Pediatric Hematology and Oncology

The Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, led by Patricia Jane Giardina, MD, provides treatment for children with a wide range of congenital and acquired blood disorders and cancers. Consisting of a team of pediatric specialists, the Division offers disease-specific programs, supported by basic and clinical research, to improve management strategies and enhance the understanding of these childhood blood diseases. The Division also educates young physicians and scientists in the field of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology and provides an ACGME-accredited fellowship program together with the Department of Pediatrics at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

The Division's clinical faculty consists of 5 board-certified Pediatric Hematologists/Oncologists. They conduct clinical and translational research in programs sponsored by the National Institute of Health (NIH) and the Maternal Child Health Bureau. Their expertise in the areas of hemophilia, autoimmune thrombocytopenia, thalassemia, sickle cell disease and the childhood leukemias and cancers are world renown and conduct clinical and translational research in NIH- and MCHB-sponsored programs. In addition, the Division's research scientists conduct basic research in the Children's Cancer & Blood Foundation laboratories in the fields of iron metabolism, immunology, hemophilia, cellular oncology and beta globin gene transfer.

The clinical program provides state-of-the-art comprehensive medical treatments for blood disorders such as anemias, neutropenias, thrombocytopenias, disorders of iron metabolism, coagulation and bleeding, as well as childhood leukemias and cancers such as lymphomas, Hodgkin's disease, Wilm's tumor, neuroblastoma, and osteogenic sarcoma. Psychosocial support for these children and their families is also provided with on-site social work and genetic counseling services. Nursing services, including that of a thalassemia and oncology nurse practitioner and infusion nurses, assist in the care and administration of medications, blood products, infusions and chemotherapy.

Clinical Programs

Dr. Patricia Giardina is the Director of the Comprehensive Thalassemia Center, the oldest and largest center of its kind in the United States. The Center provides comprehensive medical and psychosocial services, with thalassemia screening and genetic counseling, in conjunction with regular outpatient transfusion and iron chelation therapies. Outreach thalassemia screening and genetic counseling services are also conducted in satellite programs in lower Manhattan and Queens. She is the principal investigator of the NIH-sponsored New York Region Thalassemia Clinical Research Network. Dr. Giardina is currently conducting clinical research trials on potential oral iron chelators and the long-term efficacy of the first FDA approved oral iron chelator. Her basic research interests lie in curative therapies for Thalassemia and advancing the understanding of gene transfer.

Dr. Suchitra Acharya directs our Sickle Cell Program, which provides comprehensive care, newborn screening, genetic counseling, and education to children and their families. The sickle cell disease can now be cured with bone marrow transplant. Dr. Acharya is also the Pediatric Hematology/Oncology consultant to St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx, which is part of the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital Network. She also performs basic research in the field of angiogenesis as it relates to the vascular proliferation of hemophilia joint disease.

Dr. Alexander Aledo directs our Pediatric Oncology Program, which diagnoses and treats infants, children, adolescents, and young adults with leukemias, lymphomas, sarcomas, and other childhood cancers. Dr. Aledo is also the Pediatric Hematology/Oncology consultant at New York Hospital Queens, which is part of the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital Network. He is currently a member of the Leukemia Study Committee of the national collaborative Children's Oncology Group, which conducts clinical research trials for the treatment of high risk Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in children and adolescents.

Dr. James Bussel directs the Thrombocytopenia Program and is Principal Investigator in the New York Region Hemostasis and Transfusion Network, sponsored by the NIH. He has developed IV gamma globulin and Anti-D treatments for Immune (Idiopathic) Thrombocytopenia Purpura (ITP) patients and prepared national guidelines for the management of ITP. He is currently investigating the role of thrombopoietin treatment for refractory ITP patients.

Dr. Donna DiMichele directs the Comprehensive Hemophilia and Diagnostic Treatment Center, which is sponsored by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau. She has expanded the Hemophilia Center with the development of an isotopic synovectomy, the first of its kind in the area. She is the principal investigator of the International Trial for Immune Tolerance Induction. Dr. DiMichele is currently working on the research and development of new assays required for the diagnosis and management of bleeding disorders, and is conducting and participating in multiple clinical research protocols for medications designed to provide safer and more efficacious treatment regimens for hemophiliac patients.

Contact

For more information or to schedule an appointment, please call us at: (212) 746-3400.

Our Faculty

Chief: Patricia-Jane Giardina, MD
Suchitra Acharya, MD
Alexander Aledo, MD
James B. Bussel, MD
Susanna Cunningham-Rundles, PhD
Donna DiMichele, MD
Robert Grady, PhD
David C. Lyden, MD, PhD
Stefano Rivella, PhD

Medical Practice

For physicians, directions, office hours, and office staff, please visit our medical practice web sites:

Pediatric Hematology-Oncology