Dr. Gauri Sunkersett

Dr. Ayala is the director of the Hemophilia and Bleeding Disorders Treatment Center at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital. She also is the hematology leader of the Young Women Bleeding Disorders/Menorrhagia Clinic, which focuses on a multidisciplinary approach to bleeding symptoms in girls and young women. Dr. Ayala also is involved in the Immune Dysregulation Clinic, which evaluates patients with autoimmune cytopenias in a multidisciplinary approach. Dr. Ayala joined the hospital in 2000. She was the chair of the Division of Hematology/Oncology between 2013-2017 and also served as interim director for the division between 2015-2016. Dr. Ayala's research experience includes multicenter national and international projects. Dr. Ayala received her medical degree from the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine, her residency training at the San Juan City Hospital in Puerto Rico and her fellowship training at the Emory University School of Medicine Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology. Dr. Ayala is a member of the American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology and the Hemophilia and Thrombosis Research Society. Dr. Ayala is rated as an Experienced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP). Her top areas of expertise are Hemophilia A, Venous Thromboembolism (VTE), Blood Clots, and Evans Syndrome.

Dr. Metts specializes in pediatric hematology/oncology in the Johns Hopkins All Children's Cancer & Blood Disorders Institute. He sees patients on our main campus in St. Petersburg and at the Johns Hopkins All Children’s Outpatient Care Center in Tampa. He joined the hospital in 2016. He received his medical degree from the University of South Carolina School of Medicine and completed an internship and residency in pediatrics at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital through the University of South Florida Morsani School of Medicine. Dr. Metts then trained at Emory University School of Medicine as a pediatric hematology/oncology fellow. His clinical interests include sarcomas, rare solid tumors, and Phase 1 and Phase 2 trials for pediatric solid tumors. Dr. Metts is rated as a Distinguished provider by MediFind in the treatment of Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP). His top areas of expertise are Osteosarcoma, Ewing Sarcoma, Rhabdomyosarcoma, and Adult Soft Tissue Sarcoma.

Dr. Chellapandian is the division chief of blood and marrow transplant and specializes in bone marrow transplant as a hematologist-oncologist and serves as Director of the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy for Non-Malignant Conditions (CCGNC) in the Johns Hopkins All Children’s Cancer & Blood Disorders Institute. He joined the hospital staff in 2017. Dr. Chellapandian earned his medical degree from Madurai Medical College and then trained at Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, both in India. He completed a residency in pediatrics at Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia. Dr. Chellapandian completed a pediatric hematology-oncology and bone marrow transplantation fellowship at Hospital for Sick Children/University of Toronto and an advanced fellowship on bone marrow transplantation and cellular therapy at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. Dr. Chellapandian's clinical and research interests include hematopoietic stem cell transplant for primary immunodeficiency, immune dysregulation disorders, sickle cell disease, thalassemia, and treatment of histiocytic disorders. He has special focus on ex-vivo graft engineering techniques and autologous gene therapy. He has adapted new methods of T- cell depletion using haploidentical transplantation to transplant patients lacking a suitable matched donor. He has numerous scientific papers and review articles published in this field. Dr. Chellapandian is rated as an Experienced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP). His top areas of expertise are Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID), Non-Langerhans-Cell Histiocytosis, Infantile Neutropenia, Reticulohistiocytoma, and Bone Marrow Transplant.