The Incyte Ingenuity Awards in GVHD^TM

Christina Ferraro is an accomplished healthcare professional with extensive expertise in hematology and medical oncology. She serves as the Outpatient Advanced Practice Provider Manager at the Cleveland Clinic Cancer Institute, as well as the Director of Survivorship and is a nurse practitioner in the Transplantation and Cellular Therapy and Apheresis programs at the Cleveland Clinic. Prior to her current position, Christina made significant contributions as a nurse and nurse practitioner at the Cleveland Clinic, where she specialized in survivorship, late-effects and graft-versus-host disease in blood and marrow transplant patients. Christina holds a master’s degree in Family Practice Nurse Practitioner from Kent State University and a bachelor’s degree in nursing from The Ohio State University.

Dr Hugo Fernandez is the Chair and Medical Director of the Moffitt Malignant Hematology and Cellular Therapy Department at Memorial Healthcare System.  He is a professor of oncology at the University of South Florida. Dr Fernandez’s clinical and research interests include therapies for acute myeloid and lymphoid disorders, expanding transplantation for elderly patients. He completed a fellowship in hematology/oncology at the University of Miami followed by an academic fellowship in blood and marrow transplantation at the University of Texas – MD Anderson Cancer Center. He previously served as vice-chair and clinical director for the Department of Blood & Marrow Transplant and Cellular Immunotherapy at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa. Dr Fernandez has been published in numerous peer-reviewed journals and is an ad hoc reviewer for various professional journals. He is a member of several medical organizations and serves as a board member for the Moffitt Medical Group.

Kathleen D. Lyons, ScD, OTR/L, is an occupational therapist, Professor of Occupational Therapy at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Institute of Health Professions and currently directs the Cancer Rehabilitation (CaRe) Lab at the MGH Institute focused on helping adult cancer survivors maintain independence and participate in home and community life. Her work integrates occupational therapy theory and implementation science to design and test interventions that reduce disability, improve daily functioning, and promote physical activity among people living with and beyond cancer. Dr Lyons earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in occupational therapy from the University of New Hampshire and her Doctor of Science in therapeutic studies from Boston University. She has held research and academic roles at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center. Dr Lyons has authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications and is nationally recognized for advancing the science of occupational therapy and cancer rehabilitation. She is an inductee of the American Occupational Therapy Foundation’s Academy of Research and received the MGH Institute of Health Profession’s Faculty Award for Excellence in Research in 2024 and the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine’s Excellence in Cancer Rehabilitation Award in 2023, reflecting the broad impact of her research on evidence-based cancer rehabilitation practice. Learn more about her award-winning project.

Becky Dame is an Information Specialist at Blood Cancer United (formerly Leukemia and Lymphoma Society) and was a registered nurse at Moffitt Cancer Center. Becky was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia during her freshman year of college and underwent a bone marrow transplant followed by multiple donor lymphocyte infusions, and a second stem cell transplant 18 years from the first. These treatments sent her into remission but also triggered chronic GVHD, a complication that became a defining part of her long-term health journey. The experience led her to change her college major to nursing, and for two decades she worked as a bone marrow transplant nurse, often sharing her own story and carrying a photo of herself from her treatment to encourage patients facing similar challenges. Becky continues to support the blood cancer and GVHD community by providing information and guidance to patients and caregivers, drawing on both her professional expertise and her personal experience with leukemia and GVHD.