Addressing Myeloma Disparities February 26, 2022 Myeloma Round Table

Myeloma survivor, patient advocate, wife, mom of 6. Believer that patients can help accelerate a cure by weighing in and participating in clinical research. Founder of the HealthTree Foundation.

Craig Emmitt Cole, M.D. is a board-certified Hematologist who received his Bachelor of Science degree in physiology at Michigan State University and the College of Lyman Briggs, in East Lansing, Michigan. Dr. Cole went on to receive his doctoral degree at the Ohio State University College of Medicine in Columbus, Ohio. He completed his Internal Medicine Residency and Hematology/Oncology Fellowship at the University of Michigan Health System, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Dr. Cole subsequently had a post-fellowship laboratory research position at the Jerome Lipper Multiple Myeloma Center of Medicine at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts. This opportunity then led him to becoming an attending hematologist at Gundersen Health System in La Crosse, Wisconsin for 9 years. There he was an instructor for both the medical and nursing schools of the western campus of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. He also served as an Affiliate Faculty Member of Graduate Community Health Programs at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, Department of Health Professions. While in Wisconsin, his clinical research interest was in multiple myeloma, malignant hematology, clinical apheresis, and patient reported outcomes in hematology. He then returned to the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the Division of Hematology/Oncology with his primary clinical and research interest being in novel therapeutics in multiple myeloma. In 2019, he came back to Michigan State University in College of Human Medicine - Karmanos Cancer Institute at McLaren Greater Lansing as the Director of Clinical Cancer Research. Dr. Cole next expanded his work in myeloma research and clinical care in July of 2024 by joining the Multiple Myeloma and Amyloidosis Multidisciplinary Team at the Karmanos Cancer Institute as Associate Professor at Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit Michigan and Clinical Associate Professor at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan. Dr. Cole has participated in over 60 clinical trials in Multiple Myeloma and Malignant Hematology. Currently, he is a member of the International Myeloma Working Group, International Myeloma Society, the American Society of Hematology and European Hematology Association. He has published in high impact international journals and presented at the American Society of Hematology, International Myeloma Workshop, and the American Society for Apheresis meetings. Over the past 20 years, he has lectured around the world to patients, researchers, and clinical providers on multiple myeloma, plasma cell dyscrasias, and disparities in cancer care. Dr. Cole has been fortunate to have won awards for his work in student, resident, and fellow teaching, multiple myeloma research, and patient advocacy. Craig has always had a strong commitment to equity of cancer care, patient empowerment, and community education by working with several local, national and international patient advocacy associations to bring the news of myeloma research to everyone.

Greg Brozeit has been engaged in myeloma patient advocacy since 1998. He began working with the Myeloma Crowd in 2015. Prior to that, he consulted with Dr. Bart Barlogie at the University of Arkansas after working with the International Myeloma Foundation for 15 years, where he inaugurated the public policy advocacy program, patient support group outreach and IMF Europe, organizing more than 100 physician and patient education programs. He earned his BA in political science from Loyola University in New Orleans and lives in northeast Ohio.

Ajay Kumar Nooka, MD, MPH, FACP, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology at Emory University School of Medicine and serves as medical director of the Winship Data and Technology Applications Shared Resource at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University. An Emory Healthcare network physician since 2011, Dr. Nooka is a board certified hematologist specializing in the treatment of patients with multiple myeloma. He is a clinical member of the Cancer Prevention and Control research program at Winship Cancer Institute. He serves on the steering committee of the Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium. Dr. Nooka attended Medical School at the Andhra Medical College in Visakhapatnam, India. He earned his Master's in Public Health at the University of Texas School of Public Health. He then went on to complete his residency at Canton Medical Education Foundation in Canton, Ohio. He did his fellowship at the Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University in Atlanta, GA.

Dr. Shakira J. Grant is a physician, entrepreneur, and healthcare executive working at the nexus of clinical care, health policy, and artificial intelligence. She is the founder of CROSS Global Research & Strategy (CROSS), which delivers end-to-end support for responsible health-AI adoption—advancing workflow integration, equity, and policy while building literacy through the CARE AI program. Board-certified in Internal Medicine, Geriatric Medicine, Hematology, and Medical Oncology, she brings nearly two decades of patient-care experience to AI strategy and design. Her policy background includes service as a health policy advisor to the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means. Dr. Grant previously served as an Assistant Professor and principal investigator at UNC–Chapel Hill. She has earned IBM certifications focused on the ethics of AI and transforming businesses with AI. The author of 35+ peer-reviewed publications, she centers solutions that improve access for marginalized communities and was named a 2023 Healio Next-Gen Disruptive Innovator.

Mark Fiala is an Adjunct Professor in the Medical Family Therapy Program. He is a Licensed Social Worker and an Instructor at Washington University in the Department of Medicine, Oncology Division. His interests include Cancer Health Disparities, Healthcare Decision Making, and Healthcare Utilization and Economics.