Meet the Speaker
Gwen Nichols, MD, is the chief medical officer at Blood Cancer United. A hematologist-oncologist by training, she has spent her career in patient care, laboratory research, clinical and translational research, and pharmaceutical drug development. Before joining Blood Cancer United, Dr. Nichols worked in academia and the pharmaceutical industry, focusing on early and translational drug development. In her current role, she oversees efforts spanning blood cancer research, education, advocacy, and policy, with a particular focus on improving outcomes and access to care for patients and families.
September is Blood Cancer Awareness Month, an opportunity to recognize the patients, families, and health care professionals affected by leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma, and other blood cancers—and to consider how rapidly the treatment landscape has evolved. In this episode, Gwen Nichols, MD, chief medical officer at Blood Cancer United, discusses major advances in the growing role of targeted therapies and immunotherapies, as well as the persistent challenges patients face in accessing and affording cancer care and clinical trials.
The conversation also explores the unique challenges of pediatric blood cancer drug development and the work being done through Blood Cancer United’s Dare to Dream program and its PETAL pediatric acute leukemia clinical trial platform. Dr. Nichols discusses efforts to make pediatric trials more efficient, expand international collaboration, and use real-world evidence to accelerate research while reducing the number of children who may need to receive standard treatment in a clinical trial. She also shares a message of hope for patients and families, emphasizing how far blood cancer treatment has come and the potential for continued progress.
