Overview
"Chen's primary area of research focuses on bone marrow transplantation (BMT), a highly complex and specialized aspect of pediatric oncology that, in recent years, has become an accepted form of therapy for an increasingly broad range of cancers. In addition to the myriad ways BMT is currently being utilized at Hopkins, Chen is working to refine novel approaches to the therapy and apply them to some of the toughest cases. ""One hypothesis is that, in patients receiving a transplant using their own stored stem cells, we can induce an immunologic response from their own cells that mimics the graft received from a healthy donor,"" Chen says. ""We're also excited about the ability to foster immune tolerance when the only available healthy donors aren't perfect matches for the patient."" In a quest to solve some of the rarest and most troubling treatment challenges facing pediatric oncology, Chen and fellow pediatric oncologists at Hopkins have joined forces with others around North America in the Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplant Consortium. ""We're trying to develop multi-institutional studies to improve the effectiveness of BMT for cancer. The study we're working on now will help us to understand why some patients relapse in spite of BMT for acute myeloid leukemia,"" says Chen, who chairs the Oncology Strategy Group of this consortium. Chen also immerses himself in several Hopkins-based initiatives. Recently, he was named Chair of the Oncology Clinical Research Review Committee, a group mandated to oversee all patient-oriented research in the comprehensive cancer center to ensure it meets the center's standards of scientific merit and priority. He also chairs the Performance Improvement Committee. This multi-disciplinary group consists of physicians, nurses, and pharmacists who examine practical ways to reduce errors and improve patient outcomes. The committee recently joined forces with Hopkins' information technology professionals to apply a computerized order entry system—even to complex treatment protocols like chemotherapy. ""We've seen an amazing improvement; a number of potential medication errors decreased dramatically,"" Chen says. Currently, the committee is analyzing ways to reduce bloodstream infections in pediatric patients, which can create potentially life-threatening complications. Despite the hectic pace of Chen's professional life, he has managed to find a way to leave behind the stress of his job and bond with his own children. He and his sons began taking Kung Fu classes when his older son began middle school. He's since grown up and left for college, but Chen continues the practice as both a student and a teacher. Regardless of where Chen is, he's never too far removed from the challenges that await him at work. ""Sometimes, in the wee hours of the morning, I suddenly realize why a complication has occurred,"" he says.".
Dr. Chen is rated as an Experienced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Hodgkin Lymphoma. His top areas of expertise are Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), Ganglioneuroblastoma, Leukemia, and Neuroblastoma.
His clinical research consists of co-authoring 60 peer reviewed articles and participating in 7 clinical trials. MediFind looks at clinical research from the past 15 years. In particular, he has co-authored 2 articles in the study of Hodgkin Lymphoma.
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Locations
1800 Orleans Street, Bloomberg 11N, Bloomberg 11N, Baltimore, MD 21287
Clinical Research
Clinical research consists of overseeing clinical studies of patients undergoing new treatments and therapies, and publishing articles in peer reviewed medical journals. Providers who actively participate in clinical research are generally at the forefront of the fields and aware of the most up-to-date advances in treatments for their patients.
7 Clinical Trials
Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center
Richard F. Ambinder, M.D., Ph.D., currently serves as the James B. Murphy Professor of Oncology and the Director of the Division of Hematologic Malignancies at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center. He is program co-leader of the Hematologic Malignancies and Bone Marrow Transplantation Program and leads the AIDS Malignancy Consortium (AMC) site at Johns Hopkins and the AMC Translational Sciences Working Group nationally. Dr. Ambinder graduated from Harvard College with a Bachelor’s degree in biochemistry, after which he received his medical degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine before completing his residency at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. He also earned his Ph.D. in pharmacology from the Johns Hopkins University, and completed his oncology fellowship at Johns Hopkins. Within the clinic, Dr. Ambinder is active in the treatment of lymphoma and Kaposi’s sarcoma. Dr. Ambinder’s research is focused on exploring opportunities to prevent or treat cancer with viral infections. Virus-associated tumors are among the most common malignancies in certain populations and regions. For instance, Burkitt's lymphoma (EBV) and Kaposi's sarcoma (KSHV) are common in equatorial Africa, nasopharyngeal carcinoma (EBV) is common in southern Chinese populations or those with southern Chinese origins, and immunoblastic lymphomas (EBV) are common in immunocompromised patients (organ transplant recipients, AIDS patients, etc). Thus, Dr. Ambinder’s new approaches to prevention, diagnosis, and treatment stand to have a direct impact on the lives of cancer patients around the globe. Additionally, the study of how viruses can impact these tumors is important in creating model systems for the development of new approaches to cancer care. Currently, many immunotherapies target unidentified antigens, making the measurement of relevant immune responses problematic at best. However, in EBV-associated tumors the antigens are well defined, thus allowing the Ambinder lab to define the epitope-specific cellular immune responses. As a result of this breakthrough, interventions designed to alter immune response —whether they be vaccine based interventions, adoptive immunotherapy interventions, or pharmacologic interventions — may all be assessed in terms of relevant surrogate markers. Much in the same way the treatment of Hodgkin's lymphoma with radiotherapy and chemotherapy paved the way for the modern approach to cancer treatment more broadly, the treatment of EBV-associated tumors (including Hodgkin's lymphoma) may pave the way to the more generalized use of these modalities to treat a myriad of cancer types. Dr. Ambinder is rated as an Elite provider by MediFind in the treatment of Hodgkin Lymphoma. His top areas of expertise are Hodgkin Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, B-Cell Lymphoma, Tissue Biopsy, and Bone Marrow Aspiration.
Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center
Dr. Nina Wagner-Johnston is Professor of Oncology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Her areas of clinical expertise include non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma, and HIV-related lymphomas. Dr. Wagner-Johnston serves as the Director for the Lymphoma Drug Development Program at the Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Wagner-Johnston received her baccalaureate degree in nursing from Georgetown University in Washington, DC. She earned her MD and completed her residency training at the University of Chicago, Chicago Illinois. She performed a fellowship in Medical Oncology at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Wagner-Johnston joined the Johns Hopkins faculty in 2015. Prior to joining Johns Hopkins, Dr. Wagner-Johnston was an Assistant Professor at Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri. Her research interests include clinical trial and biomarker development for patients with lymphoma. She is additionally involved in palliative/supportive care research and has a particular interest in chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy. Dr. Wagner-Johnston serves as a member on the NCCN Cancer Related Fatigue Guidelines Panel and the ASCO Neuropathy Guidelines Panel. She has served as a journal reviewer for Annals of Oncology, Leukemia and Lymphoma, Blood, and the Journal of Nuclear Medicine. She is a previous recipient of a Young Investigator Award at the Supportive Oncology Conference as well as a Mentoring Program Award through the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. She has served on the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Lymphoma Steering Committee Clinical Trials Design Committee and the NCI Symptom Management and Health Related Quality of Life Steering Committee. She is a member of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the AIDS Malignancies Consortium (AMC), and the Eastern Cancer Oncology Group (ECOG) Lymphoma Committee. Dr. Wagner is rated as an Elite provider by MediFind in the treatment of Hodgkin Lymphoma. Her top areas of expertise are Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, B-Cell Lymphoma, Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL), Bone Marrow Transplant, and Bone Marrow Aspiration.
Bruce Cheson is a Hematologist and a Hematologist Oncology provider in Bethesda, Maryland. Dr. Cheson is rated as an Elite provider by MediFind in the treatment of Hodgkin Lymphoma. His top areas of expertise are Follicular Lymphoma, Chronic B-Cell Leukemia (CBCL), Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL), Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, and Bone Marrow Transplant. Dr. Cheson is currently accepting new patients.
Areas of Expertise
MediFind evaluates expertise by pulling from factors such as number of articles a doctor has published in medical journals, participation in clinical trials, speaking at industry conferences, prescribing and referral patterns, and strength of connections with other experts in their field.
Learn more about MediFind’s expert tiers
- Experienced
- Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL)Dr. Chen isExperienced. Learn about Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL).
- Childhood Acute Myeloid LeukemiaDr. Chen isExperienced. Learn about Childhood Acute Myeloid Leukemia.
- Embryonal Tumor with Multilayered Rosettes
- GanglioneuroblastomaDr. Chen isExperienced. Learn about Ganglioneuroblastoma.
- Gliomatosis CerebriDr. Chen isExperienced. Learn about Gliomatosis Cerebri.
- Hodgkin LymphomaDr. Chen isExperienced. Learn about Hodgkin Lymphoma.