Precursors Through First Treatment - Houston March 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.

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.

Krina Patel, MD, MSc, is Associate Professor and Center Medical Director in the Department of Lymphoma/Myeloma of the Division of Cancer Medicine at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC) in Houston, TX. She treats only patients with plasma cell dyscrasias and is Principal Investigator for multiple ongoing phase I/II and III immune-oncology and maintenance clinical trials for myeloma patients. Her research interests include myeloma, developing cellular therapies like CAR T, and combining immunotherapy and chemotherapy in the induction, transplant, maintenance and salvage settings and she has completed significant clinical research in hematopoeitic stem cell transplantation. Dr. Patel completed her Hematology Oncology fellowship at MDACC and served as Chief Fellow. She received her MSc for a translational project she completed in the laboratory of Dr. Laurence Cooper, evaluating the combination of CAR T cells and TCR engineered cells with vaccine in in vitro and in vivo myeloma models. She served her clinical residency in internal medicine at the University of Texas UT Health in Houston, TX and earned her medical degree at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, TX.

Dr. Manasanch specializes in the treatment of patients with multiple myeloma. Furthermore, she focuses on translational research of the precursor stages of myeloma and early disease management through groundbreaking immunotherapy-focused clinical trials.

Robert Z. Orlowski, M.D., Ph.D., is Director of Myeloma, and Professor of Medicine in the Departments of Lymphoma/Myeloma and Experimental Therapeutics, where he is board-certified in medical oncology. Dr. Orlowski earned his doctoral degree in molecular biophysics and biochemistry from Yale University and his medical degree from the Yale University School of Medicine. He completed his internship and residency in Internal Medicine at Barnes Hospital at the Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine. After his fellowships in Hematology and Medical Oncology at John Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, he joined the faculty at University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Following that, Dr. Orlowski accepted a position at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in 2007 to lead the Myeloma Section in the Department of Lymphoma/Myeloma. His research interests include pathobiology of, novel therapeutic targets and mechanisms of drug resistance in myeloma which are documented in hundreds of scientific articles, book chapters, and presentations at conferences. Dr. Orlowski is an investigator on numerous clinical trials, and appointed Myeloma Committee Chair for SWOG.

Dr. Qazilbash is a Professor in the department of stem cell transplantation and cellular therapy at UT MD Anderson Cancer Center since October 2002. He completed his hematology-oncology fellowship at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland. Dr. Qazilbash research interests include stem cell transplants and immunotherapies Dr. Qazilbash served a fellowship in hematology and oncology at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute in Bethesda, MD after residencies at the University of Connecticut and Wright State University in Dayton, OH. He earned his medical degree at the University of Karachi, Pakistan.

Hans Lee, MD currently serves as the Director of Myeloma Research at Sarah Cannon Research Institute (SCRI). Prior to his move to SCRI, he was an Associate Professor and Director of Multiple Myeloma Clinical Research in the Department of Lymphoma/Myeloma at MD Anderson Cancer Center. He received his MD from Indiana University. Subsequently, he completed his internal medicine residency training at Washington University in St. Louis, followed by a hematology/oncology fellowship at MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Lee's clinical and research efforts are focused on advancing the care and treatment of patients with multiple myeloma and other plasma cell dyscrasias. In addition to his leadership role at SCRI, Dr. Lee serves as a medical oncologist at SCRI Oncology Partners in Nashville, Tennessee.

Rebecca Lu, MSN, RN, FNP-BC, is a research nurse practitioner and Myeloma Research APRN Supervisor for the Department of Lymphoma/Myeloma at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX. She works intensively with myeloma patients participating in clinical trials. Ms. Lu has authored or co-authored studies on daratumumab, belantamab mafodotin, and numerous novel drug combinations. She is an active volunteer in child care and refugee assistance in Houston. Ms. Lu earned her Master of Science in Nursing from Texas A&M University in Prairie View and her nursing degree from the University of Texas at Arlington.