Prof. Sophie Lanzkron Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, USA

Dr. Sophie Lanzkron is an Associate Professor of Medicine and Oncology in the Division of Hematology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and is the Director of the Sickle Cell Center for Adults at Johns Hopkins which delivers state-of-the art, multidisciplinary care to over 500 patients. She is... read moreinternationally recognized for her pioneering research on the optimal care and management of patients with sickle cell disease. She has served on the National Institutes of Health Expert Panel in the Management of Sickle Cell Disease and serves on the American Society of Hematology’s Sickle Cell Guideline Panel. Her research focus is on improving the quality of care provided to this historically underserved population and she is considered an expert in health services research in sickle cell disease. The Johns Hopkins Sickle Cell Infusion Center, which opened in 2008, provides urgent care to patients in crisis so that they can bypass the emergency department. This remarkable innovation has led to numerous improvements in outcomes including decreases in admissions, 30-day readmissions and most importantly rapid relief of pain in a patient centered environment. This innovative model of care is currently being emulated throughout the country and Dr. Lankzron has a $4 million grant from PCORI to systematically compare outcomes from infusion models in four states to usual emergency department care for the treatment of vaso-occlusive crisis. In addition to funding through PCORI, Dr. Lanzkron’s research work is currently funded through the NIH and HRSA.