Sonja L. Banks is the Chief Executive Officer at International Dyslexia Association. She was the President and Chief Operating Officer for the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America, Inc. She was primarily responsible for the administrative activities of the organization which serves over fifty-five sickle cell community based organizations throughout the United States. Ms. Banks is an accomplished management professional with over 17 years of executive level experience and an established background in nonprofit leadership and operations. Prior to her SCDAA position, Ms. Banks served at St. Vincent's Health System in Birmingham, Alabama. While at St. Vincent’s Health System, she served as Director of Community Services, Outreach and Adult Indigent Services. Ms. Banks' academic credentials include a Bachelor's degree from the University of Alabama and a Master's Degree in Public Administration and Business. In addition, she is presently pursuing her doctorate of education in Organization Leadership & Nonprofit Management.
Representative Publications:Community Health Workers as Support for Sickle Cell CareOnline profile
Dr. Zempsky is Professor of Pediatrics at University of Connecticut School of Medicine. He has lectured nationally and internationally on pediatric pain management focused on an efficient systemic approach to pain relief. As a renowned expert in the area of transdermal drug delivery for local anesthesia, Dr. Zempsky has published numerous research papers, articles and chapters in this area.
His research interests include pain in children with sickle cell disease, developing systematic approaches to pain management, and transdermal drug delivery. Dr. Zempsky is the lead author on the American Academy of Pediatrics policy statement concerning pain management in emergency medical systems for children.
He is a pain consultant for the FDA and the Brighton Collaboration. In 2008, Dr. Zempsky received the prestigious Donaghue Investigator Award to carry out his research in sickle cell pain, and a Mayday Pain and Society Fellowship to enhance his abilities in pain advocacy. He has also been honored with a four-year Career Development Award from the National Institutes of Health.
Dr. Zempsky is co-editor of the Oxford textbook of Pediatric Pain which will be the leading text in the field. In 2014 Dr. Zempsky's program was designated as a Center for Clinical Excellence by the American Pain Society. Dr. Zempsky is the President of the Pediatric Special Interest Group of the American Pain Society.
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Dr. Smith-Whitley is the director of the Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center, the clinical director of the Division of Hematology, and an associate professor of Pediatrics. She holds the Elias Schwartz, MD, Endowed Chair in Hematology. Her areas of expertise include bone marrow failure, general hematology, sickle cell disease. Her clinical and research focus is on sickle cell survivorship: predicting and preventing long-term, chronic, and life-threatening complications of the disease. She initiated two innovative programs at CHOP:
- A short-stay Hematology Acute Care Unit
- The Blue Tie Tag program to recruit blood donors for pediatric transfusions
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Wally Smith is Professor of Internal Medicine and Scientific Director of the VCU Center on Health Disparities. He is the principal investigator on an award from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute for research in overcoming barriers to Sickle Cell Disease treatment. Since receiving the award last year, Dr. Smith and his collaborators have been working to implement the planned project. While it is still early in the project, they have created an educational curriculum to train patient navigators.
Dr. Smith studied at University of Alabama School of Medicine and is currently associated with Department of Internal Medicine at VCU Health.
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Edith Peterson Mitchell, MD, is board certified in internal medicine and medical oncology and is clinical professor, Department of Medicine and Medical Oncology; program leader, Gastrointestinal Oncology at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University and associate director for diversity programs and director of the Center to Eliminate Cancer Disparities for the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson.
Dr. Mitchell received a bachelor of science in biochemistry “with distinction” from Tennessee State University and her medical degree from the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond. In 1973, while attending medical school, Dr. Mitchell entered the Air Force and received a commission through the Health Professions Scholarship Program. She entered active duty after completing her internship and residency in internal medicine at Meharry Medical College and a fellowship in medical oncology at Georgetown University.
Dr. Mitchell’s research in breast, colorectal, and pancreatic cancers and other GI malignancies involves new drug evaluation and chemotherapy, development of new therapeutic regimens, chemo-radiation strategies for combined modality therapy, patient selection criteria and supportive care for patients with gastrointestinal cancer.
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Shirley Miller has over 20 years of experience in program development, comprehensive care management, clinical trials consortium and care coordination among physician specialties for children and adults living with sickle cell disease. Shirley knows the importance of patient and provider education and is a skilled trainer, facilitator and public speaker.
Ms. Miller was named National Patient Advocate by the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America in 2016 and presented the keynote address at the national conference. Ms. Miller was the 2016 spokesperson for the FDA initiative on increasing diversity in clinical trials and her advocacy was featured on a front- page article in the June 10, 2017 issue of “Heme Onc Today”. She has served in advisory positions with various pharmaceutical companies to help design clinical trials that enhance the patient experience and currently serves on the FDA Oncologic Drug Advisory Committee (ODAC) to review and approve new drugs being considered for use in sickle cell disease.
Ms. Miller is a published author of the book entitled “The Stranger Within Me”, a story of her journey living with sickle cell disease. She helped to facilitate meetings in which national patient stakeholders developed a peer mentoring protocol to facilitate transition of young adults with sickle cell disease to adult care and currently serves as a patient advocate and mentor at Carolinas HealthCare System Comprehensive Sickle Cell Program. Shirley is a past board member of the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America and, also currently serves as the coordinator for the Sickle Cell Adult Provider Network (SCAPN). She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Masters in Psychology.
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Dr. Manwani completed her residency (1993-1996) at North Shore University Hospital, and she received her sub-specialty in pediatric hematology and oncology (1996-1999) at Mount Sinai Hospital. Under the supervision of James Bieker, professor of developmental and regenerative biology at Mr. Sinai School of Medicine, in 1997 she initiated basic science research on hemoglobin gene regulation. Her primary areas of research focused on exploring mechanisms of fetal hemoglobin reactivation with the ultimate goal of designing novel therapies for sickle cell disease and thalassemia. She served as Director of the Thalassemia Program (2006-2008) and Sickle Cell Program (2007-2008) at Schneider Children’s Hospital in New Hyde Park, NY before coming to Montefiore.
Dr. Manwani’s research interests focus on fetal hemoglobin activating agents, adhesive cellular interactions in vaso-occlusion in SCD and contribution of neutrophils to SCD pathophysiology. She is currently participating in studies aimed at increased adherence to hydroxyurea and improved transition to adult care. In March 2015, her contributions have been recognized by the Sickle Cell Thalassemia Patient Network of New York in the form of the “Distinguished Service Award.”
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Dr. Richard Lottenberg is a faculty member in the Department of Medicine at the University of Florida. He has previously served as Chief of the Division of Hematology/Oncology and Director of the Adult Sickle Cell Program. His research focus is in health services. He is currently a co-investigator of a multi- institutional NIH grant (Southeastern Exploratory Center of Excellence in Sickle Cell Disease).
Dr. Lottenberg leads the outreach core activity addressing the implementation and evaluation of primary care provider-based medical homes for the care of patients with sickle cell disease. His other research projects address the underuse of hydroxyurea therapy. He has been a member of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) committee on governmental Affairs since 2005 and leads the ASH Sickle Cell Disease Work group. He is on the NHLBI panel developing sickle cell disease clinical guidelines and serves as the team leader for the hydroxyurea therapy chapter.
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