Dear SIOP Asia Members, 

 

We’d like to announce the current SubRegional Leaders on the SIOP Asia Executive Board:

 

  • Kirill Kirgizov, SubRegional Leader for EURO
  • Rawad Rihani, SubRegional Leader for EMRO
  • Nita Radhakrishnan, SubRegional Leader for SEARO
  • Huanmin Wang SubRegional Leader for WPRO

 

Please see short bios of the SubRegional Leaders below. These leaders join Gevorg Tamamyan, SIOP Asia President, and Hiroki Hori, SIOP Asia Immediate Past President, on the Executive Board.

 

Kirill Kirgizov, M.D, Ph.D, is a Deputy Director for Science and a Leading pediatric hematologist/oncologist (Head of the largest Russian Bone Marrow Transplant Program) in a leading cancer center, Nikolay Blokhin National Medical Research Center (in its Lev Durnov Research Institute of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology branch). He is an Executive Director of the Russian Society of Pediatric Oncologists and Hematologists and a founder of the Eurasian School of Pediatric Oncologists and Hematologists. His main area of interest is breakthrough technologies in BMT and cell technologies as well as Healthcare Systems improvement in pediatric hematology/oncology. He is a principal investigator in EBMT studies as well as active member of SIOP Asia. He has a long-term expertise working with with several international organizations (e.g., WHO, IAEA, etc.) in the field of pediatric hematology/oncology.

 

Dr. Rawad Rihani, MD, MSc. (Jordan) is a distinguished figure in the field of pediatric oncology and hematopoietic transplantation and cellular therapy. She is currently making a significant impact as Chairperson of the Department of Pediatrics, Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplantation and Cellular Therapy at the renowned King Hussein Cancer Center (KHCC) in Amman, Jordan. As the current President of the Jordan Society of Pediatric Oncology (JSPO) and Chairperson of the Scientific Committee of the Pediatric East and Mediterranean (POEM) Group, Dr. Rihani demonstrates an unwavering commitment to advancing pediatric oncology in Jordan and the POEM region. With a career spanning nearly two decades, she remains a dedicated Consultant in Pediatric leukemia and blood and marrow transplantation, and cellular therapy at KHCC, while also contributing to education as a Teaching Assistant at the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Her academic journey includes a recent achievement of a Master of Science Degree in Global Child Health as part of the St. Jude Global Scholars Program and is currently part of the Global Scholas Program. Dr. Rihani’s expertise is enriched by her Pediatric Hematology/Oncology/BMT fellowship at the Center for Children’s Cancers and Blood Disorders at Sydney Children’s Hospital/the University of New South Wales. Beyond her clinical and academic roles, she is a dedicated advocate for the treatment of refugees and displaced children with cancer, ensuring that these vulnerable populations receive the specialized care and support they need to overcome the challenges of pediatric cancer in already trying circumstances.

 

Dr. Nita Radhakrishnan works as Additional Professor and Head of the Department of Pediatric Hematology Oncology at the Post Graduate Institute of Child Health, Noida, India. She has been have been working in this field since over 15 years and her research interests are resource adapted care, early diagnosis and supportive care. She has received the SIOP My Child Matters grant in 2020 for her work on nurse led interventions for infection prevention. Previously, she has served as the Secretary of the Pediatric Hematology Oncology Chapter of Indian Academy of Pediatrics between 2022 to 2023 and as the co-chair of SIOP GHN Partnerships Working Group between 2021 to 2024. She currently serves as the Chair of the Childhood Cancer Program Area Working Group of the International Pediatric Association and is involved in developing an online certificate course on early diagnosis and management of childhood cancer for pediatricians as a collaborative work between IPA and SIOP. In SIOP Asia, she hopes to work towards addressing inequities in healthcare delivery in the region and improving access to quality care.

Dr. Huanmin WANG is the Chief and Professor of the Department of Surgical Oncology at Beijing Children`s Hospital, Capital Medical University. Dr. Wang is an Advisory Board member of Asian Pediatric Hematology and Oncology Group (APHOG), an active member of SIOP and the International Society of Pediatric Surgical Oncology (IPSO), Chair of the Chinese Children Cancer Group (CCCG), Chair of the Surgical Oncology Group of Chinese Association of Pediatric Surgeons. Dr. Wang is also an editorial board member of the World Journal of Pediatric Surgery, Chinese Journal of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Journal of China Pediatric Blood and Cancer, Chinese Journal of Pediatric Surgery, and associate editor of Chinese Journal of Clinical Pediatric Surgery. Dr. Wang accomplished medical education of B.M and M.S in Hebei Medical University, and PhD in Capital Medical University in China. He also received training in the International Outreach Program at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the training in the Global Health Initiative program at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/ Boston Children’s Hospital.

The SIOP Asia Executive Board members are expected to support the SIOP Asia Continental President in developing and enhancing SIOP Asia activities (programs, Annual Congress) and collaborate with partners for advocacy and policy-development work (e.g. CCI Asia, WHO GICC ) on issues related to children and adolescents with cancer. A time commitment of 5 hours/month is expected.

 

Thank you in advance! If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to reach out (programs@siop-online.org).

 

Warm regards,

Dr. Gevorg Tamamyan

SIOP Asia President