Children
and Leukemia: The Quest for a Cure
According
to the National Cancer Institute, over 2,000 children a year learn
that they have leukemia. A diagnosis of childhood leukemia once
meant almost certain death. Though the road to new, more effective
treatments has been long, childhood leukemia is one form of cancer
we are learning to treat. Dr. Kimberly P. Dunsmore will review
the evolution of treatments for childhood leukemia, culminating
with current therapies that offer new hope to children and their
families. She will also discuss the challenges unique to medical
research involving children—both the ethical and practical
implications and the ways in which it is possible to advance medical
science while ensuring the well-being of children.
Kimberly
P. Dunsmore, M.D., is an associate professor of clinical pediatrics
at the University of Virginia. A nationally recognized clinician
and researcher, she is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics
and has served as director of both the Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplant
Unit and the Pediatric Hospice Unit at UVA. In 1998 she received
the UVA Robert J. Roberts Award given to an outstanding junior
faculty member for professional creativity and citizenship. In
1999, she received UVA’s Pediatric Clinical Excellence Award.
Currently, she is the principal investigator of an international
cooperative group pilot that uses new methods for treating T-cell
leukemia. Dr. Dunsmore received her medical degree from Emory
University in 1985 and completed her residency training at Duke
University.
