Mary joined HealthTree in 2022. She is now the AML & MDS Patient Engagement Manager. She is passionate about giving power to patients through knowledge and health education. If she can help one patient feel more confident participating in discussions with their healthcare team and making treatment decisions, she will feel like she has succeeded. When she isn't advocating for patients, she loves being an aunt, attending concerts, and experimenting with new recipes in the kitchen.

Dr. Ludovica Marando is a blood cancer specialist and researcher at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. She cares for patients with conditions that can lead to leukemia and studies why some people are at higher risk of developing these diseases. Her research focuses on understanding early warning signs in the blood—changes known as “clonal hematopoiesis”—that can sometimes turn into leukemia. By studying these changes in detail, Dr. Marando hopes to develop more effective methods for identifying individuals at risk and preventing blood cancers before they develop.