James F Casella, MD - John Hopkins Medicine-Rubenstein Child Health Building

Dr. Streiff's major clinical interest involves the prevention and treatment of venous thromboembolism. He has written several comprehensive reviews on vena caval filters and the management of venous thromboembolism in cancer patients. He chairs the Venous Thromboembolism Guideline Committee for the National Comprehensive Cancer Center Network and has served on international consensus panels to develop standardized guidelines for the use of vena caval filters in the management of venous thromboembolism. As a member of a Johns Hopkins Evidence-Based Practice Center panel, he participated in the development of evidence reports on the management of venous thromboembolism. His research on patients with malignant gliomas identified ABO blood group as a novel risk factor for VTE in this population. A multicenter clinical trial is now nearing completion to confirm these results and identify plasma markers of increased risk for venous thromboembolism in glioma patients. As Medical Director of the Anticoagulation Management Service and Outpatient Clinics, he and his colleagues from the Department of Pharmacy have been actively involved in developing policies and procedures for standardizing anticoagulation management and guidelines for VTE prevention at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. As the consulting Hematologist for the Johns Hopkins Comprehensive Hemophilia Treatment Center, he is actively involved in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with hemophilia, von Willebrand disease and other hemostatic disorders.

Dr. Akila Viswanathan is a leading authority in radiation oncology at Johns Hopkins Children's Center, where she serves as the director of the Department of Radiation Oncology and Molecular Radiation Sciences. With extensive expertise in gynecologic cancers, particularly cervical and uterine cancers, she has made significant contributions to clinical innovations and system-wide integration efforts across various Johns Hopkins sites. An esteemed academic, Dr. Viswanathan holds professorships in multiple departments associated with Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and has published over 200 articles. Recognized as one of America's Top Doctors, she actively contributes to the advancement of her field through research and leadership roles in prominent radiation oncology societies. Generated from the website

Carol Ann Huff, M.D., is an Associate Professor of Oncology and Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Medical Director for the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center. After completing a Bachelor of Science in Zoology at Duke University in Durham, NC, Dr. Huff received her medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. She completed her internship and residency in Internal Medicine at Johns Hopkins and was an Assistant Chief of Service in the Department of Medicine before completing her fellowship training in the Department of Oncology at Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Huff is a nationally-recognized expert in the treatment of multiple myeloma and amyloidosis and in the development of new biologically-based treatment strategies. She has sought to better understand the mechanisms for recurrence and the inability to cure these diseases. Through this research, the identification of a myeloma cancer stem cell has emerged, and efforts to target these cells through combination therapy in clinical trials are ongoing. In collaboration with Dr. William Matsui, Dr. Huff has identified a flow cytometric-based blood analysis for multiple myeloma patients that can be used to quantify the number of myeloma cancer stem cells and track how these cells respond to treatment. Their efforts have revealed that changes in the number of myeloma cancer stem cells can predict recurrence in myeloma patients before clinical evidence of recurrence is detectable. Using this blood analysis, as well as growth of these cells from bone marrow samples taken from patients with myeloma, they have begun studying therapeutic strategies to target these cells based on cell surface markers and enzymatic pathways that are important to the survival of myeloma stem cells. Dr. Huff is the recipient of multiple awards for clinical and teaching excellence including the Kimmel Cancer Center's Director’s Teaching Award in Oncology in both 2006 and 2012. During her medical school training, Dr. Huff was the recipient of a Howard Hughes Medical Institute-National Institutes of Health (NIH) fellowship. She has received grant support from the NIH, Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, and Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. and LLS, and is the principal investigator of numerous investigator-initiated and industry- sponsored clinical trials. She is the author of numerous publications and book chapters not only on multiple myeloma and related disorders, but also on bone marrow transplantation and a range of topics related to internal medicine and oncology. Her current research efforts involve active collaboration with the preclinical laboratories in the development and testing phases of new therapeutic approaches, as well as a lead effort in the national African American Myeloma Consortium seeking to better understand genetic determinants of the disease.