Meet the Team - Bone Marrow Transplantation and Cell Therapy Program

Donna E. Salzman, MD

Professor, Medical Director of the BMT&CT Program, and Interim Program Director

Dr. Salzman graduated from Louisiana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans, and was affiliated with the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio before coming to UAB.

She currently serves as the Professor, sits on the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT) Board of Directors, and serves as the Director of Education Committee of FACT. She also serves as the Associate Chief of Staff for the University Hospital, in addition to being the Co-Director of the Blood Management Committee.

For more information on Dr. Salzman, please click here.

Antonio Di Stasi, MD

Assistant Professor

Dr. Di Stasi is originally from Italy, where he graduated from medical school at the University of
Modena and Reggio Emilia in Modena. He has been affiliated with MD Anderson Cancer Center and Baylor College of Medicine, both in Houston, Texas.

His research areas of interest include immunotherapy, graft v. host disease prevention and treatment, myelodisplastic syndromes, and acute myeloid leukemia. His work has been published in high-impact journals such as Blood, and The New England Journal of Medicine. He has also authored four book chapters, and has lectured in the US and Europe.

For more information about Dr. Di Stasi, please click here.

Luciano Costa, MD

Associate Professor

Dr. Costa is originally from Brazil where he graduated from medical school in 1998 and subsequently completed a PhD studying cell signaling in cancer, both at Universidade de Sao Paulo. He trained in Internal Medicine and Hematology prior to moving to the U.S. in 2003 to pursue fellowship in Hematology and Oncology (University of Colorado) and Blood and Marrow Transplantation (Mayo Clinic, Rochester) and ultimately a career as clinical investigator.

Prior to joining UAB, he held an appointment as Associate Professor of Medicine and Director of Research for the Blood and Marrow Transplant Program at the Medical University of South Carolina from 2008 to 2014. His prior clinical research includes transplant and non-transplant management of lymphoproliferative and plasma cell disorders. He has also been deeply engaged in strategies for optimization of hematopoietic progenitor cells mobilization and in population outcomes of blood cancers.

For more information about Dr. Costa, please click here.

Transplant Staff

Pre-Transplant Coordinators

Megan Boullion NP , BSN	Patricia Lyons RN, MSN

Administrative Director

Sandra D. Rudolph, MSN, RN

Patient Services Coordinators

Angela H. Holmes, Patient Coordinator

Lisa Rhodes, Patient Coordinator

Serita Sutton, CPAR (insurance verification)

Inpatient Nurse Practitioners

Stephen Horn MSN, CRNP

Jessica Logan MSN, CRNP

Natalie E. McRae MSN, CRNP

Amy Nance MSN, CRNP

Binita Parekh MSN, CRNP

Melinda Rodgers MSN, CRNP

Melissa Sentell MSN, CRNP

Aaron Streufert MSN, CRNP

Post-Transplant Coordinators

Sharon Jones RN, BSN

Kaitlin Johnson, RN, MSN - Patient Eduction

Patient Education

Kaitlin Johnson RN, MSN

Social Worker

Nel Williams, MSW, LCSW

Cell Therapy Lab

Antonio Di Stasi, MD, Laboratory Director

Janie Roberson, SCT (ASCP) Senior Director, Laboratory Quality, Cellular Therapy Lab, Anatomic Pathology

Daniel Peavey, MLS (ASCP), Laboratory Supervisor

Ameenah Bishop, MLS (ASCP), Quality Coordinator CTL and Apheresis

Cheryl Fitts, MLT (ASCP), Lead

Becca Weekley, MS MLS (ASCP)

Amber McKell, MS MLS (ASCP)

Tinesha Coleman, MS MLS (ASCP)

Research Office

Kimberly Aldridge, RN - Research Nurse

Tiffany D. Hill, RN - Research Nurse

Shiney Isaac

Kentaro Minagawa

Melanie M. Goodson

Yingxue Wang

Information Services (Data) Office

Rivvi Kukkamalla, Lead Data Abstractor

Jenise Smith, Data Abstractor

Jacqueline Ericson, Data Abstractor

Administrative Office

Gloria Owens

Sherron Thornton