Pediatric CIRB

Richard Drachtman MD

Dr. Richard A. Drachtman is the Section Chief of Clinical Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at The Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey. He is also Professor of Pediatrics at Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. Dr. Drachtman has been an active member of the Children's Oncology Group (COG) serving as a member of various committees including the Hodgkin's Disease Retrieval Committee. He also serves the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services as a member of the Advisory Committee for the Sickle Cell Program of New Jersey. Dr. Drachtman's extensive research activities have resulted in publications in various prominent journals including Blood, the Journal of Clinical Oncology and the Journal of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology.

Donna Ludwinski

Donna Ludwinski is mother to Erik who was diagnosed with high-risk neuroblastoma in 1991 at age 6. In spite of his very poor prognosis, he recovered from the intensive therapy and was thriving in all aspects until his sophomore year in college, when he shockingly relapsed after 13 years. Erik enrolled on clinical trials in four states, but died in 2010 after almost five years of treatment at age 24. Donna has been very involved in the patient/parent community for more than 15 years and is currently the Director of Research Programs at Solving Kids' Cancer based in NYC.  She serves on the Parent Advisory Council for New Approaches to Neuroblastoma Therapy (NANT) Consortium and Scientific Review Committee for NANT.  She also serves on the FDA Pediatric Oncologic Drug Advisory Committee (ODAC), is a founding Board Member of the Coalition Against Childhood Cancer (CAC2), and was on the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Pediatric Cancer Working Group Steering Committee.  Donna has a BS in Chemical Engineering, raised 4 children, now lives in West Virginia with her husband, and spends all her free time with her 6 grandchildren.

Linda Morrison BS

Ms. Linda Morrison is the parent of a long-term survivor of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. For 11 years, she worked in a variety of roles for CURE Childhood Cancer Association in Rochester, NY. As Director of Family Programs, Linda managed all aspects of CURE’s educational, emotional support and financial assistance programs benefitting 1,500 newly diagnosed, long-term survivors and bereaved families. As CURE’s Parent Advocate, Linda worked primarily at Golisano Children’s Hospital at Strong in Rochester, NY. She served as a member of the Division of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology’s Psychosocial Team, and provided support for families in all phases of treatment, particularly those who are newly diagnosed, relapsed or facing bereavement. Since 2010, Linda has been a Community Member of the University of Rochester’s Institutional Review Board overseeing oncology and HIV research. Linda grew up in Pittsburgh, PA, graduated from the University of Pittsburgh, raised her family in Rochester, NY, and currently lives with her husband in St. Petersburg, FL.

Christopher Riley BS

Mr. Riley is the father of a 20-year survivor of a childhood brain tumor. He is a founding board member of the We Can Pediatric Brain Tumor Network, a parent-initiated nonprofit organization that works with pediatric cancer centers throughout California to provide information, emotional support, educational events and family camps to families of children with brain tumors, and to families which have lost a child to a brain tumor. He served as a community member of the Institutional Review Board at the University of California Los Angeles from 2004 to 2007. As the father of a son diagnosed at the age of 5 with a medulloblastoma, Mr. Riley has experienced the stresses and uncertainty of the consent process in which parents participate when presented with proposed treatment protocols for their children, and he has witnessed in his own child and in many others both the costs and the benefits that follow treatment for childhood cancer. Mr. Riley works in Los Angeles as a screenwriter and author, and teaches courses in writing for film and television at John Paul the Great Catholic University in San Diego.

Joan Slaughter

Joan Slaughter, is the mother of Morgan Adams, who died in 1998 at the age of 6 after an 11 month battle with a Glioblastoma Multiforme brain tumor. Shortly after Morgan's death, Joan and husband, Steven Adams, started The Morgan Adams Foundation, a Medical Research Organization dedicated to funding emerging pediatric cancer research and educating the public about the need for improved treatment options for children battling cancer.  She has also served on the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders Advisory Board of Children's Hospital Colorado, as a Parent Mentor for the CBTF's Family-to-Family Network and was instrumental in redefining and chairing the Colorado Kids Cancer Association, a 6 year collaborative group comprised of the majority of pediatric cancer support organizations across the State of Colorado.  Prior to her work in pediatric cancer research, Ms. Slaughter worked in the financials market, focusing on subsidiary spinoffs for large corporations.  Her husband, Steven, succumbed to a 3 year battle with a Leiomyosarcoma in September, 2013.  Ms. Slaughter and her two *walking talking* children live in Denver Colorado, where she remains passionately committed to supporting national efforts to bring the best possible treatments forward for children battling cancer.

Lu Chen PhD

Dr. Lu Chen has over 10 years of experience in the statistical design, monitoring, and analysis of clinical trials. She is currently an Associate Research Professor in the Department of Information Sciences at City of Hope, one of the comprehensive cancer centers designated by the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

After earning her PhD in Biostatistics from the University of Washington, she worked as a senior statistician at the NCI-funded Children's Oncology Group (COG) and an Assistant Professor of Research in the Department of Preventive Medicine at the University of Southern California. While at COG, she designed, monitored, and analyzed many pediatric clinical trials and served on the steering committees for multiple COG disease/discipline areas: Hodgkins Lymphoma, Cancer Control/Supportive Care, Late Effects/Survivorship, and Stem Cell Transplantation. Now at City of Hope, she is the faculty biostatistician for the Toni Stephenson Lymphoma Center and provides statistical support for clinical trials as well as translational studies.

Daniel Green MD

Dr. Daniel Green is currently a clinical investigator and practicing pediatric oncologist at St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital (SJCRH) in Memphis, Tennessee. Dr. Green is widely published in therapy of Wilms tumor and late effects of therapy. He has served as a member and chair of his institution's IRB, as well as on various Children's Oncology Group committees.

Barbara Gruner MD

Dr. Barbara Gruner is an Associate Professor of Child Health and Division Chief of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology at the University of Missouri School of Medicine in Columbia, MO. She is the principal investigator for the Children’s Oncology Group at MU. She earned her medical degree from University of Missouri and an MS in Health Care Ethics from Creighton University. She completed a pediatric residency at University of Missouri and a pediatric hematology/oncology fellowship at University of Texas Health Science Center – San Antonio. She serves as a member of her institution’s IRB, Ethics committee, and Ethics consultation service. She is a member of Children’s Oncology Group, American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, and Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research.

Gary Hartman MD

Gary Hartman, MD is currently Clinical Professor of Surgery at Stanford University School of Medicine, where he also serves as  the Associate Vice President of Medical Affairs at Lucile Salter Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford.  He has held a number of local and national leadership positions and has authored or co-authored over 50 peer reviewed articles and book chapters. Dr. Hartman also serves on various committees at Lucile Salter Packard Children's Hospital including as co-chair of the Medical Executive Committee and the Care Improvement Committee.

Della Howell MD

Dr. Della Howell, Lt Col USAF MC, is a practicing Pediatric Hematologist / Oncologist at Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) in San Antonio, TX.  She completed her Medical School training at Virginia Commonwealth University's Medical College of Virginia, her Pediatrics Internship, Residency and Chief of Residents time at the San Antonio Uniformed Services Health Education Consortium, and her Pediatric Hematology / Oncology Fellowship at Emory Univeristy. She is the Chief of Pediatric Hematology / Oncology, Consultant to the Surgeon General of the Air Force for Pediatric Hematology / Oncology, Chair of the Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgical Center IRB and a member of both the BAMC and University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio IRBs.  She has also been heavily involved in her institution's Ethics Committee and Consult service and has work on various Children's Oncology Group research protocols. 

Daniel Indelicato MD

Dr. Indelicato is a Professor and Associate Vice Chair of the University of Florida Department of Radiation Oncology. He currently holds the William and Joan Mendenhall Endowed Professorship of Pediatric Radiotherapy and directs the University of Florida pediatric radiotherapy program. He specializes in caring for children with brain tumors and sarcomas.

Dr. Indelicato received his undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College and medical degree from the University of Miami. He completed a general oncology internship at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center before residency training in radiation oncology at the University of Florida. An established cancer researcher, he is the author of multiple book chapters and his research has been published in over 120 articles in respected medical journals, including the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Lancet Oncology, Cancer, The International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology and Physics, and Medical Physics. His research focuses on decreasing the acute and late side effects of radiation in children and young adults. In 2018, he was awarded a University of Florida Term Professorship position.

Michael Kellick MS, PharmD

Dr. Michael Kellick joins the Pediatric CIRB from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) where he currently serves as the Clinical Coordinator for Pediatric Pharmacy Practice.  Dr. Kellick has over 35 years of experience in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Pharmacy with extensive work in both institutional and Cooperative Group research efforts.

Dr. Kellick reviews protocols for the MSKCC Pediatric Steering Committee, serves as the lead pharmacist for the Pediatric Oncology Experimental Therapeutic Investigators Consortium (POETIC), and has served as Chair of the CCG Pharmacy Committee and as the Vice Chair of the COG Pharmacy Committee.  Dr. Kellick has made significant contributions to the Children's Oncology group having served as lead writer of the CCG and subsequently the COG Pharmacy Committee's Protocol Review Guidelines and as a Co-author of the COG Chemotherapy Administration Guidelines.

Ellen Olson RN,MS,CPNP

Ellen Olson joins the Pediatric CIRB from the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorder Center at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta where she currently serves as a Blood and Marrow Transplant Nurse Practitioner.  Ms. Olson received her MS from The Ohio State University and has several years of experience working in pediatric hematology/oncology, including 10 years spent at the National Cancer Institute Clinical Center in the Pediatric Oncology Branch where she participated in clinical trials.  Ms. Olson serves as a protocol committee member for the Children's Oncology Group.  She was recently elected to the Board of Directors for the Association of Pediatric Hematology Oncology (APHON) and is active within other professional organizations devoted to the care of pediatric hematology/oncology and BMT patients.   Ms. Olson has presented widely within this subject area.

Victor Santana MD

Dr. Santana is currently a clinical investigator and practicing pediatric oncologist at St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.  In addition, Dr. Santana serves as the Vice President for Clinical Trials Administration and Associate Director for Clinical Research at St. Jude's Comprehensive Cancer Center.  Dr. Santana is widely published in therapy of neuroblastoma, Phase I-II trials, new drug development as well as the role of autologous marrow transplant in pediatric malignancies.  He has served as a member and chair of his institution's IRB, as a member of various FDA advisory committees (current serving on the FDA Pediatric Committee), as well as on various Children's Oncology Group and NIH committees.

Pamela Starr PharmD

Pamela Starr, PharmD received her Doctor of Pharmacy from Washington State University.  She is currently employed at Doernbecher Children's Hospital in Portland, Oregon as a Pediatric Oncology Clinical Pharmacist.  She is a member of the P&T Oncology subcommittee, and is an EPIC Beacon educator for first year Pediatric Oncology Fellows.

Micah Hester PhD

Dr. Micah Hester is the Chief/Professor of Medical Humanities, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) and clinical ethicist at Arkansas Children's Hospital (ACH).  He is also the Coordinator of the Pediatric Ethics Consortium (www.pediatricethics.org). Dr. Hester attended Pomona College, graduating with a BA in Philosophy. He went on to attend Vanderbilt University where he received his MA and PhD , also in Philosophy.  Dr. Hester is a prolific writer on the topics of ethics and philosophy, authoring three books, editing and contributing to an additional 16 books, and has been published in numerous professional journals. He has served on a variety of boards over the years and is currently  serving on the Chancellor Appeals Board (since 2014)and the Research Ethics Consultation Service, as Director (since 2009), both at the University of Arkansas.

Dr. Hester has been a guest lecturer on the topics of ethics and philosophy at many universities, including Denison, Emory, Fisk, Loyola, Mercer, Tennessee State, Vanderbilt, Western Carolina and University of Pennsylvania.