Hematology/Oncology Faculty| Faculty |
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Raymond G. Watts, M.D. Dr. Watts is a Professor of Pediatrics and Director of the UAB Division of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology. Dr. Watts is a graduate of the Louisiana State University School of Medicine. He completed pediatric residency training at Arkansas Children's Hospital and joined UAB for fellowship training. He has been a UAB faculty member since 1991. He is board certified in Pediatrics and Pediatric Hematology Oncology. Dr. Watts' research emphasis involves natural history studies in pediatric hematology and oncology, clinical outcomes and innovative therapies for post transplant lymphoproliferative disorder, and hemophilia clinical research. He serves as Director of the UAB Pediatric Hemophilia Clinic and serves on the State of Alabama Hemophilia Oversight Committee. Dr. Watts has been recognized for clinical excellence by selection as one of the "Best Doctors in America" from 2001 to the present.
Christy Bemrich-Stolz, M.D. Dr. Bemrich-Stolz is an Instructor in the UAB Division of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology. She is a graduate of the University the University of Alabama School of Medicine. She completed pediatric residency training at Children’s of Alabama followed by her fellowship training in pediatric hematology-oncology. While completing her fellowship, she received her MSPH in Outcomes and Effectiveness research at the UAB School of Public Health. Dr. Bemrich-Stolz’s clinical practice includes general hematology and oncology though she does have a particular interest in caring for patients with sickle cell anemia. Her research interests include assessment of quality of life, transition to adult care and cost-effectiveness of treatment for patients with sickle cell disease.
Dr. Chewning is a graduate of Davidson College and the University of South Carolina Medical School. After completing a pediatric residency and a chief residency year at Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga, he trained in pediatric hematology-oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Dr. Chewning remained at Memorial Sloan-Kettering where he did an additional fellowship in bone marrow transplantation while performing human Natural Killer Cell research. Currently, Dr. Chewning's research focus is translational studies for the prevention and treatment of graft versus host disease. Dr. Chewning is developing novel mouse models exploring the role of CD4+ T cell lineages in mediating graft versus host disease. Dr. Chewning is also designing clinical research protocols for mechanisms of chronic graft versus host disease in pediatric patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.
Stuart Cramer, D.O. Dr. Cramer is a graduate of the University of Florida and attended Nova Southeastern College of Osteopathic Medicine in Ft. Lauderdale Florida for medical school. After medical school, he went on to complete his pediatric residency at the University of South Carolina and his Pediatric Hematology and Oncology fellowship at UAB. Dr. Cramer is interested in cancer cell biology, specifically chemotherapeutic drug resistance. He is currently working in collaboration with Dr. Mary-Ann Bjornsti, chair of the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, investigating the experimental drug MLN 8237 an Aurora A kinase inhibitor in neuroblastoma. As a fellow, Dr. Cramer received research funding from the St. Baldrick’s Foundation allowing him to explore the role drug transporters play in neuroblastoma drug resistance, and has been granted an extra year of funding by the foundation. Dr. Cramer hopes that a better understanding of cancer cell resistance will improve outcomes in hard to treat pediatric cancers.
Dr Friedman is a graduate of the College of William and Mary and the Medical College of Georgia. He completed his pediatric residency and fellowship in pediatric hematology/oncology here at UAB. Dr. Friedman's primary clinical interest is in neuro-oncology but he enjoys all aspects of oncology and hematology. Currently, his research interest is using engineered herpes simplex virus to target and kill cancer stem cells and other tumor cells. His goal is to translate this exciting, novel therapy from the laboratory to the clinic in order to help children with relapsed brain tumors and other solid tumors.
Dr. Goldman is a Professor of Pediatrics and Director of the Lowder Blood and Marrow Transplant Program and a member of the Division of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology. Dr. Goldman is a graduate of the Louisiana State University School of Medicine. He completed pediatric residency training at Tulane Children's Hospital and fellowship training at Denver Children's Hospital. He did a post-doctoral fellowship in Immunology at National Jewish Center for Immunology. He is a recent UAB faculty member, joining the program in June, 2009, after being on faculty at the University of Iowa since 1992, where he was the Director of the Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplant program and the Pediatric Immune Disorders program. He is board certified in Pediatric Hematology Oncology. Dr. Goldman's basic science research focuses on understanding the role of a specific enzyme complex called telomerase in cancer, bone marrow production, and aging, and how this enzyme is crucial in minimizing toxicities of chemotherapy. In addition, Dr. Goldman is involved in studies of new gene transfer methods to treat marrow failure syndromes (Dyskeratosis congenita) and disorders of hematopoiesis (sickle cell disease). His clinical interests center on developing protocols utilizing cord blood transplant as a way to treat a wide array of childhood cancers, including ALL and AML, as well as inherited immune deficiencies and marrow failure disorders. He is also directing clinical studies to asses the role of immunoglobulin to prevent infections in pediatric oncology patients. Dr. Goldman has been recognized for clinical excellence by selection as one of the "Best Doctors in America" from 2006 to the present.
Education Dr. Haines obtained her undergraduate degree from Louisiana State University, and is a graduate of Louisiana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans. She completed her pediatric residency and pediatric hematology/oncology fellowship here at UAB. Following completion of her hematology/oncology fellowship, she completed an additional fellowship in bone marrow transplantation and immunodeficiency at Cincinnati Children's Hospital. She is board certified in pediatrics and pediatric hematology/oncology. Dr. Haines' clinical interests include supportive care and treatment of viral infections in bone marrow transplant patients and bone marrow transplant for non-malignant disease such as immunodeficiency and sickle cell disease.
Dr. Howard hails from North Carolina, graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in Dr. Howard's primary clinical interest is general hematology with a focus on sickle cell disease (SCD), hemophilia and red and white blood cell defects. Dr. Howard's research career interests and experience include an NIH funded basic research program focused on assembly and regulation of the molecular motor in neutrophils; his clinical research focuses on neurological abnormalities, health care delivery, and novel therapies for SCD. Currently he is institutional PI for NHLBI studies (The Baby Hydroxyurea Trial, Co-PI on the JHU/UAB Basic and Translational Research Program, The JHU Priapism Project), NINDS grants (The Silent Infarct Transfusion Trial, Hydroxyurea for Silent Infarcts in Sickle Hemoglobinopathies), and HRSA projects (Sickle Cell Treatment Demonstration Project) and industry sponsored trials of a novel pneumococcal vaccine. He, in collaboration with Lee Hilliard MD, founded and developed the Children and Youth Sickle Network (The CYSNTM), a network of regional, comprehensive SCD clinics focused on prevention of SCD morbidity and mortality. The network, established in 1994, collaborates with local pediatricians, SCDAA chapters, hospital and clinics, is an unique, nationally recognized care system and has served Alabamians continuously since its inception.
Dr. Kutny is a graduate of Brown University and Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. He completed training in pediatrics at Vanderbilt University Children’s Hospital. He then trained in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplant through the University of Washington at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and Seattle Children’s Hospital. Dr. Kutny’s clinical practice includes both general hematology and oncology and bone marrow transplant. His research interests focus on the treatment of pediatric leukemia. He is working to improve risk stratification and treatment allocation for patients with acute myeloid leukemia and developing new targeted treatments for relapsed and de novo leukemia.
Dr. Pressey is a graduate of the University of Georgia and the Medical College of Georgia. After completing his pediatric residency at the Children's Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati, he trained in pediatric hematology-oncology at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Dr. Pressey's primary clinical interest is in the treatment of pediatric solid tumors, with a particular focus on pediatric sarcomas, neuroblastoma, and rare tumors. He is the director of the UAB Developmental Therapeutics Program, and serves as UAB's principal investigator for the Children's Oncology Group Phase I and Pilot Consortium and the Sarcoma Alliance for Research Through Collaboration (SARC) consortium. Through these consortia, Dr. Pressey is able to provide patients with access to cutting-edge therapies for all types of relapsed and refractory cancers. Dr. Pressey's primary research interest is the biology and treatment of solid tumors. Working with the scientific community at UAB, he is studying pediatric tumors with the intent of finding more effective and tolerable therapies. This work has led to the development of unique clinical trials at UAB available to patients with difficult to treat cancers.
Dr. Reddy is a Professor of Pediatrics, Neurology, and Surgery at UAB. Dr. Reddy received her undergraduate degrees from Boston University and medical degree from UAB. She completed residency training in Pediatrics at UAB, fellowship training in Child Neurology at UAB, and training in Pediatric Neuro-Oncology at Children's National Medical Center in DC. Dr. Reddy was instrumental in starting the UAB Pediatric Neuro-Oncology Clinic in 1998, which today is one of the largest programs of its kind in the US. Dr. Reddy's research interests include development and implementation of clinical trials for children with nervous system tumors. She is currently principal investigator (PI) of the international Children's Oncology Group (COG) Atypical Teratoid Rhabdoid trial and serves on the Infant Brain Tumor and Neurology Subcommittees of COG. Dr. Reddy is also the UAB Institution principal investigator for COG as well as several multi-center treatment and cognitive effects studies. She is also a Co-Investigator for the UAB Neurofibromatosis Consortium. Dr. Reddy's goal is to improve the lives of children with brain and spinal cord tumors through outstanding patient care and research.
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Hugh J. Morgan Endowed Chair for
Joseph Chewning, M.D.
Hilary Haines, M.D. 
Lee M. Hilliard, M.D. 
Matthew Kutny, M.D. 
Jeffrey Lebensburger, D.O.
Avi Madan-Swain, PhD
Joseph Pressey, M.D.
Kimberly Whelan, M.D., MSPH