Mentor Name: Kelly Getz

Among children, Leukemia is the most prevalent type of cancer; Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) is the second most common subtype and the most life-threatening form of leukemia. The prognosis of pediatric AML patients has improved significantly over recent decades through use of anthracycline-based chemotherapy and infectious disease supportive care, yet disparities in outcomes persist. A known adverse consequence of AML anthracycline therapy is cardiotoxicity. Cardiotoxicity during AML treatment predicts cardiac dysfunction later in survivorship. However, the potential for reducing cardiotoxicity to be a target to mitigate racial/ethnic inequities in overall survival has not been evaluated. During my summer research experience, I will provide research support in the lab of Dr. Getz by performing manual abstraction of medical chart data for pediatric patients diagnosed with AML. This effort will contribute to the growth of a large real-world cohort for which frontline and relapse therapies, and clinical outcomes are collected. I will support the development of project aimed at evaluating survival outcomes for pediatric patients diagnosed with AML in relation to racial and ethnic identities and explore differential cardiac monitoring as a mediator