This 60-minute program will explore real-world applications of the data to practice, with a diverse panel offering unique perspectives on the genetic testing landscape in NICU settings.
Wendy Chung, MD, PhD, a clinical and molecular geneticist, is the Chief of the Department of Pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital and the Mary Ellen Avery Professor at Harvard Medical School. She received her bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from Cornell University, her medical degree from Cornell University Medical College, and her doctorate in genetics from The Rockefeller University.
Dr. Chung directs National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded research programs in human genetics of pulmonary hypertension, breast cancer, obesity, diabetes, autism, birth defects—including congenital diaphragmatic hernia—and congenital heart disease. She is a leader in the ethical, legal, and social implications of genomics, and leads the National Organization of Rare Disorders Center of Excellence at Columbia University. She is a recipient of the New York Academy of Medicine Medal for Distinguished Contributions in Biomedical Science and the Rare Impact Award from the National Organization of Rare Disorders, and is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and the American Academy of Physicians.
Rebecca Burke, MD, PhD, is an assistant professor of pediatrics within the divisions of neonatal-perinatal medicine and medical genetics at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey School of Medicine. She received her medical and graduate degrees from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, AK. She completed her medical residency in general pediatrics at Thomas Jefferson University/ Nemours Children’s Hospital née AI duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, DE, where she realized her calling in medicine was to care for fragile neonates and children with rare genetic disorders. She then completed a combined neonatology and clinical genetics fellowship at Texas Children’s Hospital-Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX.
Dr. Burke is a passionate advocate for children with complex medical conditions and their families. In addition to her neonatology and genetics practices, she participates in undergraduate and graduate medical education with a goal to increase genetic literacy and awareness among all medical specialties. Her clinical interests include exome and genome sequencing in newborns, and prenatal consultation for families with pregnancies complicated by fetal anomalies.
Michelle Fergus is a professional, a sister, a fiancé, and a mom to 3-year-old Michael, who has a rare genetic disorder called hereditary fructose intolerance (HFI). Michelle and her partner, Mick, found themselves in a true S.O.S. situation when their son was hospitalized at 3-months old. His first week in the hospital provided no answers, and the second week produced only guesses, until a doctor suggested genetic testing. If their son had not undergone testing, he would not be with them today—genetic testing saved his life. Since then, they have been educating themselves on everything associated with HFI.
This initiative seeks to fill those knowledge gaps among cardiologists and clinicians caring for patients with cancer who receive ICI therapy. Clinicians will receive education on the available clinical evidence to make informed decisions regarding resumption of therapy.
Dr. Neilan received his MD from University College Dublin and MPH from Harvard School of Public Health. He completed internal medicine residency and cardiology training at the Mater Misericordiae Hospital in Dublin and again at Massachusetts General Hospital. He has also completed extensive training in echocardiography at Massachusetts General Hospital and in cardiac magnetic resonance at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Dr. Neilan is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, the Director of the Cardio-Oncology Program, and the Co-Director of the Cardiac MR PET CT Program.
Dr. Neilan has had a long-standing clinical and research interest in the cardiovascular care of patients with cancer. Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death and disability among cancer survivors and cardiovascular care for patients with cancer requires a tailored approach that is unique for each patient. He is specifically interested in how we can improve on the methods for detection of cardiac toxicity after chemotherapy and radiotherapy and to use that information to determine how we care for patients.
Dr. Kerry Reynolds is an oncologist at the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. She currently serves as the Director of the Severe Immunotherapy Complications (SIC) Service and the Clinical Director for Inpatient Cancer Services at Mass General Cancer Center. She joined the Harvard Medical School faculty in 2014, after completing her residency and chief residency at Massachusetts General and fellowship training in Oncology at Dana-Farber/Partners Cancer Care.
The SIC Service is the first program of its kind in the country. Every hospitalized patient at Mass General Cancer Center who has received immunotherapy and is suspected to be experiencing an immune-related adverse event (irAE) is seen by one of the Service’s dedicated oncologists, resulting in unparalleled care for this type of toxicity. Under the leadership of Dr. Reynolds, the SIC Service now provides care to a significant number of patients every year and has grown to comprise more than 50 clinicians and researchers across 19 different areas of the hospital, including subspecialists from oncology, cardiology, dermatology, gastroenterology, and many more relevant disciplines.
In addition to providing clinical care, supervising and educating trainees, and participating in administrative affairs, Dr. Reynolds leverages the work of the SIC Service to conduct research on the severe toxicities associated with immunotherapy. Her ultimate goal is to improve the lives of patients undergoing immunotherapy by uncovering irAE predictors and biomarkers, characterizing the clinical presentations of irAEs, developing best practices for managing irAEs, and elucidating the mechanisms that drive irAEs in order to develop novel therapies. To pursue this goal, she is working with Dr. Alexandra-Chloe Villani to systematically collect blood and tissue samples from patients with irAEs and analyze them using cutting-edge technologies. Dr. Reynolds has also authored numerous peer-reviewed publications and several book chapters, and she was lead editor of Facing Immunotherapy: A Guide for Patients and Their Families.
In this CME Outfitters BriefCase, expert faculty will guide learners through a case involving a patient who presents with escalating symptoms of an irAE over multiple visits.
Jordan McPherson, PharmD, MS, BCOP, is an Oncology Clinical Pharmacist in the outpatient solid tumor clinics at Huntsman Cancer Institute, an NCI-designated cancer hospital on the campus of the University of Utah Health in Salt Lake City, Utah. Dr. McPherson specializes in the treatment of melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers using immunotherapy and other targeted therapies. He serves as a panel member on the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Guidelines for the Management of Immunotherapy-Related Toxicities, and as Past President of the Utah Society of Health-System Pharmacists. Dr. McPherson is passionate about pharmacist involvement in the recognition and management of immune-related adverse events in both oncology and non-oncology settings. Dr. McPherson’s research efforts are well published in peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer (JITC), Pharmacotherapy, JCO Clinical Cancer Informatics, Cancer Chemotherapy and Pharmacology, and Haemophilia.
Dr. Kerry Reynolds is an oncologist at the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. She currently serves as the Director of the Severe Immunotherapy Complications (SIC) Service and the Clinical Director for Inpatient Cancer Services at Mass General Cancer Center. She joined the Harvard Medical School faculty in 2014, after completing her residency and chief residency at Massachusetts General and fellowship training in Oncology at Dana-Farber/Partners Cancer Care.
The SIC Service is the first program of its kind in the country. Every hospitalized patient at Mass General Cancer Center who has received immunotherapy and is suspected to be experiencing an immune-related adverse event (irAE) is seen by one of the Service’s dedicated oncologists, resulting in unparalleled care for this type of toxicity. Under the leadership of Dr. Reynolds, the SIC Service now provides care to a significant number of patients every year and has grown to comprise more than 50 clinicians and researchers across 19 different areas of the hospital, including subspecialists from oncology, cardiology, dermatology, gastroenterology, and many more relevant disciplines.
In addition to providing clinical care, supervising and educating trainees, and participating in administrative affairs, Dr. Reynolds leverages the work of the SIC Service to conduct research on the severe toxicities associated with immunotherapy. Her ultimate goal is to improve the lives of patients undergoing immunotherapy by uncovering irAE predictors and biomarkers, characterizing the clinical presentations of irAEs, developing best practices for managing irAEs, and elucidating the mechanisms that drive irAEs in order to develop novel therapies. To pursue this goal, she is working with Dr. Alexandra-Chloe Villani to systematically collect blood and tissue samples from patients with irAEs and analyze them using cutting-edge technologies. Dr. Reynolds has also authored numerous peer-reviewed publications and several book chapters, and she was lead editor of Facing Immunotherapy: A Guide for Patients and Their Families.
In the first installment of this CME Outfitters Snack series, expert faculty will guide learners through an overview of challenges and recent developments in immunotherapy, as well as guideline recommendations on their implementation in practice. Faculty will also detail strategies designed to increase implementation of best practices in genetic and biomarker testing for cancer immunotherapy.
Kurt A. Schalper, MD, PhD, trained as a cell biologist and surgical pathologist, and served in clinical molecular diagnostics. He is the director of the Translational Immuno-Oncology Laboratory at the Yale Cancer Center, where he leads the standardized analysis of biomarkers in clinical trials using advanced cell/tissue analysis platforms.
Dr Schalper’s research is focused on understanding the immunobiology of human solid tumors and developing molecular biomarkers for prediction of response or resistance to therapies. In particular, his group has been actively evaluating the role of specific tumor antigens and immune evasion pathways used by human lung malignancies, including immune co-inhibitory/stimulatory ligands and receptors, tolerogenic enzymes, immune suppressive cells, antigen presenting/processing machinery, metabolic alterations in the tumor microenvironment, and oncogenic intracellular signaling. More recent and future scientific interests include the evaluation and clinical impact of tumor immune heterogeneity and editing.
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Dr. Banu Arun is Professor in Department of Breast Medical Oncology, Co-Medical Director of the Clinical Cancer Genetics Program, and Section Chief Breast Genetics, Prevention and Screening at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Her research focuses on identifying risk biomarkers for breast cancer and prevention and characterizing risk factors in a cohort of high-risk women with hereditary gene mutations (BRCA and others) as well as assessing breast cancer biology in these patients. Dr. Arun has served as the Principal Investigator on several clinical trials evaluating agents such as letrozole, imatinib, gemcitabine, R115777, and PARP inhibitors for metastatic breast cancer and celecoxib, atorvastatin, dasatinib, and Tamoxifen Gel in short-term breast cancer prevention trials. Her research also includes outreach and education, as well as cascade genetic testing of family members.
Given her national and international expertise, she has served on several committees, including The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Prevention committee ASCO Prevention Education Committee and currently serves as the Co-Chair for the Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG) Prevention and Epidemiology Committee and member of the NCCN Breast Cancer Risk Reduction Guideline Committee as well as the NCCN Breast Hereditary Genetics Guideline Committee, member of the ASCO Germline Genetic Testing Guideline Panel, and member of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Cancer Prevention Steering Committee. She served as grant reviewer for Susan Komen and NCI P01 and reviewed for journals including the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Cancer, British Medical Journal, Cancer Prevention and Epidemiology, amongst others. She has more than 200 peer-reviewed publications and received research grants from the NCI, DoD, Susan Komen Foundation, and CPRIT.
She was featured in Forbes (December 2017) as one of the top 30 Breast Medical Oncologists in the United States. She has received FASCO award recognition in 2020 from the American Society of Clinical Oncology and is the recipient of the ASCO–American Cancer Society Award 2021.
In the second installment of this CME Outfitters Snack series, expert faculty will discuss strategies for providing high-quality genetic counseling and services for underserved patients with cancer, including leveraging health technology (e.g. telehealth), utilizing a collaborative/interprofessional approach to genetic counseling, and implementing a workable process for patient identification and triage.
Dr. Ioffe is a gynecologic oncologist in Southern California. She completed her training in gynecologic oncology at Washington University/Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. Her practice focus has included improving care of women afflicted with gynecologic malignancies in the underserved San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
Her academic interest has focused on establishing a fellowship training program in gynecologic oncology in those underserved counties.
Her research interests include: impact of genetic and molecular alterations on treatment and outcome of ovarian cancer and improving genetic testing rates in gynecologic oncology patients.
Dr. Banu Arun is Professor in Department of Breast Medical Oncology, Co-Medical Director of the Clinical Cancer Genetics Program, and Section Chief Breast Genetics, Prevention and Screening at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Her research focuses on identifying risk biomarkers for breast cancer and prevention and characterizing risk factors in a cohort of high-risk women with hereditary gene mutations (BRCA and others) as well as assessing breast cancer biology in these patients. Dr. Arun has served as the Principal Investigator on several clinical trials evaluating agents such as letrozole, imatinib, gemcitabine, R115777, and PARP inhibitors for metastatic breast cancer and celecoxib, atorvastatin, dasatinib, and Tamoxifen Gel in short-term breast cancer prevention trials. Her research also includes outreach and education, as well as cascade genetic testing of family members.
Given her national and international expertise, she has served on several committees, including The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Prevention committee ASCO Prevention Education Committee and currently serves as the Co-Chair for the Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG) Prevention and Epidemiology Committee and member of the NCCN Breast Cancer Risk Reduction Guideline Committee as well as the NCCN Breast Hereditary Genetics Guideline Committee, member of the ASCO Germline Genetic Testing Guideline Panel, and member of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Cancer Prevention Steering Committee. She served as grant reviewer for Susan Komen and NCI P01 and reviewed for journals including the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Cancer, British Medical Journal, Cancer Prevention and Epidemiology, amongst others. She has more than 200 peer-reviewed publications and received research grants from the NCI, DoD, Susan Komen Foundation, and CPRIT.
She was featured in Forbes (December 2017) as one of the top 30 Breast Medical Oncologists in the United States. She has received FASCO award recognition in 2020 from the American Society of Clinical Oncology and is the recipient of the ASCO–American Cancer Society Award 2021.
In this CME Outfitters BriefCase, expert Dr. Anita Afzali will utilize case-based learning to illustrate the common features and pathophysiologic mechanisms underlying these two inflammatory disorders. Faculty will translate clinical data to help clinicians to select optimal treatments aimed at improving outcomes for patients impacted by PsO and IBD.
Anita Afzali, MD, MPH, MHCM, is a Professor of Clinical Medicine and a gastroenterologist that specializes in Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). She has recently transitioned to the University of Cincinnati after successfully building the first standalone multidisciplinary IBD Center and serving as the Medical Director at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center for five years. Dr. Afzali is now the Executive Vice Chair of the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Cincinnati and Associate Chief Medical Officer of UC Health Systems and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. She received her medical degree and completed both an Internal Medicine residency and Gastroenterology fellowship at the University of Washington in Seattle, WA. While in fellowship, Dr. Afzali worked in outcomes research and epidemiology and graduated with a Master’s in Public Health. She recently obtained an additional Master’s in Health Care Management for physician executive leadership and business administration from Harvard University. Her areas of research interest include clinical outcomes and clinical trials for investigative therapies and diagnostics in IBD. She is a healthcare redesign leader with interests in clinical operations and transformative medical care delivery. Dr. Afzali has extensive peer-reviewed publications and is a clinical trialist in over 20 investigative drug and diagnostic trials. She is also an invited lecturer on national and international programs and serves on several international advisory boards and scientific committees. Dr. Afzali is the incoming Chair of the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) Educational Affairs Committee and the incoming Chair of the World Gastroenterology Organization (WGO) Publications Committee, as well as Co-Editor of the WGO quarterly global newsletters.