Texas AYA Oncology Conference 2026

March 27-28, 2026

Advancing AYA Oncology: Technology, Tools, and Tomorrow

Digital health technologies, applications, and electronic platforms are ever increasing in the healthcare space with significant promise in improving care and outcomes for vulnerable populations that historically have faced access challenges and gaps in care, such as AYA Cancer. Considerations for the AYA, AYA-Oncology trainee education, development of AYA oncology nursing expertise, and physicians who care for AYA are included. In addition to leveraging digital communication in AYA cancer care, key issues of focus will include sleep and fatigue and bridging unmet supportive care needs for AYAs with Cancer.

Continuing Medical Education

This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint providership of the University of Texas at San Antonio and the Texas AYA Oncology Conference. The University of Texas at San Antonio is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

The University of Texas at San Antonio designates this live activity for a maximum of 10.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Certificate of Attendance

The American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA), American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) accepts certificates of participation for educational activities certified for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ from organizations accredited by the ACCME.

Healthcare professionals receiving a certificate of attendance should consult with their licensing board for information on applicability and acceptance.

Time	Item	Speaker
8-8:50am	On-site registration & continental breakfast	Cindie Garza
8:50-9:05	Welcome & Conference Theme Overview	Allison Grimes
9:05-9:10	Patient Video Reel	Elephants and Tea
9:10-9:55	Scaling Sleep Solutions for AYAs with Cancer	Eric Zhou
9:55-10:40	Innovative approaches for limb optimization in AYAs	Joseph Alderete
10:40-10:55	BREAK (Coffee/Snack)
10:55-11:40	Web-based support models: Elephants and Tea	Nick Giallourakis
11:40-12:25	Determining Modifiable Risk Factors for Metastasis	Jessica Sheth-Bhutada
12:25-1:25	LUNCH
1:25-2:10	Designing & Testing a Digital Depression Self-Management Tool for AYA Cancer Survivors	Karly Ingram
2:10-2:55	Connecting teams, systems, and AYA patients	Betty Roggenkamp
2:55-3:10	BREAK (Coffee/Snack)
3:10-3:55	Tech for Transitions: Designing digital tools to support AYA survivors of childhood cancer in the transition from pediatric to adult health care	Katie Devine
3:55-4:40	Development of an Innovative Cancer-Related Cognitive Impairment Intervention for AYA Cancer Survivors	Kristin Bingen
4:40-5:25	Social Media Evolution of "The Cancer Patient"	Carlo Lopez
5:30-6:30 PM	Social Event Part 1: Dinner
6:30-8:30PM	Social Event Part 2: Ghost Bus Tour

Time	Item	Speaker
8:00-8:50	Breakfast (sit down)
8:50-8:55	Day 2 Welcome	Manny Esquilin
8:55-9:05	AYACC Presentation	Karen Albritton
9:05-9:50	Enhancing Management of Psychological Outcomes	John Salsman
9:50-10:35	EHR Fertility Tools	Pinki Prasad
10:35-10:45	BREAK (Coffee/Packed Snacks for the road)
10:45-11:30	Interventions to Address Sleep Disturbance and Fatigue	Valerie Crabtree
11:30-12:15	Use of Virtual Characters to Boost HPV Vaccine Uptake	Allison Grimes
12:15-12:25	Closing remarks	Allison Grimes & Manny Esquilin

UTSA Conference Center, Durango Building
501 W. Cesar Chavez Blvd.
San Antonio, TX 78207

Join us for a social dinner followed by a Ghost Bus Tour on Friday, March 27^th!

Dinner, Music, and Art

5:30 – 6:30pm

UTSA Durango Building

Hop On Board the Haunted Bus Tour

6:30 – 8:30 pm

Come aboard the first and original ghost bus tour and be transported into a world of ghostly happenings and terrifying histories. The new ghost bus will drive you into your nightmares, taking in some of San Antonio’s most haunting sights along the way.

You will be led through this ordeal by a sinister guide and driver, a man/woman in tune with the afterlife, who will do his/her best to put you at your unease.

https://www.sistersgrimmghosttour.com/tours/ghost-bus/

Transportation will be provided to guests. Pickup and drop-off will be at the UTSA Durango Building. Space is limited, register today!

*Social Dinner and Ghost Bus Tour are optional.

MD/DO: $250.00
RN, NP, PA, PhD, PsyD, PharmD: $150.00
SW, MA, MS: $100.00
Residents, Fellows, Students: $50.00
Family Members, Community: $50.00
Industry: $250.00

For more information please contact the UT San Antonio Office of CME at cme@uthscsa.edu.

Karen Albritton, MD

AYACC Presentation

AYA cancer survivor, oncology nurse, and patient advocate – turned the challenges of young adult cancer survivorship into a powerful platform for connection and change. Originally from the Philippines, moved to the United States at 23 and was diagnosed with Primary Mediastinal Large B-Cell Lymphoma at 24, had a stem cell transplantation the following year. Founded The Cancer Patient in 2018, building a global community that helps patients feel seen, informed, and supported. Since 2019 – worked in oncology and clinical research nursing, using both professional expertise and personal insight to improve the cancer experience.

Kristin Bingen

Development of an Innovative Cancer-Related Cognitive Impairment Intervention for Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Survivors

Kristin Bingen, PhD is a Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Pediatric Psychology and Developmental Medicine at Children’s Wisconsin-Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW). She has been a practicing health psychologist and behavioral science researcher in pediatric oncology and blood and marrow transplant (BMT) for over 22 years. She is Co-Director of Children’s Wisconsin and Froedtert & MCW’s AYA Cancer Program. Dr. Bingen serves on the Children’s Oncology Group’s AYA Committee as the Behavioral Science liaison. Her primary clinical research interests and expertise are in the evaluation of health-related quality of life (HRQL) and psychosocial aspects of pediatric and AYA cancer and BMT survivorship. My research includes interpreting and integrating data from quantitative and qualitative patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures to develop developmentally appropriate, targeted interventions to promote healthy adjustment and improve outcomes for pediatric and AYA cancer and BMT survivors from cancer diagnosis through survivorship.

Dr. Jessica Sheth Bhutada

Determining Modifiable Risk Factors for Metastasis

Dr. Jessica Sheth Bhutada is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and an attending physician in the Solid Tumor Program at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. She serves as Medical Co-Director of the Adolescent and Young Adult Blood Disease Service, with a clinical and research focus on AYA oncology, early-onset cancers, and health disparities. Her work is supported by a KL2 career development award and has contributed to advancing understanding of metastatic cancer patterns and outcomes in young patients.

Valerie Crabtree

Interventions to Address Sleep Disturbance and Fatigue in AYA with Cancer

Valerie M. Crabtree, Ph.D., is Vice President of Psychosocial Services and a faculty member in the Department of Psychology and Biobehavioral Sciences at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. She joined St. Jude in 2007 as a clinical psychologist and later became Director of Clinical Services and Training before being appointed Chief of Psychosocial Services in 2017. Dr. Crabtree earned her PhD in counseling psychology from the University of Southern Mississippi and completed specialized training in pediatric psychology and behavioral sleep medicine at the University of Louisville School of Medicine, where she also served as an Assistant Professor. Her clinical and research work focuses on sleep, fatigue, coping, and adjustment in children and adolescents with cancer, and she is co‑author of the second edition of Pediatric Sleep Problems: A Clinician’s Guide to Behavioral Interventions.

Katie Devine

Tech for Transitions: Designing digital tools to support AYA survivors of childhood cancer in the transition from pediatric to adult health care

Katie Devine, PhD, MPH is a licensed clinical psychologist with a background in human development. She serves as the Associate Director for the New Jersey Pediatric Hematology Oncology Research Center of Excellence (NJ PHORCE) and the Section Chief of Pediatric Population Science, Outcomes, and Disparities Research at Rutgers Cancer Institute. Her research focuses on the psychosocial aspects of pediatric, adolescent, and young adult cancer survivorship, including patient and family adaptation to illness, adherence to medical recommendations and survivorship care, transitions in care, and health promotion for survivors. Her work has been continuously funded by NCI since 2014.

Nick Giallourakis

Web-Based Support Models: Elephants and Tea

Nick Giallourakis is the Executive Director of the Steven G. Cancer Foundation (SGCF) and Elephants and Tea. Elephants and Tea is a dba under SGCF and is the media brand for adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer patients, survivors and caregivers with the mission to ensure AYAs feel less alone in facing cancer. Nick is a content marketing nerd, both print and digital, and loves using storytelling to build communities such as Elephants and Tea. He is a husband, father, dog lover, and sports enthusiast.

Allison Grimes

Use of Virtual Characters to Boost HPV Vaccine Recommendations for Young Adult Cancer Survivors

Dr. Grimes is a Pediatric Oncologist and Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at University of Texas San Antonio where she serves as the inaugural Director of the AYA Cancer Program. Dr. Grimes’s research is focused on supportive care and cancer care delivery in childhood and adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer. This effort is supported nationally by her involvement in the Children’s Oncology Group as the Vice Chair for Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Committee and the Chair of the metabolic Dysfunction & Malnutrition Subcommittee within Cancer Control. Dr. Grimes is involved in clinical trial development and trial conduct in AYA-focused cancer care delivery, cancer control & prevention, and supportive care research across the state of Texas and nationally.

Dr. Karly M. Ingram

Designing & Testing a Digital Depression Self-Management Tool for AYA Cancer Survivors

Carlo Lopez

Social Media Evolution of "The Cancer Patient"

Dr. Karly M. Ingram in a clinical health psychologist and an Assistant Professor of Psychology at East Carolina University. Her program of research focuses on the development, evaluation, and implementation of interventions that improve psychosocial wellbeing and health outcomes among AYA cancer survivors. Much of her work uses interventions that can be delivered remotely to ensure their scalability and reach. Currently, she is the PI of an NCI-funded study in which she has taken an iterative user-centered design approach to develop an engaging digital tool to help AYA cancer survivors cope with symptoms of depression.

Dr. Pinki Prasad

EHR Fertility Tools

Dr. Pinki Prasad a pediatric hematologist-oncologist and nationally recognized leader in adolescent and young adult (AYA) oncology and oncofertility. She has built innovative clinical and research infrastructure to bridge pediatric and adult oncology care, with a focus on improving AYA clinical trial enrollment, survivorship outcomes, and equitable access to precision medicine. Her work integrates implementation science and EHR-based interventions to improve real-time identification of AYA patients and increase fertility preservation referrals. Dr. Prasad is committed to developing sustainable, multidisciplinary AYA programs that address the unique biologic, psychosocial, and reproductive health needs of young people with cancer.

Betty Roggenkamp

Connecting Teams, Patients and AYA Systems

Betty Roggenkamp, MS in Health Communication (Northwestern), is a cancer care quality improvement consultant with over 15 years of experience advancing outcomes for Adolescents and Young Adults (AYAs) diagnosed with cancer. Known for her collaborative, patient-centered approach, she brings together interdisciplinary teams to improve care delivery and the lived experience of AYAs. As Program Development Strategist at Teen Cancer America, Betty works with cancer treatment sites nationwide to build comprehensive AYA programs, fosters cross-site clinical collaboration, and promotes provider education and patient around the complex, lifelong impact of cancer diagnosed as a young adult.

John Salsman

Enhancing Management of Psychological Outcomes

Dr. Salsman is a Professor in the Department of Social Sciences and Health Policy at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine where he serves as the Associate Director of Public Health Sciences for Charlotte and the Co-Leader of the Cancer Prevention and Control Program at the Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center. He is a health psychologist by training and a Fellow of the Society of Behavioral Medicine. His work focuses on maximizing the health-related quality of life of adolescents and young adults with cancer both during and after treatment. He does this primarily by improving measurement of patient-reported outcomes in order to amplify patient voices and through adapting and implementing behavioral interventions to foster wellbeing and reduce adverse mental and social health outcomes.

Eric Zhou

Scaling Sleep Solutions for AYAs with Cancer

Eric Zhou, PhD is an Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School and on faculty in the Division of Sleep Medicine. His research focuses on how we can better understand and treat sleep disorders in both pediatric and adult populations, including those with chronic illnesses. This work has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, American Cancer Society, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, private foundations, and industry.