New Director of Leukemia/Lymphoma Program at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Announced

Deepa Bhojwani, MD, joins Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) as director of the Leukemia/Lymphoma program within the Children’s Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases on February 15, 2015. She will also serve as an associate professor in the Division of Hematology, Oncology and Blood & Marrow Transplantation of the Department of Pediatrics at Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California. She comes to CHLA from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, where she has been an assistant member since 2008.

Deepa Bhojwani, MD (Photo: Business Wire)

Bhojwani will be responsible for the Leukemia/Lymphoma program’s clinical care and clinical research activities, and will actively participate in the Therapeutic Advances in Childhood Leukemia/Lymphoma (TACL) consortium. Based at CHLA, TACL is a clinical trials group comprised of 35 academic centers working together to develop new treatments for pediatric leukemias and lymphoma.

“The clinical care, research, and education programs at the Children’s Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases at CHLA will be further enhanced by the addition of Dr. Bhojwani, who is a premier clinician-researcher in childhood leukemia. We are excited to have her join us as we work to improve the lives of children with leukemia and lymphoma today and in the future,” said Alan S. Wayne, MD, director, Children’s Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases and head of the Division of Hematology, Oncology and Blood & Marrow Transplantation at CHLA.

Bhojwani received her undergraduate degree from St. Xavier’s College in Mumbai, India, in 1987 and her medical degree from M.S. Ramaiah Medical College in Bangalore in 1993. She then completed a pediatric residency at Manipal Medical College followed by pediatric internship and residency training from 1998 to 2001 at Woodhull Medical Center in New York. She completed a Pediatric Hematology-Oncology Fellowship in 2004 at New York University Medical Center.

After her fellowship, Bhojwani was appointed instructor in Pediatric Hematology-Oncology at Mount Sinai Medical Center from 2004 to 2007. She then returned to New York University Medical Center as an assistant professor in Pediatric Hematology-Oncology from 2007 to 2008, before joining St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Her research in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) has included seminal studies using high-throughput genomics and follow-up validation studies in pre-clinical models, which have led to the identification of molecular pathways associated with relapse and potential new therapeutic targets. Additionally, she is an internationally renowned clinical investigator focused on developmental therapeutics for leukemias and lymphomas. As principal investigator for multiple phase I and II studies for ALL, she collaborates with laboratory-based investigators to perform correlative biological studies. She also studies treatment-related and genetic risk factors for toxicity from therapy, and is strongly invested in international outreach efforts to improve the care of children with cancer in countries with limited resources.

Bhojwani received the American Society of Clinical Oncology Merit Award in 2004. She has published 42 peer reviewed manuscripts and multiple chapters in her areas of expertise.

About Children’s Hospital Los Angeles

Children’s Hospital Los Angeles has been named the best children’s hospital on the West Coast and among the top five in the nation for clinical excellence with its selection to the prestigious U.S. News & World Report Honor Roll. Children’s Hospital is home to The Saban Research Institute, one of the largest and most productive pediatric research facilities in the United States. Children’s Hospital is also one of America’s premier teaching hospitals through its affiliation since 1932 with the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California.

For more information, visit CHLA.org. Follow us on our blog http://researchlablog.org/.

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