical school at the University of Kansas. He earned his medical degree in 2000 and completed an internship at the University of Kansas. Dr. Shaeffer completed residency training in radiation oncology in 2005 at Indiana University where he served as Chief Resident during his final year of training.
Dr. Shaeffer joined Therapeutic Radiologists in 2005 and practices at Research Medical Center and Midwest Urology & Radiation Oncology. He is a member of numerous local, state, and national professional organizations including the American Society of Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology, the American College of Radiology, and the American Medical Association.
John M. Sheldon, MD - Radiation Oncologist
Dr. Sheldon received his Bachelors of Arts in Biochemistry with honors from Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. From 1989-1990, he was a scholar in “The Pew Program” at the University of Chicago where he did research in the area of medical ethics.
Dr. Sheldon received his medical education at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, MD. He went on to internship in internal medicine at Union Memorial Hospital, also in Baltimore. He completed his residency in radiation oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. In his final year of residency, he had the honor of being Chief Resident. Dr. Sheldon furthered his education by completing a fellowship in brachytherapy at the Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. He also received specialized training at the University of Pittsburgh in Gamma Knife Radiosurgery.
Dr. Sheldon is the medical director at Research Medical Center in the Radiation Oncology department. He has been widely published and has given numerous presentations at national events. He is a member of many organizations including the American Medical Association, American College of Radiology and American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology.
Stephen T. Slack, PhD - Medical Physicist
Dr. Stephen Slack is the medical physicist for the Midwest Gamma Knife Center. He earned Ph. D. in physics from the Pennsylvania State University and did post doctoral work in medical physics at the University of California, San Francisco. Most of his career was spent at the medical school of West Virginia University, where he was Chief of Medical Physics and Radiation Safety from 1977 to 1994. He is board certified in diagnostic and therapeutic radiological physics.
Joseph Ursick, MD - Otolaryngologist
Jeff Chung, RN - Nurse Manager
Jeff Chung is the nurse manager for the Midwest Gamma Knife Center. He is a graduate of the Penn Valley School of Nursing in Kansas City, Missouri and has been with Research Medical Center since 2000.
Janet Rowe - Administrative Coordinator
Janet Rowe, Administrative Coordinator of the Midwest Gamma Knife Center, has been with the Center since 1995 and has worked in the field of neurosurgery since 1988.
