Dr. Mikaela C. Hairston

"In her first decade as a pediatric oncologist, Dr. Symons already has shown an impressive ability to juggle multiple research projects, in addition to caring for patients. One of Dr. Symons' research pursuits focuses on using a novel immunotherapy approach to treating both solid tumors and hematologic (blood-borne) malignancies. The basis of her work stems from the theory that cancer patients' immune systems should recognize tumor cells as foreign and destroy them. This doesn't happen, theorizes Dr. Symons, because the immune system attacks only those cells it perceives as dangerous—not cancer cells, which it sees simply as foreign. That's where her research comes into play. Evaluating an experimental therapy, Dr. Symons is pairing donor lymphocytes (white blood cells that activate the body's immune system) with chemotherapy to determine if this combination will ""awaken"" patients' immune systems to the danger of existing cancer cells and, in turn, elicit an immune response. In a separate yet equally compelling research endeavor, Dr. Symons is working to increase the availability of donors for children whose cancer requires bone marrow transplants (BMTs) as a potentially lifesaving treatment. ""It can be challenging to find a 'matched' donor,"" says Dr. Symons, who explains that only about 40 percent of patients who require a BMT find a matched donor. ""Sometimes, we don't have the benefit of time, because remissions can be short-lived. But almost all patients have a half-matched donor: a parent, sibling, or child,"" adds Dr. Symons, who is examining ways to reduce BMT-related complications ordinarily associated with half-matched donors after ablative (high dose) chemotherapy. ""Like anything else that's new, it will take some time to prove that this is a feasible option that's safe,"" she says. But she's optimistic. ""It has the potential to revolutionize BMT."" Dr. Symons knows it's worth the wait. ""Seeing the research I do in the lab translate into clinical trials, then seeing patients in these trials survive long term, is incredibly rewarding,"" she says.". Dr. Symons is highly rated in 3 conditions, according to our data. Her clinical expertise encompasses Graft Versus Host Disease (GvHD), Aplastic Anemia, Anemia, Leukemia, and Bone Marrow Transplant. Dr. Symons is board certified in American Board Of Pediatrics. Dr. Symons is currently accepting new patients.

Dr. Stacy Cooper is the Director of the Pediatric Hematologic Malignancy Program, Director of the Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Fellowship Program, and Clinical Director of the Pediatric Oncology Inpatient Program at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Dr. Cooper received her undergraduate degree in Biology and Spanish at the University of Notre Dame. She earned her M.D. at SUNY Upstate Medical University. She completed her general pediatric residency and chief residency at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. She completed her pediatric hematology-oncology fellowship with the Johns Hopkins-National Institutes of Health. Dr. Cooper joined the Johns Hopkins faculty in 2015. Her research focuses on clinical research in acute lymphoblastic leukemia, as well as medical education scholarship related to fellowship training. Dr. Cooper is a member of the American Board of Pediatrics, the American Society of Hematology, the American Society of Pediatric Hematology Oncology and the Association of Pediatric Program Directors. Dr. Cooper is highly rated in 3 conditions, according to our data. Her clinical expertise encompasses Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma, Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), Hodgkin Lymphoma, and Leukemia. Dr. Cooper is board certified in American Board Of Pediatrics. Dr. Cooper is currently accepting new patients.

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 highly rated in 4 conditions, according to our data. Her clinical expertise encompasses Gliomatosis Cerebri, Glioma, Diffuse Midline Glioma H3 K27M-Mutant, and HER2 Negative Breast Cancer. Dr. Gartrell is board certified in American Board Of Pediatrics. Dr. Gartrell is currently accepting new patients.

Dr. Resar's studies molecular mechanisms leading to cancer, blood diseases, sickle cell anemia, hemophilia and other coagulopathies. Her research focuses on the HMG-I/Y gene family, which is widely overexpressed and functions as oncogenes in human cancers. Her laboratory recently developed transgenic mice overexpressing HMG-I; all mice develop aggressive lymphoid malignancy similar to leukemia and lymphoma in humans. Her studies also demonstrate that this gene is overexpressed in human lymphoid and other malignancies. Translational studies are underway to determine if overexpression of HMG-I is a marker for more aggressive human cancers. Resar's long-term goal is to develop more rational therapies that interfere with HMG-I/Y function in neoplastic transformation. Dr. Resar is highly rated in 2 conditions, according to our data. Her clinical expertise encompasses Acute Eosinophilic Pneumonia, Hypereosinophilic Syndrome, Anemia, and Thrombocytopenia. Dr. Resar is board certified in American Board Of Pediatrics.

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 highly rated in 1 condition, according to our data. His clinical expertise encompasses RUNX1 Familial Platelet Disorder, Gliomatosis Cerebri, Fibrosarcoma, and Glioblastoma. Dr. Friedman is board certified in American Board Of Pediatrics. Dr. Friedman is currently accepting new patients.

Regina Macatangay is a Pediatric Hematologist Oncology provider practicing medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Macatangay is highly rated in 2 conditions, according to our data. Her clinical expertise encompasses Hemoglobin SC Disease, Sickle Cell Disease, Anemia, and Hemoglobinopathy. Dr. Macatangay is board certified in American Board Of Pediatrics - Pediatric Hematology-Oncology, 2019 and American Board Of Pediatrics - Pediatrics, 2012. Dr. Macatangay is currently accepting new patients.