Fellows

For nearly two decades, CURE has funded the training of pediatric oncology fellows at Emory University School of Medicine. Providing funding to further their education helps ensure that those future oncologists become clinicians and researchers we need in order to eradicate childhood cancer.

Peter Carlson, MD, PhD

Dr. Carlson brings a very strong oncology research background with the promise of a fruitful career as a physician-scientist. Dr. Carlson earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Washington, where he majored in bioengineering with a minor in chemistry. As an undergraduate, he developed a strong basic science background with accomplishments in two academic labs. Upon graduation, he spent an additional year carrying out cutting-edge immunotherapy research in a biotech-pharmaceutical lab in Seattle. He attained his PhD at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the field of cellular and molecular biology. He specifically studied the role of combining low-dose radiation with cancer vaccines. He even developed several new laboratory methods for the evaluation of radio-immunotherapy in order to complete this work.

Despite his vast research experience, Dr. Carlson also values clinical care. His residency attendings report that his ability to manage the clinical care team and to lead difficult family conversations are great strengths.

Peter Carlson, MD, PhD

Zuri Hudson, DO/MBA

Sam Robb Fellow

Dr. Zuri Hudson obtained her undergraduate degree in Biology at Georgia Institute of Technology. She then completed an additional year of graduate work at Lincoln Memorial University in Tennessee before matriculating into their combined DO/MBA program. During medical school, Dr. Hudson received numerous awards, including being named Student Doctor of the Year for several consecutive years and being highly honored for her outstanding commitment to community service. Following medical school, Dr. Hudson was matched at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, MO, for her pediatrics training. There, she excelled in residency across all areas.

Dr. Hudson has now developed a research interest in the care of children with solid tumors. Her studies lie in neuroblastoma, the most common pediatric solid tumor outside of the brain and one that contributes to a large number of pediatric cancer-related mortalities. Specifically, Dr. Hudson will study a type of immunotherapy—gamma delta T cells—and attempt to discern how they kill neuroblastoma cells and how neuroblastoma cells can develop resistance to them.

Zuri Hudson, DO/MBA

Sam Robb Fellow

Jason Stevenson, MD

Connolly Family Fellow

Dr. Jason Stevenson was inspired early by his mother, who was a nurse, to enter the medical profession. He attended medical school at the University of Arkansas, and completed his general pediatrics training here at Emory, culminating in a year as Chief Resident. His clinical and research interests are in leukemia/lymphoma and the factors affecting adverse events and outcomes during treatment. In the 2023-2024 academic year, he will be evaluating the impact of structural racism on the incidence and severity of adverse events and excess hospitalization days in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

“I am deeply grateful to CURE Childhood Cancer and the Connolly family for their generosity and support of my career. I became interested in pediatric hematology/oncology initially after the death of one of my childhood best friends to lymphoma. When I started my pediatric residency at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, I fell in love with the patients at the Aflac Cancer Center, and I knew this was what I was meant to do with my life. After finishing my first year of fellowship, I am even more certain as I love what I do more than anything.”

Jason Stevenson, MD

Connolly Family Fellow

Past Fellows

Through the generous support of our donors, CURE Childhood Cancer has funded 24 research fellowships in the effort to fight pediatric cancer. Twenty-one past CURE Fellows are now practicing medicine in top institutions around the country, treating patients and pursuing research for cures. Roll over an image below to see where they are now.

Becker Hewes, MD

Chief Medical Officer, Blueprint Medicines

Roland Chu, MD

Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Children’s Hospital of Michigan

Karen Wasilewski, MD

Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta

Mary Abraham, MD

Rheumatology, Samaritan Health Services

Hal Crosswell, MD

Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, St. Francis Cancer Center, Greenville, SC

Keith August, MD, MS

Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Director, Leukemia and Lymphoma Program, Children’s Mercy Hospital, Kansas City

Tanya Watt, MD

Assistant Professor, University of Texas Southwestern / Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Children’s Health, Dallas

Weston Miller, MD

Assistant Professor, Division of Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplantation, University of Minnesota Medical Center

Nicole Schlesinger McKinney, MD

Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Memorial Hospital, Aurora, CO

Himalee Sabnis, MD, MSc

Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine

Jennifer Andrews, MD, MSc

Assistant Professor of Pathology, Microbiology & Immunology and Pediatrics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Haneen Yasin Abdella, MD

Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Joe Dimaggio Children’s Hospital, Miami, FL

Ryan Summers, MD

Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta

Jonathan Metts, MD

Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Johns Hopkins All-Children’s, St. Petersburg, FL

David Siegel, MD, MPH

Medical Officer, Commissioned Corps of the US Public Health Service/CDC

James Felker, MD

Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, PA

Jenny Shim, MD

Senior Research Associate, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta

Rafi Kazi, MD

Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, University of Rochester Medical Center

Juhi Jain, MD

Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Banner Health/University of Arizona Medical School

Frank Chien, MD

Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta

Sanyu Janardan, MD

Survivorship, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta

Robert Lisac, MD

Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta

Toni Chanroo, MD, MPH

Oncology Fellow, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta