The Bing Center for Waldenström's Macroglobulinemia encompasses a large, international team of laboratory-based and clinical investigators who are striving to find more effective therapies for Waldenström's macroglobulinemia and, someday, a cure. It is part of the Division of Plasma Cell Neoplasias, focused on research and clinical care for plasma cell disorders.
Waldenström's Macroglobulinemia Clinical Team
Steven P. Treon, MD, PhD, Director
Dr. Treon's research focuses on understanding the genetic basis and pathogenesis of Waldenström's and developing novel therapies. With his team, he discovered the MYD88 and CXCR4 mutations which are the most common WM mutations. They are now used in the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment selection in WM. For more than 20 years, Dr. Treon has served as chair and co-chair of the International Workshops on WM, the largest conferences devoted to WM discovery. He has published more than 250 original research papers, many reporting on clinical trials that have advanced most of the modern WM therapeutics used today. Dr Treon has received many research and academic awards, including the Robert A. Kyle Award for Outstanding Contributions to WM, and the Jan Gosta Waldenström’s Lifetime Achievement Award in WM. For his contributions to the advancement of the treatment of WM, he was elected a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, and the Royal College of Physicians (London).
Jorge J. Castillo, MD, Clinical Director
Dr. Castillo leads several prospective clinical trials advancing WM treatment utilizing targeted, biologically informed agents that block Bruton’s Tyrosine Kinase (BTK) such as ibrutinib, zanubrutinib, acalabrutinib and pirtobrutinib; BCL-2 such as venetoclax; and CXCR4 such as ulocuplumab and mavorixafor. He is also studying the genomic impact of MYD88 and CXCR4 mutations on WM treatment outcomes. His work identified the importance of CXCR4 “non-sense” mutations as impacting ibrutinib treatment outcomes. Dr. Castillo is a voting member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) for Multiple Myeloma, Systemic Light Chain Amyloidosis and Waldenström's Macroglobulinemia that establishes treatment guidelines. He has served as chair of the consensus panels of the International Workshops on WM that formulated guidelines for the treatment of newly diagnosed and previously treated WM. He has published more than 160 original research papers and reviews on WM and the lymphoplasmacytic disorders in prominent journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet Oncology, Journal of Clinical Oncology, and Blood. He is the recipient of the Robert A. Kyle Award for Outstanding Contributions to WM.
Shayna Sarosiek, MD, Senior Physician
Dr. Sarosiek is an expert in the care of patients with WM, and complications of WM related to amyloidosis, and neuropathy. She leads clinical trials advancing novel biologically active agents for WM such as antibody-based and cellular immune therapies. She served as the co-chair of the consensus panel on the management of WM-related amyloidosis, and a faculty member for the International Workshops on WM. She is a frequent speaker at patient forums and scientific meetings and has more than 70 original research publications and reviews in the field of WM and related plasma cell disorders. She has also been involved in developing practice guidelines for managing patients with intolerance to BTK-inhibitors.
Catherine Flynn, NP, Nurse Practitioner
NP Flynn provides dedicated WM patient care and supports patients participating in the large number of WM clinical trials available in the Bing Center. Prior to training as a NP, she was a clinical research coordinator in the Jerome Lipper Multiple Myeloma Center at Dana-Farber. NP Flynn is active in patient and nursing education related to WM, and has served as a co-author on many original publications and reviews in WM.
Kirsten Meid, MPH, Research Project Manager
Ms. Meid oversees the development of clinical and laboratory research protocols. She manages a very dedicated team of WM clinical research coordinators, who are responsible for the implementation, training, data collection, and regulatory oversight of the large number of studies offered through the Bing Center.