Inside Pediatrics Winter 2019

MEET DR. GIRISH DHALL Children’s of Alabama and the UAB Department of Pediatrics welcomes its new Pediatric Hematology, Oncology, and Blood and Marrow Transplantation division director as research and innovation continue to drive advances in clinical care

I n January 2019, Girish Dhall, M.D., was named division director of the Pediatric Hematology, Oncology, and Blood and Marrow Transplantation program at Children’s of Alabama and the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). Dhall, formerly associate professor of pediatrics and director of the Neuro-oncology Program at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, relocated to Birmingham with his family this past summer. Inside Pediatrics talked to Dr. Dhall about his plans for the division and his transition to the Yellowhammer State. Q :What brought you to Children’s of Alabama/UAB? A :What brought me here was the quality of the program at Children’s of Alabama and UAB, and the people here. I was looking for a new challenge, and this program was looking for a leader who could help build and elevate the program. When I came here, I was really impressed by the high caliber of the people here, not just in the clinic, but also in the research arena as well as the existing infrastructure at Children’s of Alabama and UAB, which made my decision quite easy. Q :What do you mean by infrastructure? A :The ability to conduct clinical trials and research is very solid on the UAB side and the clinical care is very strong on the Children’s of Alabama side. Plus, there are so many subspecialists you don’t have to send patients out of the hospital, which makes treating patients with chronic conditions like cancer much easier. Q :What’s your top priority for the Division of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology as its new leader? A :My biggest priority is to build a well-rounded program — a program that is not only strong in its clinical mission, which is to provide the best treatment possible for children with cancer and blood disorders, but one that also has a strong research base, which includes clinical, basic and translational research. We already have a strong clinical program with top-notch faculty providing outstanding care to our patients, as well as strong clinical and translational research programs in the area of brain tumors, sickle cell disease and survivorship. I hope to build on the existing strengths of the program and add clinical and translational research programs in leukemia and sarcomas. Eventually, my hope is that these efforts will lead to providing more cutting-edge therapies for children with cancer and blood disorders in the state of Alabama and the surrounding area for decades to come.

Q :What advancements and strategies are underway at the Alabama Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders at Children’s of Alabama? A :We have tremendous efforts under way at our center to advance the care of children and young adults with cancer and blood disorders. Our Leukemia, Lymphoma and Histiocytosis Program is actively developing immunotherapy treatments, as well as targeted and risk- based treatments. This will provide the optimal balance of improving cure rates while minimizing treatment side effects. Our Neuro-Oncology Program offers innovative clinical trials, initiated and conducted by our faculty, that are available for difficult-to-treat populations. Such trials are available for patients with relapsed/refractory disease (oncolytic immunovirotherapy trial), infants and young children (Head Start trial), and children with neurofibromatosis. We have an active Clinical/Translational Sarcoma Program focused on utilizing genomic and kinomic data to generate personalized therapeutic strategies for each patient. In coordination with the Medical Oncology Program at UAB, we are developing a program centered around adolescents and young adults with cancer, which has been deemed a clinical and research priority by the National Cancer Institute. Additionally, we are attempting to enhance the treatment of sickle cell pain. We have created a Sickle Cell Clinical

Raven Myrick, CRNP, right, places a virtual reality headset on patient Olivia Parker in Children’s of Alabama’s Sickle Cell Pain Clinic.

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