Bundle 08 (2024)

Kelly Bolton is a physician-scientist at Washington University in St. Louis. She is currently an assistant professor in the Section of Stem Cell Biology Division, Division of Oncology. Her research group focuses on utilizing genomic markers of cancer risk to develop prevention and early intervention strategies. Originally from Los Angeles, she completed her undergraduate studies at Cornell University. She completed medical school at the UCLA School of Medicine and a PhD in Genetic Epidemiology through Cambridge University. She went on to complete her residency in internal medicine and Cornell University and a fellowship in medical oncology at MSKCC. Her work has been published in high impact journals including Nature Genetics, JAMA, and JCO. She receives grant support from the National Cancer Institute, the EvansMDS foundation and the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation

JANE CHURPEK, MD, MS, is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Hematology, Medical Oncology and Palliative Care within the Department of Medicine at the University of Wisconsin - Madison. She is a board-certified hematologist and oncologist who focuses on the care of adults with low blood counts due to acquired and inherited causes, including clonal hematopoiesis, myelodysplastic syndrome, and inherited bone marrow failure syndromes. She also specializes in the diagnosis and management of patients and their families with hereditary cancer predisposition syndromes. Dr. Churpek’s research focuses on identifying inherited genetic factors that cause increased risk of cancer and bone marrow disorders, especially among understudied tumors and blood disorders. Her goal is to understand who is at increased risk and how specific exposures increase or decrease risk. She aims to utilize this information to optimize early detection, treatment, and, ultimately, prevention of cancer and bone marrow disorders. Dr. Churpek has contributed to the understanding of several novel hereditary blood cancer predisposition syndromes and the role of inherited predisposition in exposure-associated cancers such as therapy-related leukemia and mesothelioma. She is a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the American Society of Hematology, and the American Society of Human Genetics, and she is the recipient of an American Society for Clinical Investigation Young Physician-Scientist Award.

Bita Nehoray, MS, CGC, is a licensed board-certified genetic counselor specializing in cancer genetics. She received her Master’s degree in Human Genetics and Genetic Counseling from Stanford University. Ms. Nehoray joined the City of Hope Division of Clinical Cancer Genomics in 2012, where she provides cancer genetics services for patients and families suspected to have a hereditary predisposition to cancer, with a focus in Li-Fraumeni syndrome and clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential. Current research projects include understanding cancer risk, penetrance, prevalence, and clinical outcomes for individuals with TP53 pathogenic variants as part of the LiFT UP study, evaluating the use of whole body MRI and liquid biopsy for early cancer detection, chatbot use for disclosure of germline genetic test results, and assessing community-based provider experiences with TP53 results on germline testing. She also serves on the genetic counseling advisory committee for the Li-Fraumeni Syndrome Association, the ClinGen TP53 Variant Curation Expert Panel, and the California Advisory Council for Sharsheret. She is faculty for the City of Hope Intensive Course in Genetic Cancer Risk Assessment. She is an active member of the National Society of Genetic Counselors and Southern California Genetic Counselors.