Patient and Family Webinars

Dr. Bhatt and Dr. Zimmer discuss important information about how and when to treat infectious disease in patients who have had a transplant. This webinar is appropriate for patients who are contemplating a transplant and those who have already had one. 

Vijaya R. Bhatt, MD, MBBS, is Assistant Professor, Internal Medicine in the Division of Oncology & Hematology and the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Dr. Bhatt sees patients at the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center where he specializes in hematopoietic stem cell transplant, post-transplant complications, graft-versus-host disease, leukemias, myeloid disorders and benign hematologic disorders. 

Dr. Bhatt is board certified in Hematology and Medical Oncology as well as being a well-regarded researcher.  He has published numerous journal articles, papers and analyses on topics including the treatment of infectious disease in transplant patients. 

Andrea Zimmer, MD, joins the webinar to provide her perspective in infection diseases. Dr. Zimmer is Assistant Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Co-Director, Graduate Medical Education Curriculum, Microbiology & Infectious Diseases Block at the University of Nebraska School of Medicine.  Dr. Zimmer treats patients at the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center, providing guidance and support to patients and health care professionals in managing the risks of infectious disease.

Tiffany N. Tanaka, MD, is a board-certified hematologist specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of blood cancers and blood disorders, with an emphasis on myeloid malignancies.  Dr. Tanaka provides an overview of the diagnostic and treatment considerations for patients who have aplastic anemia and hypoplastic MDS.  This overlapping set of bone marrow failure diseases raises critical questions for patients and health care professionals. 

Holly Comer, BSN, ANP-BC, has been an oncology nurse for 30 years and has been a nurse practitioner for the last 14 years.  Ms. Comer is with Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital & Washington University School of Medicine where she has been part of the Bone Marrow Transplant team for the last 26 years. She also served as a nurse during the Gulf War. Ms. Comer is actively involved in clinical research, most recently serving as the principal investigator for "Bone Loss in Allogeneic Transplant Patients", the results of which will be covered during her webinar. 

Holly Comer, MSN, ANP-BC provides a thorough overview of the concerns of long term transplant survivors related to bone health and disease. Ms. Comer also provides an update on a recent study she led entitled "Bone Loss in Allogenic Transplant Patients".

Kathleen Moore, MD is Director, Oklahoma TSET Phase I Program; Associate Professor, Section of Gynecologic Oncology and is an associate professor in the section of gynecologic oncology and serves as the director of the Oklahoma TSET Phase I Clinical Trials Program, the state’s only phase I clinical trials program. She is the Jim and Christy Everest Endowed Chair in Cancer Research as well as the director of the gynecologic oncology fellowship program. She also serves as the Associate Director of Clinical Research and Medical Director of the Clinical Trials Office for the Stephenson Cancer Center. 

Dr. Moore discusses the unique concerns of female patients who develop Secondary MDS/AML after chemotherapy treatment.  This session includes current treatment options as well as a review of what is currently in clinical trial, including Dr. Moore's own work in drug development. 

Carlos E. Vigil, MD is a Hematologist at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and Clinical Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine - Hematology, Oncology and Blood and Marrow Transplantation at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine. Dr. Vigil received his MD from the Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia and is engaged in academic research as well as working directly with patients in clinic.

Dr. Vigil discusses autoimmune disorders and MDS (myelodysplastic syndromes) including an assessment of the overlap between autoimmune disorders and bone marrow failure disease, the impact this can have on treatment options and on patient prognosis.

Swapna Thota, MD joined Roswell Park in 2017 where she specializes in caring for patients with acute leukemias, MDS and other blood cancers. She holds a dual appointment as Assistant Professor of Oncology at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center and Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, State University of New York at Buffalo.  Dr. Thota's research focuses on hematologic malignancies, especially on novel drug development to improve outcomes in patients with blood cancers. 

Dr. Thota discusses the complexities of determining the best course of treatment for patients with moderate aplastic anemia. 

Dr Patel of the National Institutes of Health Bhavisha Patel, MD, is a Staff Clinician at the National Institutes of Health, working under Neal Young, MD on the Hematopoiesis and Bone Marrow Failure team.

Dr. McCurdy discusses treating MDS (myelodysplastic syndromes) with combination therapies including the latest treatment options available and promising clinical trials and research.

Sarah Bannon is a Senior Genetic Counselor in the Department of Clinical Cancer Genetics at the UT MD Anderson Cancer Center. Her clinical responsibilities include providing risk assessment and genetic counseling services to individuals at risk for an inherited predisposition to hematologic malignancies (leukemia). She is the Genetic Counselor for the Hereditary Hematologic Malignancies Clinic (HHMC).

In this webinar, Ms. Bannon discusses hereditary or genetic predisposition to having MDS.

Mary Hughes, MS, RN, CNS, CT shares coping strategies that patients can use to lessen the fear of disease recurrence as they adjust to life after diagnosis and treatment.

Olatoyosi Sobulo Odenike, MD, is Professor of Medicine in the Section of Hematology/Oncology and Director of the Leukemia Program at the University of Chicago as well as Co-Chair of the AAMDSIF Medical Advisory Board. Dr. Odenike is an expert in the care of adults with leukemia, chronic myeloproliferative diseases, and myelodysplastic syndromes. An active researcher, Dr. Odenike is involved in the development of novel therapeutic agents for the treatment of acute and chronic leukemias and chronic myeloproliferative diseases. The ultimate goal of her research is to improve treatment options for patients with these diseases. Dr. Odenike is the principal investigator on a number of clinical trials investigating molecularly targeted agents in this patient population. These clinical trials also integrate laboratory studies to evaluate the effect that these agents have on cancer cells.

Dr. Gowin discusses the critical aspects of living well with the overlapping diagnosis of MDS and MPNs. Her presentation includes a scientific assessment of interventions including nutrition, supplements, exercise and meditation.

Due to internet connectivity issues, the audio for this webinar will be rerecorded as soon as the speaker is available. In the interim, please accept our apologies for the quality of the sound. We are attached a PDF of the presentation for your review although we note that the video quality was acceptable. 

Timothy S. Olson, MD, PhD, is an Attending Physician with Children's Hospital of Philadelphia where he serves as the Medical Director of the Blood and Bone Marrow Transplant Program and as Director of Research for the Comprehensive Bone Marrow Failure Center.  Dr. Olson is also an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the Perelman School of Medicine at The University of Pennsylvania.  Dr. Olson focuses on pediatric hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), with a specific emphasis on HSCT for patients with inherited and acquired bone marrow failure.

Michael Keng, M.D. is an Assistant Professor and holds a clinical faculty appointment in Medicine in the Division of Hematology/Oncology at UVA Cancer Center. He practices at the Emily Couric Clinical Cancer Center in Charlottesville and serves as an inpatient hematologist at UVA Hospital. His clinical areas of interest are: myelodysplastic syndromes, myeloproliferative disorders, acute myeloid leukemia, chronic myeloid leukemia, acute lymphoid leukemia, and aplastic anemia. Dr. Keng provides a overview of the current treatment strategies for high risk MDS (myelodysplastic syndromes) patients and answers patient questions at the end of the presentation. Please note that this presentation is runs longer than most AAMDSIF webinars (1 hour, 27 minutes).

Ilene Weitz, MD, is an assistant professor of clinical medicine at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California (USC). Her practice sites include, LAC+USC Medical Center, Keck Hospital of USC and USC Norris Cancer Hospital. Dr. Weitz is board certified in Internal Medicine and Hematology.  This webinar focuses on the latest in research presented at the 2019 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting held at the end of 2019. Dr. Weitz has selected a number of abstracts (research summaries) and provides a high level assessment of new and ongoing research into treating aplastic anemia and/or PNH. Participants were able to submit questions during the presentation and Dr. Weitz' responses are at the end of the webinar recording. 

Mikkael Sekeres, MD, MS discusses issues related to the impact of COVID-19 on the care of bone marrow failure patients including the importance of patients remaining at home even as more areas reduce restrictions, adapting to telemedicine, and resuming treatments that may have been delayed.

This webinar is an excerpt from a longer webinar entitled "Understanding the Overlap between MDS and MPNs" and has been edited accordingly. Dr. Mesa gives an overview of the specific concerns that patients with the overlapping conditions of MDS and MPNs have related to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. 

Dr. Mesa discusses the overlap between MDS (myelodysplastic sydromes) and MPNs (myeloproliferative neoplasms), including diagnosis and treatment options including the latest in clinical trials. He also provides an update on the impact of COVID-19 on patients with MDS/MPNs overlap syndrome.