Associate Professor of Medicine; Co-Director of the Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center at UAB

Dr. Julie Kanter is a lifespan hematologist specializing in sickle cell disease. She recently moved to Alabama and is the director of the adult sickle cell disease program and co-director of the Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center with Dr. Jeffrey Lebensburger. Prior to moving to Alabama, Dr. Kanter was the Director of sickle cell disease research and Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the Medical University of South Carolina. Dr. Kanter is very committed to improving outcomes in sickle cell disease and ensuring those outcomes reach the affected individuals. She works closely with national partners including the American Society of Hematology and the NIH on both advocacy and research.

In 2016, Dr. Kanter and her team were awarded one of eight of the NHLBI sickle cell disease implementation grants to form a sickle cell implementation center. Dr. Kanter is also principle investigator of the DISPLACE R01, her multi-center project to assess and improve implementation of stroke screening in patients with sickle cell disease. While in South Carolina, Dr. Kanter served as the principle investigator for over ten clinical research trials and was a leading enroller on several of those projects. Dr. Kanter also developed and ran a statewide program for sickle cell disease, a program she continues to advise. She plans to develop a similar model of access to care for adults with sickle cell disease in Alabama using the Clinical Research sites which are also pediatric clinics.

Dr. Kanter has authored and co-authored more than 50 articles, book chapters, and abstracts and hopes to train upcoming physicians and providers in SCD to expand the workforce for treating affected individuals.

Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Director of Pediatric Hematology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham; Co-Director of the Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center at UAB

Dr. Lebensburger co-directs the Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center with Dr. Julie Kanter. Over the last nine years at UAB, Dr. Lebensburger has developed expertise in sickle cell nephropathy and sickle cell clinical trials, publishing 43 manuscripts including 32 as the primary or senior author. He has demonstrated expertise in sickle cell nephropathy research through his Chronobiology and Chronopharmacology to Prevent Sickle Cell Nephropathy study, funded by his NIH K23 American Society of Hematology Scholar award. He also studies acute kidney injury during sickle cell crisis supported by an NIH R03 grant and Pfizer ASPIRE award. He served as the site PI for the NIH funded clinical trials of hydroxyurea including the Baby HUG Follow-up II study and Hydroxyurea to Prevent CNS Complications of Sickle Cell Disease in Children trial. 

He has worked on industry studies including as site PI for the Phase 3, Open-Label, Single-Arm Trial Evaluating the Safety, Tolerability, and Immunogenicity of 13-valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine in Children with Sickle Cell Disease Previously Immunized with 23-valent Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Vaccine study. Finally, he works extensively to mentor young investigators - 31 mentees in last nine years, several with career development awards - and was elected to serve as the incoming-co Director for the ASH Clinical Research Training Institute.

Program Coordinator

Emily grew up in a small town in Illinois where she graduated in 1996 with an associate’s degree in Medical Office Assistant from Lewis and Clark Community College before returning to school to obtain her B.S.in Early Childhood Education from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville in 2001.   Although she enjoyed teaching, she continued to develop her medical background and has over 20 years of experience in the field of hematology-oncology in variety of positions.  She began working as a Unit Secretary at St. Louis Children’s Hospital where she progressed to the Precertification Coordinator all within the division of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology.  In 2001 Dr. Julie Kanter recruited Emily to work with her at Tulane University in New Orleans Louisiana as her Bone Marrow Transplant Coordinator and they have worked together at multiple institutions since.   

Prior to moving to Alabama, Emily was the Program Manager of Sickle Cell Research in the Division of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology at the Medical University of South Carolina where she worked alongside Dr. Julie Kanter to develop their research program. Over the past 7 years, she has managed over 30 clinical trials.