Fellow Profiles
First-Year Fellows (2015-2018)
May Chien, MD
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
College: Amherst College
Degree: BA, Biology
Medical School: Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California
Pediatric Residency: LAC/USC Medical Center, Los Angeles
Research:
Meena Kadapakkam, MD
Hometown: Houston, TX
College: University of Texas at Austin
Degree: BS, Biomedical Engineering
Medical School: Baylor College of Medicine
Pediatric Residency: University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, Dallas
Research:
Sara Kreimer, MD
Hometown: Walnut, CA
College: University of Southern California
Degree: BA, Biological Sciences and Religious Studies
Medical School: Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California
Pediatric Residency: LAC/USC Medical Center, Los Angeles
Research:
Second-Year Fellows (2014-2017)
Elysia Alvarez, MD, MPH - Child Health Research Institute (CHRI) Grant
Hometown: Fremont, CA
College: Clark University
Degree: BA, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Masters: MPH, Harvard School of Public Health
Medical School: University of California, Irvine School of Medicine
Pediatric Residency: Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, Stanford University
Research: Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology Patients: Variation in Access to Cancer Centers, California 1983-2013 (Clinical Investigator - Haile)
Emily Johnston, MD - Spectrum Education TL1 Mentored Career Development Award, Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Endowed Fellow in Pediatric Cancer and Blood Diseases
Hometown: Ames, IA
College: Carleton College
Degree: BA, Biology and Latin American Studies
Medical School: Stanford University School of Medicine
Pediatric Residency: Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, Stanford University
Research: Access to Subspecialty Centers for AYA with Cancer: Does Access Change Quality and Intensity of Death (Clinical Investigator, MS Candidate – Chamberlin and Sanders)
Melissa Mavers, MD, PhD - Child Health Research Institute (CHRI) Grant
Hometown:
Saint Louis, MO
College: University of Miami
Degree: BS, Microbiology and Immunology
Doctorate: PhD, Saint Louis University School of Medicine
Medical School: Saint Louis University School of Medicine
Pediatric Residency: University of California, Los Angeles
Research: Expansion of regulatory and invariant natural killer T cells to suppress graft versus host disease (Negrin Lab)
Third-Year Fellows (2013-2016)
Tabitha Cooney, MD - Child Health Research Institute (CHRI) Grant
Hometown: Tampa, FL
College: Duke University
Degree: BS, Biomedical Engineering
Medical School: University of South Florida, College of Medicine
Pediatric Residency: Children's Hospital and Research Center Oakland
Research: A Pilot Study to Evaluate the Safety and Tolerability of Panobinostat in Children with Recurrent DIPG (Clinical Investigator, MS Candidate - Monje)
Joseph Park, MD, PhD - T32 Training Grant in Pediatric Nonmalignant Hematology and Stem Cell Biology, Child Health Research Institute (CHRI) Grant
Hometown: Cerritos, CA
College: Pomona College
Degree: BA, Molecular Biology
Doctorate: PhD, University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, Dallas
Medical School: University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, Dallas
Pediatric Residency: University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, Dallas
Research: Role of hypoxic signaling in normal hematopoiesis and myelodysplastic syndromes (Giaccia Lab)
Avanthi Shah, MD - St. Baldrick's Fellow
Hometown: Dallas, TX
College: Texas A&M University
Degree: BS, Psychology, Minor in Spanish
Medical School: University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, Dallas
Pediatric Residency: University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, Dallas
Research: Detection of circulating tumor DNA in pediatric sarcoma patients (Sweet-Cordero Lab)