GvHD Symposium

This unique conference focuses on cutting-edge research and new treatments. Our symposia have two tracks: one designed for physicians and other health care professionals, and one for bone marrow transplant (BMT) survivors, their families, and their caregivers.

The Meredith A. Cowden Foundation in collaboration with the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center, and Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Institute created the GvHD National Symposium in 2010 to raise awareness about Graft vs. Host Disease (GvHD), to promote research to further our understanding of its cause, and to review cutting edge approaches to prevention and treatment.

Over 1,700 people have attended our events, which have provided an opportunity for attendees to interact with some of the world’s leading authorities on GvHD, a complication that affects over 60% of bone marrow transplant patients. Our past symposiums have served as invaluable experiences to learn, network, and exchange ideas with each other.

Steven Z. Pavletic, MD, MS

National Cancer Institute / NIH

Dr. Pavletic received his M.D. from the University of Zagreb School of Medicine in Croatia in 1979. In 1992, he completed a clinical fellowship in bone marrow transplantation at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and University of Washington Medical School in Seattle, WA. In 1995, he completed his internal medicine residency at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) in Omaha, NE, and completed his hematology and oncology fellowship in June 1997. Until October 2002, Dr. Pavletic served as the director of the Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation Program at UNMC. In 2002, Dr. Pavletic received an appointment at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and an adjunct appointment at the National Institute for Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases at NIH. Currently, he is the head of the Graft-versus-Host and Autoimmunity Unit in the Experimental Transplantation and Immunology Branch. In October 2006, Dr. Pavletic received the NCI Director’s award for his achievements in developing national and international consensus guidelines for clinical trials in chronic GVHD.

Kenneth R. Cooke, MD

Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center

Dr. Cooke is Director of the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center’s Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplantation Program. Prior to his appointment at Johns Hopkins, Dr. Cooke headed the Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplantation Program at Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital, and University Hospitals Case Medical Center, in Cleveland, Ohio. He also co-directed the Hematologic Disorders Program of the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center at Case Western Reserve University.

A nationally recognized transplantation immunology expert, Dr. Cooke focuses primarily on new strategies to prevent and treat graft-vs-host disease and lung complications following blood and bone marrow transplantation. His research efforts have been recognized by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and the American Society of Clinical Investigation. In addition to his younger patients, Dr. Cooke also cares for adolescents and young adults.

Hien Liu, MD

Moffitt Cancer Center

Dr. Hien Liu is Medical Director of the Apheresis Unit and an Associate Member in the Moffitt Cancer Center Department of Blood and Marrow Transplant and Cellular Immunotherapy. Dr. Liu earned her MD from the University of Michigan Medical School. She completed an Internal Medicine Residency at Michigan State University/Grand Rapids Medical Education and Research Center. Dr. Liu completed a Hematology/Oncology Fellowship at Cleveland Clinic Foundation, where she also served as Chief Fellow. Prior to joining Moffitt, Dr. Liu was an Assistant Professor at Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine and Associate Member at Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. Liu is an experienced blood and marrow transplant physician, specializing in autologous and allogeneic transplant for lymphoid malignancies, as well as chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy. Her clinical and research interests include peripheral blood stem cell mobilization strategies, leukapheresis for CAR T, and therapeutic photopheresis. Dr. Liu leads the Moffitt Apheresis Unit, where peripheral blood stem cell collections for hematopoietic stem cell transplant donors and cellular therapy patients are performed. In addition, she is part of the team of lymphoma physicians who see and perform CAR T-cell therapy for lymphoid cancers.

Betty Hamilton, MD

Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine

Betty Ky Hamilton is the Associate Director of the Blood and Marrow Transplant Program and Assistant Professor of the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University. Dr. Hamilton received her medical degree from the University of Chicago and internal medicine residency training at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. She completed her hematology/oncology fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic and subsequently joined as a Staff Physician in the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology. Dr. Hamilton’s clinical and research interests focus on the treatment of hematologic malignancies with allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation; and improving outcomes post-allogeneic hematopoietic cell treatment, specifically in graft-versus-host disease and long-term follow up and survivorship.

Zachariah DeFilipp, MD

Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center

Dr. Zachariah DeFilipp is an attending physician in the Hematopoietic Cell Transplant and Cell Therapy Program at the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center. He serves as the Director of BMT Clinical Research and is an Assistant Professor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Dr. DeFilipp is actively involved in translational and clinical research initiatives to improve outcomes for patients undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation. His research has primarily focused on developing approaches to preventing and treating graft-versus-host disease. His other research efforts have explored improving transplant outcomes for high-risk leukemia through the incorporation of targeted agents in the pre- and post-transplant, as well as examining late effects following long-term transplant survivors.