Our Team and Interests

Division Director
Douglas K. Graham, MD, PhD
Professor and Director, Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta

Dr. Graham is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) investigator with an active lab developing novel therapeutics for pediatric cancer, recently validating MerTK as a novel cancer agent in leukemia, melanoma, non-small cell lung cancer and glioblastoma. He has served in multiple leadership roles with the American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology and has an appointment as a full member of the NIH Molecular and Cellular Hematology Study Section.

William G. Woods, MD
Director, Fellowship Program Professor and Director Emeritus
Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Emory University School of Medicine

Kathryn Sutton, MD
Program Director, Fellowship Program
Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine

Glen Lew, MD
Assistant Director, Fellowship Program
Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta
Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine

Shanmuganathan Chandrakasan, MD: Hematopoietic cell transplant/gene therapy for immune deficiency, immune deficiency, immune dysregulation and hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), immunohematology and bone marrow failure, stem cell biology

Ann E. Haight, MD: BMT in sickle cell disease and other nonmalignant diseases, supportive care in BMT and infections in the immunocompromised host, and clinical research ethics

Edwin Horwitz, MD, PhD: Transplantation of marrow cells and mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) to treat cancer and genetic disorders of childhood

Lakshmanan Krishnamurti, MD, Director of BMT: Newborn screening and counseling for hemoglobinopathies, novel approaches to hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for hemoglobinopathies, mechanisms of vascular complications of sickle cell disease and bioinformatics systems in clinical care and research in sickle cell disease

Kathryn Leung, MD, Clinical Director of BMT: Pediatric bone marrow or stem cell transplant for patients with bone marrow failure due to multiple causes and for patients with hemoglobinopathies

Muna Qayed, MD, MSCR: Incorporation of novel agents into the treatment of relapsed solid tumors, improving current treatments for patients with high-risk disease, including autologous stem cell transplant and developing more effective prophylaxis and treatment against GVHD in patients undergoing allogeneic BMT

Benjamin Watkins, MD: Clinical trials and research in developing more effective prophylaxis and treatment against GVHD in patients undergoing allogeneic BMT

General hematology

Staci Arnold, MD: Health outcomes, cost benefit analysis, comparative effectiveness research for sickle cell disease and bone marrow failure syndromes

Jeanne M. Boudreaux, MD, Clinical Director of Hematology: Thalassemias, bone marrow failure syndromes, hemolytic anemias and white cell disorders

Michael A. Briones, DO: Vascular anomalies, histiocytic disorders, general hematology and inherited bone marrow failure syndrome

Shanmuganathan Chandrakasan, MD: Hematopoietic cell transplant and gene therapy for immune deficiency, immune deficiency, immune dysregulation and HLH, immunohematology and bone marrow failure, stem cell biology

Satheesh Chonat, MD: Red cell enzyme and red membrane deficiencies

Maa-Ohui Quarmyne, MbChB: Sickle cell disease and thalassemias, stroke prevention in sickle cell disease and outcomes in sickle cell disease

Marianne E. Yee, MD, MSc: Clinical research in sickle cell disease, hemoglobin disorders, transfusion therapy and BMT for patients with sickle cell disease

Hemophilia/thrombosis

Glaivy Batsuli, MD: Basic and translational research in hemophilia A and inhibitors

Carolyn M. Bennett, MD: Platelet disorders, including ITP

Renhao Li, PhD: Development of novel reagents to improve bleeding diagnostics and platelet storage

Pete Lollar, MD: Development of novel recombinant Factor VIII molecules for use in preventing and treating hemophilia patients with inhibitors and basic research in biosynthesis and expression of Factor VIII

Shannon Meeks, MD, Research Director of Hemostasis: Basic and translational research in hemophilia A and inhibitors

Brian Petrich, PhD: Regulation of platelet integrin signaling in hemostasis, and thrombosis and cell adhesion mechanisms in vascular disease and thrombosis

Robert Sidonio Jr., MD, Clinical Director of Hemostasis and Thrombosis: von Willebrand disease, particularly in the setting of menorrhagia

Yingchun Wang, MD, PhD: Clinical basic and translational research in hemophilia and thrombosis

Gary Woods, MD: Venous thromboembolism, especially in chronic disease like sickle cell disease and pediatric heart disease, and coagulation disorders

Sickle cell disease

David R. Archer, PhD: Hematopoietic stem cell transplant for genetic disease, particularly sickle cell disease and use of stem cells in regenerative medicine

R. Clark Brown, MD, PhD, Clinical Director: Targeted therapies for thalassemia and sickle cell disease

Nitya Bakshi, MD: Pain in sickle cell disease, including psychophysical pain phenotyping in pediatric patients with sickle cell disease and development and validation of electronic pain diaries for children with sickle cell disease

Carlton D. Dampier, MD: Clinical trials in sickle cell disease, measurement science of patient- and parent-reported outcomes and symptom management in sickle cell disease, particularly pain

Beatrice Gee, MD, Clinical Director: Clinical research in sickle cell disease

Elaissa Hardy, PhD: Effects of applied electricity with hemostasis

Anne G. James-Herry, MD: Clinical trials in sickle cell disease, comprehensive sickle cell disease and specialty clinics, particularly pulmonary and GI- and age-based clinics

Hyacinth Hyacinth, MD, PhD: Stroke and other neurovascular complications of sickle cell disease

Clinton H. Joiner, MD, PhD, Director of Hematology: Red cell physiology, specifically cation transport and volume regulation and their perturbation in sickle cell disease

Wilbur A. Lam, MD, PhD: Development and application of novel bioengineering technologies to study, diagnose and treat hematologic disorders

Peter A. Lane, MD, Program Director: Newborn screening, health outcomes and clinical trials in sickle cell disease

David Myers, PhD: Developing novel microsystems for clinical diagnosis and high-throughput single cell studies

Tamara N. New, MD: Clinical trials in sickle cell disease, interest in chronic pain, pulmonary complications and global impact of sickle cell in economically poor countries

Maa-Ohui Quarmyne, MbChB: Sickle cell disease and thalassemias, stroke prevention in sickle cell disease and outcomes in sickle cell disease

Amy Tang, MD: Sickle cell anemia and transfusional iron overload

Marianne E. Yee, MD, MSc, Clinical Director: Clinical research in sickle cell disease, hemoglobin disorders, transfusion therapy and BMT for patients with sickle cell disease

Transfusion medicine

Ross Fasano, MD: Clinical transfusion medicine and blood safety in patients with sickle cell disease, thalassemia, and oncologic diseases.

Cassandra D. Josephson, MD: Clinical transfusion medicine and blood safety in hemophilia, sickle cell disease, neonatology and open heart surgery

Margo Rollins, MD: Clinical transfusion medicine and hematologist specializing in RBC alloimmunization, transfusion associated hemosiderosis, and apheresis.

Patty Zerra, MD: Investigating the initiating immune events underlying factor VIII inhibitor formation and red blood cell alloimmunization.

Leukemia and lymphoma

D. John Bergsagel, MD: Clinical trials in leukemia and lymphoma

Kevin D. Bunting, PhD, Research Director of Leukemia and Lymphoma: Studies of normal cytokine signaling in hematopoiesis and dysregulated signaling associated with inflammation and cancer

Sharon Castellino, MD: Hodgkin lymphoma and survivorship

Deborah DeRyckere, PhD: Preclinical development of novel small molecule MerTK inhibitors for oncology applications, TAM-family receptor tyrosine signaling and biology, murine xenograft models of acute leukemia

Kavita Dhodapkar, MD, PhD, Translational Research Director: Mechanisms of immune regulation, in the context of autoimmunity as well as tumor immunity, in-vivo effects of immune checkpoint blocking therapies, including the role for B cells in development of autoimmunity following treatment with these agents, methods to boost anti- tumor immunity using dendritic cells

Douglas K. Graham, MD, PhD, Division Director: Developing novel therapeutics for pediatric cancer, recently validating MerTK as a novel cancer agent in leukemia, melanoma, nonsmall cell lung cancer and glioblastoma

Lubing Gu, MD: Molecular mechanisms of drug resistance in childhood cancer and leukemia

Curtis Henry, PhD: Research focuses on understanding how chronic inflammation associated with aging and obesity impacts leukemia development and therapeutic responses

Frank G. Keller, MD, Clinical Director of Leukemia: Principle investigator of COG trial for low-risk Hodgkin’s disease and clinical trials in Hodgkin’s disease, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and leukemia

Glen Lew, MD: Study chair of COG Phase III trial for relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and etiology, treatment and outcomes in childhood ALL

Tamara Miller, MD, MSCE: Leukemia and lymphoma, general oncology and adverse events

Melinda Pauly, MD, Director of Leukemia and Lymphoma: Relationship of the BCL-2 family of proteins within the intrinsic apoptotic pathway to members of the autophagy pathway

Christopher Porter, MD: Cancer genetics and leukemia research

Cheng-Kui Qu, MD, PhD: Cell signaling and metabolic regulation of hematopoietic stem cells focusing on the role of protein and lipid phosphatases in normal hematopoietic cell development and leukemogenesis, and development of novel therapeutics for phosphatases-associated blood disorders, such as juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia

Himalee Sabnis, MD, MS: Biology of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), signaling pathways in leukemic cells and new therapeutic agents in AML

Zhengqi Wang, PhD: Study of STAT5 and its function in signaling mechanisms in leukemogenesis, hematopoietic stem cell biology and transplant

Daniel Wechsler, MD, PhD, Director of Oncology: Infant leukemias, pathogenesis of poor prognosis CALM-associated leukemias and MYC antagonism in neuroblastoma

William G. Woods, MD: Clinical trials within COG in myeloid leukemia

Dan Yan, PhD: The role of MerTK on human non-small-cell lung cancer

Muxiang Zhou, MD: Signaling pathways and regulators of apoptosis relating to drug resistance in ALL

Palliative care

Katharine Brock, MD, MS: Clinical research in palliative care, assessing, and improving access and quality of pediatric palliative care within oncology, and the metrics and outcomes associated with a pediatric supportive

Solid tumors

Thomas Cash, MD, MSc, Clinical Director of Solid Tumors: Outcomes and epidemiology in rare pediatric tumors; the role of ezrin and tumor necrosis in patients with Ewing Sarcoma, and innovative therapy and Phase I and II trials

Bradley A. George, MD: Solid tumors and histiocytosis

Kelly Goldsmith, MD: Basic and translational research of neuroblastoma, with a primary focus on mechanisms of therapy resistance

Sarah Mitchell, MD: Solid tumors and rare tumors, underlying hereditary cancer syndrome

Thomas A. Olson, MD, Program Director: Committee chair for COG germ cell disease, clinical trials in germ cell tumors, retinoblastoma and bone tumors

Robert Schnepp, MD, PhD: Research with a major emphasis on high-risk neuroblastoma and rhabdomyosarcoma employing a number of techniques, including cell and molecular biology, animal modeling, interrogation of genomic datasets with clinical annotation and functional genomics

Kathryn Sutton, MD: Clinical researcher in solid tumors, including sarcomas, rare tumors and histiocytosis

Karen Wasilewski, MD, MPH, Overall Clinical Director: survivorship and solid tumors clinical trials

Neuro-oncology

Dolly Aguilera, MD: Development of Phase I and II clinical trials for children with recurrent brain tumors

Robert C. Castellino, MD: Pediatric neuro-oncology, interactions between p53/Hedgehog/and PI-3 Kinase cell signaling in neuronal development, brain tumor development or progression, and as targets for drug development

Jason Fangusaro, MD, Director of Developmental Therapeutics

Delores Hambardzumyan, PhD: Investigating the role of the brain microenvironment in how it contributes to pediatric and adult glioblastoma growth and response to therapy

Anna J. Janss, MD, PhD: Phase I COG clinical trials and innovative therapeutics for brain tumors

Anna M. Kenney, PhD: How Sonic hedgehog and interacting signal transduction pathways control normal and neoplastic development within the cerebellum

Tobey J. MacDonald, MD, Director of Neuro-oncology: Basic and translational research of childhood brain tumors with a primary research focus on the metastasis and role of platelet-derived growth factor receptor (PDGFR) signaling

Claire M. Mazewski, MD: Principal investigator of COG high-risk medulloblastoma trial for young children, clinical trials, innovative therapeutics and late effects studies for children with brain tumors

Hospitalists

Kirshma Khemani, MD: Benign Hematology, Sickle Cell Disease and post-transplant late effects.

Joanna Newton, MD: Racial and ethnic disparities in pediatric AML outcomes, and expression of CD36 and the presence of cytoplasmic granules in blasts predicts poor prognosis in children with B-lymphoblastic leukemia

Psychology and neuropsychology

Grace Fong, PhD: Acquired brain injury and clinical trials for late effects

Lisa Ingerski, PhD: Childhood psychology

Alcuin Johnson, PhD: Acquired brain injury, transition to adult care and motivational interviewing

James Klosky, PhD, Director of Psychology: Childhood cancer psychology

Jennifer Lee, PhD: Childhood cancer psychology

Jordan Marchak, PhD: Childhood cancer survivorship and transition to adult care

Laura Mee, PhD: Childhood cancer psychology issues with transplant patients, pain management and coping with chronic medical conditions

Soumitri Sil, PhD: Research on pediatric pain management focused on the development and evaluation of behavioral interventions to promote the health and functioning of children and adolescents with complex chronic pain conditions

Beth Thompson, PsyD: Pain management, pica and coping with chronic illness

Angela Vaz, PhD: Consultation liaison in pediatric psycho-oncology, parent-child coping with pediatric chronic illness, and chronic stress and bereavement

Cancer survivorship

Karen Effinger, MD, Clinical Director of Survivorship: Physical and psychosocial functioning in children, adolescents and young adults after cancer treatment with a particular focus in cardiovascular health, health risk behaviors, wellness and physical functioning

Lillian R. Meacham, MD, Medical Director of Survivorship: Childhood Cancer Survivor Study, educating survivors and providers about survivor care, and endocrine late effects in oncology patients

Ann C. Mertens, PhD, Research Director of Survivorship: Childhood and adolescent cancer survivorship

Briana C. Patterson, MD: Late effects of cancer therapy in brain tumor patients and endocrine problems following cancer treatment

Christopher B. Doering, PhD: Development of modified blood coagulation factors and implementation in gene transfer-based therapies

Sunil Raikar, MD: Development of novel chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) natural killer cells against T-cell malignancies

H. Trent Spencer, PhD, Program Director of Gene Therapy: Developing and implementing cell and gene therapy for the treatment of childhood cancer and inherited diseases, with a specific emphasis on the genetic engineering of hematopoietic stem cells

Jason Fangusaro, MD, Director of Developmental Therapeutics

Dolly Aguilera, MD