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The University of Texas MD Anderson AYA Oncology Program is proud to host the 11th annual Texas AYA conference February 22-24, 2021. Despite the impact of covid-19, this year’s planning committee has embraced the opportunity to provide this conference in a new, safe and completely virtual way.
This year’s meeting may feel a little different as the oncology community comes together via screens instead of pushing a door, but the conference’s purpose, content, and quality is exactly the same. In fact, a virtual meeting enables us to reach even more oncology professionals from around the country and globe!
Our conference is broken down into 3 short days, each focused on a theme affecting AYA cancer patients and survivors. Monday, February 22nd will focus on survivorship and life after treatment. Tuesday, February 23rd will be dedicated to under-addressed topics like sexual health, gender identity, financial toxicity and advance care planning. Then, we will wrap up on Wednesday, February 24th with panel discussions that focus on program building, expansion and the benefits and challenges of telemedicine among AYA populations.
Whether you’re focused on research, patient care, or program development, there’s something in this conference for you.
Survivorship Opportunities for AYAs, improving life management beyond treatment
Sexual health, gender identity, financial toxicity & advance care planning
Panel discussions, AYA program development and expansion, telehealth benefits & challenges
The Texas Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Oncology Conference is an annual meeting for healthcare professionals who are committed to enhancing the medical and psychosocial standard of care for young people diagnosed with cancer between the ages of 15 and 39.
Physicians, social workers, nurses, clinical navigators, psychologists, therapists, advocacy partners and oncology professionals of all disciplines attend this conference to discover emerging research, apply best practices and collaborate with national program leaders in the field of AYA oncology.
The meeting began in 2010 to raise awareness about the many medical and psychosocial issues affecting quality and quantity of life in this unique patient population. It has since expanded outside of San Antonio to become a national conference that includes hosts from Fort Worth (Fort Worth AYA Oncology Coalition), San Antonio and Houston (MD Anderson AYA Program) in its annual rotation.
Lauren Adams is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) who has over six years of clinical experience working with adolescents and young adults and their families. As the social work counselor in the AYA clinic, Lauren provides counseling to patients and caregivers at no cost to help address areas such as adjusting to a new diagnosis, anxiety, depression, grief and trauma, navigating healthy relationships, body image, sexuality and intimacy, and adjusting to life after cancer. She can also provide education on advanced care planning and help patients and families connect with community resources to increase support.
Dr. Saro Armenian is the Norman & Sadie Lee Foundation Professor in Pediatrics and is the Co-Leader of the Cancer Control and Population Sciences Program at the City of Hope (COH) Comprehensive Cancer Center. He is the Director of the Division of Outcomes Research in the Department of Population Sciences and is the Director of the Center for Survivorship and Outcomes within the Hematologic Malignancies and Stem Cell Transplantation Institute at COH. In this capacity, he oversees the longitudinal follow-up of one of the largest cohorts of long-term survivors of pediatric and adult hematologic malignancies in the United States. His research focuses on understanding the pathophysiology and risk factors for cardiovascular diseases such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, and stroke in survivors of childhood and adult-onset cancers. Taken together, these complications are a leading cause of mortality in survivors of cancer and pose one of the greatest challenges to clinicians taking care of these patients. Dr. Armenian has a number of ongoing studies evaluating novel strategies for early screening and prevention of cancer treatment-related complications, funded by the National Institutes of Health, V-Foundation, American Cancer Society, and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
As Senior Director of Programs, Rachel’s responsibilities include oversight of Cancer and Careers’ program team, and she regularly presents on topics related to cancer and work at community-based events and cancer conferences around the country. Before joining Cancer and Careers, Rachel was Head of Client Services at CarePlanners (cofounded by Dr. Nancy Snyderman), where she designed and implemented a technology-based infrastructure for delivering and monitoring support services. Prior to that, she completed a fellowship in psycho oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Rachel holds a BA from Rutgers University and graduated summa cum laude with an MSW from NYU.
Jen Currin-McCulloch, PhD, LMSW is an oncology and palliative care social work clinician and researcher. After completing her PhD, Jen has focused her research on exploring the function of and meaning of among young adults with advanced cancer. She also studies interprofessional collaboration in palliative care teams and ways to foster dialogues about existential quality of life at the end-of-life.
Dr. Eckstrand is a board-certified child & adolescent psychiatrist and Clinical Assistant Professor at the Western Psychiatric Hospital of UPMC. Dr. Eckstrand holds an M.D. and Ph.D. in neuroscience from Vanderbilt University, and is internationally recognized for their leadership supporting the health of LGBTQ communities. Dr. Eckstrand has published four textbooks and numerous peer-reviewed papers on the mental and physical health needs of LGBTQ communities, including the training of healthcare professionals to provide affirming and responsible care to LGBTQ individuals. Dr. Eckstrand’s clinical work and neuroimaging research focuses on the neuropsychiatric underpinnings of trauma and resilience in adolescents, with an emphasis on minority communities and vulnerable populations.
Cathy Eng has dedicated her career to clinical research, focusing on the development of phase I-III clinical trials using novel therapeutics for biomarker discovery and enhanced drug utilization in colorectal, appendiceal and anal cancer patients. Nationally, she serves on the ASCO Communications Committee, the ASCO Scientific Program Committee, ECOG GI Committee, Vice-Chair for the SWOG GI Committee, and the NCI GI Steering Committee.
Susan Gilchrist, MD serves as a cardiologist and Director of the Healthy Heart Program at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. This is the first cardiovascular prevention program in the U.S. focused exclusively on improving fitness and mitigating existing cardiovascular risk factors in patients treated for cancer. Her research program focuses on epidemiological studies relating cardiorespiratory fitness to cancer outcomes and clinical studies to assess the optimal intensity, duration, and timing of exercise training during and after cancer treatment.
Wendy Griffith is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who has over 12 years of oncology experience utilizing both clinical and program management skills. She joined MD Anderson in 2008 as a clinical social worker in the Head and Neck Clinic, transitioned to a non-clinical senior social work position with project management focus in 2014, and then accepted the role of AYA Program Manager in 2016 when the MD Anderson AYA Program launched. She facilitates the MD Anderson Young Adult Support Group, Young Adult Advisory Council, and several other young adult committees, workgroups, and initiatives.
Alexandra earned her Doctorate of Physical Therapy from Texas Women's University in Houston, TX and her Bachelor's of Science in Biochemistry from The University of Texas in Austin. Alexandra works as a general oncologic physical therapist with a special interest in oncologic pelvic floor. She enjoys working with male and female patients who experience a range of pelvic floor dysfunctions after cancer related treatments with a particular interest in improving patients' quality of life.
Janae Harris is a certified pediatric hematology/oncology (CPHON) nurse who has extensive oncology nursing experience and a deep passion for the adolescent and young adult (AYA) population. As the AYA Patient Navigator Janae’s primary goal is to connect patients with all aspects of the AYA Program and help them navigate through the MD Anderson system at large. She also serves a major role in coordinating fertility preservation.
Dr. Barbara Jones is University Distinguished Teaching Professor, Josleen and Frances Lockhart Professor of Direct Social Work Practice and Associate Dean for Health Affairs at the UT Austin Steve Hicks School of Social Work. At Dell Medical School, she is Chair of the Department of Health Social Work, Associate Director of Social Sciences and Community Based Research in the LIVESTRONG Cancer Institutes, and Distinguished professor of oncology, population health, and psychiatry and behavioral sciences. She is a Founding Steering Committee Member of the UT Austin Center for Health Interprofessional Practice and Education. Dr. Jones is a Distinguished Scholar/Fellow of the National Academies of Practice and past Vice-Chair of the Social Work Academy. She is the Past President of the Association of Pediatric Oncology Social Work and a founding Board member of the Social Work in Hospice and Palliative Care Network. She serves on the National Advisory Board of the Cambia Health Foundation Sojourns Scholars Leadership Program and on the Pediatric Palliative Care Research Network. Dr. Jones’ research focuses on palliative care, pediatric and AYA oncology and social work leadership in healthcare.
Dr. Theresa Keegan, PhD, MS, is an Associate Professor in the Division of Hematology and Oncology, co-leads the Population Sciences and Health Disparities program at the University of California (UC) Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center and is an experienced cancer epidemiologist with a focus on outcomes research, health disparities and cancer survivorship. She is a multiple PI for the UC Davis California Cancer Registry contract and has worked extensively with population-based cancer registry data, both alone and linked to other administrative and clinical databases, to understand patterns of cancer treatment and outcomes. A focus of her research is in adolescent and young adult oncology where her research has documented sociodemographic disparities in stage at diagnosis, treatment, access to specialized cancer center care, late effects and survival.
Donna Kelly has worked in rehab oncology for the last 11 years, first at Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and currently at MD Anderson. She oversees the pediatric/AYA rehab team at MD Anderson. Le;;y recently completed a primary authorship in Cancer and Occupational Therapy with chapter focus on Occupational Therapy’s role in AYA cancer treatment.
Allison Barz Leahy, MD, MSCE’s work is focused on the use of patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures for symptom monitoring in pediatric cancer patients and for this effort she draws on her significant experience in the use of PROs for symptom monitoring in the adult oncology population. Dr. Barz Leahy completed her Pediatrics Residency and Fellowship in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology as well as an additional fellowship in Pediatric Cancer Immunotherapy and Bone Marrow Transplant at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, simultaneously earning a Master of Science in Clinical Epidemiology from the University of Pennsylvania. Her clinical focus is relapsed and refractory leukemia, with a focus in chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy.
Jennifer Levine, MD, MSW is a pediatric oncologist specializing in leukemia, lymphoma and the care of long term survivors of pediatric, adolescent and young adult cancer. She has an interest in fertility preservation, both clinically and a researcher.
Dr. Livingston is a clinician and researcher in Sarcoma Medical Oncology and holds a joint appointment in Pediatric Oncology. He has a particular interest in the care of teens and young adults with cancer and is Co-director of the MD Anderson Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) oncology program. His clinical and translational research is focused on developing new treatment strategies for patients with osteosarcoma and other bone sarcomas.
Lauren Lux, LCSW, directs the AYA Oncology Program at UNC. Her work as Program Director focuses on patient care, research, programming, provider education, quality improvement, and advocacy. Along with her fabulous partners, she leads efforts to improve care for AYAs around the state of North Carolina and is involved in the advancement of the AYA oncology field in the United States. She has worked as a clinical social worker in the field of oncology throughout her career and her clinical practice and program work is inspired and informed by the incredible young people she meets every day.
Dr McVeigh undertook undergraduate medical training, postgraduate core surgical training and Higher Specialist Training in Clinical Genetics in Ireland, with clinical and research fellowships in Yale University, New Haven, USA, and in QIMR Berghofer, Brisbane Australia before moving permanently to the UK to take up a post as a Consultant Clinical Geneticist in the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust in 2018. She was awarded a PhD by the National University of Ireland, Galway, for her work investigating the translational applications of genomic profiling for risk estimation, prognostication and treatment of breast cancer. She also holds a Postgraduate Certificate in Medical Genetics (RCPath UK), Postgraduate Diploma in Medical Science, and a Masters in Clinical Education. She has a subspecialty interest in inherited Predisposition to cancer in Children, Adolescents and Adults, and in application of genomic testing to direct cancer treatment.
Sandra Medina-George is a graduate from the University of St. Thomas where she received a Bachelor of Arts, and from Texas Woman’s University where she received her Master of Science. She is a Licensed Psychological Associate and a Licensed Professional Counselor. She has over 30 years of experience working in Pediatrics at The University of Texas MD Anderson Children’s Cancer Hospital. Since 2007, she has worked as a vocational counselor in the Career and Vocational Psychology Program at MD Anderson. She provides a variety of services to high school and college-aged students to help them continue with their academic and career aspirations. She is also the co-chair for The Young Adult Advisory Council since its inception in 2009.
Dr. Pemmaraju received his medical degree from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock. He completed his internal medicine training in the Osler Medical Program at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, Maryland. He then completed a hematology and oncology fellowship at MD Anderson Cancer Center, where he is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Leukemia. His work focuses on improving outcomes and developing novel therapies for patients with AML, CML, MPN, and BPDCN. He led a multicenter team in a Phase I/II study for patients with BPDCN that ultimately resulted in FDA approval for the first targeted agent available for this rare leukemia. He has contributed to more than 200 peer-reviewed articles and presented his work at both national and international conferences.
Michael Roth, MD is a pediatric oncologist who specializes in the care of children, adolescents and young adults diagnosed with cancer. He is the Director of the Childhood Cancer Survivorship Program and co-Director of the AYA Program at MD Anderson. In addition, Roth is the Chair of the AYA Oncology Discipline Committee within the Children’s Oncology Group.
John M. Salsman, PhD is the Director of Clinical Research in Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Oncology and the Co-Leader of the Cancer Prevention and Control Program at the Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center. He is a health psychologist by training, and his work focuses on maximizing the health-related quality of life of AYAs with cancer both during and after treatment. Salsman does this primarily through three ways: improving measurement of patient-centered outcomes in order to “give patients a voice,” identifying factors that promote resilience and thriving, and implementing behavioral interventions to foster psychological wellbeing. He has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health since 2006 and served as a principal investigator on National Cancer Institute-funded work since 2011.
Dr. Smith is an Associate Professor in the Departments of Radiation Oncology and Health Services Research at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Her clinical focus is on treating patients with gastrointestinal cancers. Her research focuses on quality and outcomes of cancer care and the impact of cancer treatment on financial toxicity in patients and survivors.
Dr. Ashley Wilder Smith oversees staff and initiatives in the Outcomes Research Branch, one of three Branches in the Healthcare Delivery Research Program at the NCI. Her program of research focuses on understanding and improving patient reported health outcomes and quality care for cancer patients, survivors and families. Dr. Smith also manages an NCI/NIH grant portfolio related to identifying and addressing gaps in cancer care and outcomes across the cancer continuum, with particular emphasis on adolescent and young adult (AYA) patients and survivors. Dr. Smith serves the NCI as a co-chair of the Trans-NCI Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology Working Group focused on advancing science and improving outcomes for AYAs with cancer.
Ms. Thoman provides operational management and guidance for the Healthy Living Clinics and Healthy Heart program within the Cancer Prevention Center. She leads the clinical team providing IH services for prevention and survivorship patients as well as directs projects and clinical operations initiatives. Ms. Thoman received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Behavioral Psychology from West Virginia Wesleyan College (2008) and her Master of Science degree in Clinical Exercise Physiology from Marshall University (2010). She is a certified American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Clinical Exercise Physiologist, ACSM Cancer Exercise Trainer and ACSM Exercise is Medicine (Level 3) credential.
Angela Yarbrough has been providing care to pediatric and young adult patients for over 20 years. She spent the first 12 years of her career as a registered nurse and certified family nurse practitioner at hospitals and universities in Mississippi and has been at MD Anderson Cancer Center for the past 11 years. Her practice focus is childhood cancer survivorship and adolescent and young adult oncology. She completed her Doctorate of Nursing Practice in 2019 and is proud to serve as the Children’s Oncology Group Disease Committee Nurse for outcomes and survivorship.
All sessions will be recorded and made available to attendees following the conference. However, CME/CE credit can only be provided to real-time attendees.
ACCREDITATION/CREDIT DESIGNATION – NURSING
The University Of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Is accredited with distinction as a provider of Nursing Continuing Professional Development by The American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation. The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center designates this course will award 9 Nursing Continuing Professional Development (NCPD) credit.
© 2021 All rights reserved
Design by Metamedia Creative Co.