The 20 Best Neuroblastoma Doctors in Maryland, US

Javed Khan is a Hematologist and an Oncologist in Bethesda, Maryland. Dr. Khan is rated as an Elite provider by MediFind in the treatment of Neuroblastoma. His top areas of expertise are Rhabdomyosarcoma, Adult Soft Tissue Sarcoma, Neuroblastoma, Embryonal Tumor with Multilayered Rosettes, and Angioplasty.

Dr. Douglas Ball is an associate professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He holds a joint appointment in oncology. His areas of clinical expertise include diagnostic radiology, endocrine oncology, thyroid cancer and thyroid diseases. Dr. Ball earned his M.D. from the George Washington University School of Medicine. He completed his residency at the University of Pittsburgh-Presbyterian University Hospital and performed a fellowship in endocrinology and metabolism at Johns Hopkins. His research interests include medullary thyroid cancer, differentiated thyroid cancer and anaplastic thyroid cancer. Dr. Ball is rated as an Advanced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Neuroblastoma. His top areas of expertise are Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma, Thyroid Cancer, Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer, Papillary Thyroid Cancer, and Thyroidectomy.

Holly Meany is a Hematologist and an Oncologist in Silver Spring, Maryland. Dr. Meany is rated as a Distinguished provider by MediFind in the treatment of Neuroblastoma. Her top areas of expertise are Neuroblastoma, Hereditary Neuroblastoma, Embryonal Tumor with Multilayered Rosettes, Osteosarcoma, and Mastoidectomy.

Dr. Cohen is Director of Pediatric Neuro-Oncology and Clinical Director of the Division of Pediatric Oncology at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins. He received his undergraduate degree at Brown University and earned his MD at the Upstate Medical University, in Syracuse, NY. He did his general Pediatric Residency and Chief Residency at the University of Colorado and completed his Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Fellowship at Johns Hopkins. He has served on the faculty since 1994. His research centers on clinical trials of novel therapeutics for children with brain tumors. Dr. Cohen is co-chair of the High-Grade Glioma committee for the Children's Oncology Group and in that capacity has a particular research interest in the development of therapeutics for the treatment of infiltrating gliomas. He serves on the scientific advisory board for a number of organizations including St. Baldricks and the Childhood Brain Tumor Foundation. He is on the editorial board for PDQ with responsibility for authorship of the pediatric CNS brain tumor summaries. The Pediatric Neuro-Oncology program conducts a broad range of research centered primarily around the development and testing of novel therapeutics for children with brain tumors. The multidisciplinary nature of this work translates into continual collaboration with specialists in pediatric neurosurgery, radiation oncology, neuropathology, neuroradiology, neurology, neuro-ophthalmology, neuropsychology, and other related disciplines. Dr. Cohen is rated as an Experienced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Neuroblastoma. His top areas of expertise are Glioma, Medulloblastoma, Brain Stem Cancer, Embryonal Tumor with Multilayered Rosettes, and Bone Marrow Aspiration.

Yang Ding is a Pediatrics specialist and a Pediatric Hematologist Oncology provider in Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Ding is rated as an Experienced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Neuroblastoma. Her top areas of expertise are Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), Leukemia, Neuroblastoma, and Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis.

Robyn Gartrell, MD, MS is a physician-scientist and pediatric oncologist who joined the faculty at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine as Assistant Professor in January 2024. Dr. Gartrell completed her clinical pediatric hematology/oncology fellowship at New York Presbyterian / Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC), and a postdoctoral fellowship in Immunotherapy and Precision Medicine. She also completed a Master of Science in Patient Oriented Research as well as her first 5 years as faculty at CUIMC. Dr. Gartrell’s primary research focuses on combination approaches including radiation, chemotherapy, and other target agents with immunotherapy to improve response, increase survival, and decrease toxicity for children, adolescents, and young adults with cancer. Her laboratory uses advances in tumor immunology to develop more effective and more personalized therapies using multiplex platforms and immunogenomics to evaluate the tumor microenvironment and determine which pediatric tumor types, and which patients, will respond to immunotherapy. Dr. Gartrell is rated as an Experienced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Neuroblastoma. Her top areas of expertise are Glioma, Diffuse Midline Glioma H3 K27M-Mutant, HER2 Negative Breast Cancer, and Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma.

Dr. Friedman is the King Fahd Professor of Oncology and Professor of Pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and a member of the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center. He received his M.D. from the Harvard Medical School (1983), did his pediatric internship and residency at Boston Children's Hospital (1983-86), and completed a fellowship in pediatric hematology-oncology at Johns Hopkins (1986-89). As a fellow, he did post-doctoral research at the Carnegie Institution Department of Embryology located on the Johns Hopkins Homewood campus. Dr. Friedman has served on the Pediatric Oncology faculty at Johns Hopkins since 1989. His laboratory focuses on investigation of normal and abnormal blood-cell formation. Dr. Friedman also cares for children with cancer, specializing in the treatment of leukemia. Dr. Friedman is rated as an Experienced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Neuroblastoma. His top areas of expertise are Leukemia, Glioma, Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), and Neuroblastoma.

"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 Neuroblastoma. His top areas of expertise are Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), Ganglioneuroblastoma, Leukemia, and Neuroblastoma.

Dr. Matthias Holdhoff is a medical oncologist and co-director of the Brain Cancer Disease Group at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins. He is a professor of oncology, neurology and neurological surgery at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Holdhoff’s expertise is in primary brain cancers and central nervous system lymphomas. He earned his medical degree from Freie Universität Berlin, received his doctorate degree at Charité University Medicine Berlin. Dr. Holdhoff completed residency training in internal medicine at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, followed by a fellowship in medical oncology at Johns Hopkins Hospital with research training at the Ludwig Center for Cancer Genetics and Therapeutics (Kinzler-Vogelstein lab). As a clinical investigator in neuro-oncology, his research is focused on novel trials and translational biomarker studies in malignant gliomas and primary central nervous system lymphomas. He has led and contributed to numerous clinical trials, publications and presentations. Dr. Holdhoff serves as the director of the solid tumor inpatient service at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center. He is passionately involved in mentoring and teaching of fellows, residents and students. He is the director of the UCNS-certified neuro-oncology fellowship program at Johns Hopkins, and he is a teaching attending physician for the Osler internal medicine residency program. Dr. Holdhoff is rated as an Experienced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Neuroblastoma. His top areas of expertise are Glioma, Glioblastoma, Astrocytoma, and Brain Tumor.

Eric Raabe, M.D., Ph.D., is an associate professor of oncology and pathology at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Dr. Raabe majored in neural science at Brown University and received his M.D. and Ph.D. from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. He completed his pediatric internship and residency at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. After spending a year working in Africa as part of the Baylor International Pediatric AIDS Initiative, Dr. Raabe joined Johns Hopkins as a pediatric oncology fellow. Working in the laboratory of Charles Eberhart in Neuropathology, Dr. Raabe established a neural stem cell system to create genetically accurate models of pediatric brain tumors. In collaboration with patients and families, he has also developed multiple pediatric brain tumor cell lines that are some of the key models used for pre-clinical testing. Dr. Raabe sees patients in the pediatric oncology outpatient clinic at Johns Hopkins, with a focus on pediatric brain tumors. Dr. Raabe is also the point person in oncology for retinoblastoma care. He continues his research in the new Smith Building of the Wilmer Eye Institute in the Neuropathology Division, in collaboration with Charles Eberhart. Dr. Raabe is rated as an Experienced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Neuroblastoma. His top areas of expertise are Rhabdoid Tumor, Diffuse Midline Glioma H3 K27M-Mutant, Glioma, and Medulloblastoma.

Dr. Christine Pratilas is a pediatric medical oncologist at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center and Associate Professor of Oncology, Pediatrics & Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She joined the Hopkins pediatric sarcoma team in 2014. Dr. Pratilas received her undergraduate degree in Biology from Drew University in New Jersey and her medical degree from UMDNJ - Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (now Rutgers University), where she also completed her internship and residency from 1999 to 2002. From 2002 to 2005 she was a fellow in hematology and oncology in the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) Department of Pediatrics, and in the Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology at New York Weill Cornell Medical Center. She was a postdoctoral research fellow in Dr. Neal Rosen’s Molecular Oncogenesis Laboratory at MSKCC. From 2006 to 2014 she was attending in Pediatric Oncology at MSKCC, specializing in developmental therapeutics & sarcoma. She has been the director of the pediatric sarcoma program at Hopkins since 2018. Dr. Pratilas focuses her research on cancer-associated pathways and signal transduction, which involves figuring out how a cell’s internal molecular pathways work, and how those pathways can be molecularly controlled. This knowledge is the basis for developing promising new molecularly targeted cancer therapies, which is the focus of Dr. Pratilas’s research. Among her important scientific contributions is advancing our understanding of how certain proteins that can be mutated in cancer, known as RAF kinases (specifically BRAF), affect a cancer cell’s behavior. The research in Dr. Pratilas' laboratory is focused on RAS signal transduction pathways, concentrating on pediatric sarcomas such as rhabdomyosarcoma and malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors, in order to develop novel therapeutics for children with these tumors. Dr. Pratilas is rated as an Experienced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Neuroblastoma. Her top areas of expertise are Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumor, Neurofibromatosis Type 1 (NF1), Neurofibromatosis, Adult Soft Tissue Sarcoma, and Osteotomy.

Christine L Hann, completed her MD and Ph.D. at Jefferson Medical College/Thomas Jefferson University follwed by an internal medicine residency at the University of Chicago Hospitals. Following a fellowship at Johns Hopkins University in Hematology and Oncology, Dr. Hann joined the Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center as a member of the Upper Aerodigestive Cancer Program and sees patients with non-small cell and small cell lung cancer. Dr. Hann's research focus is on developing novel therapeutics for lung cancer, particularly small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) such as carcinoid tumors of the lung. As a faculty member she is involved in both clinical and laboratory research. Specific research projects include: 1) Studying mechanisms of resistant to small molecule inhibitors of the antiapoptotic protein, BCL-2 using patient-derived xenograft models. Her preclinical work has led to an NCI-sponsored Phase 1/2 clinical trial combining a BCL-2 inhibitor with a TORC1/2 inhibitors which is currently underway (NCT03366103). 2) Preclinical evaluation of various therapeutics including epigenetic modulators (LSD1 inhibitors) and nanoliposome chemotherapy in SCLC PDXs; 3) Modeling and characterizing chemoradiotherapy resistance in preclinical models of SCLC. She, along with Dr. Luigi Marchionni in Biostatistics and Dr. Phuoc Tran in the Department of Radiation Oncology, were recently awarded a 5-year NCI-sponsored U01 grant to study mechanisms of chemoradiation resistance in SCLC. Dr. Hann is PI of several trials in SCLC and NSCLC and is leading investigator-initiated clinical trials in SCLC and NETs. Dr. Hann is rated as an Experienced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Neuroblastoma. Her top areas of expertise are Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC), Lung Cancer, Squamous Cell Lung Carcinoma, and Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC).

Madhu Katikineni is an Endocrinologist in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. Dr. Katikineni is rated as an Experienced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Neuroblastoma. His top areas of expertise are Type 2 Diabetes (T2D), Hypothyroidism, Obesity in Children, and Type 1 Diabetes (T1D).

Charalampos Floudas is an Oncologist in Bethesda, Maryland. Dr. Floudas is rated as an Advanced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Neuroblastoma. His top areas of expertise are Olfactory Neuroblastoma, Neuroblastoma, Embryonal Tumor with Multilayered Rosettes, and Gliomatosis Cerebri.

Huzefa Bahrain is a Hematologist in Rosedale, Maryland. Dr. Bahrain is rated as an Advanced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Neuroblastoma. His top areas of expertise are Iron Deficiency Anemia, Childhood Iron Deficiency Anemia, Hereditary Neuroblastoma, and Neuroblastoma.

James Gulley is a Hematologist and an Oncologist in Bethesda, Maryland. Dr. Gulley is rated as an Advanced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Neuroblastoma. His top areas of expertise are Prostate Cancer, Olfactory Neuroblastoma, Chordoma, Urothelial Cancer, and Orchiectomy.

Michael Randall is an Internal Medicine provider in Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Randall is rated as an Advanced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Neuroblastoma. His top areas of expertise are Neuroblastoma, Embryonal Tumor with Multilayered Rosettes, Gliomatosis Cerebri, and Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS).

Jason Fixler is a Hematologist and an Oncologist in Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Fixler is rated as an Advanced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Neuroblastoma. His top areas of expertise are Sickle Cell Disease, Hepatoblastoma, Ewing Sarcoma, Reticulohistiocytoma, and Bone Marrow Aspiration.

Francis Strain is a primary care provider, practicing in Internal Medicine in Lutherville Timonium, Maryland. Dr. Strain is rated as an Advanced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Neuroblastoma. His top areas of expertise are Hidradenitis Suppurativa, Osteoarthritis, Childhood Iron Deficiency Anemia, and Hypertension.

Francis Mussai is a Pediatric Hematologist Oncology provider in Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Mussai is rated as an Experienced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Neuroblastoma. His top areas of expertise are Embryonal Tumor with Multilayered Rosettes, Neuroblastoma, Leukemia, and Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL).