Hematology and Medical Oncology Fellowship
About the Program
The Fellowship Program of the Division of Hematology, Oncology and Blood & Marrow Transplantation welcomed its first fellow in 1971 and currently invites 6 fellows to join the program each year. Graduates of our program have pursued successful careers as: academicians in basic and clinical research, in community oncology, in medical education, and in the pharmaceutical industry.
We invite you to consider the advantages of a program with:
- A curriculum differentiated to meet your career goals
- Comprehensive exposure to all subspecialties of Hematology and Oncology
- Opportunities to participate in basic and laboratory research at a Big-Ten University
- Small-town life with big-city culture
We invite you to join the ranks of our graduates who have found success in the full range of careers available in Hematology and Oncology.
Our Mission
The mission of the University of Iowa Hematology and Oncology fellowship program is to develop outstanding clinicians who will be future leaders in hematology and oncology. As the state of Iowa's only tertiary care referral center, we serve both our local community and the entire state through care of patients with hematologic or oncologic diagnoses. Our purpose is to develop fellows who can serve as future clinicians for the community in the State of Iowa, as well as future leaders in research in hematology and oncology here at the University of Iowa and elsewhere who will promote improved health through the development of innovative research and improved clinical care. The mission of our fellowship program aligns closely with the mission of the University of Iowa Health Care which is to promote discovery, innovative education and excellent patient care for the people of the State of Iowa.
We Aim to:
- Train hematologists and oncologists who are experts in the science of hematology and oncology, responsive to the psychosocial needs of patients with cancer and blood disorders, and sensitive to the impact of socioeconomic factors that can impact delivery of care and quality of life.
- Support fellows in the development of their individual career. This starts with helping the fellow discern their career path, tailoring the educational curriculum to meet their individual educational needs, and supporting the fellow with mentorship to guide them through their fellowship training.
- Train physicians who have developed the skills of resilience and self-care to enable them to have a long, healthy and productive career.
Educational Environment
Clinical training in Hematology, Oncology and Blood and Marrow Transplantation occurs within the Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center at University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics and at the Veteran’s Administration Medical Center, Iowa City. All faculty are members of the Division of Hematology, Oncology and Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Department of Internal Medicine in the Carver College of Medicine.
The ambulatory Clinical Cancer Center within the Holden Center is organized in disease or site-specific multidisciplinary teams. Fellows are part of the multidisciplinary team and interact not only with their supervising faculty member, but also with oncology specialists in surgery, radiation oncology or a medicine sub-specialist in the clinic. In addition, fellows can participate in one of more than a dozen disease-specific Tumor Boards.
Physical Environment
The Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center at The University of Iowa coordinates all cancer-related research, education, and patient care throughout the University of Iowa by faculty from 38 departments in six colleges, as well as UI Hospitals & Clinics. Founded in 1980, Holden Cancer Center includes patient care areas such as:
- The John and Mary Pappajohn Clinical Cancer Center, located on the first and second floors of the Pomerantz Pavilion of UI Hospitals & Clinics.
- Adult Blood and Marrow Transplantation – our Bone Marrow Transplant Service is very active; in 2020 our center performed 163 adult auto-transplants, allo-transplants and CAR-T procedures.
- The Radiation Oncology Center of Excellence is located in the lower level of the Pomerantz Pavilion of UI Hospitals & clinics.
The Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center is an NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center. We received this designation in 2000. The Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center received its fourth 5-year renewal from the NCI in 2021.
Research is conducted in laboratories throughout the University of Iowa campus. The Roland and Ruby Holden Cancer Research Laboratories, part of the Medical Education and Research Facility, allow the Cancer Center to integrate many researchers in close proximity to each other.
The University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics is the designated tertiary care hospital for the state of Iowa and is the nation's largest university-owned teaching hospital, with 50,000 patient admissions and 800,000 outpatient visits annually. Patients with neoplastic diseases are referred to The University of Iowa from a referral area that includes Iowa and its neighboring states. This referral base and the variety of patients seen have been remarkably stable despite recent changes in health care delivery systems.
The Iowa City Veteran’s Administration Medical Center is conveniently located adjacent to UI Hospitals & Clinics. The Iowa City VA Hospital Hematology Oncology Program is staffed by faculty from the University of Iowa. Facilities include a clinic, an infusion area, and a clinic conference room. The service is very busy and has clinics 5 days per week.
The University of Iowa was founded in 1847 and has a total enrollment of 32,150 students. The College of Medicine has over 600 medical students, 180 allied health students, 700 faculty, 1900 support staff, and more than 550 residents and fellows. The research enterprise of the UI Carver College of Medicine (CCOM) garnered $245 million in external funding in 2020 and the UI ranks 16th among public institutions in NIH funding. The Hardin Library for the Health Sciences, which is located between the University and VA Hospitals, houses 213,000 volumes, 2,700 periodicals, and 80 on-line databases in a modern 60,000-square-foot building.
Typical Rotation Schedule
Year 1:
- Hematology Consult Service, UI Hospitals & Clinics – 8 weeks
- Oncology Consult Service, UI Hospitals & Clinics -- 8 weeks
- VA Consult Service, VA – 4 weeks
- Bone Marrow Transplant clinic – 4 weeks
- Bone Marrow Transplant – 4 weeks
- Malignant Hematology – 4 weeks
- Supportive Oncology – 4 weeks
- Ambulatory Clinics – 12 weeks
- Research – 4 weeks (for fellows on the Clinical Investigator Pathway or Physician Scientist Pathway. This allows the fellow time to work with their mentor(s) to develop their project concept so they are ready to start their research as soon as their clinical rotations are completed in year 2).
Year 2:
- Hematopathology – 4 weeks
- Transfusion Medicine – 4 weeks
- Gynecologic Oncology – 4 weeks
- Hematology Consult Service – 4 weeks
- Oncology Consult Service – 4 weeks
- Malignant Hematology - 4 weeks
- Additional clinical electives, dedicated research time/coursework, subspecialty ambulatory clinics. This will vary depending upon the fellow’s Career Pathway.
Year 3:
- Inpatient Hematology/Oncology service – 4 weeks
- Hematology Consult Service – 4 weeks
- Oncology Consult Service – 4 weeks
- Additional clinical electives, dedicated research time/coursework, subspecialty ambulatory clinics. This will vary depending upon the fellow’s Career Pathway.
Fellows Conferences
Hematology/Oncology Core Conference:
The Core Conference Series features 45-minute lectures on major topics in hematology and oncology. This series follows the topic outline provided for fellow education by the American Society of Hematology and the American Society of Clinical Oncology. The lectures are provided by faculty of the Division of Hematology/Oncology or guest speakers from other departments who are experts in that topic. This conference occurs twice weekly, Tuesday and Friday at 8 am.
Fellows Conference:
This conference may take one of several forms:
- Journal Club, in which a peer-reviewed article on emerging or controversial topics in hematology oncology is reviewed;
- Patient Management Conference at which difficult patient-management problems encountered by the fellow in clinic or in the hospital are presented. The patient-management conference may include discussion of the literature pertinent to the case being discussed.
- Morbidity and Mortality Conference
- Board Preparation session
- General Topic Review
This conference occurs weekly (Wednesday at 8 am)
Blood Club:
This case-management conference covers management and clinical topics in benign and malignant hematology encountered in recent patients at University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics or Veterans Administration Hospital. This is a multidisciplinary conference with attendance by faculty from adult and pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Hematopathology and Blood Bank. The conference is moderated by Dr. Usha Perepu of the Division of Hematology/Oncology. This conference occurs weekly (Thursday at 8 am).
Cancer Center Grand Rounds:
This is a multidisciplinary conference involving all members of the cancer center (medical oncology, radiation oncology, surgical oncology and basic sciences). Presentations may focus on basic science related to oncology, advances in translational medicine, or state-of-the-art clinical care reviews. Grand Rounds occurs weekly (Friday at Noon).
Lymphoma Conference:
Lymphoma conference is a clinical case-management conference at which patients with newly-diagnosed lymphoma or difficult lymphoma case management problems are discussed. This is a multi-disciplinary conference with participating faculty from the Division of Hematology/Oncology, Pathology and Radiology. The conference is moderated by Hematology/Oncology division member Dr. Brian Link. This conference occurs weekly (Monday at noon).
Interdisciplinary Fellowship Conference
Below is an example of the Department of Internal Medicine Common Curriculum Schedule. It is shared between Fellows from all divisions of the Department.
Research Training
The research mentor is not limited to a member of the division, and can be an investigator in another department of the University of Iowa (for example, the School of Public Health for those interested in outcomes research, a basic science department such as Immunology, Pharmacology or Biochemistry for those interested in basic research, or in OCRME for those interested in medical education, to name just a few).
Fellows are actively encouraged to submit abstracts and papers based upon their research. We are committed to supporting our fellows’ research activities and funding is available to support travel costs to allow fellows to present their research at national scientific and academic meetings. In the past year our fellows have attended multiple meetings including: ASCO Annual Meeting, ASH Annual Meeting, ASCO-GU, ASCO-FDA Fellows’ day, Society of Neuro-Oncology Annual Meeting, Tandem Transplant Meeting, ASCO-SITC Clinical Immuno-Oncology Symposium, AACR Special Conference on Advances in Sarcomas and the Iowa Oncology Society Annual Meeting.
Recent Scholarly Activity
Class of 2023
Kittika Poonsombudlert, MD
Outcomes for Haploidentical Transplantation using post-transplant cyclophosphamide for non-first degree relatives
Status: proposed at the annual at tandem meeting 04/2022 (Salt lake city, Utah)
Final determination of acceptance and feasibility to be determined by CIBMTR
Mentor: Dr. Christopher Strouse
High-Dose Methotrexate Is Not Associated with Reduction in CNS Relapse in Patients with Aggressive B-Cell Lymphoma: An International Retrospective Study of 2300 High-Risk Patient
Status: planned for oral presentation at ASH 2021
Contribution: Data abstraction
Mentor: Dr. Umar Farooq
A Large Multicenter Real-World Evidence (RWE) Analysis of Autoimmune (AI) Diseases and Lymphoma: Histologic Associations, Disease Characteristics, Survival, and Prognostication
Status: planned for oral presentation at ASH 2021
Contribution: Data abstraction
Mentor: Dr.Sabrish Ayyappan
Class of 2022
Adithya Chennamadhavuni, MBBS
Publications
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Leukemia. Chennamadhavuni A, Lyengar V, Shimanovsky A.2021 Nov 21. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2022 Jan–.PMID: 32809325
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Twenty-year Experience with Genitourinary Lymphoma at a Community Hospital. Vallatharasu Y, Chennamadhavuni A, Van Every MJ.Clin Med Res. 2021 Jun;19(2):72-81. doi: 10.3121/cmr.2021.1531. Epub 2021 Mar 31.PMID: 33789953
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Therapeutic Potential of Combining PARP Inhibitor and Immunotherapy in Solid Tumors. Vikas P, Borcherding N, Chennamadhavuni A, Garje R.Front Oncol. 2020 Apr 28;10:570. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2020.00570. eCollection 2020.PMID: 32457830
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Poly Adenosine Diphosphate-Ribose Polymerase (PARP) Inhibitors in Pancreatic Cancer. Sunkara T, Bandaru SS, Boyilla R, Kunadharaju R, Kukkadapu P, Chennamadhavuni A. Cureus. 2022 Feb 24;14(2):e22575. doi: 10.7759/cureus.22575. eCollection 2022 Feb.PMID: 35228986
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Utilization and Outcomes of Surgical Castration in Comparison to Medical Castration in Metastatic Prostate Cancer. Garje R, Chennamadhavuni A, Mott SL, Chambers IM, Gellhaus P, Zakharia Y, Brown JA.Clin Genitourin Cancer. 2020 Apr;18(2):e157-e166. doi: 10.1016/j.clgc.2019.09.020. Epub 2019 Sep 26.PMID: 31956009
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Multivariable Analysis of 169 Cases of Advanced Cutaneous Melanoma to Evaluate Antibiotic Exposure as Predictor of Survival to Anti-PD-1 Based Immunotherapies. Swami U, Chennamadhavuni A, Borcherding N, Bossler AD, Mott SL, Garje R, Zakharia Y, Milhem M.Antibiotics (Basel). 2020 Oct 27;9(11):740. doi: 10.3390/antibiotics9110740.PMID: 33120998
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Outcomes of patients with stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that harbor a STK11 mutation. An J, Yan M, Yu N, Chennamadhavuni A, Furqan M, Mott SL, Loeffler BT, Kruser T, Sita TL, Feldman L, Nguyen R, Pasquinelli M, Hanna NH, Abu Hejleh T.Transl Lung Cancer Res. 2021 Aug;10(8):3608-3615. doi: 10.21037/tlcr-21-177.PMID: 34584860
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Patient Characteristics and Survival Outcomes of Non-Metastatic, Non-Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma. An J, Packiam VT, Chennamadhavuni A, Richards J, Jain J, Mott SL, Garje R.Front Oncol. 2022 Jan 10;11:786307. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2021.786307. eCollection 2021.PMID: 35083144
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Risk Factors and Biomarkers for Immune-Related Adverse Events: A Practical Guide to Identifying High-Risk Patients and Rechallenging Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors. Chennamadhavuni A, Abushahin L, Jin N, Presley CJ, Manne A.Front Immunol. 2022 Apr 26;13:779691. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.779691. eCollection 2022.PMID: 35558065
Travis Snyders, MD
Publications
- Jennings, Rieth, Snyders, Milhem. Sustained response to imatinib in patient with extraskeletal myxoid chondrosarcoma and novel KIT mutation. BMJ Case Reports.
- Glisch C, Saeidzaedh S, Snyders T, Gilbertson-White S, Hagiwara Y, & Lyckholm L. (July 2020) “Immune checkpoint inhibitor use near the end of life: a single center- retrospective study” Journal of Palliative Medicine. 23(7):977-979
Gudbjorg Jonsdottir, MD, PhD
Publication:
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Cumulative exposure to melphalan chemotherapy and subsequent risk of developing acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndromes in patients with multiple myeloma. Jonsdottir G, Björkholm M, Turesson I, Hultcrantz M, Diamond B, Porwit A, Landgren O, Kristinsson SY.Eur J Haematol. 2021 Aug;107(2):275-282. doi: 10.1111/ejh.13650. Epub 2021 May 28.PMID: 33966293
Class of 2021
Josiah An, MD
Publications:
- An J, Garje R, Wanat KA, Leone JP. Dabigatran-related leukocytoclastic vasculitis. BMJ case reports. 201704.
Garje R, An J, Greco A, Vaddepally RK, Zakharia Y. The Future of Immunotherapy-Based Combination Therapy in Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma. Cancers. 2020-01-07; 12 (1) - Pitman SK, Huynh T, Bjarnason TA, An J, Malkhasyan KA. A case report and focused literature review of d-penicillamine and severe neutropenia: A serious toxicity from a seldom-used drug. Clinical case reports. 04/19/2019; 7 (5) : 990-994
- Garje R, An JJ, Sanchez K, Greco A, Stolwijk J, Devor E, Rustum Y, Zakharia Y. Current Landscape and the Potential Role of Hypoxia-Inducible Factors and Selenium in Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma Treatment. International journal of molecular sciences. 2018-12-01; 19 (12)
- An J, Garje R, Wanat KA, Leone JP. Dabigatran-related leukocytoclastic vasculitis. BMJ case reports. 2017-01-04; 2017
- McConaha ME, Eckstrum K, An J, Steinle JJ, Bany BM. Microarray assessment of the influence of the conceptus on gene expression in the mouse uterus during decidualization. Reproduction (Cambridge, England). 04/01/2011; 141 (4) : 511-27
- Clamon, G, Zeitler, W, An, J, Abu Hejleh, T. Transformational changes between non-small cell and small cell lung cancer. Biologic and clinical relevance. A review. American Journal of Clinical Oncology. 05/04/2020
Justin Chau, MD
Presentations:
- What is DRESS Without the Drug?. Presented at: ACP Clinical Vignette. 09/20/2017
- Justin Chau MD1, Seth Maliske MD3, Daniel Berg MD2, John Bryn MD4, Sudershan Bhatia MD5 MPH PhD, Andrew Bellizzi MD6, Varun Monga MD2. Timing of surgery following neoadjuvant chemoradiation in rectal cancer: a retrospective analysis from an academic medical center. Presented at 2018 ASCO GI Symposium; San Francisco, CA. 1/18/2018
- Boulos Nassar, MD; Renee Eigsti, MD. ACP Clinical Vignette: What is DRESS Without the Drug?. Presented at 2018 American College of Physicians National Conference; New Orleans, LA. 04/20/2018
- Jennissen CA. A Population-Based Study of All-Terrain Vehicle Exposure in a Rural Iowa County. Presented at: University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine Research Symposium. 08/08/2012
- Strouse J, Chau JJ, Rasmussen T, Duchman B, CarlLee S, DeZorzi C, McGinty B. Addressing Depression Reminders at the VA. Presented at: University of Iowa Quality Improvement Curriculum 2016. 01/13/2017
- Lyckholm L. What to Expect When You\'re Expecting Tumor Lysis Syndrome. Presented at: University of Iowa Department of Medicine Resident Lecture Series. 03/16/2017
- Strouse J, Rasmussen T, Duchman B, CarlLee S, DeZorzi C, McGinty B. Improving Depression Screening through Reminder Completion in an Internal Medicine Resident Clinic at a Veteran\'s Affairs Medical Center. Presented at: University of Iowa Quality Improvement Symposium 2017. 08/09/2017
- Strouse J, Rasmussen T, Obiano O, Greco A, Nagarajan N, DeZorzi C, Duchman B. SPRINT to improve blood pressure control at the VA. Presented at: University of Iowa Quality Improvement Curriculum 2017. 01/08/2018
- Zhang J, Mangalam A. The Microbiome in Lung Cancer Under Immunotherapy: Significant Compositional Differences Associated with Treatment Response and Adverse Events. Presented at American Association for Cancer Research: The Microbiome, Viruses and Cancer 2020; Orlando, FL. 02/23/2020
- Monga V, Darbro B, Jones K, Quelle D, Sato M. Analysis of differential methylation patterns associated with long-term survival in glioblastoma. Presented at American Society of Clinical Oncology 2020; Chicago, IL. 05/29/2020
- Chandrasekharan C, Yu N, Bakeri H, Dillon J, Mott S. Real-world analysis of peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) in the treatment of neuroendocrine tumors. Presented at American Society of Clinical Oncology 2020; Chicago, IL. 05/15/2020
- Zhang J, Mangalam A. Analysis of patient microbiome and its correlation to immunotherapy response and toxicity in lung cancer. Presented at World Conference on Lung Cancer; Barcelona. 09/08/2019
Nanmeng Yu, MD, PhD
Presentations:
- Josiah An, Melissa Yan, Nanmeng Yu, Adithya Chennamadhavuni, Muhammad Furqan, Timothy Kruser, Timothy L Sita, Ryan Nguyen, Lawrence Eric Feldman, Mary Pasquinelli, Nasser H. Hanna, Taher Abu Hejleh. Outcomes of patients with stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that harbor a STK11 mutation. ASCO Annual Meeting 2020; May 29-31, 2020; Virtual
- Justin Chau, Nanmeng Yu, Hirva Bakeri, Yusuf Menda, Joseph S. Dillon, Chandrikha Chandrasekharan. Real-world analysis of peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) in the treatment of neuroendocrine tumors. ASCO Annual Meeting 2020; May 29-31, 2020; Virtual
Seth Maliske, MD
Publications:
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Discrepancy between treatment goals documentation by oncologists and their understanding among cancer patients under active treatment with chemotherapy.Monga V, Maliske SM, Kaleem H, Mott SL, K D Zamba G, Milhem M.Eur J Cancer Care (Engl). 2019 Mar;28(2):e12973. doi: 10.1111/ecc.12973. Epub 2018 Dec 3.PMID: 30511450
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Timing of surgery following neoadjuvant chemoradiation in rectal cancer: a retrospective analysis from an academic medical center. Maliske S, Chau J, Ginader T, Byrn J, Bhatia S, Bellizzi A, Berg DJ, Monga V.J Gastrointest Oncol. 2019 Aug;10(4):597-604. doi: 10.21037/jgo.2019.02.02.PMID: 31392039
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A Retrospective Analysis of the Efficacy of Immunotherapy in Metastatic Soft-Tissue Sarcomas. Monga V, Skubitz KM, Maliske S, Mott SL, Dietz H, Hirbe AC, Van Tine BA, Oppelt P, Okuno S, Robinson S, O'Connor M, Seetharam M, Attia S, Charlson J, Agulnik M, Milhem M.Cancers (Basel). 2020 Jul 11;12(7):1873. doi: 10.3390/cancers12071873.PMID: 32664595
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Outcomes of Burkitt lymphoma with central nervous system involvement: evidence from a large multicenter cohort study. Zayac AS, Evens AM, Danilov A, Smith SD, Jagadeesh D, Leslie LA, Wei C, Kim SH, Naik S, Sundaram S, Reddy N, Farooq U, Kenkre VP, Epperla N, Blum KA, Khan N, Singh D, Alderuccio JP, Godara A, Yazdy MS, Diefenbach C, Rabinovich E, Varma G, Karmali R, Shao Y, Trabolsi A, Burkart M, Martin P, Stettner S, Chauhan A, Choi YK, Straker-Edwards A, Klein A, Churnetski MC, Boughan KM, Berg S, Haverkos BM, Orellana-Noia VM, D'Angelo C, Bond DA, Maliske SM, Vaca R, Magarelli G, Sperling A, Gordon MJ, David KA, Savani M, Caimi P, Kamdar M, Lunning MA, Palmisiano N, Venugopal P, Portell CA, Bachanova V, Phillips T, Lossos IS, Olszewski AJ.Haematologica. 2021 Jul 1;106(7):1932-1942. doi: 10.3324/haematol.2020.270876.PMID: 33538152
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HIV-associated Burkitt lymphoma: outcomes from a US-UK collaborative analysis. Alderuccio JP, Olszewski AJ, Evens AM, Collins GP, Danilov AV, Bower M, Jagadeesh D, Zhu C, Sperling A, Kim SH, Vaca R, Wei C, Sundaram S, Reddy N, Dalla Pria A, D'Angelo C, Farooq U, Bond DA, Berg S, Churnetski MC, Godara A, Khan N, Choi YK, Kassam S, Yazdy M, Rabinovich E, Post FA, Varma G, Karmali R, Burkart M, Martin P, Ren A, Chauhan A, Diefenbach C, Straker-Edwards A, Klein A, Blum KA, Boughan KM, Mian A, Haverkos BM, Orellana-Noia VM, Kenkre VP, Zayac A, Maliske SM, Epperla N, Caimi P, Smith SE, Kamdar M, Venugopal P, Feldman TA, Rector D, Smith SD, Stadnik A, Portell CA, Lin Y, Naik S, Montoto S, Lossos IS, Cwynarski K.Blood Adv. 2021 Jul 27;5(14):2852-2862. doi: 10.1182/bloodadvances.2021004458.PMID: 34283175
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Burkitt lymphoma in the modern era: real-world outcomes and prognostication across 30 US cancer centers. Evens AM, Danilov A, Jagadeesh D, Sperling A, Kim SH, Vaca R, Wei C, Rector D, Sundaram S, Reddy N, Lin Y, Farooq U, D'Angelo C, Bond DA, Berg S, Churnetski MC, Godara A, Khan N, Choi YK, Yazdy M, Rabinovich E, Varma G, Karmali R, Mian A, Savani M, Burkart M, Martin P, Ren A, Chauhan A, Diefenbach C, Straker-Edwards A, Klein AK, Blum KA, Boughan KM, Smith SE, Haverkos BM, Orellana-Noia VM, Kenkre VP, Zayac A, Ramdial J, Maliske SM, Epperla N, Venugopal P, Feldman TA, Smith SD, Stadnik A, David KA, Naik S, Lossos IS, Lunning MA, Caimi P, Kamdar M, Palmisiano N, Bachanova V, Portell CA, Phillips T, Olszewski AJ, Alderuccio JP.Blood. 2021 Jan 21;137(3):374-386. doi: 10.1182/blood.2020006926.PMID: 32663292
Iowa Oncology Society 2020 Poster Competition Winners
As part of its Outstanding Hematology/Oncology Fellow and Resident Recognition Competition, the Iowa Oncology Society is pleased to share the research findings of its 2020 winning poster presentations.
Class of 2020
Isaac Chambers, MD
Publications:
- Chambers I, Rahal AK, Reddy PS, Kallail KJ. Malignant Clear Cell Hidradenoma of the Breast. Cureus. 201701; 9 (3) : e1064
- Chambers I, Truong P, Kallail KJ, Palko W. Extensive Bone Marrow Necrosis and Osteolytic Lesions in a Case of Acute Myeloid Leukemia Transformed from Polycythemia Vera. Cureus. 201613; 8 (6) : e639
- Laux D, Mahi A, Bell S, Chambers I, Clamon G. Thiamine levels in patients with head and neck cancer receiving cisplatin based chemotherapy. NA. 0000; 00 (00) : 00
- Rohan Garje, Adithya Chennamadhavuni, Sarah L.Mott, Isaac Matthew Chambers, Paul Gellhaus, Yousef Zakharia, James A. Brown. Utilization and Outcomes of Surgical Castration in Comparison to Medical Castration in Metastatic Prostate Cancer. Published 09/26/2019
Christopher Strouse, MD
Publications
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Bugs in the system: bringing the human microbiome to bear in cancer immunotherapy. Strouse C, Mangalam A, Zhang J.Gut Microbes. 2019;10(2):109-112. doi: 10.1080/19490976.2018.1511665. Epub 2018 Sep 5.PMID: 30183502
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Risk Score for the Development of Veno-Occlusive Disease after Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplant.Strouse C, Zhang Y, Zhang MJ, DiGilio A, Pasquini M, Horowitz MM, Lee S, Ho V, Ramanathan M, Chinratanalab W, Loren A, Burns LJ, Artz A, Villa KF, Saber W.Biol Blood Marrow Transplant. 2018 Oct;24(10):2072-2080. doi: 10.1016/j.bbmt.2018.06.013. Epub 2018 Jun 19.PMID: 29928989
Class of 2019
Najla Itani, MD
Publications
- Itani N, Grogan, N, Mott, S, Phadke, S. Metastatic Presentations of Previously Treated Early-Stage Breast Cancer Patients and Association with Survival. Clin Breast Cancer 2019 Nov 21. PMID: 32007466
- Phadke, S, Vander Weg M, Itani N, Grogan N, Ginader T, Mott S, McDowell B. Breast Cancer Patient Preferences for Test Result Communication. Breast J 2019 Nov; 25(6)1326-1327. PMID 31297915
Umang Swami, MBBS
Abstract & Presentations
- Swami U., Monga V., Tanas M., Bossler A., Mott S., Smith B., Milhem M. A pilot study targeting angiogenesis using bevacizumab combined with gemcitabine/docetaxel and valproic acid (VPA), a histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDACi) in advanced soft tissue sarcomas (STS). Presented at AACR Special Conference on Advances in Sarcomas: From Basic Science to Clinical Translation; Philadelphia, PA. 05/18/2017.
- Kam A.E., Chaudhary I., Ghalib M.H., Shah U.H., Swami U., Kuo D.Y.S., Hwang C., Elrafei T.N., Cohen B., Gartrell B.A., Kaledzi E., Chuy J.W., Cheng H., Rajdev L., Haigentz M. Jr., Mani S., Goel S. . Risks and benefits of phase I trials: Eighteen-year experience from a single institution. Presented at American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting; Chicago, IL. 06/02/2017.
- Clinical trials: Pembro in Melanoma. Discussion Session I (Cancer Immunotherapy). Presented at: Cancer Epidemiology and Population Sciences-Cancer Genes and Pathways Program Retreat. 03/07/2018.
- Experience with BRAF and MEK inhibitors after immunotherapy in metastatic melanoma. Presented at Iowa Oncology Society, 2018 Spring Conference; West Des Moines, IA. 04/13/2018.
- Swami U., Monga V., Knutson T., Bossler A., Zakharia Y., Milhem M. Prognostic markers for progression free survival (PFS) to anti PD-1 therapies in metastatic melanoma. Presented at Annual Meeting; 06/01/2018.
- Swami U., Monga V., Zakhraia Y., Milhem M. Immunomodulation of pembrolizumab (pembro) treated metastatic melanoma patients (pts) after progression with sequential temozolomide (TMZ): A case series. J Clin Oncol 35, 2017 (suppl 7S; abstract 123) Presented at 2017 ASCO-SITC Clinical Immuno-Oncology Symposium, Orlando, FL.
- Swami U., Monga V., Tanas M., Bossler A., Mott S., Smith B., Milhem M. A pilot study targeting angiogenesis using bevacizumab combined with gemcitabine/docetaxel and valproic acid (VPA), a histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDACi) in advanced soft tissue sarcomas (STS). To be presented at AACR Special Conference on Advances in Sarcomas: From Basic Science to Clinical Translation. Thursday, May 18, 2017, Philadelphia, PA
- Swami U. Immunomodulation of pembrolizumab (pembro) treated metastatic melanoma patients (pts) after progression with sequential temozolomide (TMZ): A case series. Presented at Iowa Oncology Society, 2017 Spring Conference, West Des Moines. April 7, 2017
Publications
- Zakharia Y, Monga V, Swami U, Bossler AD, Freesmeier M, Frees M, Khan M, Frydenlund N, Srikantha R, Vanneste M, Henry M, Milhem M. Targeting epigenetics for treatment of BRAF mutated metastatic melanoma with decitabine in combination with vemurafenib: A phase lb study. Oncotarget. 201724; 8 (51) : 89182-89193.
- Swami U, Monga V, Milhem M. Gastrointestinal stromal tumors-are we stuck and the way forward. Translational gastroenterology and hepatology. 2017; 2 : 93.
- Monga V, Swami U, Tanas M, Bossler A, Mott SL, Smith BJ, Milhem M. A Phase I/II Study Targeting Angiogenesis Using Bevacizumab Combined with Chemotherapy and a Histone Deacetylase Inhibitor (Valproic Acid) in Advanced Sarcomas. Cancers. 201817; 10 (2) : 53.
- Swami U, Zakharia Y, Zhang J. Understanding Microbiome Effect on Immune Checkpoint Inhibition in Lung Cancer: Placing the Puzzle Pieces Together. Journal of immunotherapy (Hagerstown, Md. : 1997). 201817; Epub ahead of print : Epub ahead of print.
- Swami U, Lenert P, Furqan M, Abu Hejleh T, Clamon G, Zhang J. Atezolizumab after Nivolumab-Induced Inflammatory Polyarthritis: Can Anti-PD-L1 Immunotherapy Be Administered after Anti-PD-1-Related Immune Toxicities?. Journal of thoracic oncology : official publication of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer. 2018; 13 (6) : e102-e103.
- Swami U, Ma D, Zhang J. Response to Erlotinib in a Patient with Compound EGFR L747S and Exon 19 Deletion. Journal of thoracic oncology : official publication of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer. 2018; 13 (7) : e129-e130.
- Kam A.E., Chaudhary I., Ghalib M.H., Shah U.H., Swami U., Kuo D.Y.S., Hwang C., Elrafei T.N., Cohen B., Gartrell B.A., Kaledzi E., Chuy J.W., Cheng H., Rajdev L., Haigentz M. Jr., Mani S., Goel S. Risks and benefits of phase I trials: Eighteen-year experience from a single institution. Accepted for publication in Conference Proceedings of 2017 ASCO Annual Meeting
- Swami U, Shah U, Goel S. Eribulin in non-small cell lung cancer: challenges and potential strategies. Expert opinion on investigational drugs. 2017; 26 (4) : 495-508.
- Zakharia Y.; Monga V.; Swami U.; Bossler A.D.; Freesmeier M.; Frees M.; Khan M.; Frydenlund N.; Srikantha R.; Vanneste M.; Henry M.; Milhem M. Targeting epigenetics for t reatment of BRAF mutated metastatic melanoma with decitabine in combination with vemurafenib: A phase Ib study. Submitted to Clinical Epigenetics
Class of 2018
Andrew Iliff, MD
Publications
- Iliff A, Divine C, Diaz F, Aljitawi O, Abhayankar S, McGuirk J, Ganguly S. Adequacy of peripheral blood stem cell mobilization in patients with relapsed B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma treated with bendamustine. Leukemia & lymphoma. 2016; 57 (5) : 1189-90.
Kalyan Nadiminti, MBBS
Publications
- Nadiminti K, Leone JP. Intraocular bevacizumab in the treatment of choroidal metastases from breast cancer. BMJ Case Rep. 2016 Jul 18
Meredith Schaffner, DO
Abstracts & Presentations
- Schaffner M, Bogadnich I, Smelser J, Zimmerman M, Perepu U. HIT or miss: improving the quality of diagnosing heparin-induced thrombocytopenia at an academic medical center. Poster to be presented at: International Society of Thrombosis and Hemostasis Annual Congress, 12 July 2017.
Publications
- Schaffner M, Rosenstein L, Ballas Z, and Suneja M. Significance of hyperferritinemia in hospitalized adults. Accepted manuscript to the American Journal of Medical Sciences as of 24 April 2017. Expert opinion on investigational drugs. 2017; 26 (4) : 495-508.
Vyshak Alva Venur, MBBS
Abstracts & Presentations
- Khanna R, Venur VA, Narechania S, Elson P, Daw H, Spiro TP, Haddad A. Prophylactic use of Granulocyte-colony stimulating factors (G-CSF) in cancer patients: Adherence to NCCN guidelines. Presented at 2016 ASCO: Quality Care Symposium; Phoenix, AZ. 02/27/2016.
- Khanna R and Venur VA. Prophylactic use of Granulocyte-colony stimulating factors (G-CSF) in cancer patients: Adherence to NCCN guidelines. Presented at: Quality Improvement Symposium: Innovating for Quality, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. 04/06/2016.
Book Chapters
- Venur VA and Ahluwalia MS. Targeted Therapy in Brain Metastases: Ready for Primetime?. 2016 ASCO Educational Book. 2016; 1 : e123-130.
- Berghoff AS, Venur VA, Preusser M, Ahluwalia MS. Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in Brain Metastases: From Biology to Treatment. 2016 ASCO Educational Book. 2016; 35 : e116-22.
- Kshettry VR, Yu JR, Venur VA, Ahluwalia MS, and Recinos PF. Comprehensive Management of Chordoma. In: Raghavan D, Blanke C, Reaman G, Kim E, Brown J, Sekeres M, Ahluwalia MS. Textbook of Uncommon Cancer. Wiley; 2017:847-855 .
Publications
- Kotecha R, Miller J, Venur VA, Mohammadi AM, Chao ST, John H. Suh JH, Barnett GH, Murphy ES, Yu JS, Vogelbaum MA, Angelov L, Ahluwalia MS. Melanoma Brain Metastasis: The Impact of Stereotactic Radiosurgery, BRAF mutational. Submitted. 2016; Accepted for publication by Journal of Neurosurgery
- Venur VA, Leone JP. Targeted Therapies for Brain Metastases from Breast Cancer. International journal of molecular sciences. 2016; 17 (9).
- Shonka N, Venur VA, Ahluwalia MS. Targeted Treatment of Brain Metastases. Current neurology and neuroscience reports. 2017; 17 (4) : 37.
- Venur VA, Joshi M, Nepple KG, Zakharia Y. Spotlight on nivolumab in the treatment of renal cell carcinoma: design, development, and place in therapy. Drug Design, Development and Therapy. 2017; 2017:11 : 1175-1182.
- Venur VA, Funchain P, Kotecha R, Chao ST, Ahluwalia MS. Changing treatment paradigms for patients with brain metastases from melanoma. Accepted for publication by Oncology (Williston Park).
Class of 2017
Rohan Garje, MBBS
Abstracts & Presentations
- Jaskirat Singh Randhawa, Sina Shafiei, Mykola Onyshchenko, Susmita Sakruti, Rohan Garje, Vyshak Alva Venur, Xuefei Jia, Timothy Peter Spiro, Abdo S. Haddad, Hamed Daw. Predictive factors for late (>5 years) distant recurrences in estrogen receptor (ER)-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative breast cancer patients: >20-year follow-up. ASCO 2014; May 30 2014; Chicago, Illinois
Publications
- An J, Garje R, Wanat KA, Leone JP. Dabigatran related leucocytoclastic vasculitis BMJ Case Rep. 2017 Jan 4;2017. pii: bcr2016217423. doi: 10.1136/bcr-2016-217423.
Book Chapter
- Ahluwalia MS, Rohan Garje, Wen PY, Mehta M. Adjuvant Therapies (Chemotherapy and Radiation Therapy) for Atypical and Anaplastic Meningiomas. In: Dr. Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa and Shaan M. Raza. Controversies in Neuro-Oncology: Best Evidence Medicine for Brain Tumor Surgery. New York, NY: Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc.; 2013: 300.
Ravi V. Patel, MD
Abstracts & Presentations
- Muhammad Furqan, Muhammad Uzair Saqlain, Sarah L Mott, Ravi Patel, Douglas Earl Laux, Jun Zhang, Laith I. Abushahin, Carryn M. Anderson, John Watkins, Anthony N Snow, Wenqing Sun, Gerald H. Clamon. Retrospective comparison between high dose cisplatin & less intensive cisplatin/paclitaxel concurrently with radiation for locally advanced head and neck cancer (LAHNC). for ASCO Annual Meeting2016; June3-7 2016; Chicago, IL.
Grerk Sutamtewagul, MD
Abstracts & Presentations
- Sutamtewagul G, Abbi KKS, Farooq U, Mott SL, Dozeman L, Silverman M. Non-Biologic Factors and Outcomes in Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplant. Presented at Iowa Oncology Society Meeting; Des Moines, IA. 04/15/2016.
- Sutamtewagul G, Abbi KKS, Farooq U, Mott SL, Dozeman L, Silverman M. Busulfan and Fludarabine As Conditioning Regimen for Unrelated Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplant: A Single-Center Experience. Presented at BMT Tandem Meeting 2016; Honolulu, Hawaii. 02/22/2016.
- Sutamtewagul G, Abbi KKS, Farooq U, Mott SL, Dozeman L, Silverman M. Non-Biologic Factors and Outcomes in Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplant. Presented at BMT Tandem Meeting 2016; Honolulu, Hawaii. 02/18/2016.
- Sutamtewagul G, Abbi KKS, Farooq U, Mott SL, Dozeman L, Silverman M. Non-Biologic Factors and Outcomes in Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplant. Presented at BMT Tandem Meeting Sutamtewagul G, Laenvejkal P, Clamon G. Paraneoplastic Isaacs syndrome: a case report and review of literature. Journal of community and supportive oncology. 2016.
Publications
- Sutamtewagul G, Laenvejkal P, Clamon G. Paraneoplastic Isaacs syndrome: a case report and review of literature. Journal of community and supportive oncology. 2016
Class of 2016
Varun Monga, MBBS
Abstracts & Presentations
- Immunomodulation of pembrolizumab treated metastatic melanoma patients after progression with sequential temozolomide – U Swami, V Monga, Y Zakharia, M Milhem. Feb 2017 ASCO-SITC Clinical Immuno-Oncology Symposium Orlando, FL
- Neoadjuvant Intralesional Injection of Talimogene Laherparepvec with Concurrent Preoperative Radiation in Patients with Locally Advanced Soft Tissue Sarcomas: Phase 1b/2 trial – V Monga, B Miller, S Bhatia, C Anderson, B Allen, S Bell, D Lubaroff, Z Balas,C Abanonu, M Milhem. Annual CTOS meeting, Lisbon, Portugal. Nov 2016
- The impact of the presence of ductal carcinoma in situ in patients with invasive ductal carcinoma - L Xu, V Monga, A Thomas, J Leone. Poster at SABCS Dec 2016
Publications
- Discrepancy in understanding of treatment goals in cancer patients. V Monga, H Kaleem, S Mott, A Button, G Zamba, M Milhem – J Clin Oncol 33, 2015 (suppl; abstr e20574)
- Monga V, Leone JP. Metastatic Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma of the Breast. Breast J. 2016 Mar-Apr 22(2): 239-40. Doi: 10 1111/tbj. 12562 Epub 2015 Dec 19. No abstract available. PMID: 26684244
- Monga V, Silverman M. Pulmonary extramedullary hematopoiesis involving the pulmonary artery. Hamatol Rep. 2015 Mar 24:7(1):5714. Doi: 10 4081/hr. 2015.5714 eCollection 2015 Feb 24. PMID:25852851
Sneha Phadke, D.O.
Publications
- Phadke S, Thomas A. Targeting Cell Cycle Progression: CDK4/6 Inhibition in Breast Cancer. Contemporary Oncology. 2014; 6(4):6-11.
- Raman R, Mott SL, Schroeder MC, Phadke S, El Masri J, Thomas A. Effect of Body Mass Index – and Actual Weight – Based Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy Doses on Pathologic Complete Response in Operable Breast Cancer.Clin Breast Cancer 2016 Dec: 16(6):480-486. Doi: 10 1016/j.clbc. 2016 06 008 Epub 2016 Jun 23 PMID: 27431461
- Phadke S, Thomas A, Yang L, Moore C, Xia C, Schroeder MC. Frequency and Clinical Significance of Extramammary Finding on Breast Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Clin breast Cancer 2016 Oct: 16(5): 424-429. Doi: 10. 1016/j.clbc.2015 Aug 28. PMID: 26403074
Rachna Raman, MBBS
Publications
- Raman R, Mott SL, Schroeder MC, Phadke S, El Masri J, Thomas A. Effect of Body Mass Index – and Actual Weight – Based Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy Doses on Pathologic Complete Response in Operable Breast Cancer.Clin Breast Cancer 2016 Dec: 16(6):480-486. Doi: 10 1016/j.clbc. 2016 06 008 Epub 2016 Jun 23 PMID: 27431461
- Raman R, Deorah S, McDowell BD, Abu Hejleh T, Lynch CF, Gupta A. Changing incidence of esophageal cancer among white women: analysis of SEER data (1992-2010). Contemp Oncol (Pozn). 2015: 19(4):338-40 doi: 10.5114/wo.2015.54390 Epub 2015 Sep 28. PMID:26557784
- Raman R, Vaena D. Immunotherapy in Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma: A Comprehensive Review. Biomed Res Int. 2015: 2015::367354. Doi: 10. 1155/2015/367354 Epub 2015Jun 16. Review PMID: 26161397
- Deorah S, Rao MB, Raman R, Gaitonde K, Donovan JF. Survival of patients with small cell carcinoma of the prostate during 1973 – 2003: a population-bases study. BJU Int. 2012 Mar:109(6):824-30. Doi: 10.1111/j. 1464-410X.2011.10523 .x. Epub 2011 Aug 23. PMID: 21883857
Hematology at Iowa
Learn more about these opportunities that focus on hematology.
Career Tracks
Career opportunities in hematology and oncology are exceptionally diverse. To help prepare each individual fellow for this variety, we have developed four broad career tracks: Master Clinician Pathway; Clinical Investigator Pathway; Clinical Educator Pathway; and Physician Scientist Pathway. Each track, selected by each fellow in the first year, offers differentiated curriculum, shaped with a mentor’s guidance to meet individual educational and career goals.
Master Clinician Pathway
This track will prepare the fellow for leadership in a community hematology and oncology practice. This pathway provides the fellow with increased opportunities for clinical training. In addition, fellows will complete a policy project in collaboration with cancer center administration and various other quality improvement projects.
Clinical Specialist Pathway
The goal of the Clinical Specialist track is to prepare the fellow for a career in academia with a focus on clinical investigation. This curriculum track will prepare oncology fellows for an academic career as a subspecialist without the need for additional subspecialty training post medical oncology fellowship.
The 6 areas of focus for this track are:
- Melanoma and Sarcoma
- Lymphoma
- Neuroendocrine tumors
- GU Oncology
- Phase 1 and Experimental Therapeutics
- Immunotherapy
Oncology fellows in this track will have increased clinical exposure in their areas of specialization. This would include:
- Two weekly subspecialty clinics in their area of focus during their third year
- Presentation and participation in multidisciplinary tumor boards within their subspecialty on a weekly basis
- Fellows may elect to rotate in additional specialty clinics to further develop expertise. For example, fellows in the neuroendocrine tumor pathway would rotate through neuro-endocrinology clinic and nuclear medicine; fellows in the melanoma/sarcoma clinic may rotate within dermatology and/or melanoma surgery clinic; fellows specializing in lymphoma would have additional rotations in hematopathology; fellows in immunotherapy would rotate through multiple outpatient clinics that have a focus on immunotherapy (for example, melanoma clinic and GU oncology)
During this 3-year program, Fellows will be required to conduct a research project and basic, translational or clinical research in their areas of specialization with Holden Cancer Center Investigators.
Fellow will have the opportunity to participate in the ICTS Certificate Program or selected coursework in clinical investigation.
Fellows will be encouraged to apply for peer-reviewed funding (including ASCO YIA) and apply to society-based clinical investigator workshops (ASH, ASCO, LLS, LRF). Fellows will also attend and will be encouraged to present at national meetings focused on their area of subspecialization.
Links
Clinical Educator Pathway
This track prepares the fellow for an academic career in medical education, with formal training and a certificate offered through our Office of Consultation and Research in Medical Education. In addition to formal study, fellows in this pathway will develop an educational portfolio and work with a faculty member to develop a new curriculum project.
Physician Scientist Pathway
This track prepares the fellow for an academic career focused on basic and/or translational laboratory research. This pathway integrates fellowship training to prepare for board certification with research training. Research mentors may be a member of the division, but can be investigators in other divisions of Internal Medicine or other departments of the University of Iowa (for example, the Interdisciplinary Immunology Program, Pharmacology, or Biochemistry), depending on the fellow’s research interests
Advanced Hematology Pathway
The goal of this curriculum is to prepare the fellow for an academic career in either benign or malignant hematology. The University of Iowa is well poised to offer training in both benign and malignant hematology. The University of Iowa Hematology T32 training grant is an NIH funded training program in hematology that has been very successful in training young scientist and physician scientist for academic careers for over 40 years at the University of Iowa. Fellows in the Advanced Hematology track would participate in the T32 curriculum which includes core lectures in clinical hematology and workshops in hematology research methods along with training in grant writing. Fellows would have a mentoring committee and develop individual development plans. The foundation of training in this track is centered on an individual mentored research project, marked by a period of intensive, sustained research under the guidance of an established, dedicated mentor.
Our Bone Marrow Transplant service is well-established and performs auto and allo-transplants. In 2019 our Stem Cell Transplant and Cellular Therapy program moved to a new unit with additional beds. We also have a burgeoning CAR-T cell therapy program which provides cutting edge therapy to patients with blood disorders. We have a very active inpatient and outpatient Leukemia service as well as being a center for the treatment of lymphoma and myeloma.
Three separate training tracks are available for the fellow pursuing a career in hematology:
Hematopoietic Stem Cell Therapy and Cellular Therapy Track
Fellows wishing to specialize in hematopoietic stem cell therapy and cellular therapy will have additional rotations in the Hematopoietic Progenitor Cell Laboratory and HLA typing laboratory in addition to an intensive clinical training experience that would meet the eligibility requirements for FACT accreditation (Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy). Upon completion of the program, the fellow would immediately be eligible to attend in a transplant program without an additional 1-year fellowship.
Malignant Hematology Track:
Fellows may specialize in leukemia/malignant hematology (non-transplant). Fellows in this track will have extensive inpatient and outpatient training in the treatment of leukemia and other malignant hematology disorders. Upon completion of this track the fellow would be able to attend on a malignant hematology service without an additional 1-year fellowship.
Benign Hematology Track
Fellows wishing to specialize in benign hematology will have additional inpatient and outpatient hematology consult experiences as well as a focused research project (basic/translational laboratory research or clinical research) through the T32 training grant program. Fellows will have extensive outpatient hematology experiences, including the high-risk obstetrics clinic, sickle cell disorder clinic, anemia clinic, and the comprehensive hemophilia clinic. Our institution is also a Center of Excellence for Bloodless Surgery. Fellows will have the option of additional training in hematopathology, the coagulation laboratory and transfusion medicine.
Fellows as Clinician Educators (FACE)
The Fellows as Clinician Educators (FACE) Program is designed to introduce future clinician-educators to a set of skills which may be of use in their career. The program presents concepts of educational design and research, lecture development, evaluation, observation and feedback. At the conclusion of the program, FACE participants are required to develop a teaching portfolio.
Learn More
Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center
Learn about Holden (video)
The HCCC NCI designation (video)
Video tour of the new BMT/Cellular Therapy unit:
Graduate Medical Education at Iowa
How to Apply
Applications are only accepted through the Electronic Residency Application System(ERAS).
US residents should contact their Dean's Office or ERAS at https://students-residents.aamc.org/training-residency-fellowship/applying-fellowships-eras/.
International residents should contact the ECFMG at http://www.ecfmg.org/eras/index.html.
H1B and J1 visas accepted.
An ECFMG certificate must accompany the ERAS application.
A complete ERAS application includes:
- Personal statement
- Four letters of support (generally to include a letter from program director and/or department head from Internal Medicine residency program)
- Copies of your transcripts for USMLE Steps 1, 2, and 3 must accompany application
The deadline for applications is September 30.
Selected candidates will be invited to interview.
If you have any questions, contact the program at hemoncfellowship@uiowa.edu.
Life doesn't stop when you are in training!
Learn about family leave, child care, spouse employment, and other support resources
Board Certification
Medical specialty certification in the United States is a voluntary process which serves multiple purposes for the trainee and the public.
Certification is
- one mission of the training program to produce trainees who meet board eligibility criteria;
- distinguishes a physician as someone with a distinct level of expertise;
- provides more opportunities when applying for employment;
- presents resources and tools by the ABMS;
- a commitment to life-long improvement for providing the best patient care; and
- elevates physicians into the ranks of doctors committed to the highest standards of healthcare.
For more information visit the American Board of Internal Medicine for specifics on board certification requirements.
Eligibility Criteria
Qualified applicants to the University of Iowa Hematology and Oncology Fellowship Program are those who have successfully completed medical school and a medicine residency program at an accredited institution.
Interview Information
We will interview selected candidates beginning in September through October. Because of COVID-19, our interview process will be virtual. Once scheduled, your interview itinerary will also include a link to our "Welcome Presentation," which will give you an overview of the program.
On your interview day, you will have the opportunity to meet the program director and associate program director as well as multiple faculty members. Based on information you provide in your application, we will strive to match you with the faculty interviewers in your field of interest. We will also arrange a session for you with our current fellows who can describe life in Hematology/Oncology at the University of Iowa as well as life in Iowa City.
We realize that selecting a fellowship “virtually” is a challenge. In addition to our interviews and fellow panels, we will also soon supplement the already-robust information about our program on these webpages with even more information about our program. For now we invite you to learn more about graduate medical education at University of Iowa Health Care, the University of Iowa, and Iowa City!
Our People
Program Leadership
Grerk Sutamtewagul, MD
Director, Hematology-Oncology Fellowship Program
Clinical Associate Professor of Internal Medicine
Phone: 319-356-2310
Email: hemoncfellowship@uiowa.edu
William Zeitler, MD, MPH
Associate Director, Hematology-Oncology Fellowship Program
Clinical Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine
Interim director - pending announcement
Director
Division of Hematology, Oncology and Blood & Marrow Transplantation
Faculty
Arwa Aburizik, MD, MS
Clinical Associate Professor
Area of Specialty/Research: Psychiatry and oncology
Daniel Berg, MD
Associate Professor
Area of Specialty/Research: Gastrointestinal oncology; Medical education
Margaret Byrne, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor
Area of Specialty/Research: Thoracic oncology
Thomas Carter, MD, PhD
Emeritus Associate Professor
Area of Specialty/Research: Leukemia
Chandrikha Chandrasekharan, MBBS
Clinical Associate Professor
Area of Specialty/Research: Neuroendocrine carcinoma
Shobha Chitneni, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor
Area of Specialty/Research: Community oncology
Gerald Clamon, MD
Professor
Area of Specialty/Research: Thoracic oncology
Prajwal Dhakal, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor
Area of Specialty/Research: Malignant hematology
Umar Farooq, MD
Clinical Associate Professor
Area of Specialty/Research: Lymphoma
Naomi Fei, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor
Area of Specialty/Research: Gastrointestinal oncology
Nicole Fleege, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor
Area of Specialty/Research: Breast cancer
Muhammad Furqan, MD
Clinical Associate Professor
Area of Specialty/Research: Thoracic oncology
Pedro Hsieh, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor
Area of Specialty/Research: Hematology
Asad Javed, MBBS
Clinical Assistant Professor
Area of Psecialty/Research: Melanoma, HCC
Mark Karwal, MD
Clinical Associate Professor
Area of Specialty/Research: Breast cancer, Hepatocellular carcinoma
Douglas Laux, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor
Area of Specialty/Research: Head and neck cancer
Steven Lentz, MD, PhD
Professor
Area of Specialty/Research: Clotting disorders
Brian Link, MD
Professor
Area of Specialty/Research: Lymphoma
Donald Macfarlane, MD, PhD
Professor
Area of Specialty/Research: Benign hematology
Margarida Magalhaes-Silverman, MD
Clinical Professor
Area of Specialty/Research: BMT
Mohammed Milhem, MBBS
Clinical Professor
Area of Specialty/Research: Melanoma and Sarcoma; Clinical trials; Immunotherapy
Eric Mou, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor
Area of Specialty/Research: Lymphoma
Sneha Phadke, DO
Clinical Associate Professor
Area of Specialty/Research: Breast cancer
Kittika Poonsombudlert, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor
Area of Specialty/Research: Hematopoietic cell transplantation
Bilal Rahim, MD, MSc
Clinical Assistant Professor
Area of Specialty/Research: GU Oncology
John Rieth, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor
Area of Specialty/Research: Melanoma, sarcoma
Susan Roeder, DO, MS
Clinical Associate Professor
Area of Specialty/Research: Breast oncology
Hira Shaikh, MBBS
Clinical Assistant Professor
Area of Specailty/Research: Myeloma, hematopoietic cell transplantation
Saima Sharif, MD, MS
Clinical Professor
Area of Specialty/Research: Colorectal cancer
Christopher Strouse, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor
Area of Specialty/Research: Hematologic malignancy
Grerk Sutamtewagul, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor
Area of Specialty/Research: Lymphoma, benign hematology
Mario Sy, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor
Area of Specialty/Research: Community oncology
Michael Tomasson, MD
Professor
Area of Specialty/Research: BMT, multiple myeloma
Praveen Vikas, MBBS
Clinical Associate Professor
Area of Specialty/Research: Breast cancer
George Weiner, MD
Professor
Area of Specialty/Research: Lymphoma
The Weiner Translational Research Lab
Nanmeng Yu, MD
Associate
Area of Specialty/Research: Malignant hematology
Yousef Zakharia, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor
Area of Specialty/Research: GU oncology, clinical trials
William Zeitler, MD, MPH
Associate
Area of Specialty/Research: Thoracic oncology, Medical education
Research Faculty
Anil Chauhan, MTech, PhD
Associate Professor
The Chauhan lab
Sanjana Dayal, PHD
Associate Professor
Sanjana Dayal lab
Rebecca Dodd, PhD
Associate Professor
The Dodd lab
Manasa K. Nayak, PhD
Research Assistant Professor
Yi Huang, MD, PhD
Associate Professor
Sarah Short, PhD
Assistant Professor
Suresh Veeramani, PhD, MS
Research Assistant Professor
Current Fellows
First Year Fellows
Mehndi Dandwani, MBBS
Medical School: Terna Medical College
Residency: Danbury Hospital
Conor Houlihan, MD
Medical School: University of Iowa
Residency: University of Nebraska
Akhil Jain, MD
Medical School: BJ Medical College
Residency: Mercy Catholic Medical Center
Rachaita Lakra, MBBS
Medical School: Vardhman Mahavir Medical College & Safdarjung Hospital
Residency: Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center
Aditya Ravindra, MD
Medical School: Univerity of Ilinois
Residency: University of Iowa
Lekha Yadukumar, MBBS
Medical School: JJM Medical Colleg
Residency: Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education
Second Year Fellows
Vijaya Kankanala, MBBS
Medical School: SVS Medical College India
Residency: Overlook Medical Center
Dong Hyun Kim, MD, PhD
Medical School: Yonsei University
Residency: University of Nebraska
Kroll, Matthew M.D
Medical School: Loyola University
Residency: Rush University
Prescott, Adam M.D.
Medical School: Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University
Residency: University of Iowa
John Smestad, MD, PhD
Medical School: Mayo clinic
Residency: University of Iowa
Andrew Vegel, MD
Medical School: University of Wisconsin
Residency: Tulane University
Third Year Fellows
Luna Acharya, MBBS
Medical School: Kathmandu Medical College
Residency: Icahn School of Medicine
Justin Buzick, MD
Medical School: University of North Dakota
Residency: University of Iowa
Udhay Grewal, MBBS
Medical School: Government Medical College Patiala India
Residency: Louisiana State University
Greg Kirkpatrick, MD, PhD
Medical School: University of Colorado
Residency: University of Iowa
Samragnyi Madala, MD
Medical School: S.V.S. Medical College India
Residency: University of Kansas
Ben Staum, MD
Medical School: University of South Dakota
Residency: University of Colorado
Recent Graduates
2023
Laila Babar, MBBS
Austin Greco, MD
Kittika Poonsombudlert, MD
Alexandre Tungesvik, MD
2022
Adithya Channamadhavuni, MBBS
Gudbjorg Jonsdottir, MD, PhD
Travis Snyders, MD
2021
Josiah An, community oncology, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Justin Chau, University of Iowa Health Care
Seth Maliske, Sanford Medical Center, Fargo, North Dakota
Nanmeng Yu, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics
2020
Isaac Chambers, private practice, Hays, Kansas
Jad el Masri, University of Iowa, Quad Cities clinic, Bettendorf, Iowa
Susan Slycord, private practice, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Chris Strouse, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics
2019
Umang Swami, MBBS, Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah
William Zeitler, MD, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics
Najla Itani, MD, Community Oncology, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Muhammad Saqlain, MBBS, BMG Hematology and Medical Oncology, South Bend, Indiana
2018
Vyshak Alva Venur, MBBS, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Institute, University of Washington
Andrew Iliff, MD, Missouri Cancer Associates, Columbia, Missouri
Kalyan Nadiminti, MD, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin
Meredith Schaffner, MD, Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland, Oregon
2017
Grerk Sutamtewagul, MD, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics
Ravi Patel, MD, Texas Oncology, Richmond, Texas
Rohan Garje, MD, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics
2016
Sneha Phadke, DO, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics
Rachna Raman, MD, Bon Secours Cancer Institute, Richmond, Virginia
Zhaohui Jin, MD, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
Varun Monga, MD, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics
Chair, Department of Internal Medicine
Upinder Singh, MD
Chair and DEO, Department of Internal Medicine
Professor of Medicine–Infectious Diseases
Life in Iowa as a Hem/Onc Fellow
Check out this tour of our newly remodeled junior fellows office:
It’s not all work!
Dean Elhag, Hem/Onc Fellow, talks about living in Iowa City
Every summer we have a picnic which is a great way to get to know your colleagues in an informal setting.
[view photos]
Our fellows attended the latest Iowa Oncology Society meeting.
[view photo]
Every year we host the Iowa Night reception at the annual ASCO meeting. This is an enjoyable evening that allows us to meet up with our former fellows and others who have connections to Iowa.
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At the end of the year we have our annual Graduation Dinner to honor our graduating fellows.
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Life doesn't stop when you are in training!
Learn about family leave, child care, spouse employment, and other support resources
Summer Picnic Photos
Iowa Oncology Society Meeting
ASCO Iowa Night Photos
Graduation Dinner Photos
Connections newsletter
Connections is our fellowship newsletter. This helps us stay connected with our former fellows after they have graduated and gone out into the world. It also helps us keep our graduates informed about what’s going on in the Division of Hematology, Oncology, and Blood & Marrow Transplantation at the University of Iowa.
Recent Issue
Past Issues
Holden Highlights newlsetter
Read recent sample issues of the Holden Highlights newlsetter.
Giving
You can help make a difference by giving to the Hematology & Medical Oncology Fellowship Program!
Your financial support helps fund educational training and innovations and also provides unrestricted resources that can be used when and where the need is the greatest.