2022 ASH News Daily Editorial Board
Editor
Dr. Naseema Gangat (@n_gangat), Editor of the 2022 ASH News Daily, graduated from medical school at Aga Khan University in Karachi, Pakistan, and attended Mayo Clinic College of Medicine for her internal medicine residency and hematology/oncology fellowship. She continues to call the Mayo Clinic and Rochester, Minnesota, home and is currently a professor of medicine in the division of hematology. 2022 marks Dr. Gangat’s third year serving on the ASH News Daily editorial board — she was an Author in 2018, became Editor in 2021, and clearly is really having fun with this. Outside of hematology, Dr. Gangat is also a bona fide fashionista. “I share an equal passion for keeping up with the latest fashion scene through visits to Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills, and Sloane Street, London,” she said. Last year, she had the good fortune to explore Hollywood’s elusive “San Vincente Bungalow” during the Burberry AW21 runway experience, and more recently, she made it to the Abbey Road Crossing, which was made famous by a rock band.
Deputy Editor
Dr. Natasha Szuber (@NatashaSzuber) is an alumnus of McGill University in Montreal, where she earned a master’s degree, and of the University of Montreal where she attended medical school. After finishing an advanced hematology myeloid fellowship at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, she returned to her native Canada where she works today at Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital in Montreal, Quebec, where she currently resides. 2022 will be her second year serving on the ASH News Daily board: “Last year, I was absolutely delighted to make my foray into the marvelous and fantastical world of ASH as author/member of the editorial board of ASH News Daily,” she shared. “This was like finding my golden ticket. And the experience was even better than lickable wallpaper and fizzy lifting drinks!” Dr. Szuber also shared that she was fortunate this year to be a participant in the ASH Clinical Research Training Institute, which was, in her words, “…life changing. The concept and experience of CRTI is sheer genius and felt like a rite of passage into the realm of clinical research, offering mentorship, practical tools, and a collaborative network that felt like a family.”
In addition to representing Canada on the ASH News Daily board, Dr. Szuber is currently into Ace Frehley’s “New York Groove,” as well as the band Ace, Jeopardy, and vitamin gummies. Before finding her stride in the medical field, she played 12-string guitar and sang in a band, actually recorded an album at Le Studio (where Rush and The Police recorded), and toured across Canada in a van. “Every part of it was amazing. Except for the van.”
Authors
Dr. Amanda Blackmon (@mlblack1_b) returns this year after serving as a Junior Author in 2021. Originally from Gaithersburg, Maryland, she attended the University of Maryland for undergrad, earned her MS at Georgetown University, and attended medical school at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine in Philadelphia. After her residency at Pennsylvania Hospital, Dr. Blackmon headed west for fellowships at University of California Irvine, and City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte. She is currently an assistant professor of leukemia and hematopoietic cell transplantation at City of Hope, where she focuses on leukemia, myelodysplastic syndromes, and transplantation. She lives in Pasadena, where she is “enjoying the craziness of a dual physician family with a toddler.” Her hobbies, conveniently, mirror those of her 2-year-old: “jumping (why not?), dancing, exploring the world, lots of snacking, nap time.” Dr. Blackmon might also have a fallback career in the works. “If I wasn’t a hematologist, my dream would be to be on Broadway. It’s never too late.”
Dr. David Hermel (@D_Hermel) is a physician and clinical instructor of medicine at Scripps Clinic in La Jolla, California, where he focuses on bone marrow transplantation and cellular therapy. He earned his undergraduate degree at UCLA before attending medical school at the University of Vermont, completing his internal medicine residency at University of Southern California, and finishing a hematology/oncology fellowship at Scripps Clinic. Hailing from Sherman Oaks, California, and currently residing in La Jolla, Dr. Hermel enjoys spending time with his wife and three daughters. He is a proud member of the ASH Committee of Communications and excited to be an author for ASH News Daily.
Dr. Ah-Reum “Autumn” Jeong (@AutumnJeong) is an alum of Cornell University where she went for undergrad studies. A San Diego native, she returned to the West Coast and attended University of Southern California for medical school and residency, and UC San Diego for her fellowship. Today she is assistant clinical professor in the Division of Medicine, Department of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, at Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health in La Jolla, California. Her interests include myeloma, CAR-T therapy, and bone marrow transplantation. This is Dr. Jeong’s second year on the board of ASH News Daily, having served as a Junior Author in 2021. “I did Taekwondo during college and competed regionally,” she informed us.
Dr. Manni Mohyuddin (@ManniMD1) hails from Peshawar, Pakistan, and attended Aga Khan University in Karachi. He is an assistant professor in the Division of Hematology and Hematologic Malignancies at Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, and recently served as an abstract reviewer for the Outcome Research category. He specializes in plasma cell dyscrasias and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. In his downtime, Dr. Mohyuddin is an avid cyclist, a novice skier, and an obsessive book reader. “If I were not a hematologist,” he said, “I would have gone into politics … and actually tried to do good!”
Dr. Juliana Perez Botero (@JuliPerezBot) was born in Bogota, Colombia, and graduated cum laude from the Universidad de los Andes Medical School and later completed training in internal medicine and hematology-oncology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. She is currently based at Versiti and Medical College of Wisconsin, specializing in nonmalignant hematologic disorders including inherited and acquired bleeding and clotting disorders. Her clinical interest and research focus is on phenotype-genotype correlation in inherited blood disorders (especially platelets) and novel diagnostic laboratory testing strategies. “I am fascinated by diagnostic mysteries and frequently describe my job as a ‘blood detective’ to patients,” she said, which calms their worries about meeting her at someplace called a “Cancer Center.”
“This works for friends and family, too,” she continued, “who, no matter how many years have passed, are still a bit confused about what we do.” Dr. Perez Botero lives in Milwaukee with her wife Donna who is a nurse practitioner and fitness instructor, and their pet dog Birdie and feline Roxy. She enjoys cooking and traveling, as well as drumming, of which she stated, “I am not great, but I enjoy it very much.”
Co-Author
Dr. Idoroenyi Amanam is based at City of Hope, where he is an assistant professor of leukemia and hematopoietic cell transplantation, focusing on leukemia, stem cell transplantation, and myeloproliferative neoplasms. He is a triple-boarded physician with advanced fellowship training utilizing cellular and stem cell therapy to treat malignant conditions. He completed his hematology and oncology training at City of Hope, serving as chief fellow. He was then awarded the prestigious City of Hope Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy Fellowship, with a concentration on acute leukemias and myeloproliferative neoplasms. Dr. Amanam was awarded a Congressional Award in voluntary public service, and he carries this spirit into the clinic. “I believe in treating all my patients with compassion and utilizing intellectual curiosity to tailor my treatment approaches,” he shared. He also believes he was chosen to enter this field as he had a loved one who struggled with cancer and lived years longer than expected thanks to compassionate care by the doctors and nurses. He joins Dr. Amanda Blackmon as an ASH News Daily co-author this year.
Junior Authors
Dr. Jonathan Hermel is currently a resident physician in pediatrics at UC San Diego and Rady Children’s Hospital. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 2016 with a BA in molecular and cell biology. After earning numerous distinguished accolades for his undergraduate performance, he continued his medical training at the Tulane University School of Medicine, where he was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society in his Junior year. Dr. Hermel is interested in medical education and pediatric leukemia research. He joins Dr. David Hermel as an ASH News Daily Junior Author.
Dr. Anupama Deepa Kumar (@anupamakumar05) is a fellow at UC at Moores Cancer Center of UC San Diego Health. Focusing on all things malignant hematology, Dr. Kumar is an alum of Cornell University as well as Tufts University School of Medicine and Tufts Medical Center, where she completed medical school and residency, respectively. Her hometown is lovely Palo Alto, California. She is working with Dr. Jeong to round out the coverage this year.
Dr. Victoria A. Vardell is a native of Sandpoint, Idaho, she completed undergrad at the University of Wyoming and medical school at Creighton University in Omaha. She is currently an internal medicine resident at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, where she will begin her hematology and oncology fellowship at the Huntsman Cancer Institute next year. Her clinical interests include malignant hematologic disorders, especially multiple myeloma. Dr. Vardell’s hobbies include mountain biking, trail running, snowboarding, and skiing. She joins Dr. Manni Mohyuddin as a Junior Author.
