Applicant Track Presenters
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Michele Sugrue, MS, MT(ASCP)SBB: Co-HOST Coordinator of Research Programs and Services UF Health Shands Hospital Michele Sugrue is the Coordinator of Research Programs and Services, Division of Hematology/Oncology at the University of Florida - UFHealth. She participates within a broad range of investigative projects, provides regulatory guidance and collaborates with professionals in the Bone Marrow/Stem Cell Transplant Program. She serves on several committees through ISCT, FACT, and AABB, is a Contributing Editor on the ISCT Telegraft Editorial Board, and co-chairs the ISCT AABB Joint Working Group. She is a member of the ISCT Laboratory Practices Committee, FACT Cellular Therapy Collection Facility Standards Committee, Education Committee and the Inspector Development Committee. She has presented at cellular therapy related audioconferences and workshops, as well as participated in annual meeting programming, collaborative initiatives and publication of guidance documents, book chapters and peer reviewed manuscripts. Michele has served as a FACT Apheresis Collection and Processing Inspector since 1998. |
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Phyllis I. Warkentin, MD FACT Chief Medical Officer University of Nebraska Medical Center Dr. Phyllis Warkentin is a founding member of the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT), a member of the FACT Board of Directors, and the FACT Chief Medical Officer. She is Professor of Pathology/Microbiology and Pediatrics at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, and the Medical Director of the Nebraska Medicine Biologics Production Facility. She has authored over one hundred scientific publications in the field of transfusion, transplantation, and cellular therapy. She is a graduate of the University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN, and is Board certified in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology and Transfusion Medicine. |
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Nicole Aqui, MD Dr. Nicole Aqui is an Associate Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Vice Chair for Inclusion, Diversity and Equity, and Section Chief for Transfusion and Apheresis Services at the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to joining the faculty at Penn, she completed postdoctoral fellowship, studying the effects of T cell immunotherapy on immune reconstitution after transplant. Dr. Aqui is nationally recognized expert in apheresis, having co-authored evidence-based guidelines for the use of therapeutic apheresis in clinical practice. She is an active member of several societies, including the American Society for Apheresis, where she serves on the Board of Directors. Her research focuses on optimizing collections for HPC transplantation and immune effector cell therapy. Dr. Aqui’s clinical practice focuses on improving care of sickle cell patients transitioning to adult care. Dr. Aqui is a member of the FACT Education and Cellular Therapy Accreditation, and FACT-JACIE IEC Standards Subcommittee. She serves as FACT Collection Inspector. |
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Joseph Schwartz, MD, MPH: Co-HOST Dr. Joseph Schwartz is the Director of Transfusion Medicine Quality at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. Dr. Schwartz serves on the FACT Board of Directors, is Chair of the FACT Technology Committee, Chair of the FACT HLA Typing Accreditation Committee, and Co-Chair of the FACT Cellular Therapy Accreditation & Cord Blood Bank Accreditation Committees. In addition, he is a member of the FACT Common Standards Steering, Education, Grievance, and Professional Relations Committees. Dr. Schwartz has participated as a Marrow Collection, Apheresis Collection, Cord Blood Banking, and Cord Blood Processing Inspector for 14 years. |
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Scott Koepsell, MD, PhD Dr. Koepsell is the Chief of the Division of Transfusion and Transplantation Support services at Nebraska Medicine and the Medical Director for Apheresis services. He also serves as the Vice Chair for Clinical Operations in the Department of Pathology and Microbiology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Dr. Koepsell has been a member of the FACT Immune Effector Cell Task Force, and currently performs Apheresis Collection inspections for FACT. |
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Huy Phu Pham, MD, MPH Huy P. Pham, MD, MPH is the Medical Director at the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) Apheresis Collection Center in Seattle, which is the first apheresis center that is owned and operated by the NMDP. He is also an Adjunct Professor of Medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin, which is the home of the academic and research department of the NMDP. Dr. Pham specializes in apheresis medicine and is actively involved in many apheresis-related committees at FACT, ASFA, and AABB. |
Trainee Track Facilitators
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Sarita Joshi, MBBS, MD Medical Director, Apheresis Seattle Cancer Care Alliance Coming Soon! |
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Zbigniew Szczepiorkowski MD, PhD . DHMC Transplant and Cellular Therapy Program Coming Soon! |
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Suzanne Birnley, MS, MBA Manager of Accreditation Services Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy Suzanne is passionate about immunology and her research thesis focused on T-cell homeostasis and interleukin-2. She managed an academic research lab for a decade prior to joining the FACT team in Accreditation Services as a Coordinator, and now as the Accreditation Services Manager. She is the former FACT Staff Liaison for the Cellular Therapy Accreditation Committee, and participated as a staff member in the Seventh Edition NetCord-FACT International Standards for Cord Blood Collection, Banking, and Release for Administration. Suzanne is in the process of developing a training program for new FACT Coordinators. |
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Phyllis I. Warkentin, MD FACT Chief Medical Officer University of Nebraska Medical Center |