Growing Optimism for Newly Diagnosed Myeloma/High-Risk Disease November 21, 2020 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.

Rozalynn Hite is the Myeloma Coach Director and wife of myeloma patient Richard Hite. Rozalynn is an occupational therapist and mother of three beautiful children.

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.

Leif Bergsagel, MD, is among the top researchers in the world who studies the molecular pathogenesis of multiple myeloma. His laboratory is focused on understanding the molecular events that lead to the development of MGUS and its progression to multiple myeloma. The research of Dr. Bergsagel and his colleagues has identified important subtypes of multiple myeloma that respond differently to treatment, are associated with different survival rates and form the basis for a risk-adapted approach to therapy. Using insights gained from an understanding of the genetic events that lead to the development of multiple myeloma, Dr. Bergsagel’s team have generated a mouse model of the disease. This model is being used to screen novel agents for their anti-myeloma activity. Dr. Bergsagel’s team have cloned more than 35 translocation breakpoints and identified five frequent translocation partners that are present in almost one-half of patients with multiple myeloma. They are now working to identify and clone various translocation breakpoints in order to clarify their roles in the development of multiple myeloma. Another focus is on the MYC oncogene that appears in some patients to cause the progression of MGUS to myeloma. Prior to joining the faculty at the Mayo Clinic, Dr. Bergsagel was on the medical faculty of the University of Toronto and a Medical Staff Fellow at the National Cancer Institute. He was a junior resident at the Stanford University Medical Center, completed his internship at Sunnybrook Medical Centre, and received his MD from the University of Toronto. He is a member of the National Institutes of Health Basic Mechanisms of Cancer Therapeutics Study Section and the American Society for Clinical Investigations. His honors include lectureships at Ohio State University, Hammersmith Hospital in London, England, and the Daniel E. Bergsagel visiting professorship at the Ontario Cancer Institute in Canada. In 2009 he was honored with the Robert A. Kyle Mayo Clinic Distinguished Investigator Award.

Dr. Lee is a hematologist-oncologist who specializes in the care of patients with plasma cell disorders. Before joining SCCA, she completed a fellowship in hematology-oncology at the Cleveland Clinic. Her background also includes experience in researching novel therapies for multiple myeloma, amyloidosis, and other plasma cell disorders. What drew her to SCCA was the opportunity to participate in clinical research and to embrace a collaborative approach to medicine.

Dr. Holstein is a physician-scientist who specializes in the treatment of multiple myeloma and related plasma cell dyscrasias. Prior to joining the faculty at UNMC, Dr. Holstein served as a myeloma specialist at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute and the University of Iowa. Her laboratory is focused on gaining a better understanding of the pathophysiology of multiple myeloma and the development of novel therapeutic agents for multiple myeloma. Her laboratory research has received funding from such sources as the National Institutes of Health, the American Society of Hematology, and the PhRMA Foundation. Dr. Holstein is an active clinical investigator, and has been involved in clinical trials for patients with newly diagnosed myeloma, with relapsed/refractory disease, as well as in the post-transplant maintenance setting. She has written numerous peer-reviewed research articles as well as review articles and book chapters. She is a member of the Alliance Multiple Myeloma Committee and the NCCN Multiple Myeloma Panel.

Parameswaran Hari, MD, MS, is the Armand J. Quick/William F. Stapp Professor of Hematology at Medical College of Wisconsin. Dr. Hari serves as Chief of the Division of Hematology and Oncology in the Department of Medicine. In 2013, Dr. Hari received the Grassroots Champion for Patient Access award from the Association of Community Cancer Centers for promoting clinical efforts in the field of blood cancers. Dr. Hari had fellowships in Internal Medicine and Hematology from the United Kingdom and Medical Oncology and Transplantation at the Medical College of Wisconsin. He earned his MD from the Jawaharlal Institute of Post Graduate Medicine in India and his MBBS from the University of Kerala in India.

Dr Cowan is an assistant professor at UW and Fred Hutch in the division of medical oncology where he focuses on care and research of patients with multiple myeloma and AL amyloidosis. His primary interests lie in helping bring new therapies to patients in the clinic, and helping improve understanding of the global state of multiple myeloma through research collaborations with colleagues abroad.

David Coffey, MD, is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Myeloma at the University of Miami’s Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. He is a computational oncologist focused on precision medicine approaches for multiple myeloma. His research examines how myeloma cells interact with the immune system using advanced single-cell and genomic analyses to understand treatment resistance and identify strategies to strengthen immune-based therapies.