What is Genetic Testing and What Does it Mean for MDS Patients?

Mary joined HealthTree in 2022 as a part of HealthTree's team to help expand into all blood cancers. She now works as HealthTree's Volunteer & Community Outreach Manager, helping to engage and involve community members in HealthTree's mission. When she isn't working, she loves being the fun aunt to her 13 nieces and nephews, attending concerts, experimenting with new recipes in the kitchen, and traveling to explore new cities.

Namrata S. Chandhok is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine in the Division of Hematology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, clinical co-leader of the myeloid malignancies program, and member of the Cancer Epigenetics Program at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. She has a longstanding interest in cancer biology with experience in clinical-translational investigation with a clinical focus on the care of patients with myeloid malignancies. Her career goals include improving our understanding of the evolution of myeloid malignancies, identifying disease characteristics that can be exploited for therapeutic gain and clinically applying innovative therapies to improve outcomes for patients with these diseases. To this end, she has an active clinical trial portfolio that includes investigator-initiated studies with biologically relevant correlative studies, as well as larger industry-sponsored, multi-institutional collaborative efforts. Dr. Chandhok is also working to identify pre-leukemic biomarkers that may be acted upon for disease prevention. At Sylvester Cancer Center she spearheaded the development of a clonal hematopoiesis program to advance the care of patients who may be predisposed to the development of aggressive hematologic malignancies. Within the areas of drug development and cancer prevention, Dr. Chandhok aspires to further our understanding of disease biology in varied populations to provide more personalized cancer care.