• Jacquelyn Baskin-Miller, MD, UNC School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 
• Vivian Y. Chang, MD MS, UCLA Health, Los Angeles, CA 
• Karen E. Effinger, MD MS, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta, GA 
• Jonathan Davi Fish, MD, Cohen Children’s Medical Center, New Hyde Park, NY 
• Lisa Hartman, MD MAS, Children’s Hospital Colorado, Aurora, CO 
• Monica L. Hulbert, MD, St. Louis Children’s Hospital, St. Louis, MO 
• Jean Mulcahy Levy, MD, Children’s Hospital Colorado, Aurora, CO 
• Karim Sadak, MD MPH MSE, University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital, Minneapolis, MN 
• Bhuvana A. Setty, MD, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus, OH 
• Jodi L. Skiles, MD MS, Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health, Indianapolis, IN 

Mentors for these members are currently being finalized. The 2022–2023 program will kick off in May with a group meeting at the 2022 ASPHO Conference in Pittsburgh. 

Kenneth S. Chen, MD
UT Southwestern Medical Center
Dallas, TX
As a physician scientist, my goal is to improve the care of children with cancer using data. With regards to DEI, the data suggest that we still have room to improve before the demographics of our field reflect the demographics of our patients. I serve on the Diversity Advisory Group to encourage ASPHO to continue gathering data on and addressing the barriers to diversity within the field of pediatric hematology and oncology.

Rosa Diaz MD 
I am a pediatric hematologist and oncologist from San Juan, Puerto Rico. I completed my pediatric residency at Cohen Children’s Medical Center in New Hyde Park, NY and then relocated to Houston, TX to pursue a fellowship in pediatric hematology and oncology and a clinical sub-fellowship in hemophilia and rare bleeding disorders at Texas Children’s Hospital. During my 10-plus years of clinical experience in Houston, I’ve encountered patients, families, trainees, and faculty from diverse backgrounds and have deeply enjoyed getting to know their stories. As a member of ASPHO’s Diversity Advisory Group, I aim to promote diversity, inclusion, and cultural competency to best meet the needs of not only the Society but also the patients and families we serve.  

John Fargo, DO FAAP
Akron Children’s Hospital
Akron, OH
While it has taken me longer than I care to admit, I have learned and reflected internally a great deal about my explicit and implicit biases. As I continue in my career, it is even more evident how a diverse, inclusive team and organization are most successful at fulfilling the goals they set out to achieve. The Diversity Advisory Group is one area where I felt I could take what I have learned, and am still learning, and apply it to ASPHO’s mission of promoting optimal care of children, adolescents, and young adults with blood disorders and cancer.  

Arun Gurunathan, MD
Seattle Children's Hospital
Seattle, WA
My interest in being a member of ASPHO’s Diversity Advisory Group stems from a desire to see that ASPHO’s programming and leadership appropriately reflect the diversity of its membership as well as the patients ASPHO aims to serve, with resources that help underrepresented groups grow within ASPHO and providers give inclusive and culturally competent care. I am especially interested in decreasing the healthcare inequities faced by individuals and families with limited English proficiency.  
  

Kalindi Yajnik Narine, MD
Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus/Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, TX 
Diversity, equity, and inclusion are important in society as well as in ASPHO. They give different perspectives and encourages original thinking, helping us to understand our colleagues and our patients better. Pediatric hematology and oncology have diverse patient populations. DEI discussions and education will help us to understand and give better care to all our patients.  

Carol O'Hear, MD PhD
Gilead Sciences
Foster City, CA
Given my job involves running global clinical trials, I am particularly interested in how the current lack of diversity in clinical trial enrollment can play a detrimental role in our ability to safely and effectively bring drugs to market. In pediatrics, the gap is less than in adult trials, but there are still gaps where enrollment in trials often does not match the distribution in gender, ethnicity, or other demographics in the overall population with that disease. In addition, as the leader for a large team, I have come to appreciate that diversity in my workforce has a direct impact on the success of our work. For example, when designing a trial that will be run in certain countries, insights from team members with different ethnicities have been valuable in making sure eligibility criteria and trial conduct are acceptable outside the United States. I am excited to continue as a member of the Diversity Advisory Group to advance opportunities for promoting diversity, inclusion, and cultural competency within the Society . 

Maa-Ohui Quarmyne, MBChB MS, Phoenix Children's Hospital
Phoenix AZ
I am a pediatric hematologist at Phoenix Children’s Hospital and clinical associate professor at the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Phoenix. My life experiences and career path have taught me the importance of diversity and tolerance in our society. Diversity enriches our lives, spurs innovation, encourages engagement, improves tolerance, and reduces discrimination. I joined the Diversity Advisory Group in 2018, and through our group’s efforts and ASPHO as a larger organization, I hope to continue to engage our community in promoting effective strategies for a diverse, equitable workforce, which should hopefully lead to a better understanding of each other and greater satisfaction in our practice as a whole.   

Nidhi Shah, DO
Attending Physician, Penn State Health
Hershey, PA
I am the current chair for the Diversity Advisory Group for ASPHO. I am interested in promoting ongoing DEI efforts at the institutional and national levels for our patients and their families as well as our colleagues.

William G Woods, MD
Professor and Director Emeritus, Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Centers
Emory University/Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta
Atlanta, GA 
We are all saddened by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Through our sister society, the International Society of Paediatric Oncology (SIOP), there is a way to support work for kids with cancer in Ukraine, many of whom have moved to adjoining countries such as Poland.

What does this have to do with DEI? When an African, Asian, or South American country is invaded or taken over by an adjacent country or an internal civil war, why do news outlets in the United States spend not as much time reporting on them than they do for a Caucasian country such as Ukraine? Case in point: the genocide in Rwanda, with the Tutsi and Hutu indiscriminately killing everyone in sight in the opposite tribe. This is an example of white privilege, shining more light on what happens to Caucasian people than to people of color. Kids are killed in either situation, and we must promote the fact that we need to pay attention to the whole world’s kids.

Pre-Conference Session: Clinical Trials in AYA Oncology: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and a Collaborative Approach, with moderators Kee Kiat Yeo, MD, and Stefanie M. Thomas, MD, and speakers Christabel Cheung, PhD MSW, and Nupur Mittal, MD. (Requires advance registration and additional fee.) 
Add to your calendar: Wednesday, May 4, 7:30-11:30am ET

Leading Anti-Racist Teams, a Hands-On Communications Workshop, with moderator Caitlin Neri, MD, and presenters Alexandra Power-Hays, MD, and Patrick McGann, MD MS 
Add to your calendar: Thursday, May 5, 3:45-4:45pm ET 

Moving the Needle: Equity in Academia, with moderators Jessica Heath, MD, Karen Effinger, MD, and speakers Sylk Sotto, EDD MBA MPS, and Nancy Spector, MD 
Add to your calendar: Friday, May 6, 3:45-5:15pm ET

Can You Hear Me Now?: Cultivating a Culture of Respect, Value, and Appreciation within Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, with moderator Scott Moerdler, MD, and Kathleen M. Sakamoto, MD PhD, Jeffrey S. Dome, MD PhD, and Cristina R. Fernandez, MD MPH 
Add to your calendar: Saturday, May 7, 8:45-9:45am ET

A diverse workforce publication writing group has been appointed to develop a valuable manuscript based upon findings from our workforce-based surveys completed between 2018 and 2021. This publication will highlight and inform the PHO workforce and will include information on the scope of practice and current workforce composition. The writing group comprises physician members from different practice settings and program sizes as well as various primary subspecialties within PHO. The group includes the following core members:

• Caroline Hastings, MD, UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland, Oakland, CA 
• Michelle P. Hudspeth, MD, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC
• John Bergsagel, MD, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta, GA 
• Scott C. Borinstein, MD PhD, Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital, Nashville, TN 
• J. Nathan Hagstrom, MD MHCM, Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital, Allentown, PA, 
• Patrick Leavey, MD, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX
• Diane J. Nugent, MD, Children’s Hospital of Orange County, Orange, CA

Drs. Hastings and Hudspeth are serving as co–lead writers for the group, which will be meeting soon to begin the manuscript development process. The group’s goal is to have a final draft developed by late summer. Following board approval, the manuscript will be submitted for publication in Pediatric Blood & Cancer.   

A big thank you to each of our 2021–2022 member volunteers. Whether you served on a standing committee or task force, volunteered as a liaison to an external partner, contributed through member publications, or were involved in an ad hoc project, we appreciate your commitment to ASPHO!

ASPHO is also excited to welcome incoming committee volunteers as they begin their terms on standing committees. We hope that you find personal fulfillment from being an integral part of your profession and ASPHO’s progress!

ASPHO provides a year-round open application process to be considered for committee openings. Those submitting applications now through this winter will be considered for committee vacancies for the 2023–2024 Society year. For further information on ASPHO committees and to access the application, please visit our committee webpage.

Laboratory Evaluation: 

• WBC: 6.37 x 109/L 
• Hemoglobin: 10.9 g/dL 
• Platelets: 300 x 109/L 
• Absolute neutrophil count: 0.64 x 103/mcL
• Total bilirubin: 0.2 mg/dL 
• ALT: 606 unit/L 
• GGT: 60 unit/L 
• AST: 186 unit/L 
• LDH: 775 unit/L 

The genetics team was consulted to aid in evaluation of possible causes of failure to thrive, transaminitis, and neutropenia. With this clinical scenario, which gene would you be MOST interested in testing for? 

Take the quiz. 

Sarah McDermott, DO MBS and Lauren E. Amos, MD
Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology
Children’s Mercy Hospital, Kansas City, MO

ASPHO's Career Center offers resources for resume writing, coaching, reference checks, and more to stay on top of job openings and hiring trends in the field. Skim the Resources section for resume writing, coaching, reference check, search strategy videos, and more. Create a personal account to save job postings and skim FAQs to learn how to best navigate the site! The Career Center is the go-to source where institutions post employment and targeted recruitment opportunities in the field.