ASTCT Talks

In this latest episode of ASTCT Talks, Christina Ferraro, MSN, APRN-CNP, BMTCN, is joined by Beth Faiman, PhD, MSN, APN-BC, AOCN, BMTCN, FAAN, FAPO, to discuss criteria used to determine who is eligible for CAR-T cells, efforts between multi-disciplinary teams to select patients, ethical implications in patient selection and more.

About Christina Ferraro

Christina Ferraro completed her bachelor of science in nursing at The Ohio State University in 2001 and received a master of science in nursing and certification as a family nurse practitioner from Kent State University in 2016. She joined the Cleveland Clinic in 2003 as a registered nurse on the inpatient blood and marrow transplant unit and became an outpatient BMT nurse coordinator in 2006. Christina has been leading the Victor Fazio, MD BMT Cancer Survivorship Program at the Cleveland Clinic since 2016 and has experience in seeing patients with graft-versus-host disease and patients in long-term follow up, emphasizing patient empowerment, education and support.

Christina has presented at numerous regional and national conferences including the Oncology Nursing Conference, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, BMT Infonet, American Society of Transplantation and Cellular Therapy meetings, and Cleveland Clinic nursing grand rounds. Christina is an active author, presenter and educator on the topic of BMT and survivorship and participates in research focused on survivorship and post-transplant complications.

About Beth Faiman

Dr. Faiman is an exemplary leader in cancer nursing, conducting innovative research and integrating new medical knowledge into nursing practices. She is a founding member of the International Myeloma Foundation Nurse Leadership Board and co-developed nurse-led consult clinics to expedite diagnosis and management of thrombosis and plasma cell disorders.

She is an adult nurse practitioner in the Department of Hematology/Oncology at the Cleveland Clinic. Dr. Faiman has influenced cancer care practice by presenting at international and US national conferences, serving as lecture chair, and receiving numerous awards and accolades. She is a Distinguished Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing and holds an appointment on the American Board of Internal Medicine Hematology maintenance of certification committee. She is editor of the Blood and Marrow Transplant certified Nurse (BMTCN) review manual and editor-in-chief of Journal of the Advanced Practitioner in Oncology (JADPRO).

This episode was sponsored by Janssen Oncology and Legend Biotech.

In this latest episode of ASTCT Talks, Dr. Rahul Banerjee, MD, FACP, sits down with Dr. Tania Jain, MBBS. They dive into "How I Treat Cytopenias after CAR T-cell Therapy,” a paper published by Dr. Jain and co-authors (Timothy S. Olson, MD, PhD and Frederick Locke, MD) in Blood in February 2023. They discuss why cytopenias occur after CAR-T therapy, how to evaluate cytopenias after CAR-T therapy, who best to manage cytopenias after CAR-T and more.

About Dr. Rahul Banerjee, MD, FACP

Dr. Banerjee, MD, FACP, (@RahulBanerjeeMD) is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Medical Oncology at the University of Washington and at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center. Prior to moving to Seattle, he completed his hematology/oncology fellowship and advanced fellowship in BMT/CAR-T therapy at the University of California San Francisco. His clinical interests are in multiple myeloma, AL amyloidosis, and CAR-T therapy. His research interests are in toxicity management, digital health, and the patient experience.

About Dr. Tania Jain, MBBS

Dr. Jain, MBBS, (@TaniaJain11) is a physician scientist in the hematological malignancies and stem cell transplantation division with Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at the Johns Hopkins. Her academic focus is cellular therapy and transplantation in the treatment of high-risk hematological malignancies especially myeloproliferative neoplasms. Her primary research focus is to develop strategies to improve outcomes and prevent relapse of hematological malignancies following allogeneic stem cell transplantation. She also serves as the Director of the Immune Effector Cell (IEC) Therapy at Johns Hopkins, where they are currently expanding their CAR T program to help patients with advanced hematological malignancies. Her academic interest in this space lies in developing novel IEC strategies and studying aspects of toxicity of CAR T cell therapy with an aim to improve long term outcomes in these patients.

In this latest episode of ASTCT Talks, Dr. Rahul Banerjee, MD, FACP, sits down with Dr. Urvi A. Shah, MD, to discuss CAR-T vs bsAbs among academic audiences, bispecific antibodies (in particular commercially available teclistamab), future cycles of teclistamab, infections in published trials of bsAbs in myeloma and more.

About Dr. Rahul Banerjee, MD, FACP

Dr. Banerjee, MD, FACP, (@RahulBanerjeeMD) is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Medical Oncology at the University of Washington and at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center. Prior to moving to Seattle, he completed his hematology/oncology fellowship and advanced fellowship in BMT/CAR-T therapy at the University of California San Francisco. His clinical interests are in multiple myeloma, AL amyloidosis, and CAR-T therapy. His research interests are in toxicity management, digital health, and the patient experience.

About Dr. Urvi A. Shah, MD

Dr. Urvi Shah, MD, (@UrviShahMD) is an Assistant Attending in the Myeloma Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine. She completed fellowships in hematology/oncology at Montefiore Medical Center, and in cancer immunotherapy by MSK and the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy in New York. She is board certified in Internal Medicine, Hematology and Medical Oncology.  Her clinical practice includes all plasma cell disorders and her research interests include immune therapies and modifiable risk factors (diet, metabolism, and the microbiome). She opened the first pilot nutrition trial in plasma cell disorders to date (NUTRIVENTION; NCT04920084) in 2021 that completed enrollment. She has 3 other NUTRIVENTION/immune therapy investigator-initiated trials (NCT05640843, NCT04497961, NCT04174196) currently enrolling. Dr. Shah has been supported by career development awards from the National Cancer Institute Paul Calabresi K12, International Myeloma Society and American Society of Hematology Scholar Award.

In this latest episode of ASTCT Talks, Dr. Genovefa Papanicolaou, MD sits down with Dr. Richard J. O'Reilly, MD and Professor Karl S. Peggs, MB, BCh, MA, MRCP, FRCPath to discuss Virus-Specific T-Cells (VST). They dive into what VSTs are, safety of VSTs, challenges and opportunities of adoptive cell therapy for viruses and more.

About Genovefa Papanicolaou, MD

Genovefa Papanicolaou (@GenPapaMD) is an infectious disease physician at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and professor at Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University in New York. She is the past Chair of the Transplant Infectious Disease Special Interest Group (TID-SIG) of ASTCT (2021-2023). Her research areas of interest include viral infections, biomarkers, and personalized infection management.

About Richard J. O'Reilly, MD

Richard J. O’Reilly, MD is the Claire L. Tow Chair in Pediatric Oncology Research and former Chair of the Department of Pediatrics at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. As Chief of the Bone Marrow Transplantation Services in both the Departments of Pediatrics and Medicine, Dr. O'Reilly pioneered transplantation approaches for patients who lack HLA matched siblings. He and his colleagues introduced the use of marrow transplants from matched unrelated donors and thereafter T-cell depleted transplants from HLA half matched donors for children with lethal immune deficiencies and both children and adults with leukemia.  In 1994, he introduced the use of transplant donor T-cells for the treatment of EBV-induced lymphomas. Currently, he is evaluating  adoptive cell therapy employing banked partially HLA-matched and appropriately HLA restricted T-cells from third party healthy donors for viral infections and  leukemias, conducting Phase I and II trials testing adoptive transfer of these  virus-specific and tumor-specific T-cells following T-cell depleted HCT as a therapeutic approach for EBV lymphoproliferative disease, drug resistant CMV infections and leukemic relapse in the post transplant period. 

About Professor Karl S. Peggs, MB, BCh, MA, MRCP, FRCPath

Karl completed his medical training at Cambridge and Oxford Universities. Following specialisation in Haematology, he spent 5 years developing adoptive cellular therapies for viruses at UCL. After taking the position Head of Adult Stem Cell Transplantation Services at UCLH, he spent 3 years at Memorial Sloane Kettering Cancer Center, NY in the laboratory of Dr James Allison, contributing to the body of work underpinning checkpoint blockade that led to the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 2018. On his return, he continued his work in the field of anti-viral T cell therapies, established the clinical translational side of the academic CAR T cell programme at UCLH and ran a joint Research Laboratory with Professor Sergio Quezada in the UCL Cancer Institute from 2010-2021, becoming Head of the Academic Research Department of Haematology in 2019 and Director of the Sir Naim Dangoor Centre for Cellular Therapy. He was a co-founder of Achilles Therapeutics in 2016, transitioning to the CMO role in 2021.

In the next installment of ASTCT’s Titans of Transplant series, Dr. Micah Skeens, PhD, MS, CPNP-PC, is interviewed by Darren J. Johnson, PA. They dive into her story and background as a pediatric oncology nurse of over 20 years and current research interests and passions, including development of an app for medical adherence in transplant. They also discuss importance of mentorship in the field for APPs, the value in making a difference in patients’ lives, current inspirations and more.

About Darren J. Johnson

Darren J. Johnson, PA, is a physician assistant who has been working in the field of transplant since 2011. He got his start in medicine after his own medical scare which completely changed his career focus. He was initially enrolled in journalism school to become a sports anchor but required a bone marrow transplant for MDS which re-routed his future. Following transplant, he was inspired by the care he received to pursue a career in medicine. He has since worked in Seattle at Fred Hutch, in Nashville at Sarah Cannon, and now in Boston at Dana Farber – helping patients and families navigate the complexities of transplant via compassionate caregiving.

About Dr. Micah Skeens

Dr. Skeens (@maskeens) has been a pediatric oncology nurse for over 20 years, much of that career has been spent as a nurse practitioner caring for children and families undergoing bone marrow transplant. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at The Ohio State University College of Medicine and Principal Investigator at the Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. She continues to practice clinically as a nurse practitioner with the Embryonal Tumor Team. Dr. Skeens completed her master’s degree and advanced practice degree from Wright State University in 2003 and her PhD from Vanderbilt University in 2018. She completed a post-doctoral fellowship at NCH in the Center of Biobehavioral Health.

Dr. Skeens’ federally-funded program of research is focused on digital health innovations to improve outcomes of bone marrow transplant patients and children with cancer with an emphasis on adherence and alleviating symptom burden. As PI, she has received numerous grants from national foundations and currently has a NINR funded K99/R00 to develop and evaluate an app to improve adherence to immunosuppressants following pediatric hematopoietic stem cell transplant. She serves in multiple leadership positions in national organizations including the PBMTC, APHON and COG. She has received several awards from the Children’s Oncology Group for her dedicated service and leadership.

In this latest episode of ASTCT Talks, Dr. Andrés Gómez De León sits down with Dr. Aaron Logan to discuss development of current techniques for quantifying measurable residual disease (MRD) in acute lymphoblastic leukemia and MRD's relation to transplantation and cell therapy. They discuss the concept of MRD and its relevance in the treatment of leukemia as a prognostic marker and to help guide clinical decision-making, as well as the future of MRD research and more.

About Dr. Andrés Gómez De León

About Dr. Aaron Logan

In this latest episode of ASTCT Talks, Dr. Firas El Chaer talks with Dr. Alpana Waghmare and Dr. Michael Ison to discuss the winter “Tridemic,” which includes COVID, flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). They discuss the diagnostic and treatment approaches for the Tridemic in recipients of hematopoietic cell transplantation and cellular therapy, examine the precautions and best practices for recipients of hematopoietic cell transplantation and more. This podcast was recorded on December 21, 2022.

About Dr. Firas El Chaer

Firas El Chaer, MD, (@FirasElChaer) is an assistant professor of medicine who specializes in hematology and oncology. He completed a fellowship in infectious diseases for immunocompromised cancer patients at the combined program of Baylor College of Medicine and MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. He then pursued a fellowship in hematology and oncology with a focus on blood disorders. Also, he completed a built-in fellowship in stem cell transplantation at the University Of Maryland School Of Medicine.

His clinical areas of interest are acute leukemia, chronic leukemia, myelodysplastic syndrome, myeloproliferative disorders, aplastic anemia, and clonal hematopoiesis and blood disorders. His research focuses on improving outcomes for acute leukemia in adults by focusing on targeted therapies and overcoming resistance mechanisms.

About Dr. Alpana Waghmare

Alpana Waghmare, MD, (@alpanaw) is a pediatrician who specializes in the treatment and prevention of infectious diseases with a focus on respiratory infections and their impact on vulnerable populations. Her work on viral infections in immunocompromised patients includes the often-overlooked pathogen, human rhinovirus, or HRV, which is a cause of head colds. She is working on numerous COVID-19 projects, such as studying infections in cancer patients who have received transplants or CAR T-cell therapy, and studying the host transcriptome in both healthy and immunocompromised patients in acute SARS-CoV-2 infection.

About Dr. Michael Ison

Michael Ison MD, MS, (@MichaelGIsonMD) completed his medical school training at University of South Florida College of Medicine and the obtained training in Internal Medicine at Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland, Oregon followed by Infectious Diseases at the University of Virginia and Transplant Infectious Diseases Training at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School.  After spending 17 years as a Professor in the Divisions of Infectious Diseases and Organ Transplantation at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, he moved to become the Respiratory Disease Branch Chief within the Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases at NIAID/NIH.  He also currently serves as the Editor-in-Chief of Transplant Infectious Disease.

In the next installment of ASTCT’s Titans of Transplant series, Susan Slater, nurse practitioner and recipient of the Best APP Abstract Award at the 2016 BMT Tandem meetings and the 2020 APP SIG Lifetime Achievement Award, is interviewed by Dr. Jennifer Saultz, Assistant Professor of Medicine at Oregon Healthy & Science University and a member of the Adult Transplant and cellular therapy team.

About Susan Slater

Susan Slater, MN, FNP-BC is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Knight Cancer Institute at Oregon Health & Science University. She has 25 years’ experience as nurse practitioner caring for patients with hematologic malignancies undergoing stem cell transplantation. Her main focus of care is long-term follow up and survivorship care. She’s the recipient of the Best APP Abstract Award at the 2016 BMT Tandem meetings as well as the 2020 APP SIG Lifetime Achievement Award. She is the co-editor of Blood and Marrow Transplant Handbook which is currently in its third edition. She also serves as the Co-director of the Knight Cancer Institute APP Fellowship Program and looks forward to enrolling the first cohort of fellows in January, 2023.

About Jennifer Saultz

Dr. Jennifer Saultz (@jennifernsaultz) is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Oregon Healthy & Science University and a member of the Adult Transplant and cellular therapy team. Her research focuses on the innate immune resistance signatures in AML. She is also a member of the ASTCT Content Committee.

The Titans of Transplant series seeks to recognize, celebrate and chronicle the physicians, researchers, pharmacists, nurses, social workers and more who were on the frontlines of the early days of transplant.

In this latest episode of ASTCT Talks, Dr. Steven Pergam talks with Dr. Amy Spallone and Dr. Emily Ford to discuss Monkeypox in HCT and CAR T. They cover the basics of Monkeypox, risk factors for Monkeypox among patients, presenting symptoms for Monkeypox, vaccines for Monkeypox and more.

About Dr. Steven Pergam

Dr. Steven Pergam (@PergamIC) is an Infectious Diseases Physician and Professor at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in the Division of Vaccine and Infectious Diseases.  He is also the Infection Prevention Director of the Cancer Center, and a faculty member of the University of Washington's Division of Allergy & Infectious Diseases.  His research focuses on the epidemiology, treatment and prevention in high-risk immunosuppressed cancer patients.  He is particularly interested in vaccines and hospital acquired pathogens, and is a member of the ASTCT Infectious Diseases Special Interest Group.

About Dr. Amy Spallone

Dr. Amy Spallone (@A_Spallonii) is an Infectious Diseases physician at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. After completing a 2-year clinical fellowship and a 1-year advanced research fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine, she joined the faculty in 2021 at MD Anderson, where she is the Associate Chief Infection Control Officer and Patient Safety & Quality Officer in her department. She is also involved in numerous treatment and lab-based clinical trials focused on viral pathogens in patients with hematologic malignancies and recipients of hematopoietic cell transplants and cellular therapies

About Dr. Emily Ford

Dr. Emily Ford is an Assistant Professor at the University of Washington and an Associate in the Vaccine and Infectious Diseases Division at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center. She is a physician on the Infectious Diseases consult service at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center and in the Roosevelt Virology Clinic at the University of Washington in Seattle.

In the next installment of ASTCT’s Titans of Transplant series, Dr. John. F. DiPersio, an internationally recognized leader in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and acute leukemia and past president of ASTCT (2019) is interviewed by Dr. Roman Shapiro.

About Dr. John F. DiPersio

John F. DiPersio, MD, PhD is deputy director at Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center, director at Center for Gene and Cellular Immunotherapy and chief of the division of oncology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the Virginia E. and Samuel J. Golman professor of medicine. His research focuses on mechanistic and translational aspects of leukemia and stem cell biology. He has played a key role in the clinical development of plerixafor as a mobilizing agent for stem cell transplantation. DiPersio has played a key leadership role in the team-science work at Washington University that has defined the genetic and epigenetic factors that contribute to clonal evolution and relapse in AML. He has served in leadership roles for the American Society of Hematology (ASH), multiple NIH, CIRM, LLS, and CPRIT Study Sections, and has served on NCI’s Board of Scientific Counselors. He is an elected member of ASCI and AAP, and past president of the American Society of Transplantation and Cellular Therapy (2019).

About Dr. Roman Shapiro

Roman Shapiro, MD is a physician working with the bone marrow transplantation group at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. His main clinical and academic interest is the prevention and treatment of malignant disease following stem cell transplant. His contributions to science include optimizing the use of natural killer (NK) cell therapy, including cytokine-induced memory-like (CIML) NK cells, for the prevention and treatment of post-transplant relapse of myeloid disease.

The Titans of Transplant series seeks to recognize, celebrate and chronicle the physicians, researchers, pharmacists, nurses, social workers and more who were on the frontlines of the early days of transplant.