Pediatric Palliative Oncology Academic Leadership Collaborative & Symposium

November 6, 2025

November 7, 2025

Faculty

Deena Levine, MD FAAP FAAHPM - Symposium Chair
Associate Member - Department of Oncology
Division Director - Division of Quality of Life and Palliative Care
Medical Director – Palliative Care & Integrative Medicine Services 
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

Brittany Cowfer, MD
Assistant Member, Department of Oncology
Division of Quality of Life and Palliative Care
Division of Leukemia and Lymphoma
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Holly Spraker-Perlman, MD, MS, FAAHPM, ABOIM
Primary Children’s Hospital/University of Utah
Department of Pediatrics, Divisions of Pediatric Oncology & Pediatric Palliative Care

Griffin Collins, MD MAS
Assistant Member
Division Quality of Life and Palliative Care
Department of Oncology
St Jude Children’s Research Hospital

Meaghann Weaver MD, PhD, MPH, HEC-C
Associate Member - Bioethicist and Palliative Care Physician
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

Allie Superdock, MD
Instructor
Division Quality of Life and Palliative Care
Department of Oncology
St Jude Children’s Research Hospital

Trisha Paul, MD
Department of Pediatrics Divisions of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Pediatric Palliative Care, and the Department of Health Humanities and Bioethics
University of Rochester

Michael McNeil MD, MPH
Assistant Member
Department of Global Pediatric Medicine
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

Sarah Daniels PhD, CCLS
Child Life Research Specialist
Psychosocial Services
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

Andrew Walker PhD, MS
Assistant Professor
Department of Health Systems Science
Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine

Zachary Abramson MD DMD
Assistant Member
Department of Radiology
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

Lei Zhang, PhD
Assistant Professor of Game Design and Development
College of Computing and Software Engineering|
Kennesaw State University

Scientific Advisory Board

Prasanna Ananth, MD, MPH
Associate Professor of Pediatrics
Section of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology
Department of Pediatrics, Yale School of Medicine

Jackelyn Boyden, PhD, MPH, RN
Assistant Professor of Nursing
Department of Family and Community Health, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing
Department of Pediatrics, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (secondary appointment)

Katharine Brock, MD, MS, FAAHPM
Associate Professor of Pediatrics – Oncology & Palliative Care, Emory University
R. Harold Harrison Chair of Pediatric Supportive Care
Director, Supportive Care Clinic, Aflac Cancer & Blood Disorders Center, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta

Emily Johnston MD, MS
Assistant Professor, Pediatric Hematology-Oncology
Director of Pediatric Palliative Care Education and Research, Center for Palliative and Supportive Care
University of Alabama at Birmingham

Erica C. Kaye MD, MPH, FAAHPM
Associate Member, Department of Oncology
Director, Quality of Life and Palliative Care Research Program
Chair, Qualitative Research Network
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

Sarah McCarthy, PhD
Director of Psychology -Robert’s Program on Sudden Unexpected Death in Pediatrics 
Boston Children’s Hospital

Jennifer Snaman, MD, MS, FAAHPM
Director of Pediatric Palliative Care Research
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Boston Children’s Hospital
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School

Casey Walsh, PhD, LICSW
Staff Scientist
Public Health Sciences Division
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center

Podium Presenters

• Korede Akindele        
• Andrea Johnson
• Callie Daniels-Howell
• Christy Lucas
• Meghan Schaefer
• Blanca Martinez
• Samira Jubran
• Matthew McEvoy
• Abeer Al Hinai
• Carolyn Humphrey
• Roseann Been
• Fyeza Hasan
• Emmanuel Ayire Adonogo
• Molly Mack
• Naomi Goloff
• Biplav Ghimire
• Sevara Mirkhamidova
• Anwar Alnassan
• Lei Cheng
• Xolisile Dlamini
• Asher Marks
• Roula Farah
• Kimberly Hieftje

Registration

When registering for the symposium, please also reserve a spot in your preferred breakout sessions, as space will be limited in each session. You can register for one breakout per session, and please do not register for the same breakout more than once. See the Schedule for more information about breakout sessions. 

Registration fees for in-person attendance are as follows: 

Symposium (Thurs-Fri) 

• Physicians: $249
• Non-Physicians: $199
• Trainees: $149 

Virtual Registration: $75

Call for Abstracts

The Pediatric Palliative Oncology Academic Leadership Collaborative & Symposium aims to create a unique forum for the dissemination and advancement of scholarly work in the field. Abstracts submitted for this symposium will undergo peer review and may be selected for podium and/or poster presentation. All planning to attend are encouraged to submit an abstract, regardless of role or level of training. We are committed to promoting the career development of multi-disciplinary trainees and junior faculty.  A limited number of travel stipends will be offered to highly rated abstracts to support in-person attendance. Abstracts selected for podium presentations will require in-person attendance, while poster presentations can be in-person or virtual.

Abstracts can present findings from original research, education, and quality improvement projects. Quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methodologies are welcomed. Data driven abstracts, including works-in-progress, will be prioritized.

Work that has been submitted or presented elsewhere is eligible for submission provided that it has not been published in manuscript form prior to the submission deadline.

Why Submit an Abstract?

• Advance the future of Pediatric Palliative Oncology by sharing innovative research and academic work that drives progress in the field and advances the care of children and families
• Gain recognition and connect with leading experts in the field
• Network with multi-disciplinary scholars, exchange insights, and receive valuable feedback from key thought leaders
• You may be offered a travel stipend if your abstract is selected and among the highest rated!

Abstract submissions will be accepted until 11:00pm CT, Tuesday, July 1, 2025.

Decisions regarding abstract acceptance will be communicated by Early August 2025.

We appreciate your participation and desire to share your research/academic work.

Abstract Guidelines

Your abstract should use the following structure to provide a concise summary of your work. Please describe the background, methods, results and conclusions of your scholarly project (these headers are required). Describe experimental methods briefly (including relevant numbers of patients, etc.). Statistical analyses should be used when appropriate to support the conclusion. Define all concepts and abbreviations upon first use (e.g., Quality of Life [QOL]). 

• Abstract submissions should be 400 words or less, excluding title and authors. While not required, a maximum of two images (table and/or figure) are permitted. References are not required but should not exceed 5 if included.
• Abstracts should be uploaded as a Word document (.docx) and formatted as below: 
  • Title
  • Author(s) and Affiliations 
  • Background 
  • Methods 
  • Results
  • Conclusion
  • Table/ Figure (if submitting)

Please check back for travel information and updates.

Additional Information

Visitor Information

Please review our hospital guest policy, which includes important infection control information. A campus map is also available. 

The travel tab above contains more information regarding travel and hotel information.

Questions

If you have any questions or need to alter or cancel your registration, please contact Deena.Levine@StJude.org. Registration fees are fully refundable due to cancellation through October 15, 2025 (minus a small processing fee).