Advisory Committee

Farrukh Awan, MD, is a professor in the Department of Internal Medicine and the director of Lymphoid Malignancies at the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. He specializes in stem cell transplant, cellular therapies (including chimeric antigen receptor [CAR] T-cell therapy), and evaluation of novel therapies for the treatment of patients with lymphoid malignancies.

Dr. Awan is a member of several professional organizations, including the American Medical Association, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, and the American Society of Hematology. He is also the recipient of the Young Investigator Award from the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the Clinical Career Development Award from the Lymphoma Research Foundation. He has delivered scores of presentations, administered multiple grants and clinical trials, and published numerous academic articles and book chapters.

Dr. Awan is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine, the American Board of Medical Oncology, and the American Board of Hematology. He completed a fellowship in hematology and oncology at The Ohio State University and his residency in internal medicine at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

Kate Fanslau has been a registered nurse for over 20 years working in various settings including medical-surgical, labor and delivery, pediatric home care, nuclear medicine, and oncology. She has been an oncology nurse navigator for Penn Medicine for 7 years. For the past 5 years, Kate has served as the oncology nurse navigator for patients with leukemia and lymphoma facilitating equitable access to oncology care such as cellular therapies.

Kate earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Wilkes University followed by a Master in Science from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine.  Most recently, Kate graduated with a Doctorate of Nursing Practice from Capella University in 2020.  In 2022, she participated in the Association of Community Cancer Centers’ (ACCC) Financial Advocacy Services Guidelines Panel.  Kate and her colleagues are developing a financial navigation program for patients with multiple myeloma to decrease the burden of financial toxicity; the goal is to offer this new program for all oncology patients at Penn Medicine in the future. Kate also serves as President of the Board of Directors of ChildrenSong of New Jersey, a non-profit youth choir based in Haddonfield. The choir has an exciting year planned with performances at a Trenton Thunder game, Madison Square Garden, and Lincoln Center.

Kate is the proud mom of three daughters, a dog, and a cat.  She and her husband have a busy household with two teenagers and a rising second grader.  Her one-year-old puppy, Bowie, and 8-year-old cat, Sasha keep the family entertained. Bowie has been known to make spontaneous cameos during virtual meetings.

Caron Jacobson, MD, MMSc, is an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and the medical director of the Immune Effector Cell Therapy Program at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, which oversees the commercial and research programs of engineered cellular therapies across hematologic malignancies and solid tumors. She is also a lymphoma clinical investigator, and her research interests involve the clinical and translational study of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cells and other cellular therapies for the treatment of B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Dr. Jacobson is the principal investigator for several CAR T-cell studies at Dana-Farer, which incorporates immune profiling by CyTOF as well as multi-plex immunohistochemistry, and genomic and transcriptional sequencing on patient samples. She was awarded the NCI Cancer Clinical Investigator Team Leadership Award to develop and grow a clinical and research enterprise in immune effector cell therapies for the treatment of cancer at Dana-Farber.

Dr. Jacobson is board certified in hematology, internal medicine, and medical oncology. She earned an MMSc from Harvard Medical School and completed her fellowship in hematology/oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. She completed her residency in internal medicine at Columbia University and New York-Presbyterian Hospital, where she also attended medical school.

Murali Janakiram, MD, MS, is a hematologist-oncologist and associate professor of medicine at City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, California. His clinical expertise is in multiple myeloma and aggressive lymphomas and his research interests include cellular and immune-based therapies (including chimeric antigen receptor [CAR] T-cell therapy and natural killer [NK] cell therapy) and developing risk-based approaches for the treatment of multiple myeloma.

Dr. Janakiram is a clinical trialist and investigator with over 50 peer-reviewed publications, reviews, and book chapters. Before joining City of Hope, he was an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota, where he made significant contributions to T-cell lymphoma and adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma.

Dr. Janakiram earned his medical degree from Madras Medical College in Chennai, India. He completed an internship and residency in internal medicine at Case Western Reserve University and a fellowship in oncology/hematology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, where he also received a master's degree in clinical research.

Arnela Kajdic-Tarantino, CTFC, is a program manager and liaison between revenue cycle, internal contracting, and clinic and patient financial advocates at the Center for Blood Cancer Therapy at St. Luke's Cancer Institute. She created and implemented training workflows for patient financial advocates specific to chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell immunotherapies as well as bone marrow and stem cell transplant. Additionally, Kajdic-Tarantino co-leads the revenue cycle workgroup in initiatives and implementation stages of the CAR T-cell therapy program at St. Luke's Cancer Institute.

Kajdic-Tarantino has worked in the medical field for 18 years. In her role at a community pharmacy, Kajdic-Tarantino developed a passion for helping patients with financial toxicity. She started as a patient financial advocate for an individual who was receiving a bone marrow transplant and has continued to address the financial toxicity experienced by oncology patients. Kajdic-Tarantino does so while supporting various departments in understanding patients from all angles (eg, registration, financial advocacy, prior authorization, in-network contracts, billing), with a patient-centered focus.

Kajdic-Tarantino is a member of the Association of Cancer Care Centers Financial Advocacy Network Initiatives Task Force and has participated in the CANCER BUZZ podcast. She graduated from Boise State University with a bachelor’s degree in health science with a psychology minor.

Mihir Raval, MD, MPH, is a clinical specialist in hematology and oncology with New York Oncology Hematology at the Albany Medical Center and clinical assistant professor at Albany Medical College in New York. His clinical subspecialities include benign hematologic disorders, hematologic malignancies (blood, bone marrow, lymph nodes), and bone marrow transplant. He is active in clinical research and is widely published in hematology and oncology journals.

Prior to New York Oncology and Hematology, Dr. Raval was clinical assistant professor at the University of North Dakota for 10 years, where he earned several accolades, including Chief Resident Award, Outstanding Resident Researcher Award, and Outstanding Intern of the Year. He is a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the American Society of Hematology, the American Society of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, and the American College of Physicians.

Dr. Raval is board certified in internal medicine, hematology, and medical oncology. He completed a fellowship in hematology/oncology at the University of Arkansas, where was named chief fellow. He completed his residency in internal medicine at the University of North Dakota, where he was also chief resident. He earned a master’s degree in public health at West Chester University of Pennsylvania and his Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) at Smt. N.H.L. Municipal Medical College in Ahmedabad, India.

Robb Richards, MS, MBA is the corporate director of the Cell Therapy and Transplant program at Penn Medicine, with oversight of both commercial and research work, as well as a focus on expansion into community hospitals within the Penn system. With over 20 years of experience in oncology (including bone marrow transplant and CAR T-cell therapy), oncology analytics, EMR integration, information technology, business management of oncology practices, he has been the lead in overseeing the implementation and operations of CAR T-cell therapy for commercial use.

Richards earned his MS and MBA from St. Joseph’s University in Pennsylvania, specializing in oncology informatics, and his bachelor’s degree from Drexel University.

Lyndsay Ridgway, MS is the associate director of financial counseling at Penn Medicine and specializes in overseeing the development of key financial navigation programs and enhancing the patient experience. With over 10 years of experience working alongside Revenue Cycle and Patient Access leaders, she leads a team of 20 highly skilled patient financial advocates and financial counselors and is dedicated to creating best practices within the health industry to reduce patient financial toxicity. She firmly believes in the power of connection and feels that transparency is a true driver in ensuring patient trust and confidence in their care.

Ridgway holds a master’s degree in organizational leadership and is a member of the Association of Community Cancer Centers, the National Association of Healthcare Access Management, and the American Association of Healthcare Administration Management, among others. Her skillset includes team building, strategic planning, and change management.

Peter Riedell, MD, is assistant professor of medicine, director of clinical research for the Hematopoietic Cellular Therapy Program, and associate director of the David and Etta Jonas Center for Cellular Therapy at the University of Chicago. He specializes in the care of adults with lymphomas and chronic lymphocytic leukemia and has a special interest in the use of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy in the treatment of these conditions. His expertise also includes stem cell transplant, allogeneic stem cell transplant, autologous stem cell transplant, and cellular therapy.

As an active clinical researcher, Dr. Riedell serves as the principal investigator on several national and international clinical trials evaluating the role of targeted therapies, stem cell transplantation, and cellular therapy in the treatment of lymphoma. He has been heavily involved in the development and implementation of therapies which harness a patient’s own immune system to fight cancer and his research aims to better characterize and enhance the safety and effectiveness of cellular therapy to improve patient outcomes.

Dr. Riedell holds roles on several national committees related to lymphoma and cellular therapy, and he is active in both patient and physician education. He also serves on the editorial board for peer-reviewed journals and is a member of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the American Society of Transplantation and Cellular Therapy (ASTCT).

Dr. Riedell is board certified in internal medicine, hematology, and medical oncology. He completed a fellowship in at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, completed his residency at Washington University, and earned his medical degree at the University of Tennessee.