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Apply for the K12 Pediatric Oncology Research Training Program Our K12 Scholars
Scholars by Graduation Date
2027
Mohammad H. Abu-Arja, MD, MSc
Arianexys Aquino-López, MD, PhD
2026
Sarah S. Kappa, MD
Gengwen Tian, MD, PhD
2024
Austin J. Stuckert, MD
2023
Stephanie L. Fetzko, MD
Kristen Kurtz, MD
Lauren D. Scherer, MD
2022
Jennifer Agrusa, MD
David H. Steffin, MD
2021
Shoba A. Navai, MD
Joanna S. Yi, MD
2020
Olive S. Eckstein, MD
Samara L. Potter, MD, MBA
2019
Bilal A. Omer, MD
Sarah B. Whittle, MD
2018
Wendy Allen-Rhoades, MD, PhD
2017
Christopher DeRenzo, MD, MBA
Allan Sison, MD
2016
Ricardo J. Flores, MD
Andras A. Heczey, MD
Alexandra M. Stevens, MD, PhD
2015
Rachel E. Rau, MD
Stephen Simko, MD
Matteo Trucco, MD
2012
Patricia A. Baxter, MD, MBA, MS
Maria Monica Gramatges, MD, PhD
Caridad A. Martinez, MD
2011
John A. Craddock, MD
Marla Daves, MD
Jodi A. Muscal, MD
2010
Lindsay Kilburn, MD
Chrystal U. Louis, MD, MPH
2009
Jessica Foglesong, MD
2008
Rachel Egler, MD
G. Doug Myers, MD
Karen Rabin, MD, PhD
2007
Rebecca Johnson, MD
2006
Dean A. Lee, MD, PhD
2005
Terzah M. Horton, MD, PhD
Eufemia Jacob, PhD, RN
Jack Meng-Fen Su, MD
Current Scholars
Mohammad H. Abu-Arja, MD, MSc
Instructor, Department of Pediatrics, Section of Hematology-Oncology, Baylor College of Medicine
Research Mentor: Nabil Ahmed, MD
Clinical Mentor: Murali Chintagumpala, MD
K12 Appointment: 2024-2027
PRTG CAR T Cells for Relapsed/Refractory Group 3 Medulloblastoma
Dr. Abu-Arja graduated from the School of Medicine at the University of Jordan. After medical school, he obtained a Master of Science in Global Health and Public Policy as a Chevening Scholar from the University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom. He completed general pediatrics residency training at New York Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist, affiliated with Weil Cornell College of Medicine. Afterward, he completed his pediatric hematology-oncology fellowship training at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital. Dr. Abu-Arja is pursuing a career as a physician-scientist focusing on neuro-oncology, developmental therapeutics, and immunotherapy. Accordingly, he joined Dr. Nabil Ahmed's laboratory, a well-known expert in the field of immunotherapy, intending to expand his understanding of immunotherapies for treating brain tumors. His research project, in collaboration with Dr. Michael Taylor’s laboratory, aims to develop new chimeric antigen receptor T cells (CART) targeting group 3 medulloblastoma. This project aims to engineer CART targeting group 3 medulloblastoma stem cells. Furthermore, He is training in the methods of successful translation of promising engineered cellular biologics, namely the design of early-phase clinical protocols, good manufacturing practice (GMP) manufacture, and the pathway to approval from the regulatory bodies, including the institutional review board (IRB) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
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Arianexys Aquino López, MD, PhD
Instructor, Department of Pediatrics, Section of Hematology-Oncology, Baylor College of Medicine
Research Mentor: Malcolm K. Brenner, MD PhD
Clinical Mentor: Rayne H. Rouce, MD
K12 Appointment: 2024-2027
Using Virus Specific T Cells in Combination with Oncolytic Adenovirus as Immune Therapy for Osteosarcoma
Dr. Arianexys Aquino López obtained her MD from the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine, and her PhD in Clinical and Translational Sciences from MD Anderson Cancer Center, UTHealth Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. Subsequently, she completed her Pediatrician Scientist Program residency and Pediatric Hematology-Oncology fellowship training at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital.
Her interests include: solid tumor immunotherapy, investigating approaches to potentiate anti-tumor effects of immune therapies against oncologic malignancies, such as cell and antibody therapies. She is also interested in studying the impact of tumor microenvironment in immune suppression to develop approaches to overcome cancer immune evasion. Witnessing her brother go through pediatric cancer treatment served as an inspiration for her to study ways to improve cancer therapies.
Dr. Aquino-López is committed to a career as a pediatrician-scientist with a particular interest in improving treatment options for children with solid tumors through the design of novel immune therapies.
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Sarah S. Kappa, MD
Instructor, Department of Pediatrics, Section of Hematology-Oncology, Baylor College of Medicine
Dr. Kappa attended Emory University School of Medicine and completed her general pediatrics residency training at Children's National Health Center in Washington, DC where she completed a fourth year as a pediatric chief resident. She completed her pediatric hematology-oncology fellowship training at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital. Dr. Kappa joined the Cancer and Hematology Center as a K12 scholar and is a part of the solid tumor team. While clinically Dr. Kappa takes care of pediatric patients with all different types of solid tumors, her research aims to identify new combinations of therapies for the treatment of relapsed of recurrent osteosarcoma. Furthermore, she hopes to identify mechanisms of therapeutic resistance and ways to overcome them. Dr. Kappa is board certified by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
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Gengwen Tian, MD, PhD
Instructor, Department of Pediatrics, Section of Hematology-Oncology, Baylor College of Medicine
Dr. Gengwen Tian graduated from Harbin Medical University in China before earning her PhD in immunology at Baylor College of Medicine. She completed general pediatrics residency training at Driscoll Children’s Hospital followed by a pediatric hematology-oncology fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Tian’s research aims to enhance the anti-tumor potential of invariant natural killer T cells (iNKTs) expressing chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) to treat relapsed neuroblastoma. Dr. Tian found that reducing expression of PRDM1 increases CAR-iNKT persistence and anti-tumor activity following tumor challenge. She has developed screening methodology to identify additional factors that play a role in iNKT anti-tumor activity with the goal of optimizing CAR-iNKT therapy for neuroblastoma patients.
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Mark C. Zobeck MD, MPH
Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Section of Hematology-Oncology, Baylor College of Medicine
Dr. Zobeck graduated with honors from Texas Tech El Paso Paul L. Foster School of Medicine. While in medical school, he also obtained a Master of Public Health from the University of Texas at Houston School of Public Health. He completed general pediatrics residency training and pediatric hematology-oncology fellowship training at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital. Dr. Zobeck’s research uses data science to improve healthcare delivery for children with cancer and blood disorders in low-resource settings. His current project uses geospatial information systems and statistical modeling to identify regions with low access to pediatric hematology-oncology care on the Texas-Mexico border and in sub-Saharan Africa. He is analyzing spatial and health system factors in these regions that impair access to care and cause poor treatment outcomes. His research will help healthcare organizations and policymakers understand how to deliver high-quality care to children no matter where they live.
Past Scholars
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Jennifer Agrusa, MD Dr. Agrusa earned a bachelor of science in brain, behavior, and cognitive science from the University of Michigan. She then obtained a doctorate in medicine from New York University School of Medicine. In 2017, Dr. Agrusa joined Baylor College of Medicine where she practices pediatric oncology and conducts research focused on Hodgkin's lymphoma. Dr. Agrusa’s research aims to determine whether biologic factors, such as gene expression, cytokines/chemokines and telomere length, are associated with the pathogenesis and clinical outcomes in pediatric Hodgkin's lymphoma. |
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Wendy Allen-Rhoades, MD, PhD Research Mentor: Jason T. Yustein, MD, PhD Biomarker discovery and development in pediatric sarcomas Dr. Wendy Allen-Rhoades earned a bachelor of science in biological sciences and psychology from the University of Nebraska. She then obtained a doctorate in medicine from Georgetown University School of Medicine. In 2020, she completed a PhD in clinical investigation from Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Allen-Rhoades’ research focused on discovering and developing biomarkers (microRNAs and genomic markers) for pediatric sarcomas to improve early detection rates, guide therapy choices, monitor progress to therapy, and aid the surveillance for recurrence. |
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Patricia A. Baxter, MD, MBA, MS Research Mentor: Susan Blaney, MD Evaluation of Novel Therapeutic Strategies in Pediatric CNS Tumors Dr. Baxter earned a bachelor of arts in English from the College of the Holy Cross. She then obtained a doctorate in medicine from Jefferson Medical College/Thomas Jefferson University and an MBA in Business from Rice University. She completed her fellowship training in pediatric hematology/oncology and clinical pharmacology at Baylor College of Medicine in 2009 before joining the faculty. In 2012, Dr. Baxter completed a master of science in the Clinical Scientist Training Program at Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Baxter’s research focuses on bringing novel therapies to pediatric patients with brain tumors. As a member of both the Brain Tumor and Developmental Therapeutics Programs at Texas Children’s Cancer and Hematology Center she works to bridge basic brain tumor biology and the clinic through clinical research studies. |
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John A. Craddock, MD Research Mentor: Cliona Rooney, PhD Enhancement of tumor tropism for adoptively transferred T-cells Dr. Craddock earned a bachelor of science in biology from Florida Institute of Technology. He then obtained a doctorate in medicine from Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS). Dr. Craddock’s laboratory research focused on a means to improve the tumor tropic properties of adoptively transferred T cells. Using neuroblastoma as a target, he identified a chemokine commonly secreted by neuroblastoma cell lines for which the receptor was absent on activated T cells. By adding the chemokine receptor to CAR-T cells targeting neuroblastoma, he was able to enhance tumor-tropism toward chemokine-secreting neuroblastoma cell lines and tumors in vitro and in vivo. |
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Marla Daves, MD Research Mentor: Hardeep Singh, MD, MPH Use of a trigger tool to measure timeliness of therapy in pediatric acute lymphoid leukemias Dr. Daves earned a bachelor of science in mathematics from the University of Alabama. She then obtained a doctorate of medicine from the University of Alabama School of Medicine. In 2011, she completed a master of science in health informatics from the University of Texas Health Science Center School of Biomedical Informatics. Dr. Daves’ research applied informatic tools to improve the quality and safety of healthcare in pediatric oncology. She studied the causes and effects of treatment delays in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Dr. Daves worked with the Children’s Oncology group to look at timeliness of therapy in ALL in order to determine the effect on outcomes. |
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Christopher DeRenzo, MD, MBA Research Mentor: Stephen Gottschalk, MD Improving T-cell therapies for solid tumors Dr. DeRenzo earned his bachelor of arts in biology at Rutgers University, and a doctorate in medicine from Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. He performed his pediatric residency training at Case Western Reserve University/Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital, followed by a pediatric hematology/oncology fellowship training at Baylor College of Medicine/Texas Children’s Hospital. At Texas Children’s, he joined the laboratory of Dr. Stephen Gottschalk to study adoptive T cell therapy for children with solid tumors and carried out early-phase clinical studies evaluating the safety and efficacy of T cell therapies for patients with solid tumors. In his current role as a laboratory principal investigator and clinician-scientist at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Dr. DeRenzo continues to develop novel cell therapies for pediatric patients with solid tumors, and translate those findings into early phase clinical studies. |
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Olive S. Eckstein, MD Research Mentor: Carl E. Allen, MD, PhD Optimizing Outcomes in Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis: Improving Front-Line Therapy and Developing Biomarker Based Risk Stratification Strategies Dr. Eckstein obtained her doctorate in medicine from Chicago Medical School, and completed her pediatric residency at Boston Children’s Hospital, followed by a pediatric hematology-oncology fellowship at Texas Children’s Hospital which she completed in 2014. Dr. Eckstein’s research interest is to define the optimal standard therapy for newly diagnosed Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis (LCH) and salvage therapy for relapsed patients. She is the Study Chair of a multicenter investigator-initiated Phase III randomized controlled trial (LCH REASON), which she developed and implemented to determine if low dose cytarabine is superior to the current standard-of-care vinblastine/prednisone in terms of clinical outcomes and toxicity. In addition, she is Study Vice-Chair of NACHO-Cobimetinib, a Phase II clinical trial to study MEK inhibition for patients with LCH and other histiocytic disorders in patients with relapse/refractory disease. As part of these trials, she is conducting translational research to prospectively evaluate the significance of biologic markers in relation to disease classification and response to treatment. Dr. Eckstein is also developing clinical and biologic research to improve earlier detection of LCH neurodegenerative disease and ultimately provide clinical guidance for treatment options and response criteria for this challenging and devastating subcategory of disease. |
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Rachel Egler, MD Research Mentor: Marc E. Horowitz, MD Early Predictors of Relapse in Neuroblastoma Dr. Egler graduated from Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill., and completed a post-baccalaureate year at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She earned her doctorate in medicine from Albany Medical College, Albany, New York. She served a residency in pediatrics at Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, and a fellowship in pediatric hematology and oncology at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She obtained a master of science in clinical research from Baylor College of Medicine while attending at Texas Children’s Cancer Center. Dr. Egler’s clinical research interest focuses on the treatment of pediatric solid tumors, including: neuroblastoma, sarcomas, germ cell tumors and other rare pediatric cancers. |
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Stephanie L. Fetzko, MD Research Mentor: Robin Parihar, MD Dual-targeted natural killer cells for the treatment of pediatric soft-tissue sarcomas Dr. Fetzko earned a bachelor of arts in anthropology from the University of Miami. She obtained her doctorate in medicine from Duke University School of Medicine. In 2019, Dr. Fetzko joined Baylor College of Medicine where she practices pediatric oncology and conducts research on novel approaches for the treatment of pediatric sarcoma. Dr. Fetzko is investigating the use of genetically enhanced natural killer (NK) cells to counter the suppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) of soft-tissue sarcomas while limiting off-target toxicity. She is currently developing a sarcoma-targeted chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) NK cell. |
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Ricardo J. Flores, MD Research Mentor: Chris Tsz-Kwong Man, PhD A Clinical Biomarker Study for Improving Risk-based Stratification in Osteosarcoma Dr. Flores obtained a doctorate in medicine from the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine. Dr. Flores’ research efforts focus on high-risk bone tumors in pediatric patients. Dr. Flores was supported by the National Institutes of Health’s National Cancer Institute (NIH-NCI) to continue his research on pediatric bone tumors, cancer biomarkers, and novel therapeutic targets for high-risk pediatric cancer patients. |
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Jessica Foglesong, MD Research Mentor: Catherine Bollard, MD, MBChB Immunotherapy for Hematological Malignancies Dr. Foglesong earned a doctorate in medicine from SUNY-Downstate Medical Center. Dr. Foglesong’s research interest include novel cellular therapies. Most of her expertise was focused on laboratory research and clinical medicine. Her first training in clinical research was during her faculty training at Center for Cell and Gene Therapy at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. |
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Maria Monica Gramatges, MD, PhD Research Mentor: Alison A. Bertuch, MD, PhD Telomeres and Telomerase in Childhood Cancers Dr. Gramatges earned a bachelor of science in biology and art history from College of William and Mary and a doctorate of medicine from the University of Texas – Houston Medical School. After completing her hematology/oncology fellowship at Stanford University, she joined Baylor College of Medicine in 2009. She completed her PhD in clinical investigation through the Clinical Scientist Training Program at Baylor College of Medicine in 2015. In 2026, she moved to UAB Medicine. Dr. Gramatges’s research explores the genetic and molecular factors underlying outcomes of cancer treatment and cancer outcome disparities. Her work also investigates strategies for improving access to cancer survivorship care and education. She will serve as the Deputy Director of the Institute for Cancer Outcomes and Survivorship. |
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Andras A. Heczey, MD Research Mentor: Leonid Metelitsa, MD, PhD Adoptive Immunotherapy of Pediatric Solid Tumors Dr. Heczey obtained a doctorate in medicine from Semmelweis University in 2002, followed by his residency in general pediatrics at Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles in 2009. He completed his fellowship in pediatric hematology/oncology at Baylor College of Medicine / Texas Children's Hospital in 2012. Dr. Heczey’s research focuses on developing novel treatments for children with solid tumors by redirecting the immune system to attack cancer cells. Dr. Heczey studied and published the first adoptive immunotherapy approach utilizing genetically modified Natural Killer T cells to attack neuroblastoma; he is evaluating this approach in a phase 1 clinical trial. At Texas Children's Dr. Heczey developed a strategy to target hepatoblastoma and hepatocellular carcinoma with genetically engineered T lymphocytes. In 2025, he began at Seattle Children's, where he continues to focus on advancing cellular therapies for solid tumors. |
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Terzah M. Horton, MD, PhD Research Mentors: Helen E. Heslop, MD, DSc (Hon) & Sharon Plon, MD, PhD The Role of Protein Ubiquitination in Pediatric Leukemia, and Dr. Horton earned a bachelor of arts in history/music from Rollins College. She then obtained a doctorate of medicine from the Emory University School of Medicine, as well as her PhD. Dr. Horton’s research interests include molecular causes of leukemia and lymphoma, proteomics, and the deregulation of cell cycle protein degradation during the development of malignancy. She is also interested in developmental therapeutics and the addition of proteasome inhibitors and other cell stress agents into treatment for pediatric leukemia and lymphoma. In addition, she has served in the Children’s Oncology Group (COG) as both a study chair and as a scientist performing correlative biology studies for Hodgkin's lymphoma, acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), and acute myeloid leukemia (AML). |
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Eufemia Jacob, PhD, RN Associate Professor, UCLA School of Nursing Research Mentor: Marilyn Hockenberry, PhD, RN Synergy of Karenitecin and Mafosfamide in Pediatric Leukemia, Medulloblastoma, and Neuroblastoma, and Dr. Jacob earned a bachelor of science in nursing and master of science in nursing from the University of San Francisco. and received her PhD in nursing from the University of California San Francisco. In 2004, Dr. Jacob completed a CAQ in clinical investigation from Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Jacob’s research focuses on helping children with persistent chronic pain to learn self-management behaviors. Dr. Jacob developed the Wireless Intervention Program (WIP), which utilizes handheld electronic devices to self-monitor pain and symptoms at home in children with chronic illness (cancer, sickle cell disease, persistent chronic pain) that facilitated communication about pain and symptoms to care providers. |
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Rebecca Johnson, MD Research Mentor: Ching C. Lau, MD, PhD Outcome Prediction and Drug Targeting for Pediatric Intracranial Ependymomas Dr. Johnson earned a bachelor of arts in biology from Cornell University. She then received a doctorate in medicine from Jefferson Medical College. Dr. Johnson’s research used microarray comparative genomic hybridization gene expression profiling on Affymetrix Human U133 Plus 2.0 arrays to study genetic alterations in childhood ependymoma. |
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Lindsay Kilburn, MD Research Mentor: Susan Blaney, MD Glutathione S-Transferase Polymorphisms and expression in neuroblastoma, and Dr. Kilburn graduated with a degree in environmental sciences from the University of Virginia. After graduating from Eastern Virginia Medical School, she completed her pediatric training at the Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters in Norfolk, Virginia, and her hematology/oncology fellowship at Texas Children’s Hospital / Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. She also has received training in pharmacology from both Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia and the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. Her research focuses on the development and evaluation of new therapeutic agents for children with pediatric brain tumors through clinical trials. She is committed to the improvement of palliative and supportive care. |
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Kristen J. Kurtz, MD Research Mentor: Margaret Goodell, PhD Rachel Rau, MD, Michele Redell, MD, PhD Enhancing cytarabine sensitivity in KMT2A rearranged B-lymphoblastic leukemia Dr. Kurtz earned her bachelor of science degree in cognitive science for the University of California, San Diego. She completed her doctorate in medicine from New York Medical College. She performed her residency training in pediatrics at the University of California, Irvine/CHOC Children's Hospital followed by a pediatric hematology/oncology fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine/Texas Children's Hospital. At Texas Children's she joined the lab of Rachel Rau to study the role of epigenetic changes in the evolution from Transient Abnormal Myelopoiesis to Acute Megakaryoblastic Leukemia in children with Down Syndrome. Her interests have broadened to include identifying and overcoming mechanisms of chemotherapy resistance in patients with high-risk subtypes of childhood leukemia. |
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Dean A. Lee, MD, PhD Research Mentor: Malcolm Brenner, MD, PhD Identification of Tumor-specific T-cell Epitopes in Acute Myelogenous Leukemia Dr. Lee earned his bachelor’s degree in natural sciences from Fresno Pacific College, completed his medical, doctoral, and pediatric residency training at Loma Linda University then completed a fellowship in pediatric hematology/oncology at Texas Children’s Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Lee is a physician in the Division of Hematology and Oncology at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and director of the Cellular Therapy and Cancer Immunology Program at Nationwide Children's Hospital and The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute. He is a professor of pediatrics at Ohio State University College of Medicine and the DiMarco Family Endowed Chair in Cell Based Therapy. Dr. Lee is chair of the Cellular Therapy Strategy Group for the Pediatric Transplant And Cellular Therapy Consortium, a member of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Novel and Exceptional Technology and Research Advisory Committee (NExTRAC) and Gene Drives Working Group, and member of the Cell Therapy Steering Committee for the Children’s Oncology Group (COG). |
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Chrystal U. Louis, MD, MPH Research Mentor: Stephen Gottschalk, MD Immunotherapy for Solid Tumors Dr. Louis earned a bachelor of science in chemistry and a bachelor of arts in political science from Southwestern University. She then obtained her medical degree and a master of public health in health systems management from Tulane University School of Medicine and Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in 2001. Dr. Louis’ primary research efforts were focused on improving immunotherapy options for patients with malignant solid tumors, including nasopharyngeal carcinoma and neuroblastoma. |
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Caridad A. Martinez, MD Research Mentor: Catherine Bollard, MD Improving Immune Reconstitution After Umbilical Cord Blood Stem Cell Transplantation in Pediatric Patients Dr. Caridad Martinez earned a bachelor of science in general sciences from the University of Puerto Rico. She then obtained a doctorate in medicine from the University of Puerto Rico, School of Medicine. Dr. Martinez’s research focus is investigating the feasibility of umbilical cord blood (UCB) transplant in non-malignant and malignant pediatric diseases. Her current area of interest is developing strategies to improve overall survival and immunoreconstitution after stem cell transplantation for patients with primary immunodeficiencies. She also has a particular interest in demonstrating the feasibility and success of stem cell transplantation in the setting of alternate donor sources specially cord blood units for patients with congenital pediatric disorders. Dr. Martinez is a member of the Cell and Gene Therapy Program's translational clinical research and the pediatric bone marrow transplant clinical team, which is part of the Bone Marrow Transplant Program. |
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Jodi A. Muscal, MD Research Mentor: Susan Blaney, MD Inhibitor of Apoptosis (IAP) Antagonists in Pediatric Cancer Dr. Muscal earned a bachelor of arts in English from Duke University. She than obtained a doctorate in medicine from Temple University School of Medicine. Dr. Muscal’s translational research focuses on the pre-clinical development and clinical application of new and targeted drugs for the treatment of childhood cancers. She works with the research team to maximize curative therapy and minimize treatment related toxicity. |
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G. Doug Myers, MD Section Chief, Bone Marrow Transplantation, Hematology/Oncology/BMT Research Mentor: Helen E. Heslop, MD, DSc (Hon) Improving Immunity Post Transplant Dr. Myers earned a bachelor of science in microbiology from Oklahoma State University. He then received a doctorate in medicine and surgery from the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine. Dr. Myers’ areas if interest includes adoptive immunotherapy, immune reconstitution post-hematopoietic stem cell transplant, and solid tumor immunotherapy. |
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Shoba A. Navai, MD Dr. Navai earned a bachelor of arts in mathematics and a bachelor of science in biological sciences from Vanderbilt University. She then obtained a doctorate in medicine from the Medical College of Georgia. In 2010, Dr. Navai joined Baylor College of Medicine where she completed a residency in pediatric and global child health followed by a fellowship in pediatric hematology-oncology. She now practices pediatric oncology and conducts research in immunotherapies for cancer. Dr. Navai currently co-leads two phase 1 clinical trials testing chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapies for patients with HER2-positive sarcoma and patients with HER2-positive brain tumors, respectively. |
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Bilal A. Omer, MD Research Mentor: Cliona Rooney, PhD Optimizing Treatment of Virus Infections and Virus Associated Cancers with T Cells Dr. Omer obtained a doctorate in medicine from Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine & Science, Chicago Medical School. Dr. Omer’s research focuses on cell therapy targeting virus and non-virus associated cancers, using genetically modified T cells. Dr. Omer is a member of the Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT)/Stem Cell Transplant Program and the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy (CAGT). At the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, he has been working on improving T cell therapies for neuroblastoma, lymphoma and acute myeloid leukemia, looking at different ways of improving migration and persistence of tumor-specific and chimeric antigen receptor redirected T cells. |
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Samara L. Potter, MD, MBA Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Section of Hematology/Oncology, Nationwide Children's Hospital Research Mentor: Donald Williams (Will) Parsons, MD, PhD Genomic Analysis of Relapsed and Rare Solid Tumors of Childhood Dr. Potter earned a bachelor of arts with honors in art history from Williams College. She subsequently enrolled in the joint MD/MBA program at Baylor College of Medicine and Rice University, earning both degrees in 2011. Dr. Potter focuses on improving outcomes for children with solid tumors through translational and clinical genomics research. Her research utilizes an integrated sequencing precision medicine approach to identify tumor alterations, with the ultimate goal of improving clinical outcomes in these patients. |
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Karen R. Rabin, MD, PhD Research Mentor: Sharon Plon, MD, PhD Clinical utility of genomic microarrays in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) Dr. Rabin earned a bachelor of arts in psychology from Harvard University. She then received a master of arts in medical law and ethics from Kings College. She obtained a doctorate in medicine from the University of California and a PhD in Clinical Investigation from Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Rabin’s research interests focus on prognosis, management, and genomics of ALL, with special interests in ALL in children with Down syndrome; and disparities in ALL outcomes in Hispanics. |
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Rachel E. Rau, MD Associate Professor, Divisions of Hematology, Oncology, Bone Marrow Transplant, and Cellular Therapy; Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine Research Mentors: Susan Blaney, MD & Margaret A Goodell, PhD 1) DOT1L as a therapeutic target in DNMT3A-mutant hematologic malignancy; Dr. Rau earned a bachelor of arts in biology from Case Western Reserve University. She then obtained a doctorate of medicine from Ohio State University College of Medicine. Dr. Rau’s research aims to develop novel therapies for the treatment of leukemia in children. By working in the lab to better understand the biology of leukemia, her research findings identify new therapeutic targets that are developed and tested for use in the patient care clinic. |
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Lauren D. Scherer, MD Dr. Scherer earned a bachelor of science in biology from the University of Louisville. She then obtained a doctorate in medicine from Wright State University. In 2020, Dr. Scherer joined Baylor College of Medicine where she practices pediatric oncology with a research focus on pediatric leukemia. Dr. Scherer’s research seeks to identify new therapies for patients with difficult to treat leukemia. |
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Stephen Simko, MD Research Mentor: Carl Allen, MD, PhD Translational Biology and Novel Therapeutic Approaches in Hematopoietic Neoplasms, including Mature B-cell non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and Histiocytic Disorders Dr. Simko earned a bachelor of science in biochemistry and microbiology from the University of Georgia. He then obtained a doctorate in medicine from the Medical College of Georgia. Dr. Simko’s research focused on the study of pediatric histiocytic disorders and lymphoma, where he performed both clinical and translational research in those diseases. Dr. Simko’s current research is in late-stage clinical development of bispecific antibodies targeting CD20 and CD3 for the treatment of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. From 2014-2019 he served on the Genentech Innovative Pediatric Oncology Drug Development team, where he conducted strategic planning and medical oversight of multiple phase I and phase II clinical trials in childhood cancer. |
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Allan Sison, MD Research Mentor: Michele Redell, MD, PhD Identifying Mechanisms of Chemotherapy Resistance in Leukemia-Initiating Cells Dr. Sison earned a bachelor of arts in biology and English from Rutgers University. He then obtained a doctorate in medicine from Tufts University School of Medicine. He subsequently earned a certificate in Clinical Investigation from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Sison’s research goal is to identify means to improve therapeutic efficacy in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) through laboratory research and clinical trials. His research has been supported by grants from St. Baldrick’s Foundation, the Conquer Cancer Foundation of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). His research has been published in various scientific journals, including Nature, the British Journal of Hematology, Molecular Cancer Research, Oncotarget, and Pediatric Blood and Cancer. |
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David H. Steffin, MD Dr. Steffin earned a bachelor of science in biology from Brandeis University and a doctorate in medicine from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. He then went on to complete a residency in pediatrics at Maimonides Medical Center and both a pediatric hematology/oncology fellowship and bone marrow transplantation/immunotherapy fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine/Texas Children’s Hospital. In 2018, Dr. Steffin joined Baylor College of Medicine as faculty where he practices pediatric bone marrow transplantation and conducts phase 1 clinical trials within the department of Cell and Gene Therapy. Dr. Steffin’s primary research focuses on developing new Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T cell therapies for children with relapsed and/or refractory solid tumors. |
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Alexandra M. Stevens, MD, PhD Research Mentor: Michele Redell, MD, PhD Targeting the IL-6/Stat-3 Pathway in Acute Myelogenous Leukemia Dr. Stevens earned a bachelor of science in biology from Duke University. She then obtained a doctorate in medicine from Columbia University–College of Physicians and Surgeons.In 2018, Dr. Stevens earned a PhD in clinical investigation. Dr. Stevens’ research interests lie in improving risk stratification and identifying promising new targets for drug development to treat pediatric acute myeloid leukemia (AML). |
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Austin J. Stuckert, MD Research Mentor: Stephen Mack, Bilal Omer, Will Parsons ZFTA-RELA fusion programs converge on YAP pathway activation in ependymoma Dr. Stuckert earned a bachelor of arts in biological sciences from Wellesley College in 2010. She then went on to obtain a doctorate in medicine from the Medical College of Wisconsin in 2014. She completed her pediatrics residency and pediatric hematology-oncology fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital. In 2021, Dr. Stuckert joined Baylor College of Medicine where she practices pediatric oncology with an interest in neuro-oncology and conducts research on difficult to treat pediatric brain tumors. Dr. Stuckert is currently investigating the role of NFkB pathway interactions in ZFTA-RELA fusion ependymoma with the goal of identifying novel targets for therapeutic investigation. She also works on a Phase I clinical trial using CAR T cells to treat GD2 expressing brain tumors. |
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Jack M. Su, MD Research Mentor: Ching C. Lau, MD, PhD Study of Valproic Acid's Neuro-protection Against Radiation, and Dr. Su earned a bachelor of science in chemistry from Stanford University. He then received a doctorate in medicine from the University of California. In 2007, he completed a master of science in clinical investigation from Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Su's research interest is in translational oncology and developing novel agents for treating pediatric CNS tumors. Since completing his K12 fellowship, Dr. Su has been the principal investigator in completing multiple regional and national clinical trials of valproic acid (NCT00107458, NCT00879437), vorinostat (NCT01189266), and veliparib (NCT00946335, NCT01514201) in pediatric CNS tumors through Children’s Oncology Group (COG) and Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium (PBTC). |
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Matteo Trucco, MD Research Mentor: Lawrence A. Donehower, PhD Metabolic Inhibition in Pediatric Sarcomas Dr. Trucco earned a bachelor of arts in biology and philosophy of science from the University of Pennsylvania, followed by a doctorate in medicine from Temple University School of Medicine. Dr. Trucco’s training and research focuses on pediatric sarcomas. He currently develops and implements clinical trials focusing on overcoming the resistance to chemotherapy seen in several of these tumors. In addition to his role at the Cleveland Clinic, he serves as a Vice Chair of the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation’s Sunshine Consortium, dedicated to conducting innovative clinical trials in pediatric cancer and serves on the Advisory Board of several foundations committed to funding groundbreaking research that will lead to more effective and less toxic therapies for children with cancer. |
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Sarah B. Whittle, MD Research Mentor: Jason M. Shohet, MD, PhD Developing Clinical Trials for Osteosarcoma and Neuroblastoma Dr. Whittle earned her doctorate in medicine from the Warren Alpert School of Medicine at Brown University, where she remained for pediatric residency. She came to Texas Children’s Hospital in 2012 for pediatric hematology-oncology fellowship and studied drug development for neuroblastoma in the laboratory of Peter Zage, MD, PhD. In 2016, she completed a master of science in clinical investigation from Baylor College of Medicine. As part of the K12 program, she successfully completed and published the results of an investigator initiated clinical trial for patients with newly-diagnosed, high-risk neuroblastoma, and continues to serve as clinical principal investigator for a Cell and Gene Therapy study for relapsed osteosarcoma and neuroblastoma. After completing the K12, Dr. Whittle was named Director of Clinical Research for the Solid Tumor Programs at Texas Children’s Cancer Center. Her primary research focus is in developing clinical trials for children with sarcoma and neuroblastoma. |
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Joanna S. Yi, MD Dr. Yi earned a bachelor of science in pharmacology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, followed by a doctorate in medicine from the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health. She completed her pediatrics residency at the University of Minnesota and her pediatric hematology/oncology fellowship at Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center. In 2015, Dr. Yi joined Baylor College of Medicine as a member of the developmental therapeutics and leukemia teams as well as the Center for Drug Discovery at Baylor College of Medicine. She is particularly interested in understanding the regulation of key drivers in leukemias and brain tumors, and seeks to bring her lab-based efforts of finding new, targeted drugs to early phase clinical trials for children with hard-to-treat cancers. |