Specialty Divisions
Hematology/Oncology
Department of Medicine faculty physicians in the Hematology/Oncology division are active in nationally and internationally recognized medical research and provide exceptional education programs and patient care. The division provides high-quality patient care at IU Health’s downtown academic health center, the IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center, Sydney & Lois Eskenazi Health, Richard L. Roudebush Indianapolis VA Medical Center as well as its suburban facilities, including IU Heath West, and IU Health Schwarz Cancer Center.
The division holds a diverse group of faculty members, including clinicians, physician-scientists, PhDs, and adjunct professors. The faculty have a long track record of success, including two American society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) presidents, one American Society of Hematology (ASH) president, four ASCO presidential candidates, and ten faculty who have served as chairs on various Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) committees.
Research within the division includes programs at the forefront of clinical, translational, and basic science investigation. Clinical research activities are led by world-renowned faculty members developing innovative protocols and augmenting the standard of care in cancer treatment and other hematological diseases. Translational research is ongoing in many laboratories, developing novel agents and strategies to address clinically relevant issues that impact patient care and disease management. New therapies are being developed at the bench and are being brought to the patient’s bedside.
The Hematology/Oncology team offers a combined three-year fellowship program. The highly competitive fellowship is one of the oldest programs in the United States, established by Lawrence Einhorn, MD, in 1975.
Honors & Awards
- Dr. Nasser Hanna: Physician Award, Indianapolis Business Journal
- Dr. Lawrence Einhorn: Keynote Lecture, American Association of Cancer Institutes; Keynote Lecture, International Testis Cancer Society; Lois O’Grady Endowed Lecture, UC Davis (Sacremento); Indiana Cancer Consortium Award for Outstanding Contributions in Cancer Control (Indianapolis); 2025 USC Urology Icons Award
Professional Society Leadership
- Dr. Rita Assi: President, Indiana Oncology Society
- Dr. Nasser Hanna: Faculty Member, Leadership Development Program, American Society of ClinicalOncology
- Dr. Kelvin Lee: Board of Directors, American Association of Cancer Institutes
- Dr. Rohan Maniar: Research Committee, American Society of Clinical Oncology; Board Member, American Cancer Society (Indiana)
- Dr. Kathy Miller: Executive Committee, ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group; Grants Selection Committee, American Society of Clinical Oncology Conquer Cancer Foundation
- Dr. Bryan Schneider: Scientific Co-Chair, Breast Committee, ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group
- Dr. Jennifer Schwartz: Chair, Medical Education Community of Practice, American Society of ClinicalOncology; CPD Section Chair Elect, Central Group on Educational Affairs
- Dr. Reza Shahbazi: Hematologic and Immunologic Cell & Gene Therapy Committee; American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy
- Dr. Misty Shieds: Annual Meeting Scientific Committee for Lung Cancer, American Society of Clinical Oncology
- Dr. Malini Surapaneni: International Amyloidosis Treatment Guidelines Panel, American Society of Hematology
- Dr. Attaya Suvannasankha: Vice President, Central Society of Clinical and Translational Research; Past President, American Federation of Medical Research
- Dr. Laura Vater: Communications Committee & GI Communications Committee, American Society of Clinical Oncology
National Service
- Dr. Nabil Adra: NCCN Guidelines Member, testicular cancer; NCCN Guidelines Member, prostate cancer
- Dr. Rita Assi: AML NCCN panel member, Institutional Guidelines; AML NCCN panel member, patients guidelines; APL NCCN Panel subcommittee member; American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting, Myeloid session, oral abstracts, Chair; ASCO annual meeting abstracts selection committee member; ASCO YIA grants selection committee member; SITC grants and fellowship selection committee member; and SITC annual meeting abstracts review member
- Dr. Shadia Jalal: Deputy Directors of the VHA National Oncology Program; Chair, VHA National Committee – Lung Cancer VA clinical Pathway committee; Chair, VHA National Committee – Esophageal Cancer VA Clinical Pathway Committee; Co-chair, VHA Lung Precision Oncology Program Thoracic Scientific workgroup
- Dr. Khushali Jhaveri: Member, NCCN Guideline Panel for Hematopoietic Growth Factors
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Dr. Kelvin Lee: NCCN Governance Committee
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Dr. Kathy Miller: Co-Chair Emeritus of the NCI Breast Cancer Steering Committee
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Dr. Bryan Schneider: Inclusion of work into NCCN guidelines (from EAZ171)
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Dr. Misty Shields: NCCN SCLC Guidelines Panel Member
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Dr. Attaya Suvannasankha: Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium: Myeloma working group co-chair; VA Hematology working group co-chair; NCCN plasma cell dyscrasia committee member; Bispecific antibody utilization and side effect management committee, VA wide guideline
Senior Editorship Positions
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Dr. Enze Liu: Editor, Journal Discover Oncology
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Dr. Kathy Miller: Senior Deputy Editor, Journal of Clinical Oncology
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Dr. Attaya Suvannasankha: Editorial board member: Frontier in Hematology, Journal of Investigative Medicine and Journal of Investigative Medicine – High Impact CaseReports
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Dr. Laura Vater: Inagural Narrative Medicine Fellow, Journal of Clinical Oncology
Jalal becomes Interim Division Chief
Shadia Jalal, MD, became the Interim Division Chief for the Department of Medicine’s Division of Hematology/Oncology in June 2025, taking the role on from Jennifer Schwartz, MD, who had been the interim division chief since November 2023.
Jalal is a tenured Professor of Medicine and the Lawrence H. Einhorn Chair in Oncology. She has served as the program leader of the thoracic oncology program at the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center and leads the multidisciplinary thoracic oncology clinic at the Richard L. Roudebush Veterans Administration Medical Center.
Jalal earned her medical degree at the University of Jordan and completed her residency in Internal Medicine at IU. She completed a fellowship in Hematology/Oncology here, as well, and served as the chief fellow during her final year of training. She joined the department faculty at the conclusion of her fellowship.
Her clinical and research efforts are dedicated to lung and esophageal cancer. She leads a research program that integrates clinical and laboratory investigations to improve the understanding, diagnosis and treatment of these diseases. She serves as one of the Deputy Directors of the Veterans Health Administration National Oncology Program since March 2024.