Professor in the Departments of Oncology at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute (KCI) and Wayne State University School of Medicine. He is the leader of the KCI Multiple Myeloma and Amyloidosis Multidisciplinary Team and co-leader of Molecular Therapeutic Program. He is e member of the Steering Committee at the Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium, a medical advisor for the Amyloidosis Support Group Networks, and a member of the International Myeloma Working Group, the International Myeloma Society and the International Amyloidosis Society. He is a member of the Southwest Oncology Group’s (SWOG) Barlogie-Salmon Myeloma Committee. Dr. Zonder has authored or co-authored numerous original research papers, review articles, book chapters, and research abstracts on myeloma and amyloidosis. He completed a fellowship in hematology-oncology at Wayne State University and his medical residency at the University of Rochester, New York. He received his medical degree from Wayne State University School of Medicine.

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 to him 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 Affiliate Faculty Member of Graduate Community Health Programs and Assistant Professor (Adjunct) 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 as an Assistant Professor in the Division of Hematology/Oncology with his primary clinical and research interest being in multiple myeloma. In May of 2019, he returned to Michigan State University College of Human Medicine at Breslin Cancer Center as the Director of Clinical Research in Hematology/ Oncology and Multiple Myeloma. Dr. Cole has been participated in over 50 clinical trials in Multiple Myeloma and Malignant Hematology. He is a member of the International Myeloma Working Group, International Myeloma Society and the American Society of Hematology; he has published in national journals and presented at the American Society of Hematology International Myeloma Workshop, and the American Society for Apheresis meetings. He has lectured across the United States to patients, researchers and clinical providers in multiple myeloma, plasma cell dyscrasias, and disparities in cancer care. He has won awards for his work in student and resident teaching, multiple myeloma research, and patient advocacy. Dr. Cole has always had a strong commitment to equity of cancer care, patient empowerment, and community education by working with several local and national patient advocacy associations to bring the good news of myeloma research to everyone.

Morie Gertz, MD, MACP, is the Roland Seidler, Jr. Professor of the Art of Medicine and Chair of the Department of Medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. He is board certified in Internal Medicine, Hematology and Medical Oncology. Dr. Gertz has also served as Treasurer of the International Myeloma Society and President of Mayo Staff Officers and Councilors. He was the Chair of the Mayo Personnel Committee. Currently he serves on the American Society of Hematology Training Program Committee and the American Board of Internal Medicine Hematology Board Exam Committee. Dr. Gertz has been recognized with the 2014 Jan Waldenström Medal for Medical and Scientific Achievements in Waldenström Macroglobulinemia and is a Mayo Distinguished Clinician. He has been recognized for his contributions in amyloidosis and Waldenström macroglobulinemia, has authored more than five hundred peer-reviewed publications, and is a master of the America College of Physicians. He graduated from Northwestern University with highest distinction as a Phi Beta Kappa and received his medical degree cum laude from Loyola Medical School and was elected to Alpha Omega Alpha, the medical honor society. He completed a three-year medical residency at Rush Presbyterian St. Luke’s Hospital in Chicago and was twice voted Resident of the Year.

I am a hematologist focused on the care of patients with plasma cell disorders, including Multiple Myeloma, Smoldering Multiple Myeloma, Light chain (AL) amyloidosis, Plasma Cell Leukemia, Monoclonal Gammopathy of Undetermined Significance (MGUS), POEMS syndrome, and Monoclonal Gammopathy of Renal Significance (MGRS). I am committed to providing compassionate patient-centered care for patients with myeloma and other plasma cell disorders.

Dr. Richa Parikh received her medical degree from Grant Government Medical College & Sir J.J. Group of Hospitals in Mumbai, India, in 2014. She completed her Internal Medicine residency training from University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), Little Rock, AR in 2019. She then served as an Assistant Professor/academic hospitalist on the multiple myeloma service at UAMS/Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy, Little Rock, AR, 2019-2021. She is currently a third-year Hematology/Oncology fellow at Karmanos Cancer Institute/Wayne State University, Detroit, MI with a clinical and research interest in multiple myeloma and plasma cell dyscrasias. She will be joining Emory University as Assistant Professor/myeloma faculty in Fall 2024.

HealthTree Foundation Founder and President, Blood Cancer Survivor