Meet the Trainee Council
Fellows are invited to apply for a position on the Trainee Council. Trainees who exhibit leadership qualities and a high potential for a successful career in hematology or a hematology-related discipline are desired candidates.
Second-Year Council Members
Hussein Abbas, MD, PhD
Dr. Hussein Abbas earned his PhD from University of Texas Health Science Center and M D Anderson Cancer Center in Cancer Biology, and Gene and Development (2010), before returning to his hometown Beirut to pursue his medical degree from American University of Beirut (2014). He completed a postdoctoral training at MD Anderson Cancer Center (2016), then finished his residency in internal medicine at Johns Hopkins Hospital (2018). Dr. Abbas is currently a third-year fellow in hematology/oncology at M D Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Abbas plans to pursue a career as a physician scientist with clinical interest in malignant hematology and research emphasis on understanding the interaction of malignant cells with their microenvironment via utilizing high throughput sequencing tools.
Sumedha Arya, MD, BSc, University of Toronto
Dr. Sumedha Arya completed her medical school and internal medicine residency at the University of Toronto, where she is currently a second-year hematology fellow. She is interested in clinical epidemiology, health equity, and patient advocacy, and is examining how social determinants of health influence patient care. Dr. Arya is a previous recipient of an ASH HONORS award, and plans to pursue a career as a clinician-investigator.
Valentina Baez Sosa, MD, Medstar Washington Hospital Center
Dr. Valentina Baez received her medical degree from the Universidad Central de Venezuela and completed her Internal Medicine Residency at MedStar Harbor Hospital, where she served as Chief Resident. She is currently a third-year fellow in hematology/oncology at MedStar Washington Hospital Center. Dr. Baez's clinical and research interests are focused on thrombosis medicine and passive immunotherapy. She is interested in pursuing a career as a clinician-educator in hematology with an emphasis on improving care and access to underserved populations and minorities.
Nino Balanchivadze, MD, Henry Ford Hospital
Dr. Nino Balanchivadze graduated from Tbilisi State Medical University in Tbilisi, Georgia. After completing her internal medicine residency training at Yale-New Haven Hospital, she served as core teaching faculty for the internal medicine residency program and held various leadership positions at Grand Strand Medical Center in Myrtle Beach, SC. Dr. Balanchivadze is currently a third-year hematology/oncology fellow at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan. Her interests include global health/hematology, trainee education and improving patient care in developing countries.
Ajay Major, MD, MBA, The University of Chicago
Dr. Ajay Major received his MD and MBA through the eight-year Leadership in Medicine Program at Albany Medical College, completed his residency in internal medicine at the University of Colorado, and is currently a third-year adult hematology and oncology fellow at the University of Chicago. Dr. Major's clinical interests include lymphoma and myeloma, and he is an outcomes researcher focused on the management of toxicities in survivors of hematologic malignancies, including quality of life and late effects of therapy.
Moua Yang, PhD, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Dr. Moua Yang received his PhD in cell biology from the Medical College of Wisconsin where his training was performed at the Blood Research Institute of Versiti Blood Center of Wisconsin. His PhD was in the field of platelet redox signaling in arterial thrombosis as it relates to dyslipidemia. He then pursued postdoctoral training at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, where he studies the role of thiol isomerases in thrombosis and hemostasis. Dr. Yang’s career interest is on building a research program that will have implications for precision and translational medicine in the field of bleeding and blood clotting.
First-Year Council Members
Daria Gaut, MD, University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine
Dr. Daria Gaut earned her medical degree and completed her internal medicine residency at the University of California Los Angeles, where she is currently a second-year hematology/oncology fellow. Her clinical and research interests are in hematologic malignancies, bone marrow transplant, and cellular therapy. She will be pursuing a Master of Science in Clinical Research during her fellowship years at the University of California Los Angeles. She will also be participating in the ASH Clinical Research Training Institute (CRTI) with a project targeting measurable residual disease in patients with acute myelogenous leukemia prior to allogeneic stem cell transplantation.
Xu Han, MD, PhD, Case Western Reserve University
Dr. Xu Han is a post-doctoral structural biologist who has a strong interest in the molecular dynamics and signaling of the platelet GPCRs. She received her PhD in the Department of Pharmacology from the Case Western Reserve University. Her PhD studies focused on uncovering the activation mechanism of a thrombin receptor, protease-activated receptor 4 (PAR4), and determining the regions on the receptor that are critical for platelet function. She then continued her post-doctoral training co-mentored by Drs. Marvin Nieman and Jason Mears, where she studies how the crosstalk between the GPCRs PAR4 and P2Y12 impact platelet function and physiology.
Ann Mojica, MD, University of Utah, Primary Children’s Hospital
Dr. Ann Marie Mojica graduated from Texas A&M University College of Medicine and completed her residency in pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine in San Antonio, TX. She is currently a second-year fellow in pediatric hematology/oncology at University of Utah, Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City, UT. Dr. Mojica is interested in pursuing research related to vascular anomalies.
Alexandra Rezazadeh, MD, Medical College of Wisconsin
Dr. Alexandra Rezazadeh received her medical degree from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, and then went on to complete internal medicine residency at the Medical College of Wisconsin. She is currently a second-year Hematology and Oncology fellow at the Medical College of Wisconsin, with broad-ranging clinical and research interests in both lymphoma as well as health disparities in adult cancer patients.
Eric Vick, MD, PhD, University of Cincinnati
Dr. Eric Vick received his PhD in Molecular Biosciences from Middle Tennessee State University in 2014, where he studied inflammation caused by Gardnerella vaginalis. He then received his MD from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in 2018. He completed his residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Cincinnati through the Physician Scientist Training Program. He is currently in his second year of Adult Hematology and Oncology Fellowship at the University of Cincinnati. Dr. Vick will pursue a post-doctoral research fellowship as part of the Physician Scientist Training Program at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center investigating the molecular mechanisms which lead to myelodysplastic syndrome. His research interests include inflammation in the bone marrow microenvironment, innate immunology in myelodysplasia, and translational therapeutics.
Becky Zon, MD, Mass General Brigham/ Dana Farber Cancer Institute
Dr. Becky Zon graduated from University of Michigan Medical School and completed her internal medicine residency at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. She is currently a second-year fellow in hematology/oncology at the Mass General Brigham/ Dana Farber Cancer Institute. She is pursuing a career as a physician-scientist, currently studying therapy-related myeloid neoplasms in the laboratory of Dr. Benjamin Ebert. She is also passionate about promoting gender equality in medicine.