Welcome
A welcome message from Program Leadership: Patrick Thompson, MD and Jacquelyn Baskin-Miller, MD
We are happy that you are exploring a fellowship in Pediatric Hematology-Oncology at UNC.
Our fellows are smart, passionate physicians who are deeply committed to providing excellent care for the children of North Carolina. They are also committed to improving the care of all children with cancer and blood disorders by advancing the field of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology through research and scholarship.
The strengths of our program are culture and opportunity.
Our culture is collegial, collaborative, kind, and it encompasses everything we do from patient care, to education, to research. The term “The Carolina Way” was coined by legendary basketball coach Dean Smith, to describe how his teams played. We borrow his term (“The Carolina Way in Pediatric Hematology-Oncology”) to describe how we work. We believe in the importance of our culture and nurture it by modeling our values (collegiality, collaboration, and kindness), promoting open communication, celebrating successes, and encouraging fellowship ownership of their training.
At Carolina, the opportunities for patient care and research are second to none. As the safety net for the state, we treat a diverse patient population, providing services regardless of a family’s ability to pay.
We are North Carolina’s leading enroller in pediatric cancer clinical trials, participating in research through the Children’s Oncology Group and the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation. We have a robust transplant and cellular therapy program that treats patients on institutional trials with cellular therapy products produced at UNC’s GMP-certified facility. In addition, we have dedicated multidisciplinary teams for the care of sarcoma and neuro-oncology patients.
Our hematology patients get world-class care at our Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center, our Hemophilia Treatment Center (HTC), and through our Vascular Anomalies Program. The Sickle Cell Center follows over 400 children and provides comprehensive multidisciplinary care. The HTC continues Carolina’s long history and commitment to patients with bleeding disorders. Critical assays (the PTT test & the Carolina Blue top tube), life-saving treatments (the first factor concentrates), and novel gene therapies have all been pioneered at UNC. The vascular anomalies team brings together specialists from more than ten disciplines to provide life-changing care for patients with hemangiomas, other vascular tumors, and vascular malformations. UNC also boasts Centers of Excellence for Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia (HHT) and Sturge Weber Syndrome.
Research opportunities at UNC are just as plentiful as the clinical opportunities. Our division includes NIH-funded and internationally recognized investigators in epigenetics, CART development, functional brain tumor diagnostics, premature aging and fragility in cancer patients, vascular anomalies, and leukemia genomics and diagnostics.
However, we also encourage our fellows to explore the amazing research opportunities that come with being fully integrated into the UNC campus. As of 2023, UNC ranked 8th among all universities for NIH funding. The Gillings School of Global Public Health and the Eshelman School of Pharmacy are consistently ranked the #1 in the nation. Recent fellows have pursued collaborations across the campus, identifying mentors in public health, pharmacy, the graduate school, the Blood Research Center, and the Lineberger Cancer Center.
We could go on about our program and UNC for much longer (we have not even talked about the dominant women’s soccer, lacrosse, or field hockey teams yet), but we believe this place is special. Check us out. Learn more. You won’t be disappointed.
Patrick Thompson, MD Email: patom@email.unc.edu
Jacquelyn Baskin-Miller, MD Email: jacquelyn_baskin@med.unc.edu