The University of Minnesota is a leader in the
field of hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT),
and CAPS scholar Marcie Tomblyn is working to bring this research to the necessary stage of multi-center clinical trials. As treatment modalities have developed along separate tracks over time and because there are not enough patients in a single disease, single-center trials are not sufficient to advance knowledge. Working together with other physicians in HSCT on strong multi-center trials is the passion and focus of Tomblyn, a
physician and assistant professor in the Medical School’s Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology, Oncology, and Transplantation.
Tomblyn’s active involvement in the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR) and the NHLBI/NCI-funded Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network (BMT CTN) ensures
that she has the connections that can speed this work. Her mentors include Daniel Weisdorf, M.D., director of the adult blood and marrow transplant program at the University of Minnesota and senior research advisor
of CIBMTR, and Mary Horowitz, M.D., M.S. (Medical College of Wisconsin), chief scientific director of the CIBMTR and principal investigator
for the BMT CTN’s Data Coordinating Center. Two statisticians at the CIBMTR, John Klein, Ph.D., and Brent Logan, Ph.D., serve as statistical
mentors. These two centers are vital resources in coordinating the data and research in the rapidly expanding field of HSCT, says Tomblyn.
Tomblyn began her career in academic medicine combining her fourth year of medical school and her intern year at the University of Kentucky. During her chief resident year she spent four months in a basic science lab in the University of Kentucky’s Markey Cancer Center learning cell culture and flow cytometric techniques. A hematology/oncology fellowship
at Northwestern University followed, including a clinical fourth year in HSCT, along with an M.S. in clinical investigation. In addition to being the University’s principal investigator on four local and two multicenter HSCT clinical trials, Tomblyn is assistant scientific director for the CIBMTR,
CIBMTR program leader for clinical trials, and an active member of the BMT CTN Data Coordinating Center.
More than 15,000 hematopoietic stem cell transplants are performed each year. “HSCT is a potential cure for some patients with hematologic malignancies,”
she notes, “and continued improvement in outcomes for our patients requires detailed and organized clinical investigation.” The large and growing database of observational studies and the many interrelationships
of staff working at CIBMTR and BMT CTN provide opportunities for Tomblyn and other junior faculty researchers to continue the work of bone marrow transplant pioneers. As a CAPS scholar, Tomblyn is allocated
75% protected time for research and works closely with her mentors.
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