Payal C. Desai

Charles F. Whitten, MD Memorial Lecture

Payal C. Desai, MD is a board certified hematologist and internationally recognized expert in sickle cell disease. She is an Associate Professor of Internal Medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and Director of the Sickle Cell Disease Enterprise at Atrium Health’s Levine Cancer Institute in Charlotte, North Carolina. Dr. Desai completed her hematology and oncology fellowship at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and previously held progressive academic and clinical leadership roles at The Ohio State University, where she led a joint commission certified comprehensive adult sickle cell programs and research initiatives.

Dr. Desai’s work focuses on sickle cell disease and integrates clinical innovation, multicenter clinical trials, health equity, and quality improvement. She has published on pain management, cardiopulmonary and renal complications, transitions of care, and access to disease modifying and curative therapies. She has authored over 100 peer reviewed publications, serves in multiple leadership roles within the American Society of Hematology and the Sickle Cell Adult Provider Network. Her contributions to patient care, research, mentorship, and advocacy have been recognized with numerous national awards, including repeated Castle Connolly Top Doctor honors.

Dr. Sophie Lanzkron

Keynote Speaker

Dr. Sophie Lanzkron is a Professor of Medicine and Division Director of Hematology at Thomas Jefferson University. Dr. Lanzkron received her BA from Brandeis University and she graduated from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine where she was inducted into the AOA honor society. She did her residency at the University of Maryland and her hematology fellowship at Hopkins. She is internationally recognized for her pioneering research on the optimal care and management of people living with sickle cell disease. She has served on the National Institutes of Health, Expert Panel in the Management of Sickle Cell Disease and on the American Society of Hematology’s Sickle Cell Guideline Panel. She is one of the founders and currently serves as the vice-president of the National Alliance of Sickle Cell Centers. She is the Director of the oldest sickle cell ECHO Telementoring clinic, meeting weekly and educating 50-60 clinicians each week. She was recognized at Johns Hopkins for sponsorship of junior faculty and fellows with the Susan M. MacDonald Sponsorship Award and was the 2025 recipient of the ASH Mentor Award in clinical science. 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. Dr. Lanzkron’s research is currently supported through grants from the NIH, PCORI and HRSA.

Isaac Odame

Global Perspectives on Sickle Cell Disease

Dr Odame serves as Head of the Hematology Section and Director of the Hemoglobinopathy Programme within the Division of Hematology/Oncology at the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto. He is also Medical Director of the Global Sickle Cell Disease Network at the SickKids Centre for Global Child Health. In these capacities, he cultivates enduring collaborations among clinicians and researchers worldwide to advance scientific knowledge and strengthen care for sickle cell disease (SCD), particularly in low- and middle-income countries, where the burden remains greatest.

Dr Odame is Professor in the Departments of Pediatrics and Medicine at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto. From 2013 to 2024, he served as Division Director and Alexandra Yeo Chair of Hematology at the University of Toronto. He also chairs the World Coalition on Sickle Cell Disease (WCSCD), an international public-private partnership dedicated to mobilising cross-sector investment and coordinated action to address SCD in low- and middle-income countries. In addition, he leads implementation studies focused on integrating early SCD diagnosis and management into primary health care centres across sub-Saharan Africa. As a site Principal Investigator and a member of multiple Steering Committees and Data Safety Monitoring Boards, he remains actively engaged in clinical trials evaluating novel disease-modifying and curative therapies for SCD.

In addition, Dr Odame serves as an Associate Editor for Pediatric Blood & Cancer and as a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health.