Julie Brahmer, MD

Dr. Nina Wagner-Johnston is Professor of Oncology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Her areas of clinical expertise include non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma, and HIV-related lymphomas. Dr. Wagner-Johnston serves as the Director for the Lymphoma Drug Development Program at the Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Wagner-Johnston received her baccalaureate degree in nursing from Georgetown University in Washington, DC. She earned her MD and completed her residency training at the University of Chicago, Chicago Illinois. She performed a fellowship in Medical Oncology at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Wagner-Johnston joined the Johns Hopkins faculty in 2015. Prior to joining Johns Hopkins, Dr. Wagner-Johnston was an Assistant Professor at Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri. Her research interests include clinical trial and biomarker development for patients with lymphoma. She is additionally involved in palliative/supportive care research and has a particular interest in chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy. Dr. Wagner-Johnston serves as a member on the NCCN Cancer Related Fatigue Guidelines Panel and the ASCO Neuropathy Guidelines Panel. She has served as a journal reviewer for Annals of Oncology, Leukemia and Lymphoma, Blood, and the Journal of Nuclear Medicine. She is a previous recipient of a Young Investigator Award at the Supportive Oncology Conference as well as a Mentoring Program Award through the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. She has served on the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Lymphoma Steering Committee Clinical Trials Design Committee and the NCI Symptom Management and Health Related Quality of Life Steering Committee. She is a member of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the AIDS Malignancies Consortium (AMC), and the Eastern Cancer Oncology Group (ECOG) Lymphoma Committee.

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.

Dr. Alexander J. Ambinder is an instructor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He is active in the Division of Hematology Malignancies, Leukemia Program at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer at Johns Hopkins. Dr. Ambinder has expertise in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), and bone marrow transplantation. Dr. Ambinder received his B.A. from Washington University in St. Louis. He earned his M.D. from Emory University School of Medicine and his M.P.H. from Emory University Rollins School of Public Health. He completed the Osler Medical Residency Training Program in internal medicine at Johns Hopkins and subsequently served as an Assistant Chief of Service (Chief Resident). He completed his fellowships in Hematology and Oncology at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins and also served as a Chief Fellow. Dr. Ambinder is a member of the American Society of Hematology and the American Society of Clinical Oncology. Dr. Ambinder’s principle research interest is in designing and conducting clinical trials inspired by laboratory insights to improve the management of acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome. He also has an interest in building large databases that will yield insights that allow for more personalized approaches to the care and treatment of patients with blood cancers.