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2021 Advisory Committee

Christopher D'Andrea, PA-C
Physician Assistant, Department of Hematologic Oncology and Blood Disorders
Cleveland Clinic, Taussig Cancer Center
Cleveland, OH

Christopher D'Andrea, PA-C, is a physician assistant in hematology oncology at Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Center. Primarily managing clinic patients within the lymphoma department, he also provides care on the lymphoma/multiple myeloma and leukemia inpatient services. Additionally, Mr. D’Andrea helps staff the cancer associated thrombosis clinic, and perform and teach bone marrow biopsies. He has presented at conferences on lymphoma including chronic lymphocytic leukemia, as well as participated in local advisory board meetings.

Mr. D’Andrea earned his bachelor’s degree from Ohio State University in psychology and subsequently worked as a behavioral therapist for many years before pursuing a career as a physician assistant. He has been a physician assistant at Cleveland Clinic with the lymphoma team since completing his master’s degree in physician assistant studies at DeSales University in 2014.

Alison Duffy, PharmD, BCOP
Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science
University of Maryland School of Pharmacy
Clinical Specialist, Oncology
University of Maryland Medical Center
Baltimore, MD

Alison Duffy, PharmD, BCOP, is a hematology/oncology clinical pharmacy specialist and associate professor at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy with a practice site at The University of Maryland Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center within inpatient and outpatient oncology. She serves as PGY2 oncology pharmacy residency program coordinator, and has authored clinical outcomes, practice-based, and educational methods and outcomes-related research. Dr. Duffy has delivered various local, regional, and national oncology related presentations and has served on Hematology Oncology Pharmacy Association (HOPA) committees.

Dr. Duffy graduated from the University of Rhode Island School of Pharmacy and completed her PGY1 pharmacy practice residency and PGY2 hematology/oncology pharmacy residency at University of Cincinnati Health in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Amy Goodrich, RN, MSN, CRNP-AC
Nurse Practitioner
Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD

Amy Goodrich, RN, MSN, CRNP-AC, is a nurse practitioner in the Hematologic Malignancies Program at The Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center in Baltimore, Maryland where she manages patients with various types of hematologic malignancies, concentrating on the lymphomas. Goodrich also oversees the Cancer Center’s research nurses and is very involved in research operations. She has presented extensively on hematologic malignancies, new agents, symptom management, and a variety of topics important to oncology nursing.

She earned her undergraduate nursing degree from the University of Pittsburgh and earned her master’s degree from The Johns Hopkins University.

Scott Huntington, MD, MPH, MSc
Assistant Professor of Medicine (Hematology)
Medical Director, Hematology Outpatient Program
Yale School of Medicine
New Haven, CT

Dr. Huntington is a clinician and researcher at the Yale School of Medicine specializing in the care of patients with lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Prior to joining Yale, he completed his hematology-oncology training and received a Master of Science in Health Policy Research at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Huntington serves as an investigator on clinical trials evaluating novel cancer therapeutics and is an active member of Yale’s Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy, and Effectiveness Research (COPPER) Center, where he leads research focused on improving the delivery of complex cancer therapies in real-world clinical settings.

Javier Munoz, MD, MS, FACP
Senior Associate Consultant, Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology
Mayo Clinic
Phoenix, AZ

Dr. Munoz specializes in treating lymphomas, and he is the director of the Lymphoma Program at Mayo Clinic in Arizona. He is triple-board-certified in internal medicine, hematology, and medical oncology. Dr. Munoz studied medicine at the Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia in Lima, Peru. Subsequently, he completed his residency and fellowship in hematology-oncology at Henry Ford Hospital in Michigan. Dr. Munoz also earned a master’s degree in patient-based research and had an investigational cancer therapeutics fellowship at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston before he relocated to Arizona to spearhead the development of chimeric antigen receptors (CAR) T cells. He has been the principal investigator in multiple cutting-edge lymphoma trials, including immunotherapy and CAR T-cells. Dr. Munoz has published in major medical journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine, Nature Reviews, Blood, and JAMA. Dr. Munoz's personal goal is the development of non-chemotherapy agents, via novel clinical trials, to serve patients suffering from lymphoma.

Christopher Nelson, MSN, MBA, ACNP-BC
Certified Nurse Practitioner
Avera Medical Group, Hematology and Oncology
Aberdeen, SD

Christopher Nelson is an acute care nurse practitioner who has been working in oncology since 2007. He is board certified in acute care and holds certificates in oncology and hyperbaric medicine. Nelson received his master’s degree in nursing in 2011 from the University of Nebraska Medical Center. He also received a master’s in business administration in strategic leadership from Dakota Wesleyan University in 2017. Nelson holds several committee positions at Avera St Luke’s Hospital, where he is currently employed. Prior to that, he was a certified nurse practitioner and director of Information Technology at Conklin Regional Cancer Center in Aberdeen, South Dakota.

Carmen Nobre, PharmD, BCOP
Clinical Specialist Pharmacist
Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD

Dr. Nobre is a clinical pharmacy specialist at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. Her primary practice site in ambulatory leukemia and lymphoma is located in the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, where she focuses on oral anticancer medications. Dr. Nombre earned her PharmD degree from the University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy in 2011. She then completed a pharmacy residency at Hartford Hospital in Hartford, Connecticut in 2012, followed by an oncology pharmacy residency at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy in Baltimore, Maryland in 2013.

Dr. Nobre is a member of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP), Hematology/Oncology Pharmacy Association (HOPA), and Maryland Society of Health System Pharmacists (MSHP). She previously served as vice-chair of HOPA’s Board Certified Oncology Pharmacist Self-Study/Webinars Subcommittee. Dr. Nobre is a preceptor for the PGY1-Pharmacy and PGY2-Oncology residency programs at The Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Alison Mayer Sachs, MSW, LSW, OSW-C, FAOSW
Director, Community Outreach & Cancer Support Services
Eisenhower Lucy Curci Cancer Center, Eisenhower Medical Center
Rancho Mirage, CA

Alison Mayer Sachs is nationally recognized for her leadership in the field of oncology social work and has served on the board of the Association of Oncology Social Work. She presently sits on The American Cancer Society’s Western Division, Desert-Coastal Board; the Scientific Advisory Board of the Go2Foundation For Lung Cancer; the Medical Advisory Board of Zero-The End of Prostate Cancer; and the Coachella Valley’s Desert Cancer Foundation. As the director of community outreach and cancer support services at Eisenhower Lucy Curci Cancer Center, Mayer Sachs and her team are responsible for the development, design, and implementation of community outreach events, community education programs, oncology social work services, nursing navigation and disease prevention and health promotion programs. Mayer Sachs has lectured extensively on the importance of support and education for cancer patients, their loved ones, and the community, and she is adjunct faculty in Eisenhower’s Graduate Medical Education Residency Program. Since 2018, Mayer Sachs has served on the editorial board of the Journal of Psychosocial Oncology’s special section, “The Art of Psychosocial Oncology.”

Iuliana Shapira, MD
Chief Medical Officer, Regional Cancer Care Associates
Associate Professor of Medicine and Cell Biology,State University of New York
Brooklyn, NJ

Dr. Shapira is the chief medical officer at Regional Cancer Care Associates (RCCA). She oversees clinical operations, which include quality of care and patient safety, coordination of clinical care, development of clinical information support systems, and physician engagement in strategic initiatives to provide value-based quality care. As the medical director of RCCA Specialty Pharmacy, Dr. Shapira is responsible for promoting and coordinating research and development in medicines management to ensure pharmacy service staff work with clinical staff to proactively promote safe and cost-effective drug therapies. Her role also includes overseeing and expanding the research portfolio and implementation of innovative programs to advance quality improvement and new models of care.

Dr. Shapira came to RCCA from the State University of New York, where she was the chief of the Division of Hematology Oncology and the director of the Cancer Institute at the State University New York (SUNY) Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn. Earlier, she worked for nine years as the director of cancer genetics at Northwell Health System and was an associate professor of medicine at Hofstra University.

Dr. Shapira is an associate professor of medicine and cell biology for the SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn. Prior to her work in academic medicine, Dr. Shapira served in clinical practice in rural Lake Village, Arkansas. She received her medical degree in 1990 from the Carol Davila Medical School in Bucharest and completed her residency training in internal medicine at St. Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, New Jersey. She also completed a fellowship in hematology oncology at SUNY Downstate Medical Center.

Patient Advocacy Partners

Brian Koffman, MDCM, DCFP, DABFM, MS Ed
Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer
CLL Society, Inc.
Claremont, CA

Dr. Koffman is a well-known doctor, educator, and clinical professor-turned-patient who has dedicated himself to teaching and helping the CLL community since his own CLL diagnosis in 2005. Dr. Koffman believes that his dual roles as a retired physician and patient give him a unique understanding that allows him to provide clear explanations of complex issues, advocate for his fellow patients, and inform his fellow healthcare providers. Besides his medical degree, Dr. Koffman has a master’ degree in medical education. He is a retired family doctor and clinical professor at the Keck School of Medicine.

Dr. Koffman co-founded and serves as the chief medical officer and executive vice president of the nonprofit, CLL Society Inc., and he writes a widely followed blog. Dr. Koffman has shared online and across the world his battle with his leukemia, including a failed bone marrow transplant and successes with two Phase 1 trials, including CAR T-cell therapy.

Robyn Brumble, MSN, RN
Director of Scientific Affairs
CLL Society, Inc.
Olathe, KS

Robyn Brumble has held a variety of roles as a registered nurse for more than twenty years in both the inpatient and outpatient settings. She helps ensure all patients receive the very best care possible, and she incorporates her passion for excellence in patient care into her role with the CLL Society. Brumble has held positions in nursing leadership, patient advocacy, patient education, and nursing academics. She has developed continuing medical education programs (for both physicians and nurses), led non-profit organizations, and she is a published author and editor of medical textbooks. Brumble has also spent time as a legal nurse consultant and expert legal nurse witness.

Brumble enjoys giving speaking engagements at medical conferences, particularly when she is presenting on topics about quality improvement and patient safety initiatives. She holds both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in nursing.

Andrea Connors
Executive Director
Patient Empowerment Network
Boulder, CO

Andrea Conners is the executive director of the Patient Empowerment Network (PEN). Prior to joining PEN, she was the head of U.S. consulting for pharmaphorum connect and head of external R&D communications at AstraZeneca. That role marked the culmination of nearly 10 years in global communications at AstraZeneca in the U.S. and U.K. Before that, Conners held corporate communication roles of increasing responsibility at Millennium Pharmaceuticals.

Conners’ experience spans patient engagement, advocacy, public relations, media relations, developing and delivering communication skills training, social and digital media, and writing for print, web, and multi-media platforms. Throughout her career, Conners has been responsible for creating, implementing, and measuring successful engagement strategies and programs that are at the forefront of communication trends. She has garnered this experience working in patient advocacy, global pharmaceutical, biotechnology, non-profit, and academic organizations in the U.S., U.K., and around the world.

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