Advisory Committee

Before becoming the executive director of Life with Cancer and Patient Experience for the Inova Schar Cancer Institute, Jennifer Bires served as the executive director at Smith Center for Healing and the Arts in Washington, D.C., after almost a decade of experience as an oncology social worker in the D.C. area. Bires has a passion for improving access to psychosocial services for those impacted by cancer. She specializes in working with young adults who have been diagnosed with cancer, end-of-life issues for patients and families, and sexual health. Jennifer is the 2017 recipient of the Oncology Social Worker of the Year Award from the Association of Oncology Social Workers.

Kathleen Burt, RN, BSN, MS, joined the staff of Nanticoke Health Services in 2010. She is responsible for the strategic and operational needs, resource allocation, administrative duties of a medical oncology office, infusion center and radiation oncology, as well as marketing and staff leadership. She has experience with inpatient medical oncology, gynecologic oncology, clinical trials, and bone marrow transplant, including extensive experience with computerized physician order entry (CPOE) having worked with physicians and IT to bring a bone marrow transplant unit online in six weeks. She has served as a member of the Institutional Review Board (IRB) for clinical trials and on the Review Board for clinical trials in leukemia.

Ms. Burt is passionate about cancer care having been involved with the care of cancer patients since 1975.

She earned her BSN from Molloy College in Rockville Center, N.Y., and also holds a MS degree in Health Care Administration.

Sharron Forsberg, RN, BSN, is a nurse case manager with the Blood and Marrow Transplant Program at Nebraska Medicine in Omaha, Nebraska. Sharron has been with the program since 2002. She manages and coordinates the care of patients with multiple myeloma who are proceeding to stem cell transplantation.

Ms. Forsberg earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing at Minnesota State University Moorhead and is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Nursing through the University of Nebraska College of Nursing.

Sara Hegerle is the Transplant Financial Coordinator at Mountain States Tumor Institute in Boise, Idaho. This oncology clinic is part of the St. Luke’s Health System. The Autologous Transplant Program is accredited by the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT). Ms. Hegerle has been with the Hematologic Malignancies Program for nine years. She works to help navigate the complex financial processes necessary to ensure optimal patient care and financial responsibility. She works closely with patients, insurance payers, and the medical team to provide exceptional care.

She holds a bachelor of arts degree and is a licensed social worker.

Adam Peery, BSN, MSN, FNP-BC, is a family nurse practitioner at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine. Since 2012, he has been working as a nurse practitioner in the specialty of Bone and Marrow Transplantation. From 2007 through 2012, he worked as a nurse in the areas of Solid Organ Transplant, Trauma and Surgery, and Bone Marrow Transplant.

He received his BS in Biology from Southwest Baptist University, BSN in Nursing from Missouri State University, and his MSN with a specialty as a family nurse practitioner from the University of Rochester Medical Center. He was selected for the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing in 2011.

Paul Shaughnessy, MD, is Program Director, Adult Blood and Marrow Stem Cell Transplant, Texas Transplant Institute, San Antonio, Texas. Additionally, he is an assistant professor of Medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. Dr. Shaughnessy’s interests center around the ability to closely follow transplant patients and the challenge of difficult medical situations. His research interests primarily involve bone marrow stem cell mobilization and improving outcomes in the treatment of graft-versus-host disease.

Dr. Shaughnessy received a BA degree in biology and psychology from Indiana University, and a medical degree from Indiana University School of Medicine. He served his internship and residency in internal medicine at Wilford Hall Medical Center at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. He then completed a fellowship in hematology-medical oncology also at Wilford Hall Medical Center. Dr. Shaughnessy is board certified in internal medicine, hematology, and oncology. He is a member of the American Society of Hematology, the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation, as well as other professional organizations.