Sherry Adkins, RN, MSN, ANP-C Advanced Practice Provider Supervisor Lymphoma Research The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Houston, TX

Sherry Adkins, RN, MSN, ANP-C, is an Advanced Practice Nurse with over 20 years of experience.  After completing an Advanced Practice Oncology Fellowship Program at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston in 2008, she began working as a nurse practitioner in the Department of Lymphoma/Myeloma at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. In 2014 she began working with Dr. Sattva Neelapu in leading multiple CAR T-cell therapy clinical trials including the ZUMA-1 Registry Trial which led to the release of the first commercial CAR T-cell therapy for the treatment of lymphoma.  She has been instrumental in developing a commercial program for CAR-T cell therapy and has developed expertise in the CAR T-cell arena, particularly regarding the assessment and management of toxicities.  

Heather DiFilippo, MSN, CRNP Certified Adult Nurse Practitioner University of Pennsylvania Health System Philadelphia, PA

Heather DiFilippo, MSN, CRNP, is a Nurse Practitioner in the Department of Hematology Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplant at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. She has been a nurse practitioner since 2003 and specializes in hematologic malignancies as well as bone marrow transplant and immunotherapy. She has played an active role in managing patients receiving cellular therapy since 2009 and provides ongoing patient education as well as direct patient care during and after infusion. Ms. DiFilippo attended Roanoke College in Salem, Virginia where she received a Bachelor of Science in psychology, before continuing on to pursue a Bachelor of Science in nursing at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. While working in oncology at Jefferson University Hospital, she completed her Master of Science in nursing as well. Ms. DiFilippo is a Board-Certified Adult Nurse Practitioner and licensed in Pennsylvania.

Ilene Galinksy, BSN, MSN, NP-C Research Nurse Practitioner  Senior Adult Leukemia Program Dana Farber Cancer Institute Brigham and Women’s Hospital  Boston, MA

Ilene Galinsky, BSN, MSN, NP-C, is a Senior Adult Leukemia Program Research Nurse Practitioner Leukemia Program at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) and Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) in Boston MA. She has worked at the DFCI for 32 years, beginning as a selected nurse intern on the oncology inpatient service.  After serving as Charge Nurse on the inpatient service and as a Program Nurse in Harvard’s Joint Center for Radiation Therapy, she joined the DFCI/BWH Leukemia Program as a program/research RN. After receiving her Master’s Degree in Adult Primary Care in 2004, she became the senior program research midlevel nurse practitioner in the Adult Leukemia program overseeing many aspects of clinical research activities as well as participating in the care of many patients with leukemia and related disorders.

Currently, Nurse Practitioner Galinsky, is employed full time as the Senior Program Research Nurse Practitioner in the DFCI/BWH adult Leukemia Program where she has implemented a collaboration meeting with pharmacy and nursing at both the inpatient and outpatient setting. In addition, she was recently instrumental in assisting in the establishment of the strategic team for CAR T cells. Currently a part of a research task force looking into safety and educational and communication programs between the research team and the clinical teams. She serves as the co-chair of the Alliance (national oncology trial cooperative group) Oncology Nurse Committee, as well as nurse liaison to the Leukemia, Myeloma, and Transplant Alliance Committees. She is a member of American Society of Hematology and Oncology Nursing Society. She has recently completed her service on the oncology board of the ABIM, serving as the non MD representative.

Kathleen McDermott, RN, BSN, OCN®,BMTCN® Immune Effector Cell (IEC) Program Nurse Navigator  Dana Farber Cancer Institute  Brigham and Women’s Hospital Boston, MA

Kathleen McDermott, RN, BSN, OCN^®, BMTCN^®, is a Staff Nurse with 38 years of experience in the Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Care Program. Since 2000, she has been a lymphoma program/ research nurse coordinating autologous stem cell transplants and in 2015 added CAR T research trials.  In 2018 when commercial products come to market, she accepted the DFCI inaugural position as the Immune Effector Cell (IEC) Program Nurse Navigator. Kathleen played an integral role in the development of DFCI/BWH commercial CAR T program.