CONCERT Network

Hematology Oncology of Indiana, a Division of American Oncology Network (Indianapolis, IN)

• Partner

Indy Hematology Education, Inc. (Indianapolis, IN)

• President and CEO

Marian University: Wood College of Osteopathic Medicine (Indianapolis, IN)

• Clinical Professor of Medicine

Ruemu E. Birhiray, MD is an attending physician in medical oncology, hematology, and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation at Hematology-Oncology of Indiana, and at St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis, Indiana. After completing his internal medicine residency at Columbus Hospital in Chicago where he also served as Chief Medical Resident in 1994, he was a postgraduate fellow in bone marrow transplant at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and in medical oncology at the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland where his research included gene therapy and adoptive cellular immunotherapy strategies in bone marrow transplantation. Dr. Birhiray’s professional experience has also included serving as an attending physician, and Director of bone marrow transplantation and a member of Marshfield Clinic, Wisconsin and a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin from 1998 to 2001. Additionally Dr. Birhiray was appointed an Associate Professor of bone marrow transplantation at Rush University, Chicago, Illinois in 2001, prior to joining Hematology Oncology of Indiana. Subsequently, Dr. Birhiray, served as and director of Bone Marrow Transplantation and Institutional Principal Investigator for the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project of the National Cancer Institute at St. Vincent’s Hospital, Indianapolis. Currently, he is also, Clinical Professor, Marian University School of Osteopathic Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, and an Editorial Board Member of The Journal of Blood Transfusion and Hematopathology. Projects for which Dr. Birhiray is principal investigator include reduced intensity allogeneic transplantation in hematologic malignancies, and a trial of Interferon A, CHOP, and rituximab therapy in advanced-stage follicular lymphoma, and neoadjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer. Additional collaborations have included major phase III clinical trials. Additionally Dr. Birhiray founded the Clinical research program at Hematology Oncology of Indiana. His awards include, “Intern of the year” from Columbus Hospital, Hope award from the Indiana Wellness community and named “best physician” by the Indianapolis monthly magazine and “top doctor” by Castle Connelly. In 2002, Dr. Birhiray founded and has served as Chair of the annual “Indy Hematology Review”, a nationally respected program providing education for hematologists and oncologists nationally and regionally, and he is also President and CEO of Indy Hematology Education, Inc. A member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the American Society of Hematology, and the American Medical Association, Dr Birhiray has published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Leukemia, Gene Therapy and Therapeutic Apheresis, Journal of Blood Transfusion and Hematopathology, Human Immunology, Familial Cancer, Annals of Pharmacotherapy, American Journal of Health System Pharmacists, Pharmacotherapy, in addition to multiple abstracts. Dr. Birhiray is married to Donna Marie (nee Baynard) since 1995, and they are blessed with 3 children, a daughter, Maya, born in 1999, and a son, Dirin, born in 2003, and an older daughter Meaghan who was born in 1990.

City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center (Duarte, CA)

• Associate Professor, Division of Lymphoma, Department of Hematology and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation

Tycel Phillips, M.D., is a hematologist-oncologist at City of Hope® Cancer Center Duarte, where he leads clinical trials designed to support the development of innovative targeted therapies for blood cancers.

As a teenager, Dr. Phillips witnessed the impact pancreatic cancer had on his grandmother, whose life of service inspired him to pursue a career in medicine. Later, during his medical residency, he experienced the loss of his mother to breast cancer. Her difficult experience with chemotherapy motivated him to focus on developing cancer treatments that are more tolerable and less harmful to patients. In his work with patients, Dr. Phillips believes in listening carefully to fully understand every patient’s concerns and create the most effective and personalized treatment plan for them.

Dr. Phillips earned his medical degree from Rush University and completed a residency in internal medicine at the John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County, both in Chicago. His fellowship in oncology and hematology took place at University Hospitals in Cleveland. Prior to joining City of Hope, he served as a clinical associate professor at the University of Michigan, where he held the title of Maria Reinhardt DeCesare Research Professor of Blood Cancers and Bone Marrow Transplantation. Dr. Phillips has authored or co-written more than 40 peer-reviewed publications and received numerous research grants to support his work.

Outside of the clinic, Dr. Phillips enjoys reading, traveling and biking with his children.

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (New York, NY)

• Chief, Myeloma Service

Joan & Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University (New York, NY)

• Professor of Clinical Medicine

Dr. Saad Zafar Usmani received his medical education at Allama Iqbal Medical College in Lahore, Pakistan. He completed a residency in internal medicine at Sinai-Grace Hospital/Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan and a fellowship in hematology and oncology at the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington, Connecticut. He then joined the Myeloma Institute for Research & Therapy, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, AR in 2010 as the Director of Developmental Therapeutics and Assistant Professor of Medicine. He was recruited to the Levine Cancer Institute/Atrium Health in 2013 as the inaugural Division Chief of Plasma Cell Disorders and Director of Clinical Research for Hematologic Malignancies where he built an internationally renowned myeloma program. He was then recruited in 2021 as the Chief of Myeloma Service at MSKCC.

Dr. Usmani is board-certified in internal medicine, medical oncology, and hematology. He holds membership and leadership roles on national/international committees, including the International Myeloma Working Group, the ALLIANCE Myeloma Committee (Chair), the American Society of Hematology (ASH), the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the American Society of Transplant & Cellular Therapy, and the National Cancer Institute Myeloma Steering Committee. Dr. Usmani has served as the Vice-Chair of the SWOG Myeloma Committee and has served as chair for the ASH Scientific Committee on Plasma Cell Neoplasia, and the ASCO Scientific Committee on Plasma Cell Disorders.

He has received several international awards recognizing his clinical and translational research contributions to the field, including the Celgene Young Investigator Award for Clinical Research, COMY Award for Excellence in Myeloma Research, LLS Scholar in Clinical Research, the International Myeloma Society Bart Barlogie Award for Clinical and Translational Research, and the LLS CDP Achievement Award. Dr. Usmani has authored/co-authored more than 260 peer-reviewed research manuscripts (NEJM, Lancet, JCO, Cancer Cell, Blood, Leukemia, etc.). Active in clinical and translational research, Dr. Usmani has research interests focus on plasma cell disorders—in particular, high-risk multiple myeloma.

Dana Farber Cancer Institute (Boston, MA)

• Attending Physician

Harvard Medical School (Boston, MA)

• Instructor in Medicine

Dr. Evan C. Chen is an Attending Physician in the Adult Leukemia Program at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and an Instructor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School. He is a clinician and clinical investigator who cares for patients with myeloid malignancies and acute leukemias, including acute myeloid leukemia, acute lymphoblastic leukemia, myelodysplastic syndrome, and myeloproliferative neoplasms. His research interests are in the development of novel therapies for myeloid malignancies, with a focus on cellular therapy strategies and the study of leukemia epigenetics to identify new therapeutic vulnerabilities.

Mission Cancer + Blood (Des Moines, IA)

• Physician

• Director of Clinical Trials

Dr. Graff obtained her master’s degree in Immunology from Loyola University in Chicago and earned her Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine credentials from Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine in Bradenton, Florida in 2009.

She completed her residency training in Internal Medicine and a fellowship in Hematology and Oncology at the Medical College of Wisconsin at Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital. She has led several clinical research projects and has published many original oncology and hematology articles. Dr. Graff is board certified in Medical Oncology.

Dr. Graff has worked at Mission Cancer and Blood in Des Moines IA for over 11 years and specializes in CLL and NHL.

Dr. Graff serves on multiple National Lymphoma Advisory Boards, NHL Advisory Council and LBCL Steering Committee. She is a member of ECOG Clinical Trial Organization, Lymphoma Working Committee for the CIBMTR and sits on the Lymphoma Research Foundation (LRF). She has paired with LLS doing patient education for rural cancer patients as well as CAR-T and bispecific education for community oncologists. Dr. Graff is the Executive Director of the Cellular Therapy program for Exigent Research as well as co-chair for the malignant hematology council for Exigent Research. Dr. Graff serves as the Primary Investigator for multiple clinical trials both past and present and is the Director of Clinical Trials at Mission Cancer and Blood/UIHSMG.

The Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders (Bethesda, MD)

• Medical Director

• Founder

International Oncology Network (Fort Myers, FL)

• Chief Medical Officer

Georgetown University

• Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine

Ralph V. Boccia, MD, FACP: Dr Boccia is Medical Director for the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders in Bethesda, Maryland, and Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. He is also Chief Medical Officer for the International Oncology Network (ION), and serves as chairman for ION’s Medical Advisory Panel. He is a member of the American Oncology Network and its Advisory Board and is the Medical Director for its clinical research program (AOR). Dr. Boccia completed training in internal medicine at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)– affiliated hospitals. His hematology, oncology, and bone marrow transplant fellowships were completed at the combined UCLA-VA Program and the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. He is board certified in internal medicine, hematology, medical oncology. He is a member of the American College of Physicians, American Society of Clinical Oncology, and the American Society of Hematology. With his vast experience and research, Dr Boccia has published more than 200 articles in journal such as the Journal of Clinical Oncology, New England Journal of Medicine, Cancer, Blood, Annals of Internal Medicine, Lancet, and Oncology amongst others. He is listed in Who’s Who in America and has been voted into Washingtonian’s Best Physicians in Washington and Consumers’ Checkbook’s Guide to Top Doctors in Washington, DC every year since 1992.

American Oncology Network (Fort Myers, FL)

• Regional Clinical Pharmacist