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Study Team Members
Principal Investigator
Dr. Stewart is an internist and medical geneticist, is the principal investigator of the DICER1-Related Tumor Predisposition Study and has a special interest in familial cancer syndromes.
Clinical Team
Margarita Aryavand, M.S.N., C.F.N.P.
Margarita Aryavand is a nurse practitioner and captain of the U.S. Public Health Service with a special interest in the genetic causes and clinical features of familial cancer disorders.
Scientific Team
Dr. Kim is a staff scientist, studies the population genetics and phenotype of DICER1 and the associated miRNA processing genes; she also analyzes somatic genomic data of DICER1-associated malignancies.
Jessica Hatton, M.S., C.G.C.
Jessica is a genetic counselor who works to interpret the clinical significance of different DICER1 genetic variants.
Megan Frone, M.S., C.G.C.
Megan is a Genetic Counselor with specialty interest and expertise in inherited predisposition to cancer and in gene variant annotation and classification. Ms. Frone is a Biocurator for the ClinGen DICER1 Variant Curation Expert Panel which is helping to ensure that genetic test results for DICER1 are properly and consistently interpreted.
Special Volunteer
Lauren Vasta, M.D.
Dr. Vasta is a Major in the Army and the Chief of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology at Tripler Army Medical Center, serves the study as a Clinical Fellow in a special volunteer status. Her current DICER1 interests involve examining the phenotype of DICER1-carriers and examining associated underlying genetics.
Study Support
Soundarya Avantsa, M.P.H.
Soundarya is a Program Manager and provides support in general study management and survey administration.
Raisha Campisi-Cadme, M.S.
Raisha is the Clinical Research Coordinator for the Clinical Genetics Branch. She is responsible for providing comprehensive support in regulatory compliance and study management.
Collaborators
The DICER1 study has been at the forefront of an exciting interdisciplinary collaboration, leading to new discoveries and insights in the causes and importance of early interventions for DICER1-related disorders. The NCI team and our collaborators meet monthly via WebEx to discuss new findings and patient study updates. Our collaboration extends across the country and includes the following people:
Kris Ann Schultz, M.D.
Dr. Schultz is a pediatric oncologist at Children’s Minnesota with a special interest in ovarian and testicular tumors. She is the Director of the International Pleuropulmonary Blastoma/DICER1 Registry
Louis “Pepper” Dehner, M.D.
Dr. Dehner is a world-renowned pathologist at Washington University in St. Louis and was the first to characterize PPB in 1988.
Anne Harris, M.P.H., C.C.R.P.
Anne is a Clinical Research Specialist with the International PPB/DICER1 Registry and International Ovarian and Testicular Stromal Tumor Registry.