Gwen L. Nichols, MD
Executive Vice President, Chief Medical Officer
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
Rye Brook, NY
Dr. Gwen L. Nichols received her BA from Williams College and received her MD with Honors from the State University of New York. She trained in internal medicine at the University of Chicago, and did her hematology-oncology fellowship at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center(MSKCC) where she served as Chief Fellow. She did post-doctoral research and was a leukemia service attending at MSKCC before being recruited to Columbia University as Director of the Hematologic Malignancies Program.
At Columbia she was the Principal Investigator on numerous clinical trials, ran an active translational research laboratory, and was an Advisory Dean of Students.
Committee service included numerous grant review committees, the SWOG Leukemia Committee, and the Education Committee of ASCO. She continues to serve on the Scientific Advisory Board for the International Waldenstrom’s Macroglobulinemia Foundation. She was chosen “Physician of the Year” at Columbia and received the Humanism in Medicine Award.
Dr. Nichols joined Roche in 2007 and led the MDM2 franchise. In 2013 she became the Translational Medicine Group Head for Molecularly Targeted Therapeutics and Oncology for the Roche Innovation Center in New York. As of March 2017, Dr. Nichols joined the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society as their Chief Medical Officer, where she oversees their mission including research, patient access, education, public policy, and advocacy.
David L. Porter, MD (Chair)
Jodi Fisher Horowitz
Professor in Leukemia Care Excellence
Director, Blood and Marrow Transplantation
Perelman School of Medicine
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
Dr. David L. Porter is the Jodi Fisher-Horowitz Professor of Leukemia Care Excellence at the Perelman School of Medicine and Abramson Cancer Center, and Director of the Blood and Marrow Transplantation and Cellular Therapeutics program at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. He is a graduate of the University of Rochester and earned his medical degree at Brown University. He completed his internship and residency at Boston University Hospital, and fellowship training at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston.
He Chairs or serves on numerous local, national and international committees focused on hematologic malignancies, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and cell therapy. He is the Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of the National Marrow Donor Program and a member of the American Board of Internal Medicine Hematology Exam Committee. Dr. Porter is a member of the American Society of Hematology, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, and the American Society of Blood and Marrow Transplantation. He has authored more than 170 research articles and book chapters, is an Associate Editor for the American Journal of Hematology and has served as a manuscript reviewer for numerous high impact medical journals. He is the recipient of several prestigious awards at the University of Pennsylvania including recognition for Professionalism and Mentorship. He is annually recognized as a “Top Doc” in Philadelphia Magazine and Castle Connolly and has been the recipient of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Service to Mankind Award.
Dr. Porter has expertise in development of novel cellular therapies, in the care of patients with hematologic malignancies including acute and chronic leukemia, and in all aspects of hematopoietic SCT. He leads numerous local and national research activities. He is an accomplished clinical investigator with principal research interests in development of novel methods of cellular therapy, stem cell transplantation, and allogeneic adoptive immunotherapy. Dr. Porter has worked with colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania to pioneer successful development of CAR T cells (genetically modified T cells) to treat B cell cancers like ALL, NHL and CLL. Other research highlights include development of novel trials designed to prevent GVHD after allogeneic SCT by blocking lymphocyte trafficking, and studies to enhance graft-vs-tumor activity at the time of transplant, after non-myeloablative therapy, and for relapse after SCT.
Stephan A. Grupp, MD, PhD
Chief, Cellular Therapy and Transplant Section
Director, Cancer Immunotherapy Program
Director of Translational Research
Center for Childhood Cancer Research
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Novotny Professor of Pediatrics
Perelman School of Medicine
University of Pennsylvania,
Philadelphia, PA
Dr. Stephan A. Grupp, is the Chief of the Cellular Therapy and Transplant Section, Director of the Cancer Immunotherapy Program, and Director of Translational Research in the Center for Childhood Cancer Research at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), and the Yetta Dietch Novotny Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania.
He is a member of the Stem Cell Transplant Section of the Division of Oncology and the Medical Director of the Stem Cell Laboratory. Dr. Grupp graduated from the University of Cincinnati after completing the MD/PhD program with a PhD in Immunology. He completed a pediatric residency at the Boston Children’s Hospital, followed by a fellowship in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and postdoctoral work in Immunology at Harvard University. He then joined the faculty at Harvard University until 1996, when he came to CHOP. His primary area of clinical research is the use of engineered cell therapies in high risk pediatric cancers, and he has led the largest and most successful engineered T cell therapy clinical trial conducted to date (CART19/CTL019 (1, 2)).
His primary laboratory interest is the development of new cell therapy treatments for pediatric cancers and the molecular control of leukemic cell growth. Dr. Grupp is a reviewer for several journals and the author of over 120 peer-reviewed journal articles, as well as numerous abstracts and book chapters.
Stephen J. Schuster, MD
Director, Lymphoma Program
Robert and Margarita Louis-Dreyfus
Professor in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia and Lymphoma
Clinical Care and Research
Perelman School of Medicine
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
Dr. Stephen J. Schuster, is the Robert and Margarita Louis-Dreyfus Professor of CLL and Lymphoma and Professor of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the Director of the lymphoma program and Director of Lymphoma Translational Research at Abramson Cancer Center.
After graduating AOA from Jefferson Medical College and completing his residency at Pennsylvania Hospital, Dr. Schuster completed clinical and research fellowships at the Cardeza Foundation for Hematologic Research. In 1989, he became a member of the Cardeza Foundation at Jefferson Medical College.
Dr. Schuster joined the University of Pennsylvania in 1998. Since then, his research has focused on the development and application of novel immunotherapies for B-cell lymphomas and CLL, including autologous tumor-derived vaccines, autologous costimulated T-cells, radioimmunotherapy, monoclonal antibody therapy, and adoptive immunotherapy using chimeric antigen receptor modified T cells (CAR-T cells).
Dr. Schuster has received numerous awards for outstanding teaching and research. He has over 200 publications.
Jennifer N. Brudno, MD
Staff Clinician
Experimental Transplantation and Immunology Branch
National Cancer Institute
National Institutes of Health
Bethesda, MD
Dr. Jennifer N. Brudno is a staff clinician in the Experimental Transplantation and Immunology Branch of the National Cancer Institute. She received her MD degree from the Emory University School of Medicine. She completed residency training in internal medicine at Johns Hopkins Hospital and fellowship training in medical oncology and hematology at the National Institutes of Health. Her research interest is in the design and execution of clinical trials of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy for Hodgkin lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and multiple myeloma.
Stephanie Farnia, MPH
Director, Health Policy and Strategic Relations
American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation
Madison, WI
Stephanie Farnia, MPH has served as Director, Health Policy and Strategic Relations for the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation since December 2016. Ms. Farnia leads initiatives focused on improving access to hematopoietic cell transplant, CAR-T and other cellular therapies through legislative, regulatory and stakeholder activities, including collaborative partnerships between providers and national payers. Previously, Ms. Farnia served in roles as the Director for Payer Policy at the National Marrow Donor Program/Be The Match and Director, Blue Distinction Development at the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. Ms. Farnia holds a Masters degree in Public Health Policy and Administration from the University of Minnesota, where she was a Judd Fellow.
Noelle Frey, MD, MS
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Perelman School of Medicine
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
Dr. Noelle Frey is an Assistant Professor of Medicine and the Associate Director of Bone Marrow Transplant Cellular Therapeutics at the University of Pennsylvania. She received her BS from Yale University and received her Medical Degree from Columbia University. She completed her residency and fellowship training at UPENN where she remains on faculty.
Dr. Frey was a recipient of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Special Fellow in Clinical Research and recipient of the Robert Austrian Award for Translational Research. Dr. Frey’s clinical and research interests focus on early phase clinical trials using novel therapeutics, including chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells, in patients with leukemia.
Holly McConville, RN, BSN
Clinical Trial Specialist
Clinical Trial Support Center
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
Rye Brook, NY
Holly McConville, RN, BSN, is a nurse who has over twenty years of experience working with oncology patients. For the past twelve years, Holly has worked in clinical research with her previous position as the nurse manager of the Clinical Trials Unit at the University of Pennsylvania. In this position, Holly worked with the early CAR-T clinical trials. Holly is currently working as a clinical trial specialist for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. In this position, Holly is able to educate patients and their family members affected by blood cancers about the treatment option of clinical trials and assist them in their efforts to enter a trial. Through education, advocacy, and support services, she and her peers help patients weigh their unique concerns around receiving care through standard treatment or within a clinical trial.
Sergio A. Giralt, MD
Hematologic Oncologist
Chief, Adult Bone Marrow Transplant Service
Melvin Berlin Family Chair in Multiple Myeloma
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
New York, NY
Dr. Sergio A. Giralt is the Chief of the Adult Bone Marrow Transplant Service in the Division of Hematologic Oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. He is affiliated with Weill Cornell Medical College as a Professor of Medicine. He received his medical degree from Universidad Central de Venezuela in Caracas, Venezuela, and completed his postgraduate internship at the University Hospital of Caracas. He also completed an internal medicine residency at Good Samaritan Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio and a postdoctoral fellowship in hematology and oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Board certified in internal medicine and hematology, Dr. Giralt holds membership in several professional societies, including the American Society of Hematology, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the North American Society of Blood and Bone Marrow Transplantation, and the International Society of Hematology. He holds key positions with several organizations including the International Bone Marrow Transplant Registry Executive Committee, the Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network (BMTCTN) Steering Committee, the National Marrow Donor Program Board of Directors, and the Clinical Advisory Board of the Web site, Managing Myeloma. He is the past President of the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation as well as the Past Chair of the BMT-CTN and the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research.
Dr. Giralt’s clinical research career has focused in three areas:
- Developing better tolerated conditioning regimens for older or medically infirmedpatients with hematologic malignancies to allow them access to this procedure
- Developing novel HCT therapies (conditioning regimens plus post transplant therapies) for autologous and allogeneic HCT for myeloma
- Pursuing strategies that will significantly reduce HCT symptom burden and toxicities
As Chief of the Adult BMT Service, he has had extensive experience designing, implementing, and performing HCT studies both as a principal investigator and as a collaborator.
Dr. Giralt has published over 400 articles and abstracts in the peer-reviewed literature and written chapters for several books. Additionally, Dr. Giralt is a reviewer and editorial board member for several journals.
Saar I. Gill, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Perelman School of Medicine
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
Dr. Saar I. Gill obtained his medical degree and Ph.D. from the University of Melbourne in Melbourne, Australia. He specialized in malignant hematology at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne, and then undertook postdoctoral training in blood and marrow transplantation (BMT) research at Stanford University.
He has been at the University of Pennsylvania since 2011, where he is an Assistant Professor of Medicine. His clinical expertise is in the treatment of patients with leukemia and in BMT. Dr. Gill runs a research laboratory focusing on chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy for leukemia.
Margaret McCormick, RN, BSN, MA, MBA
Consultant
Clinical Trial Support Center
Information Resource Center
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
Rye Brook, NY
In her prior role as Sr. Director, Clinical Trial Support Center, Margaret (Peg) McCormick led the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s efforts to educate and assist people affected by blood cancers about the treatment option of clinical trials. She now serves as a consultant to the team.Patients who may benefit from expanded clinical trial support services are referred to her by her colleagues in the Information Resource Center (IRC), the first point of contact for many patients affected by a blood cancer. Through education, advocacy, coaching and decision-support services, she and her peers help patients weigh their unique concerns around receiving care through standard treatment or within a clinical trial. LLS is the world’s largest voluntary health agency dedicated to blood cancer. It’s mission is to cure leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families.
In addition to her work at LLS, Peg also has a private mindfulness-based psychotherapy practice where she works with individuals affected by life-threatening or chronic illness. Peg earned her Bachelors of Science in Nursing from the University of Minnesota; her Masters in Business Administration from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business; and her Masters in Counseling Psychology from Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. She lives in Denver, Colorado with her husband Ron LeGault.
