Cancer and Blood Disorders

At the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, our team is highly skilled and experienced in treating children and young adults with all forms of childhood cancer and blood disorders—from the most common to those rarely seen outside of the top pediatric centers. We treat:

Cancers

• Leukemia
• Lymphoma
• Brain tumors
• Neuroblastoma
• Retinoblastoma
• Bone and soft tissue sarcomas
• Wilms’ and other kidney tumors
• Other rare tumors

Blood disorders

• Hemophilia
• Thrombosis
• Von Willebrand disease, platelet disorders and rare bleeding disorders 
• Sickle cell disease
• Thalassemia
• Bone marrow failure syndromes
• Other red blood cell disorders, including acute and chronic anemia
• White blood cell disorders

Comprehensive programs

• Cancer Program: We are home to one of the top childhood cancer centers in the country. We have doctors who are skilled in treating all forms of cancer, including leukemia, lymphoma, brain tumors and solid tumors. 
• Blood Disorders Program: We care for more than 2,500 children with sickle cell disease, hemophilia and other blood disorders each year. This includes more than 1,900 children with sickle cell—making us the largest pediatric sickle cell program in the country.
• Blood and Marrow Transplant Program: As one of the top pediatric BMT programs in the country, we provide expertise in autologous and allogeneic transplants. We are a national leader in transplanting children with sickle cell disease—we have cured more than 70 children.
• Developmental Therapeutics Program: Our team focuses on the discovery and creation of new treatments for children with cancer.
• Survivor Program: We provide nationally recommended, long-term follow up care and resources for survivors of pediatric cancer and blood and marrow transplant.
• Supportive Care Clinic: We help children who have serious illnesses and their families live as well as possible.
• Cancer Predisposition Program: We treat children under the age of 18 who are at risk for developing cancer due to a cancer predisposition syndrome, a family history of cancer or a diagnosis of a rare type of cancer.
• Immunohematology and Immune Dysregulation Program: We offer focused immune and genetic evaluation of patients with either early onset or refractory autoimmune conditions with the goal of providing targeted immune modulatory and biological therapies based on immune profiles and genetics
• Bone Marrow Failure Program: We provide multidisciplinary care to children with inherited or acquired bone marrow failure syndromes.

Innovative research

The Aflac Cancer Center is committed to excellence and innovation in pediatric cancer and blood disorders research. We are home to one of the largest clinical trial programs in the country—offering our patients access to some of the most novel treatment options in the country.

Search our online clinical trials database

The Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center is one of the leading childhood cancer and blood disorders programs in the country. Combining the latest proven technology and research with a caring, child-friendly approach, makes the Aflac Cancer Center a top choice for the treatment of common and complex cancer and blood disorder conditions.

Our facilities include:

• 64 inpatient beds (increasing to 81 beds in 2019)
• 16 HEPA-filtered rooms for BMT patients
• Private BMT infusion and procedure rooms
• Two metaiodobenzylguanidine (¹³¹I-MIBG) treatment rooms with adjacent parent rooms
• Outpatient clinics with a full range of procedure, infusion and apheresis services
• On-site diagnostics, marrow processing lab and pharmacy services
• Transitional or temporary housing options to meet the needs of traveling families
• A 13-chair day hospital with expanded patient care hours (combination of private, semi-private and open-area chairs)

Learn more about what makes Children's special

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Physician Leadership

• Douglas K. Graham, MD, PhD, Director, Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center and Daniel P. Amos Chair
• Daniel S. Wechsler, MD, PhD, Director of Oncology and Thomas R. Giddens Chair
• Clinton H. Joiner, MD, PhD, Director of Hematology
• Lakshmanan Krishnamurti, MD, Director of BMT
• Karen Wasilewski-Masker, MD, MSc, Medical Director

Our leukemia and lymphoma team

Clinical faculty:

• D. John Bergsagel, MD
• Frank Keller, MD
• Glen Lew, MD
• Melinda Pauly, MD
• Himalee Sabnis, MD, MSc
• William G. Woods, MD
• Steph Bernardo, CPNP
• Chelse Sandborn, CPNP
• Linda Ballard, CPNP
• Anna Bennett, CPNP
• Lois Chukoian, CPNP
• Lindsey Goldberg, CPNP
• Kelly Macdonald, CPNP
• Kathi Stone, CPNP

Research-intensive faculty:

• Sharon Castellino, MD, MSc, Program Director
• Kevin Bunting, PhD
• Deb DeRyckere, PhD
• Douglas K. Graham, MD, PhD
• Lubing Gu, MD
• Curtis Henry, PhD
• Tamara Miller, MD, MSCE
• Katherine Minson, MD
• Christopher Porter, MD
• Cheng-Kui Qu, MD, PhD
• Sunil Raikar, MD
• Zhengqi Wang, PhD
• Daniel S. Wechsler, MD, PhD
• Dan Yan, MD, PhD
• Muxiang Zhou, MD

Our neuro-oncology team

Clinical faculty:

• Anna Janss, MD, PhD, Clinical Director
• Dolly Aguilera, MD
• Claire Mazewski, MD
• Pamela Brill, CPNP
• Rachel Gray, PA

Research-intensive faculty:

• Tobey MacDonald, MD, Program Director
• Robert Castellino, MD
• Dolores Hambardzumyan, PhD
• Anna Kenney, PhD

Our solid tumor team

Clinical faculty:

• Thomas Olson, MD, Program Director
• Bradley George, MD
• Sarah Mitchell, MD
• Kathryn Sutton, MD
• Karen Wasilewski-Masker, MD, MSc
• Amy Lauer, CPNP
• Melissa Martin, CPNP
• Christie Powell, CPNP
• Betsy Record, CPNP

Research-intensive faculty:

• Thomas Cash, MD, MSc
• Kelly C. Goldsmith, MD
• Robert Schnepp, MD, PhD

Our cancer survivorship team

Clinical faculty:

• Lillian Meacham, MD, Medical Program Director
• Briana Patterson, MD, MSc

Research-intensive faculty:

• Karen Effinger, MD, MS, Clinical Operations Director
• Jordan Gilleland Marchak, PhD, ABPP
• Ann Mertens, PhD, Research Program Director

Our BMT team

Clinical faculty:

• Kathryn Leung, MD, FAAP, Clinical Director
• Ann Haight, MD
• John Horan, MD, MPH

Research-intensive faculty:

• Lakshmanan Krishnamurti, MD, Program Director
• Shanmuganathan Chandrakasan, MD
• Edwin Horwitz, MD, PhD
• Muna Qayed, MD, MSCR
• Elizabeth Stenger, MD, MSc
• Benjamin Watkins, MD
• Laura Barlow, CPNP
• Lisa Berkenkamp, CPNP
• Elyse Bryson, PA-C
• Kelly Landry, CPNP
• Deborah Lutterman, CPNP
• Ellen Olson, CPNP
• Karman Ott, CPNP
• Katie Spencer, CPNP

Our immune dysregulation team

• Shanmuganathan Chandrakasan, MD, Clinical Director
• Laura Fraser, CPNP

Our sickle cell disease team

Clinical faculty:

• R. Clark Brown, MD, PhD, Clinical Director
• Beatrice Gee, MD, Clinical Director
• Marianne Yee, MD, MSc, Clinical Director 
• Angelica James-Herry, MD
• Tamara New, MD
• Maa-Ohui Quarmyne, MBChB, MS
• Amy Tang, MD
• Enid Broyard, CPNP
• Sara Graciaa, CPNP
• Lindsey Jacobs, CPNP
• Kelci Laporte, CPNP
• Andrea Nowlin, CPNP
• Robin Pitts, CPNP
• Tara Santee, CPNP
• Tina Taylor, CPNP
• Natalia Townsend, CPNP

Research-intensive faculty:

• Clinton Joiner, MD, PhD
• Peter Lane, MD, Program Director
• David Archer, PhD
• Nitya Bakshi, MD, MS
• Carlton Dampier, MD
• Elaissa Hardy, MD
• Hyacinth Hyacinth, MD, PhD, MPH
• Wilbur Lam, MD, PhD
• David Myers, PhD

Our general hematology team

Clinical faculty:

• Jeanne Boudreaux, MD, Clinical Director
• Carolyn Bennett, MD, MSc
• Michael Briones, DO
• Kavita Patel, MD, MSc
• Maa-Ohui Quarmyne, MD, MBChB, MS
• Marianne Yee, MD, MSc
• Trish McElfresh, CPNP
• Codi Horton, CPNP
• Colleen Austin, CPNP

Research-intensive faculty:

• Staci Arnold, MD, MPH, MBA
• Glaivy Batsuli, MD
• Shanmuganathan Chandrakasan, MD

• Satheesh Chonat, MD
• Wilbur Lam, MD, PhD

Our hemostasis and thrombosis team

Clinical faculty:

• Carolyn Bennett, MD, MSc
• Kavita Patel, MD, MSc
• Gary Woods, MD
• Lauren Fogelgren, PA
• Jennifer Pecot, CPNP
• Kelly Tickle, CPNP

Research-intensive faculty:

• Robert Sidonio Jr., MD, MSc, Clinical Director
• Glaivy Batsuli, MD
• Wei Deng, PhD
• Renhao Li, PhD
• John (Pete) Lollar III, MD
• Shannon Meeks, MD
• Brian Petrich, PhD
• Yingchun Wang, MD, PhD

Our cell and gene therapeutics team

• Muna Qayed, MD, MSCR, Clinical Director
• Trent Spencer, PhD, Program Director
• Kavita Dhodapkar, MD, PhD, Translational Research Director
• Chris Doering, PhD
• Lakshmanan Krishnamurti, MD
• Renhao Li, PhD
• Himalee Sabnis, MD, MSc
• Elizabeth Stenger, MD, MSc
• Yingchun Wang, MD, PhD

Our developmental therapeutics team

• Jason Fangusaro, MD, Program Director 
• Melinda Pauly, MD, Clinical Director
• Dolly Aguilera, MD
• Thomas Cash, MD, MSc
• R. Craig Castellino, MD
• Kelly C. Goldsmith, MD
• Stacy Senn, CPNP
• Erin Connelly, CPNP

Our cancer precision medicine team

• Sharon Castellino, MD, MSc
• Thomas Cash, MD, MSc
• Kelly C. Goldsmith, MD
• Douglas K. Graham, MD, PhD
• Anna Kenney, PhD

• Tobey MacDonald, MD
• Melinda Pauly, MD
• Christopher Porter, MD
• Daniel S. Wechsler, MD, PhD

Our cancer predisposition team

• Christopher Porter, MD
• Sarah Mitchell, MD
• Bojana Pencheva, MMSc, CGC

Our psychology team

Clinical faculty:

• Grace Fong, PhD, ABPP
• Alcuin Johnson, PhD
• Jennifer Lee, PhD

• Laura Mee, PhD
• Elizabeth Thompson, PsyD
• Angela Vaz, PhD

Research-intensive faculty:

• James Klosky, PhD, ABPP, Program Director
• Lisa Ingerski, PhD
• Jordan Gilleland Marchak, PhD, ABPP
• Soumitri Sil, PhD

Our supportive care clinic team 

• Katharine Brock, MD, MS

Our fellowship and PhD program leaders

• William G. Woods, MD, Director
• Olufolake Adisa, MD, MSc, Associate Director
• Glen Lew, MD, Associate Director
• Wilbur Lam, MD, PhD