IWMF Global Educational Webinar Series

July 22, 2020 International Waldenstrom’s Macroglobulinemia Foundation

Getting to Know WM: Basics & Beyond will benefit newly diagnosed patients and veteran WMers alike with a refresher course on the roots underneath WM and an explanation of diagnosis, symptoms, and treatment guidelines.

Jeffrey V. Matous MD is presently the Medical Director at the Colorado Blood Cancer Institute, and Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Colorado . After graduating from Medical School in 1985 from the University of Washington, he completed an Internal Medicine residency and chief residency at the University of Colorado. Fellowship training in Hematology and BMT followed at the University of Washington and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, where he worked in the lab of Dr. Ken Kaushansky. Since 1994 he has worked in private practice in Denver focusing exclusively on the care of patients with blood cancers, focusing on WM, myeloma and amyloidosis. He is an enthusiastic educator and a member of committees of both ASH & ASCO. Most prominently he has been married for many years to Marie, and three children: Ben, Joe & Catherine. He enjoys cycling, languages and is a passionate fan of our nation’s pastime.

September 9, 2020 International Waldenstrom’s Macroglobulinemia Foundation

Making Sense of the Science of WM sets out a framework for patients to understand the basic genetic concepts behind the mutations that are important in WM, to appreciate the ways in which these mutations impact the signaling systems that control the behavior of WM cells, and to recognize how these mutations are changing the landscape of therapies for WM.

Zachary Hunter, PhD. is an Instructor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School working at the Bing Center for  Waldenstrom’s Macroglobulinemia at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute under Dr. Steven Treon. There he coordinates the next generation sequencing and bioinformatic efforts for the group. He holds a B.A. in mathematics from Haverford College and a Ph.D. in Pathology from Boston University. He has co-authored over 90 papers on WM, including the initial whole genome analysis describing the MYD88 and CXCR4 mutations. His is the recipient of the Robert A. Kyle Award, the American Society of Hematology Scholar Award, and recently received an IWMF-LLS Strategic Roadmap grant to study the dysregulation of gene transcription based on mutational patterns in WM. His current research interests include familial predisposition, clonal evolution, and signaling network analysis.

October 14, 2020 International Waldenstrom’s Macroglobulinemia Foundation

Dr. Irene Ghobrial of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute will explain WM precursors – their clinical and biologic features, pathogenesis, and risk stratification – and help patients understand how clarifying the processes involved in disease progression could possibly lead to the discovery or validation of treatment targets for WM. Dr. Ghobrial also will talk about The PROMISE Study. The PROMISE Study is a collaborative research project that screens individuals at higher risk for WM and multiple myeloma.

Dr. Irene Ghobrial is a Professor at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI), Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA and an Associate member of the Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA. She is the Director of the Clinical Investigator research program at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, co-director of the Center for Prevention of Progression (CPOP) and co-leader of the Blood Cancer Research Partnership (BCRP). She is also the director of the Michele & Stephen Kirsch Laboratory. She received her medical degree from Cairo University School of Medicine, Egypt. She completed her internal medicine training at Wayne State University, MI, and her Hematology/Oncology subspecialty training at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, MN. Her research focuses on understanding mechanisms of tumor progression from early precursor conditions such as monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) and Smoldering disease to symptomatic Multiple Myeloma (MM) and Waldenstrom’s macroglobulinemia (WM). She specifically focuses on the role of the malignant bone marrow niche in regulating disease progression. She is interested in the development of new molecular/genomic markers that predict progression in precursor conditions which can identify patients who should be eligible for therapeutic interventions to prevent progression or potentially cure the disease at the early stages of the disease before clonal evolution occurs.

November 10, 2020 International Waldenstrom’s Macroglobulinemia Foundation

Understanding Your Blood and Bone Marrow Test Results will describe the blood and bone marrow tests used to help diagnose WM, as well as explain and interpret the typical tests used by healthcare providers to monitor the disease status of their WM patients.

Dr. Edward Libby attended medical school at the University of Texas in Houston. He was trained in Internal Medicine and Hematology at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Although his initial interests were in diseases of clotting and bleeding, his career later evolved into that of a hematologist focused in the diagnosis and treatment of blood cancers. Dr. Libby joined the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance and the University of Washington in 2011 to advance his research career. His practice and research focus are in clinical trials for patients with multiple myeloma, Waldenstrom’s macroglobulinemia and amyloidosis.

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