Dr. Singleton serves as a pediatric hematologist, Division Chief, Pediatric Hematology, and Director of MCAM’s Hemophilia Treatment Center. Dr. Singleton will work out of MCAM’s new Slidell, Louisiana office location and will focus on serving children and adults with hemophilia and sickle cell disease across Louisiana and the Mississippi coast. Prior to joining MCAM, she spent six years at Louisiana State University School of Medicine/Children’s Hospital of New Orleans in their pediatric hematology/oncology division. Dr. Singleton has also held positions in Tulane’s pediatric hematology division, the Sickle Cell Center of Southern Louisiana, and the Louisiana Center for Bleeding and Clotting Disorders. Dr. Singleton has authored numerous publications, served as an expert speaker around the world, and as the principal investigator on numerous studies pertaining to hemophilia. Dr. Singleton treats adults and children with rare hematological conditions with a focus on transitional care. She also has significant training and expertise in musculoskeletal ultrasound in hemophilia patients. She is currently an Ambassador for the American Society of Hematology. Online profile

Deb McGhee-McCrary was named Chief Executive Officer of the Sickle Cell Foundation of Georgia, Inc. in 2012. Her public service career has spanned 40+ years and she has been committed to providing leadership, program support, and community advocacy. She has been intimately involved in the organization's history, development, and it's legacy of providing education, counseling and training about sickle cell disease and other hemoglobin disorders. Over the years, Debra has served in various capacities at the Foundation - as a volunteer, grant writer, and as acting director. She has served as an educator and public relations executive in the past, and has worked as Communications Director for the Hon. Hank Johnson's successful congressional bid and later served on this Congressional staff. Online profile

Dr. Abrams is Francis C. Wood Professor of medicine, pathology, and laboratory medicine, as well as director of the Blood Center for Patient Care and Discovery at the University of Pennsylvania and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. He is the Vice Chair for Research and Chief Scientific Officer of the Department of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. His clinical and research interests have focused on the role of platelets in bleeding and clotting disorders, inflammation, and metastasis formation. Dr. Abrams is also the principal investigator of a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Program Project Grant and a K12 mentored training grant. Dr. Abrams has been elected to the American Society of Clinical Investigation and the Association of American Physicians. He was the 2016 ASH President. Dr. Abrams received his medical degree from Yale University School of Medicine. After an internship at Temple University Hospital, Dr. Abrams completed a residency and hematology-oncology fellowship at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Online profile

Dr. Michelle Allyson Matthews is a medicare enrolled "Internal Medicine" physician in Greensboro, North Carolina. She went to Wayne State University School of Medicine and graduated in 1998. She has over 19 years of diverse experience in Internal Medicine. She is a member of the group practice - The Moses H Cone Memorial Hospital Operating Corporation. Online profile

Dr. Maureen M. Okam studied medicine at University of Port Harcourt Medical School (1995). Her interests are hematologic disorders, anemia, sickle cell disease and thalassemia, thrombosis and anticoagulant therapy, thrombocytopenia, myelodysplasia and myeloproliferative disorders. Her current research focuses on the pre-clinical and clinical development of new agents for the treatment of hemoglobinopathies - sickle cell disease and thalassemia. Her on-going clinical evaluation of histone deacetylase inhibitors in the induction of fetal hemoglobin, is funded by the National Institutes of Health through a Harvard Blood Scholars research grant. Appointments: Clinical Director, Non-Malignant Hematology Clinic Assistant Director, Brigham and Women's Hospital Outpatient Infusion Center Director, Brigham and Women's Hospital Sickle Cell Program Assistant Professor in Medicine, Harvard Medical School Online profile

Barbara Speller-Brown, DNP, MSN, PNP-BC, is a nurse practitioner with the Sickle Cell Disease Program at Children's National Health System. She is a co-investigator for a transition grant, has developed and implemented a Transition Education Support Group and is a member of the Transition Special Interest Group. Speller-Brown is also a preceptor and educator for new nurses and nurse practitioners. Online profile

Born January 26, 1976, in Atlanta, Georgia, Carlton was diagnosed with sickle cell disease as a young child. Despite repeated hospitalizations for painful crises, Carlton remained a straight-A student and attended the University of Virginia where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies (1999) followed by a Masters in Bioethics (2003). He then moved to Baltimore, where in he completed a Doctorate of Philosophy in Health Policy and Bioethics in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (2009). Carlton published many papers on the intersection of bioethics and clinical research, and informed policies related to quality of care for sickle cell patients. He served on numerous federal and national professional society advisory committees convened to provide advice on, or oversight of, federal or professional society sponsored sickle cell disease-based initiatives including: the Health Resources & Services Administration’s Sickle Cell Disease Treatment Demonstration Program; National Heart, Lung & Blood Institutes (NHLBI) Sickle Cell Disease Healthy People 2020 Working Group; the CDC and NHLBI joint Steering Committee for the Registry and Surveillance for Hemoglobinopathies (RuSH) project; the National Human Genome Research Institutes Sickle Cell Trait Systematic Review Project Work Group; and the Food & Drug Administration’s Expert Workshop to Accelerate Drug Development for Sickle Cell Disease.   Carlton Haywood's Obituary: In Memoriam, Carlton Haywood, Jr. (1976-2021)  

Dr. Jeffrey Glassberg obtained his MD and a Masters’ degree in clinical research at Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine in 2006. Dr. Glassberg completed his emergency medicine residency at NYU/Bellevue in 2010, followed by a research fellowship at Mount Sinai in July of 2012. Currently, Dr. Glassberg is funded by the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute by a K23 career development award and also holds an appointment at Rockefeller University as a visiting scientist. Dr. Glassberg has become a leader in promoting evidence based strategies for the acute management of Sickle Cell Disease. He has several research focuses within Sickle Cell including pulmonary complications of Sickle Cell Disease, novel biomarkers for vaso-occlusive crises, and novel agents for the prevention and treatment of vaso-occlusion. In addition to practicing as an attending in the ED, Dr. Glassberg also sees patients in Sickle Cell clinic and serves as the primary physician for many patients with Sickle Cell disease who are at Mount Sinai. He is also active regionally and nationally as a member of the Queens Sickle Cell Advocacy Network, the New York Sickle Cell Advisory Council, and the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America. Online profile

James T. D'Olimpio, MD, FACP, FAAHPM is the Director of Supportive/Palliative Oncology and leads the Cancer Pain and Symptom Control Service at North Shore University Hospital. He is also an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Hofstra/North Shore -LIJ School of Medicine. Dr. D'Olimpio has extensive experience in oncology research and treatment, focusing primarily on symptom management including cancer pain, chemotherapy induced peripheral neuropathy, sickle cell disease/painful crisis, and cancer anorexia/cachexia syndrome --the persistent fatigue, anorexia and weight loss associated with cancer. He is an author of multiple professional and technical papers. He is on the Editorial Staff of The Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, The Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, Cancer and is the Associate Section Editor in Symptom Assessment Management for the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine/PC-FACS. He was one of the first physicians in the country to become Board Certified in the fields of Internal Medicine, Medical Oncology and Hospice/Palliative Medicine. In addition, Dr. D'Olimpio is a member of the American College of Physicians, American Society of Clinical Oncology; American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine; Multi-National Association for Supportive Care in Cancer (MASCC). Online profile

Russell Ware, MD, PhD, has been involved with a wide variety of clinical and translational hematology research projects for over 25 years, but his primary interests have focused on sickle cell disease. Dr. Ware has substantial personal experience with directing patient-oriented research, and he currently runs an NIH-funded laboratory effort that investigates genetic modifiers of sickle cell disease. The main focus of his lab research is to understand the phenotypic variability that occurs with hydroxyurea treatment, through the study of hydroxyurea pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, pharmacogenetics, and pharmacogenomics. Dr. Ware is also the national principal investigator for several NIH-funded multicenter sickle cell clinical trials, including the recently completed Stroke With Transfusions Changing to Hydroxyurea (SWiTCH), and the current TCD With Transfusions Changing to Hydroxyurea (TWiTCH) and Sparing Conversion to Abnormal TCD Elevations (SCATE) studies that include non-US clinical sites. Most recently, Dr. Ware has moved his research efforts into the international arena, starting SCD pilot screening programs in Angola, and now conducting clinical trials to determine the safety and efficacy of hydroxyurea in developing countries. Online profile