Dr. Smith is a junior investigator with clinical and research interests in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), and bone marrow failure disorders. She participates in the Aplastic anemia, Inherited bone marrow failure, Myeloid disorder (AIM) clinic, which offers care for patients with rare disorders of bone marrow failure and myeloid disease. She participates in the Children’s Oncology Group (COG) CML working group where she is involved in the development of clinical trials for myeloid disease. She has a specific interest in designing thoughtful, mechanistic-driven therapies for patients in clinical trials by bridging the gap between basic science laboratories and the clinic. To that end, she spent several years in the basic science laboratory of Dr. Michael Savona, using targeted therapeutics to overcome venetoclax (VEN) resistance in the treatment of AML. She also participated in the pre-clinical development of a novel inhibitor of WDR5 alongside the Fesik and Tansey laboratories. These novel inhibitors are now entering early-phase clinical trials for the treatment of hematologic and solid tumor malignancies.

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Dr. Sunthankar is a pediatric cardiologist with research interests focused on personalized outcome prediction in children with heart disease. His specific work is focused on two main areas: 1) using cardiac MRI features to prognosticate disease and 2) using large databases to identify clinical features to predict outcomes. He has published on the utility of cardiac MRI in cardiomyopathy patients (hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy cardiomyopathy). His database research has utilized Vanderbilt specific data as well as multicenter registries such as the National Pediatric Cardiology Quality Improvement Collaborative. The overall mission for his research is to improve diagnostic, prognostic, and outcome prediction through imaging parameters and clinical features in an effort to deliver better care to patients with congenital heart disease.

Dr. Weiner’s research focuses on developing treatment strategies to improve clinical outcomes after congenital heart surgery, using a hybrid of clinical science and quality improvement methods. He is actively involved in multi-center quality improvement initiatives through the Pediatric Acute Care Cardiology Collaborative (PAC3).

Dr. Yan's research is focused on the signaling mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel diseases and the symbiotic relationship between gut microbiota and the host in maintaining intestinal homeostasis. Her lab's research efforts have led to over 46 peer-reviewed publications, 10 review articles, and 4 U.S .and European patents. Dr. Yan has also been invited to present her research at the Basic Plenary Session during Digestive Disease Week in 2008 and again, in 2017.

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