Kara Kelly, MD, has been appointed as the new leader of the joint program in pediatric hematology/oncology, a partnership of Women & Children’s Hospital of Buffalo (WCHOB), Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI), UBMD Pediatrics, and the University at Buffalo (UB). WCHOB, RPCI, and UB have provided pediatric hematology and cancer care through a comprehensive and collaborative program for more than 40 years.
Dr. Kelly is currently Professor of Pediatrics at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. Her appointments as Chair of Pediatric Oncology, Professor of Oncology, and the Waldemar J. Kaminski Endowed Chair of Pediatrics at RPCI and Medical Director of the Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Service Line at WCHOB will take effect on February 15, 2016.
Dr. Kelly will also assume the responsibilities of Division Chief of Hematology and Oncology at both UBMD Pediatrics and the Department of Pediatrics in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo, where she will be appointed Research Professor.
Clinical Trial Expertise
Dr. Kelly is recognized internationally as an expert in the treatment of pediatric lymphoma and leukemia, and serves as the Chairperson of the Hodgkin Lymphoma Committee of the Children’s Oncology Group. Dr. Kelly brings a wealth of knowledge in clinical trials and integrative medicine.
Dr. Kelly has taken a leading role in efforts to increase clinical trial access for adult and pediatric minority patients. She is the lead investigator for the Columbia University Minority/Underserved Site National Cancer Institute Community Oncology Research Program, which links adult and pediatric minority patients with opportunities to participate in clinical trials.
The Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Program is an integrated academic and clinical program based at both WCHOB and RPCI. Inpatients will be cared for within the new John R. Oishei Children’s Hospital, currently under construction on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, and outpatient care will be delivered at RPCI.
Relocation of WCHOB and the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences to the medical campus will allow for enhanced services, drawing on the strengths of each of the institutions involved. ■
