St. Louis October 16, 2021 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.

Todd Foster is the Director of Growth & Strategy at HealthTree. He spent 12 years at MD Anderson Cancer Center before joining Jenny Ahlstrom to help launch HealthTree. Todd specializes in improving the patient experience and helping patients understand their options so they can become more informed and active decision-makers with their care teams. Todd is passionate about using technology to make healthcare easier and help patients live better lives while also using the power of patient data to advance research and accelerate the search for cures.

Ivan Borrello, MD, is associate professor of oncology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and director of the Cell Therapy and cGMP Biologics Core for the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center. He is a member of the Hematologic Malignancies and Bone Marrow Translational Program. Dr. Borello’s clinical research interest is in developing immune based therapies for the treatment of multiple myeloma. HIs laboratory interests have focused on the development of a novel approach of adoptive T cell therapy utilizing marrow infiltrating lymphocyte (MILs) as a more tumor specific T cell approach. This has led to establishing the first adoptive T cell trials at Johns Hopkins, and he is currently exploring this approach in other diseases including non-hematologic malignancies. Dr. Borrello is also examining strategies for treating minimal residual disease (MRD) in myeloma with the combination of immune modulation and whole cell-based vaccines. Dr. Borello served a fellowship at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, completed his residency in internal medicine at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, and earned his medical degree from the Medical College of Virginia.

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.

Madhav V. Dhodapkar, MBBS, is the Anise McDaniel Brock Chair and Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar in Cancer Innovation and Professor in the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology at Emory University School of Medicine. Dr. Dhodapkar serves as director of the Winship Center for Cancer Immunology, and as leader of the Cancer Immunology Research Program at Winship Cancer Institute. Prior to joining Emory, he served as Chief of Hematology, the Arthur H. and Isabel Bunker Professor of Medicine (Hematology), and Professor of Immunobiology at Yale University School of Medicine. An expert in the treatment of multiple myeloma, he also was co-director of the Cancer Immunology Program within the Yale Cancer Center. Other faculty appointments include Myeloma Institute in Little Rock, Arkansas, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, New York, and The Rockefeller University in New York, New York. A board certified hematologist and medical oncologist, Dr. Dhodapkar specializes in the treatment of multiple myeloma and other hematological malignancies. His primary clinical and scholarly focus is the immuno-biology of myeloma and the development of novel biological approaches to treat cancer. Dr. Dhodapkar received his Medical Degree from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi. He completed his residency in internal medicine at St. Louis University, and his fellowship in hematology and medical oncology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

Mark Schroeder, MD, is Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Oncology, Section of Blood and Marrow Transplantation at Washington University School of Medicine. Dr. Schroeder is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and completed his residency in Internal Medicine and fellowship in Hematology and Oncology at Washington University in St. Louis. He joined faculty at Washington University in 2009. He is a member of the Siteman Cancer Center and serves on the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Hematopoietic Cell Transplant Panel. Dr. Schroeder’s clinical research focuses on multiple myeloma, graft versus host disease, and stem cell transplant biology.

Shaji Kumar, MD, is a Professor of Medicine and a Consultant in the Division of Hematology at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN. His research focuses on development of novel drugs for treatment of myeloma. His research team evaluates the in vitro activity of novel drugs that, based on their mechanisms of action, are likely to have activity in the setting of myeloma. Dr. Kumar also evaluates novel combinations of different drugs to identify synergistic combinations that can result in better treatment responses and eventually better patient outcomes. His work on drug development is complemented by an active program studying the biology of myeloma, with a focus on the study of bone marrow microenvironment in multiple myeloma and how it influences the tumor cells, especially the increased bone marrow microvessels seen in myeloma. His clinical research focuses on outcomes of patients with myeloma and amyloidosis, especially high-risk disease. Dr. Kumar conducts National Institutes of Health-funded research on translation of novel therapeutic targets in multiple myeloma as well as the role of cereblon pathways in myeloma. He also receives funding from the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation to study the relationship between molecular profiles, treatment regimens for patients with multiple myeloma and outcomes. Additional research, funded by the National Cancer Institute, investigates the prevalence, onset and biomarkers for progression of monoclonal gammopathies. Dr. Kumar was a research associate at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in the Harvard Cancer Center, a fellow at the Mayo Clinic, and received his medical degree and completed an internship and clinical residencies at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences.

Dr. Ravi Vij is Jeffrey S and Prue H Distinguished Professor of Medicine in the Division of Oncology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, where he specializes in hematologic malignancies with an academic focus on Multiple Myeloma, transplant, and cellular therapies. He also serves as Director of the Multiple Myeloma Program and as Medical Director for Satellite Operations in the Division of Oncology. Dr. Vij pursued his medical education at Maulana Azad Medical College in New Delhi, India, before completing postgraduate training in the United Kingdom. He subsequently moved to the United States, where he undertook an internal medicine residency at Rush University in Chicago, followed by fellowships in medical oncology/hematology and bone marrow transplantation at Washington University. Since joining the faculty in 2000, he has advanced through the academic ranks to full Professor of Medicine. His career has been dedicated to advancing treatment for multiple myeloma and related blood cancers. He currently serves as Senior Editor for the journal Clinical Lymphoma, Myeloma and Leukemia and has served on the Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB/Alliance) Myeloma, Leukemia, and Transplant Committees, the Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium Steering Committee, Clinical Trials Network Myeloma Committee, American Society of Clinical Oncology education and scientific committees, and as Chair of the ASH Scientific Committee on Plasma Cell Dyscrasias. Dr. Vij leads a programmatic effort to further research in multiple myeloma. As the Principal Investigator for the Multiple Myeloma Tissue Banking initiative, he has fostered several collaborative efforts with laboratory researchers at Washington University to study the mutational landscape and clonal heterogeneity of multiple myeloma and its microenvironment. An active clinical investigator, Dr. Vij has led and contributed to numerous pivotal clinical trials that have shaped the modern therapeutic landscape of multiple myeloma. His research includes early development of proteasome inhibitors and immunomodulatory drugs, monoclonal antibodies, novel transplant approaches, immunotherapies including CAR-T cells, bispecific antibodies, and genomics-driven strategies. He has authored more than 300 peer-reviewed manuscripts in leading journals, including The New England Journal of Medicine, Blood, Journal of Clinical Oncology and Leukemia. Dr. Vij has mentored more than 25 fellows in clinical research, nurturing the development of future leaders in hematology and oncology. His contributions have been recognized with multiple honors, including the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation Innovator Award, the Center of Excellence Award, and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Visionary of the Year Award (2023). He has also been repeatedly listed in Best Doctors in America and received the Teacher of the Year Award from the Hematology/Oncology Fellowship Program, underscoring his enduring commitment to education and mentorship.

Dr. Sidana is a hematologist/oncologist trained in advanced hematology with an emphasis on myeloma, amyloidosis, and dysproteinemia disorders. She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine, Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation & Cellular Therapy, at Stanford University School of Medicine. She leads the Myeloma Cellular Immunotherapy program at Stanford. Her areas of expertise include transplantation and novel cellular immunotherapies such as CAR-T-cell therapy for patients with multiple myeloma. For each patient, Dr. Sidana develops a personalized care plan designed to optimize outcomes and quality of life. Dr. Sidana conducts extensive research. Currently, she is conducting clinical trials of CAR-T therapy and bispecific T-cell engagers for treatment of patients with myeloma. She is studying patients’ access to CAR-T cell therapy, the financial burden of the treatment, and its impact on patients’ quality of life and cognitive function. Dr Sidana has received a grant from the Stanford Medicine Cancer Institute and NIH funding through the Stanford KL2 program to study adverse events of CAR-T therapy on patients and monitoring of patients undergoing CAR-T therapy using wearable devices.