Advisory Committees

Melissa Cessna, MD, is a hematopathologist and a past medical director of the Flow Cytometry Laboratory at Intermountain Healthcare in Murray, UT. Intermountain Healthcare was an early implementer of minimal residual disease (MRD) testing, using molecular technologies and flow cytometry. Dr. Cessna has served as the system hematopathology lead in a multidisciplinary team at Intermountain, developing testing algorithms for new diagnoses and monitoring patients with hematologic malignancies.

Melissa Cessna, MD, is a hematopathologist and a past medical director of the Flow Cytometry Laboratory at Intermountain Healthcare in Murray, UT. Intermountain Healthcare was an early implementer of minimal residual disease (MRD) testing, using molecular technologies and flow cytometry. Dr. Cessna has served as the system hematopathology lead in a multidisciplinary team at Intermountain, developing testing algorithms for new diagnoses and monitoring patients with hematologic malignancies.

Melissa Cessna, MD, is a hematopathologist and a past medical director of the Flow Cytometry Laboratory at Intermountain Healthcare in Murray, UT. Intermountain Healthcare was an early implementer of minimal residual disease (MRD) testing, using molecular technologies and flow cytometry. Dr. Cessna has served as the system hematopathology lead in a multidisciplinary team at Intermountain, developing testing algorithms for new diagnoses and monitoring patients with hematologic malignancies.

Nikki Yuill is a bilingual (Spanish) Clinical Oncology Social Worker with more than 25 years of healthcare and oncology experience. She attended Purdue University in Indiana for her undergraduate degrees, and she completed her graduate work at the University of Texas at Austin.

Yuill has experience in blood cancers, solid tumors, andhematopoietic stem cell transplantation. She has extensive knowledge of and experience in advocacy, education, and support of blood cancer patients and their families. Yuill has a particular interest in adolescent and young adult cancer care, healthcare disparities, and serving the Latinx community.

Yuill is the director of the Information Resource Center at The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS), a global leader in the fight against cancer. LLS funds lifesaving blood cancer research around the world, provides free information and support services, and is the voice for all blood cancer patients seeking access to quality, affordable, coordinated care. Yuill is a proud member of the AOSW (Association of Oncology Social Workers). In 2020 she was awarded the AOSW LLS Oncology-Hematology Lifetime Achievement Award because of her longstanding efforts on behalf of cancer patients.