Tag Archive for: Majumdar

researchers in a lab at Children's National

Pioneering gene therapy as a treatment for sickle cell disease

Gene therapy is a new and exciting treatment option available for patients with sickle cell disease (SCD). Children’s National Hospital is one of the few pediatric hospitals in the country that offers both FDA-approved sickle cell disease gene therapies: CASGEVY™ (exagamglogene autotemcel) and LYFGENIA™ (lovotibeglogene autotemcel).

What this means

Gene therapy involves an autologous transplant, taking the patient’s own stem cells, genetically changing those stem cells and then, after chemotherapy, infusing those stem cells back into the patient to make healthy blood.

“I’m excited about gene therapy for sickle cell disease. I think it has the potential to be a curative option for every single child with sickle cell disease,” said Robert Nickel, M.D., hematologist at Children’s National.

Currently both treatments are only approved for patients 12 years and older with severe disease. Children’s National was the first hospital in the world to collect stem cells for the LYFGENIA™ treatment.

Moving the field forward

Clinical trials hold incredible promise to advance the care of SCD. Children’s National continues to pioneer transplant therapies to cure SCD and is one of the leading centers participating in clinical trials of new treatments for this condition.

Experts at Children’s National are leading a multi-site clinical trial of a chemotherapy-free transplant approach for SCD using a matched sibling donor. This chemotherapy-free approach has less toxicity and side effects for children undergoing transplant.

In addition, Children’s National has been leading the way with innovative approaches to support sickle cell patients. “We’re providing alternative approaches to pain such as healing touch, acupuncture, massage VR technology, physical therapy and exploring other ways of treating pain in an integrated manner,” said Andrew Campbell, M.D., director of the Comprehensive Sickle Cell Disease Program at Children’s National.

The team is also exploring non-opioid treatments, such as intravenous citrulline, a naturally occurring amino acid that has been proven to enhance blood flow and potentially alleviate pain in treated patients in preliminary studies under the direction of Suvankar Majumdar, M.D., chief of Hematology at Children’s National.

Suvankar Majumdar

Spotlight on Suvankar Majumdar, M.D.

Suvankar Majumdar

As a provider with international experience, Suvankar Majumdar, M.D., joined Children’s National in August 2017 as chief of Children’s Division of Hematology within the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders. Dr. Majumdar is excited to be at Children’s National because of the opportunities for growth, cutting-edge research and continuing education that our diverse population of patients can provide clinicians.

Born in Zambia, in southern Africa, and educated in the United Kingdom, Dr. Majumdar moved to Zimbabwe to study medicine, which he considers the turning point of his career. While in medical school, Dr. Majumdar oversaw and managed the treatment of patients with HIV and other chronic illnesses and determined that blood disorders, particularly sickle cell, was where he wanted to place his focus. Since then, he has served as the Director of the Comprehensive Pediatric Sickle Cell Program as well as Director of the Hemophilia Treatment Center at the University of Mississippi and is a recognized leader in hematology and sickle cell disease. It is this expertise, as well as his dedication to research studies, that have already made him an asset to Children’s National.

Within the Division of Hematology, Children’s providers focus on treating patients with blood disorders, bleeding and clotting disorders, red blood cell disorders (such as sickle cell) and more. Since coming to Children’s National, Dr. Majumdar has experienced a tremendous amount of dedication and enthusiasm from his colleagues. “I’m excited to build on what our faculty has accomplished so far. We’re already well poised to become a national leader in hematology,” he says. “I have no doubt that we will continue to accomplish our goals through collaboration and working toward a common life-saving cause.”

One of his immediate goals for the division is to focus on bringing improved patient care and accessibility in the surrounding Washington area. Additionally, Dr. Majumdar is currently conducting two research studies for sickle cell disease. As one of his studies enters the second phase, he’s focused on seeing the impact of an intravenous citrulline, a nitric oxide booster, on patients with sickle cell disease. Another study has begun to determine if specific genetic mutations that cause prolonged QT, or irregular heartbeats in patients, cause mortality, as sickle cell patients are predisposed to cardiac episodes.

It is Dr. Majumdar’s hope that the hematology team at Children’s National will also continue training the next generation of providers to advance research, education and clinical aspects of the field. To those looking to join the specialty, Dr. Majumdar suggests keeping an open mind when it comes to collaborating with colleagues. “My dad always said to my siblings and I that ‘to break one stick is easy, but to break three sticks is harder’ and really impressed upon us that we’re stronger together,” he says. “By working together, we’re more likely to produce the results that we’re looking for.”

Being located in the nation’s capital, providers at Children’s National are accustomed to seeing a diverse array of patients. For Dr. Majumdar, this presents a unique opportunity. “Meeting and interacting with different patients and families was really appealing when I decided to come to Children’s National. The variety of cases we see in the Division of Hematology can definitely present new challenges, but it’s also more rewarding,” he says.

Working with the pediatric population is also a passion of his. “Children are resilient and tend to bounce back quickly,” Dr. Majumdar says. “As a parent, I try to empathize with treatment concerns and always treat every child as if they were my own. I’m always going to make sure it’s the best level of care possible.”

Children’s welcomes hematology leaders, expands expertise

The Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders at Children’s National is emerging as a leader in Pediatric Hematology, and the recruitment of two prominent physician-scientists to our Division of Hematology and Sickle Cell Disease Program is evidence of that growth and presence on the national platform. Joining the faculty in June are:

Suvankar (Seve) Majumdar, M.D., Suvankar (Seve) Majumdar, M.D.
Division Chief, Hematology
Dr. Majumdar was born in Zambia, attended the University of Zimbabwe College of Health Sciences and conducted his postdoctoral medical education at the University of Mississippi. Dr. Majumdar is currently the director of the Comprehensive Pediatric Sickle Cell Program at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. He previously directed the Mississippi Hemophilia Treatment Center and is a recognized leader in hematology and sickle cell disease. In addition to his broad clinical expertise, Dr. Majumdar is an accomplished researcher, and a principal investigator of NIH-funded studies.

Andrew Campbell, M.D.Andrew (Drew) Campbell, M.D.
Director, Sickle Cell Disease Program
Dr. Campbell’s distinguished training and career path began at Morehouse College. He continued medical school at Case Western Reserve University and completed post graduate training at Massachusetts General Hospital (Harvard) and Lurie Children’s Hospital (Northwestern University). He has been director of the Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center at the University of Michigan since 2005. His research interests span several topics in sickle cell disease including pulmonary complications, fetal hemoglobin switching in transgenic sickle cell mice, phenotype/genotype relationships and renal complications.

The Children’s National Division of Hematology includes the most comprehensive pediatric blood disorders team in the Washington, D.C., area. The Sickle Cell Disease Program is among the largest in the country, treating more than 1,400 children and young adults with all types of sickle cell disease.