Administrative structure

The Hematology & Transfusion Medicine T32 is administered by an Executive Committee under the leadership of a Program Director (Dr. Arepally) and the Associate Program Director (Dr. Telen).  The Executive Committee is responsible for content development, trainee/mentor oversight and program feedback.

 

PROGRAM DIRECTOR

Dr. Gowthami (Gow) Arepally serves as the Program Director for the Hematology & Transfusion Medicine T32 Training Program.  Dr. Arepally leads an internationally recognized basic and translational research program investigating the pathogenesis of Heparin Induced Thrombocytopenia. Her current research investigates complement’s role in both the afferent (initiation of the HIT immune response) and efferent (complement activation by HIT antibodies) arms of disease. Dr. Arepally has shown a steadfast interest in mentoring and training the next generation of physician- scientists.  She has an outstanding record of training students (high school and undergraduate students) and postdoctorate fellows since the inception of her laboratory-based research program in 1998. At the institutional level, Dr. Arepally is actively engaged in programs for physician-scientist development including serving on the Executive Committee of the Office of Physician-Scientist Development (OPSD) and directing the Duke’s Strong Start Scholar Program.

 

ASSOCIATE PROGRAM DIRECTOR  

Dr. Marilyn Telen, serves as the Associate Program Director for the Training Program. Dr. Telen is currently Wellcome Professor of Medicine and formerly served as Chief of the Division of Hematology for >17 years. She also served as the Director of the Hematology/Oncology Fellowship Program of the Divisions of Hematology and Medical Oncology (Department of Medicine) for over 10 years. She holds a secondary appointment in the Department of Pathology, is Associate Medical Director of the Transfusion Service, and supervises the Immunohematology Laboratory. Dr. Telen has been the PI on numerous NIH grants, including a New Investigator Award, a Research Career Development Award, the Hematology T32 grant, a K12 grant for training faculty in benign hematology, and numerous RO1’s and R21’s to investigate red cell membrane structures, blood group antigens, and various aspects of SCD. Her work has encompassed membrane biochemistry, cell biology, molecular and population genetics, clinical research, and outcomes research.

 

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Allison Ashley-Koch, PhD is Professor in the Department of Medicine at Duke University, with a primary research appointment in the Duke Molecular Physiology Institute. She also holds secondary academic appointments in the Departments of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, as well as Molecular Genetics and Microbiology at Duke. Dr. Ashley-Koch brings to the T32 a strong genomics background, experienced leadership in other training programs, and prior experience as a preceptor on the Hematology T32.  Dr. Ashley-Koch’s research focuses on the genetic/genomic dissection of a wide range of human phenotypes, with a particular emphasis on the identification of genetic modifiers for sickle cell disease and red cell alloimmunization. Her educational activities include serving as co-Director for the Duke University Graduate Program in Genetics and Genomics T32 and co-leader for the Basic Neuroscience track for the Neurosurgery R35 training program.

 

Maragatha Kuchibhatla, PhD is a Professor in the Departments of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and a Senior Fellow, Center for Aging and Human Development. Dr. Kuchibhatla brings to the T32 extensive experience in statistical research methodology, including analysis of repeated measurements, latent growth curve models, classification and regression trees, and designing clinical trials.  Dr. Kuchibhatla has collaborated on numerous NIH funded grants and is a strong supporter of increased training in statistical concepts. Since 2016, Dr. Kuchibhatla has been supporting statistical analysis for members of the Division of Hematology and will now extend her portfolio to serve on the T32 Executive Committee and assist with trainee education on rigor and reproducibility at monthly research meetings.

 

Jennifer Rothman, MD is currently an Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Program Director for the Pediatric Hematology-Oncology Fellowship program and the Director of the Pediatric Comprehensive Sickle Cell Program, the Pediatric Inherited Bone Marrow Failure Program, and is the Clinical Operations Director of the Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology.  Dr. Rothman brings extensive clinical research background in treatment of pediatric hematologic disorders to this T32, including sickle cell disease, immune thrombocytopenias, apheresis therapy and transfusion medicine. She has participated in both NIH and industry funded collaborative research in sickle cell disease, congenital hemolytic anemia, immune thrombocytopenia, aplastic anemia and other areas of benign hematology. Dr. Rothman is currently on the steering committees for the ITP Consortium of North America (ICON) and the North American Pediatric Aplastic Anemia Consortium (NAPAAC). During her time as both Associate Program Director for the Fellowship Program (2011-2017) and Program Director (2018-present), she has supervised the training of more than 20 fellows.

 

Stefanie Sarantopoulos, MD-PhD is Associate Professor of Medicine and Immunology and currently the co-lead of the Hematologic Malignancies and Cellular Therapies Research Program for the Duke Cancer Institute. Dr. Sarantopoulos is an established physician-scientist in the field of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and human B cell signaling. She brings her clinical and research experience in immunology and her deep commitment to advancing physician-scientist training. Her NIH funded research focuses on chronic graft versus host disease (GVHD) and the development of agents that improve safety and efficacy of cellular immunotherapy for hematolymphoid cancers. Dr. Sarantopoulos was an active participant on two NIH Chronic GVHD Consensus Project Working Groups in 2014 and 2016 and is on the planning committee for the 2020 project. She recently earned the position of Vice Chair (and Chair-elect) of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) Scholar grant award review committee.