Annette Akinsete is a consultant public health physician, a teacher and a broadcaster. Currently she is associated as CEO and member of board of directors of Sickle Cell Foundation Nigeria. She was Director (Public Health Department) of the Federal Ministry of Health for many years and has represented the Federal Government of Nigeria at several fora world over. As a Public Health Physician, Akinsete has worked in every level of government in Nigeria – from local, State to Federal levels. At global level, she has contributed to World Health Organisation (WHO) publications on Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs), served as WHO Fellow in Geneva and as UN Cares Facilitator at the United Nations HQ in New York. Online profile

Kemba Olabisi Gosier is the president of Advancing Sickle Cell Advocacy Project Inc., a non profit organization with a purpose of advocating and improving the quality of life for individuals and families affected by sickle cell disease. She is a film and television actress and also associated with theatre with The Iron Bar Group. She also has flair for writing and authored a book titled “Shanika Finally Understands”. Online profile

As the Translational Sciences lead for the phosphodiesterase type 9 inhibitor project, Dr. Beidler contributed to the development, implementation, and analysis of pharmacodynamic biomarkers in the recent phase 1b study in stable sickle cell disease subjects. Dr. Beidler has over 17 years of pharmaceutical industry experience with biomarker/translational pharmacology strategy and clinical operations that span preclinical animal models, natural history/methodology studies, and early (Phase 1/2) clinical trials. Dr. Beidler has also served as the research project team leader and in vivo pharmacology lead on several pain/inflammation project teams that delivered multiple candidate compounds to the clinic.   Representative Publications: Elipsis: A Longitudinal Study of Electronic Patient-Reported Outcomes, Actigraphy and Biomarkers to Identify and Assess at-Home Vaso-Occlusive Crises in Adults and Adolescents with Sickle Cell Disease A Phase 1b, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study of PF-04447943 in Patients with Stable Sickle Cell Disease: Changes in Exploratory Biomarkers Safety and Tolerability of PF-04447943 across a Clinical Trial Program Including 277 Patients Online profile

Ahmar Urooj Zaidi is assistant professor of pediatrics at Children's Hospital of Michigan. He holds board certification in pediatrics from American Board of Pediatrics, 2014. His clinical interests include sickle cell disease, benign hematology, and chronic and acquired haemolytic anemias. His research interests include novel therapies in sickle cell disease, patient reported outcomes and red blood cell disorders. Dr Zaidi is also associated with North Star Reach as camp physician for sickle cell camp week. He got his medical degree from Medical University of the Americas. He completed his residency in pediatrics from William Beaumont Hospital followed by fellowship in pediatric hematology/oncology from Children's Hospital of Michigan.     Representative Publications: Elipsis: A Longitudinal Study of Electronic Patient-Reported Outcomes, Actigraphy and Biomarkers to Identify and Assess at-Home Vaso-Occlusive Crises in Adults and Adolescents with Sickle Cell Disease Acute Vaso-Occlusive Pain Associated with the Onset of Menstruation Is Distinct from Dysmenorrhea in Sickle Cell Disease Online profile

Dr. Jennell White is an Assistant Professor at the Wayne State University School of Medicine (WSU-SOM) in the Department of Pharmacology. Dr. White’s research focuses on mechanisms regulating sickle erythrocyte adhesive interactions during physiologic flow conditions. Dr. White co-developed a process to utilize microliter whole blood volumes to establish normal ranges of adhesion indices in patients with SCD, to establish the relationship of standardized adhesion indices to vaso-occlusive pathology, and to assess the effect of disease modifying therapies. This process has been utilized by numerous pharmaceutical companies and research scientists to objectively assess the effect of a wide range of therapies using adhesion as a biomarker. The emergences of novel, anti-adhesive therapies for sickle cell disease necessitate the adoption of standardized erythrocyte adhesion bioassays to define the relationship of adhesion to vaso-occlusive pathology and assess the effect of anti-adhesive drug therapy. Dr. White is optimistic that her research will help to address this unmet need. Online profile

Dr. Michelson is Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A. He is also the Director of the Center for Platelet Research Studies and Director of the Thrombosis and Anticoagulation Program at Boston Children’s Hospital, the primary pediatric teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School. Dr. Michelson holds joint appointments at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. Dr. Michelson’s clinical and research expertise includes thrombosis and bleeding disorders. He is the editor of the textbook Platelets (Elsevier/Academic Press), which integrates the entire field of platelet biology, pathophysiology and clinical medicine into a comprehensive source of knowledge about platelets for clinicians, pathologists, and scientists. The first edition of Platelets, published in 2002, was the winner of the Best Book in Medical Science award from the Association of American Publishers and was called “landmark” by the New England Journal of Medicine. Dr. Michelson has published more than 450 original research articles, original research abstracts, and invited reviews. He has been the principal investigator on more than 100 research grants. Online profile

Dr. Williams is the president of Dana-Farber Cancer and Blood Disorders Center. He also serves as Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer at Boston Children’s Hospital and the Chief of Hematology/Oncology at Boston Children’s Hospital. He is also working as Leland Fikes Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. His major research interests are - study of blood stem cell biology, blood formation, leukemia and the treatment of genetic blood diseases using gene therapy. Dr. Williams is originally trained in hematology/oncology at Boston Children’s Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. During his fellowship research at the MIT Cancer Center and the Whitehead Institute, he developed techniques that allowed for the introduction of genes into murine and human hematopoietic cells. Those techniques are still commonly utilized today. He has published over 250 peer-reviewed manuscripts and textbook chapters.   Representative Publications: Sickle cell disease pain: II. Predicting health care use and activity level at 9-month follow-up Pain drawings and sickle cell disease pain Mathematical modeling of erythrocyte chimerism informs genetic intervention strategies for sickle cell disease Lineage-specific BCL11A knockdown circumvents toxicities and reverses sickle phenotype Sickle cell disease in children and adolescents: the relation of child and parent pain coping strategies to adjustment Online profile

The “Ask Dr. Kevin” series is brought to you by Pfizer Rare Disease in collaboration with the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) to increase understanding of sickle cell disease. The opioid crisis in the United States is at an all-time high, impacting thousands of Americans every day. What may surprise you is the impact this crisis has on people with medical conditions that cause severe pain, particularly when they receive treatment in the emergency department (ED). In light of the current opioid crisis, ED staff have become much more vigilant in monitoring suspected drug abuse. This can have particular implications for people with sickle cell disease (SCD), whose top reason for visiting the ED is to seek relief from the debilitating pain crises associated with their disease. Abstract source

Dr. Shenoy is currently working as professor of pediatrics in the division of Hematology/Oncology and General Pediatrics at Washington University School of Medicine. She also serves as Director, Pediatric Stem Cell Transplant Program at St. Louis Children's Hospital. She is the prinicipal investigator of national trials of unrelated donor transplantation for severe sickle cell disease termed as the SCURT Trial (Bone Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network 0601, NHLBI) and thalassemia termed as the URTH Trial (Thalassemia Clinical Research Network, NHLBI). Dr. Shenoy's research interests are focused on stem cell transplants for non-malignant disorders, reduced intensity transplants, and the immunologic mechanisms of graft rejection, graft versus host disease (GVHD), and immune reconstitution following stem cell transplantation (SCT).   Representative Publications: Unrelated Umbilical Cord Blood Transplantation for Sickle Cell Disease Following Reduced-Intensity Conditioning: Results of a Phase I Trial Current Results and Future Research Priorities in Late Effects after Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation for Children with Sickle Cell Disease and Thalassemia: A Consensus Statement from the Second Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplant Consortium International Conference on Late Effects after Pediatric Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Evidence-based focused review of the status of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation as treatment of sickle cell disease and thalassemia A trial of unrelated donor marrow transplantation for children with severe sickle cell disease Hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation for sickle cell disease: current evidence and opinions Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for sickle cell disease: current practice and emerging trends Has stem cell transplantation come of age in the treatment of sickle cell disease? Relationship between Mixed Donor-Recipient Chimerism and Disease Recurrence after Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation for Sickle Cell Disease Online profile

Dr. Pat Carroll is the director of psychiatric services, Sickle Cell Center for Adults and assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Johns Hopkins Hospital of the Johns Hopkins University. His areas of expertise include sickle cell disease, addiction psychiatry services, adult psychiatry, opoid pharmacology, pain management, psychiatry and behavioral sciences. He obtained his medical degree from Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis. He completed his residency in psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine followed by a fellowship at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in behavioral pharmacology.   Representative Publications: The course and correlates of high hospital utilization in sickle cell disease: Evidence from a large, urban Medicaid managed care organization The burden of emergency department use for sickle-cell disease: an analysis of the national emergency department sample database Examining the characteristics and beliefs of hydroxyurea users and nonusers among adults with sickle cell disease Prediction of onset and course of high hospital utilization in sickle cell disease A preliminary study of psychiatric, familial, and medical characteristics of high-utilizing sickle cell disease patients Impact of a dedicated infusion clinic for acute management of adults with sickle cell pain crisis The Association between Educational Attainment and Patterns of Emergency Department Utilization among Adults with Sickle Cell Disease Online profile