Psychologist Sharon Bober, PhD
Dr. Bober is a behavioral health researcher and clinical psychologist at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Harvard Medical School and the Founding Director of the DFCI Sexual Health Program. She is currently also serves as Chair of the Scientific Network on Female Sexual Health and Cancer, an interdisciplinary network of researchers and clinicians working to promote sexual well-being in women affected by cancer. Dr Bober’s clinical research primarily focuses on sexual health, quality of life and cancer survivorship. She has been a pioneer in developing brief, sexual health interventions for women after cancer as well interventions for women at high-risk for cancer who undergo risk-reducing surgery at a young age. Dr. Bober has also conducted multiple studies illuminating the barriers to addressing sexual health within a variety of health care settings. In addition, Dr. Bober has served on several national and international guideline committees to establish evidence-based guidelines and recommendations for addressing sexual health after cancer. Her research has been funded by the NIH as well as multiple foundations. She has authored over 60 peer-reviewed papers and book chapters.
Nurse Brooke Cherven, PhD, MA
Dr. Cherven is a pediatric oncology nurse with expertise in adolescent and young adult cancer survivorship and fertility preservation. She has over 18 years of clinical experience working within the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta where she helped develop the center’s pediatric Fertility Preservation Program. Dr. Cherven’s research focuses on reproductive and sexual health among adolescent and young adult cancer survivors and has been funded by the American Cancer Society and the Children’s Oncology Group Nursing Discipline. She has over 25 peer-reviewed publications in the field of adolescent and young adult oncology, survivorship, and reproductive health. She is a member of the Oncofertility Consortium Pediatric Initiative Network and the Children’s Oncology Group Adolescent and Young Adult Discipline Sexual Health Task Force.
Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist Natasha Frederick, MD
Dr. Frederick (she/her) is a pediatric hematologist/oncologist at the Center for Cancer & Blood Disorders at Connecticut Children’s where she is also the director of the Comprehensive Fertility and Sexual Health Program. She is an assistant professor at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine and the Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University. Her clinical work focuses on the care of adolescent and young adult (AYA) patients with cancer. She is a founding member of the Sexual Health Task Force within the Adolescent and Young Adult Discipline Committee of the Children’s Oncology Group, of which she currently serves as chair.
Her research interests focus on improving communication between oncology clinicians and AYA oncology patients on sexual and reproductive health issues during and after cancer therapy.
Psychologist James Klosky, PhD
Dr. James Klosky is a Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the Emory University School of Medicine. He is the Director of Psychology within the Aflac Cancer & Blood Disorders Center at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and serves as the psychologist on CHOA’s Fertility Preservation Team. Dr. Klosky’s professional activities have broadly centered on behavior-based cancer prevention and control among survivors of childhood cancer, and his extramurally-funded research program has focused in the areas of fertility preservation, risky sexual behavior, and HPV vaccination. As the Founder and Co-Director of the Fertility Preservation Clinic at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Dr. Klosky has 20+ years of experience providing clinical care to pediatric, adolescent, and young adult patients, and actively works on committees to develop national and international guidelines for fertility preservation among at-risk youth.
Pediatric Oncologist Jennifer Levine, MD
Dr. Levine is a board-certified pediatric hematologist-oncologist with a goal of curing cancer, one child at a time. In addition to supportive care, she specializes in the treatment of children and adolescents with leukemia. Dr. Levine has a special interest in the effects of chemotherapy on fertility, with a research focus on identifying patients most at risk of impaired fertility so they can be offered fertility-preserving approaches. As the medical ability to treat childhood cancers successfully continues to improve, the Division is seeing more patients growing into adulthood and living productive lives. Dr. Levine directs the team that provides long-term follow-up care for survivors of childhood and adolescent cancers. For those who may not survive, she works to enhance the delivery of palliative care and to improve end-of-life services for patients, as well as the staff members who provide that care.
Reproductive Endocrinologist, Infertility Specialist Jennifer Mersereau, MD
Jennifer Mersereau, MD, MSCI is Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC, and Division Director of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility. Her clinical interests include fertility preservation, general infertility, endometriosis and polycystic ovarian disease. Her research interests have led to an extended exploration of comprehension and decision-making in fertility preservation.
Pediatric Endocrinologist Leena Nahata, MD
Dr. Nahata is a board-certified pediatric endocrinologist, Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at The Ohio State University College of Medicine, and founder and medical director of the Fertility and Reproductive Health Program at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. As an NIH-funded Principal Investigator in the Center for Biobehavioral Health at the Abigail Wexner Research Institute, she is leading and collaborating on several clinical research studies focused on improving reproductive and psychosocial outcomes in pediatric populations at risk for infertility. She also contributes to fertility guidelines through multiple national and international organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, Pediatric Initiative Network of the Oncofertility Consortium, Children’s Oncology Group, PanCareLIFE, and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health. She is the author of over 100 scientific papers and book chapters.
Fertility Advocate Joyce Reinecke, JD
Social Worker Brad Zebrack, PhD
Dr. Brad Zebrack is Professor at the University of Michigan School of Social Work and Rogel Cancer Center, Health Behavior and Outcomes Research program. Dr. Zebrack’s teaching and research interests are in the areas of health, medicine, cancer survivorship and quality of life. He is particularly interested in the effects of cancer on the human growth and development of adolescents and young adults. His research has been funded over the past 25 years by the National Cancer Institute, American Cancer Society, the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, Livestrong, and Hope Lab Foundation. Dr. Zebrack has clinical social work experience in both pediatric and adult oncology, and currently serves on the medical advisory boards of several cancer support programs, including Triage Cancer, the Children’s Brain Tumor Foundation, First Descents, and the Cancer Support Community of Southeast Michigan.
Physician Assistant Julie Messina, PA-C
(Currently not Active)
Julie Messina is a physician assistant (PA) who has worked in an academic, research and clinical setting in the field of oncology for the past 17 years. She is currently an adjuvant faculty at Rocky Vista University teaching PA students as well as working per diem at CHOC Children’s Hospital. Julie is passionate about fertility preservation and was first inspired to work in this field by her experience at the University of California Medical Center with young adult patients during their survivorship. During her career she has been an active leader on the fertility preservation team at CHOC Children’s Hospital. Julie knows that with exciting advances in chemotherapy and targeted therapies, more patients are cured, and with that comes the importance of meaningful survivorship. Julie currently resides in Colorado with her family and is actively involved in the oncofertility consortium, an international, interdisciplinary initiative designed to explore the reproductive future of cancer survivors.