Hematology / Medical Oncology Fellowship Program

RITA AXELROD, MD

Dr. Axelrod has several research interests which include clinical research in malignancies of the head and neck, lung and esophagus, with emphasis on multidisciplinary management, combined modality therapy, and supportive care. She serves as Director of Head and Neck Oncology and Clinical Director of the Pulmonary Oncology program for the division. She also serves as the Director of the Jefferson Oncology Group, a clinical trials network within the Jefferson Health Care System.

EMMANUEL BESA, MD

Dr. Besa is one of the region's leading authorities in the area of myelodysplasia. He brings a Center of Excellence in myelodysplasia (officially recognized by the Myelodysplasia Foundation) to Jefferson and is helping to build the clinical trial activities outside of BMT in the hematologic malignancies program. His research interests include myelodysplastic syndromes, acute myelogenous leukemias and myeloproliferative disorders. His main research efforts are in clinical trials for the treatment of these diseases using new drugs, new combinations and trying the new targeted agents. He is interested in faculty development in the clinical investigator track.

PAUL BRAY, MD

Dr. Bray is the Thomas Drake Cardeza Professor of Medicine and the Director of the Hematology Division and Cardeza Foundation for Hematologic Research. He also serves as the Director of the Cardeza Special Hemostasis Laboratory. He is on the Scientific Advisory Board for the 2009 ISTH Congress and is an Associate Editor of the Clinical and Translational Science Journal. He has served as Chair of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) Subcommittee on Platelets, Chair of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Hematology Clinical Research Study Section, as a permanent member of the NIH Hemostasis-Thrombosis Study Section, Organizer of the Special Symposium on Basic Science of Hemostasis and Thrombosis at the ASH annual meeting, and three different NIH Strategic Planning working groups on Thrombosis and Hemostasis. Dr. Bray has had continuous funding from the NIH since 1986 and is an Investigator in the Women's Health Initiative. His laboratory studies the role of platelets in cardiovascular disease, and disorders of bleeding and excessive blood clotting. His major areas of investigation include: 1) identification of novel genes and gene variants involved in platelet reactivity using genome scan and platelet RNA expression array approaches, 2) pharmacogenetics of hormone therapy and thrombosis genes, and 3) the effect of estrogen and progesterone on platelet biology and arterial thrombosis.

MATTHEW CARABASI, MD

Dr. Carabasi is the Clinical Director of the Hematologic Malignancies, Blood and Marrow Transplant Program. His interests include allogeneic and autologous stem cell transplant and immunotherapy for the treatment of hematologic malignancies.

JAIME CARO, MD

BRIAN CARR, MD

Dr. Carr has an interest in hepatoma and in particular the use of chemoembolization for the treatment of that disease. He is a nationally known expert in this area. His research interests include basic science and translational efforts in the area of liver cancers.

JOANNE FILICKO-O'HARA, MD

Dr. Filicko-O'Hara is the fellowship director for the combined fellowship program in Hematology and Medical Oncology. Her research interests include the use of stem cell transplantation using alternative donors and the use of stem cell transplantation for non-malignant diseases including sickle cell anemia and autoimmune diseases.

NEAL FLOMENBERG, MD

Dr. Flomenberg is the Chairman of Medical Oncology and also heads the Hematologic Malignancies, Blood and Marrow Transplantation (BMT) Program. He has had a longstanding interest in the immunogenetics and immunology of stem cell transplantation, with the goal of making transplantation safer and more widely available.

JAY HERMAN, MD

Dr. Herman is the Director of Transfusion Medicine, including the Blood Bank and Transfusion Service, Therapeutic Apheresis and the Blood Donor Program. He graduated from Harvard Medical School, and had post-graduate training in Pediatrics, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Adult Hematology, Clinical Pathology and Transfusion Medicine/Blood Banking. His interests have focused on the fields of platelet transfusion practice, platelet transfusion refractoriness, platelet and neutrophil serology, antigen characterization and identification, pediatric/neonatal transfusion, immunohematologic complications of stem cell transplantation, new apheresis technology and most recently hypotensive transfusion reactions. Dr. Herman is a nationally prominent expert in Transfusion Medicine and was recruited by the American Association of Blood Banks to develop and edit books on Platelet Transfusion Therapy and Platelet Alloimmunity and Pediatric Transfusion Therapy, and by both the American College of Physicians and the American Society of Hematology to author chapters in multiple editions of their Physician Self-Assessment Programs.

REBECCA JASLOW, MD

Dr. Jaslow recently joined the program and specializes in solid tumor oncology. Her main interest is in the area of breast cancer, and the use of the multidisciplinary approach to cancer treatment.

MARGARET KASNER, MD, MPH

Dr. Kasner recently joined the program and is primarily interested in the use of novel agents in myelodysplastic syndromes and acute leukemias. She is a member of the BMT program as well. Other interests include epidemiology and public health issues.

MICHAEL KLEIN, MD

Dr. Klein is a hospitalist who spends most of his effort caring for inpatients on the solid tumor oncology service. His efforts have led to a more unified oncology service and a multidisciplinary inpatient approach at TJUH.

JONGMING LI, MD, PhD

Dr. Li is a basic scientist with an interest in tumor immunology. His bench work is well published. He is also a clinician with primary interests in solid tumors, including breast and genitourinary tumors.

MICHAEL J. MASTRANGELO, MD

Dr. Mastrangelo is internationally recognized for his work in melanoma, and limits his practice to advanced cutaneous malignancies, especially cutaneous melanoma. In addition to collaborating with Dr. David Berd in the development of the autologous melanoma vaccine, Dr. Mastrangelo has also worked to explore the use of topical/intralesional wild-type and recombinant (GM-CSF) vaccinia viruses in the treatment of malignant melanoma and bladder cancer. His professional objectives are to improve the clinical outcome for patients with cutaneous melanoma through a better understanding of the biology of the disease, especially as it relates to tumor-host interactions. His clinical research has focused on intralesional therapy with microbial products, especially recombinant oncolytic viruses.

EDITH P. MITCHELL, MD

Dr. Mitchell heads the effort in gastrointestinal malignancies and also serves as the Director of Diversity for the department. She serves as the leader of the Jefferson Cancer Network's GI Cancer Working Group, a group which allows physicians throughout the cancer network the opportunity to participate in program-initiated clinical and translation science efforts.

RONALD MYERS, PhD

Dr. Myers heads the Population Science efforts within the department. His interests include the epidemiology of cancers and improving outcomes. He has been instrumental in formulating some of the policies and guidelines for the medical oncology practice.

TAKAMI SATO, MD

Dr. Sato focuses his clinical activity on improving the prognosis of ocular melanoma patients and patients with metastatic disease. Dr. Sato has evaluated new regional and systemic treatments for metastatic uveal melanoma and has achieved excellent results with hepatic artery infusion of BCNU in lipiodol.

JOHN WAGNER, MD

Dr. Wagner is the Director of the BMT Clinical Laboratory and has an interest in the immunology of allogeneic BMT and Graft-versus-Host Disease. He is an authority on the canine MHC, one of the species that has been an invaluable model for allogeneic transplantation.

Hematology / Medical Oncology Fellowship Program – Faculty Interests

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