Category: Hematology and Oncology
Paul Armistead Becomes New Director of UNC’s Bone Marrow Transplant and Cellular Therapy Program
Paul Michael Armistead MD, PhD, an associate professor of medicine and the associate chief of basic and translational research in the Division of Hematology is the new Director of UNC’s Bone Marrow Transplant and Cellular Therapy Program. Dr. Armistead came to North Carolina from Britain in 1985. He enrolled as an undergraduate at UNC Chapel Hill in 1991 receiving the prestigious … Continued
Congratulations, Carolina Care Excellence Awardees!
Every year, UNC Hospitals conducts the Press Ganey Medical Practice survey to obtain input from patients. Patients are asked if they would refer their provider’s practice to friends and family in the survey. Over the last year, 154 providers within UNC Hospitals received the highest recommendation from more than 89 percent of their patients, putting them in the top quartile natio … Continued
Key awarded a 5-year, $2.2 million T32 grant from NHLBI
Nigel Key, MB, ChB, FRCP has been awarded a 5-year, $2.2 million T32 grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). Now closely aligned with the benign hematology research areas of focus in the Blood Research Center (hemostasis, thrombosis and sickle cell disease), the program will continue to recruit MD and PhD trainees for careers in clinical and basic scienc … Continued
B Cell Function in the Tumor Microenvironment, a Review in Advance, Annual Review of Immunology
Jeremy Meier, MD, fellow in the division of hematology, Benjamin G. Vincent, MD, assistant professor in hematology, and Jonathan S. Serody, MD, chief of the division of hematology, are authors of the review “B Cell Function in the Tumor Microenvironment,” soon to be published in the Annual Review of Immunology. First author is Stephanie M. Downs-Canner, MD, assistant professor in … Continued
Immunotherapy After High-Dose Chemotherapy Leads to Favorable Outcomes in Acute Myeloid Leukemia
A clinical trial conducted at UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center and Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center found that high-dose cytarabine followed by subsequent immunotherapy treatment with pembrolizumab benefited patients with resistant or relapsed acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a highly aggressive cancer. The findings were published in Blood Cancer Dis … Continued
Grant Receives $200,000 to Study Impact of Multiple Myeloma on Older Adult Patients, Care Partners
The National Institute on Aging has awarded Shakira Grant, MBBS, and the UNC Center for Aging and Health a 2-year, $200,000 grant to study the illness and treatment experiences and functional trajectories of older adults with multiple myeloma and their care partners. Grant is assistant professor in the divisions of hematology and geriatric medicine. Multiple myeloma is a disease … Continued
Sickle Cell Disease Conference: Moving On – A Post COVID Look at Sickle Cell Disease, September 24-25, 2021
The 9th Annual Sickle Cell Disease Conference encompasses two virtual sessions September 24 and 25, 2021, from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. This conference is a joint activity between the UNC Sickle Cell Disease Program and Duke University School of Nursing. Session one on September 24 will provide an update on the latest evidence in sickle cell management, including new FDA-approved pharma … Continued
We Usually Don’t Vote on Intubation
Christopher Jensen, MD, a hematology-oncology fellow, with Katherine “Alex” Despotes, MD, and Benjamin DeMarco, MD, fellows in the division of pulmonary and critical care medicine, recently published “We Usually Don’t Vote on Intubation” in the Chest Journal. Their essay tells the story of a patient who requested the opportunity to cast her vote in the recent election before intu … Continued
Promising Therapy For Patients With Relapsed/Refractory Hodgkin Lymphoma
Natalie Grover, MD, assistant professor in the division of hematology and clinical director of the cell therapy program in the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses her research on anti-CD30 CAR-T therapy for patients with relapsed/refractory Hodgkin lymphoma in a new video featured on the Oncology Learning Network. Following is an excerpt from the transcript: “CAR-T … Continued
Pawlinski, Key Awarded $2.8 Million Grant To Study VTE in Sickle Cell Disease
Rafal Pawlinski, PhD, the Lenvil Lee Rothrock Distinguished Professor of Medicine, and Nigel Key, MD, the Harold R. Roberts Distinguished Professor, both professors in the department of medicine’s division of hematology and members of the UNC Blood Research Center, have been awarded a $2.8 million, 4-year R01 grant from the NIH-NHLBI to investigate the mechanism of venous thrombo … Continued
Kasthuri Leads Post-Hospital Thrombosis Prevention Study For Covid Patients
UNC is now a fully active clinical site for the ACTIV-4c Post-Hospital Thrombosis Prevention Study. This protocol is part of the larger ACTIV (Accelerating COVID-Therapeutic Interventions and Vaccine) study. This protocol focuses on preventing blood clots in patients discharged after being hospitalized with COVID-19. UNC is now enrolling participants in this adaptive, prospective … Continued
Can AstraZeneca Dispel Doubts About Its Shots?
The AstraZeneca shot was supposed to be the vaccine for a couple of billion people. But after reports the shot may trigger a rare side effect, public health officials worry that the people in some countries may have lost faith in the world’s most important vaccine. In an article published by MSN.com and National Geographic, Nigel Key, MD, the Harold R. Roberts Distinguished Profe … Continued