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Chatchawin Assanasen, M.D., M.B.A.

Associate Chief Medical Officer UT Health Physicians Ambulatory Services

Children's Cancer Research Institute Distinguished Chair in Pediatric Oncology

Professor of Pediatrics - Division of Hematology / Oncology

Currently seeking M.S. students

As an Professor of Pediatrics in the UT Health San Antonio Division of Hematology/Oncology, Responsible Investigator for our COG site, recent co-investigator for our Minority Based CCOP (MB-CCOP) in south Texas, and holder of the Children’s Cancer Research Institute Distinguished Chair in Pediatric Oncology I continue to have great interest in cancer control concepts improving outcomes and reducing the burden of childhood and AYA cancers. Before joining UT Health San Antonio, I was faculty and COG PI of Nemours Children’s Clinic in Pensacola, Florida and significantly involved in the Florida pediatric-based CCOP. I also founded and continue to lead our NCI designated cancer center’s global outreach program in education and research in southeast Asia, collaborating with pediatric oncology centers in Hanoi, Hue, and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam as well as academic institutions in Bangkok, Thailand and Singapore. The goals of this program, while on a different continent, are similar in nature to those of our MB-NCORP. Ongoing projects include: 1) development of a regional multi-site leukemia treatment protocol; 2) tumor and DNA banking from pediatric cancer patients; 3) establishment of a clinical research office; and 4) assessment and comparison of tumor biology and outcomes between Vietnam and the United States. Our current project has successfully developed an in-country subspecialty training program in Pediatric Hematology & Oncology. I continue to work closely with my colleagues in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility (REI) investigating attitudes toward fertility treatment related complications such as premature menopause. Ongoing collaborations with basic and translational colleagues in the Departments of Biology and Physiology at UTSA broaden our group’s field of investigation. Our current consortium-based cancer control study looking at fertility preservation in female patients undergoing anticancer treatment hopes to provide appropriate and affordable options for children undergoing treatment. As the former Medical Director for the South Texas Pediatric Blood and Cancer Center, I have overseen the transition and expansion of our division’s programs with our new partners at University Health Systems, a public hospital environment encompassing a nationally recognized teaching hospital and network of outpatient healthcare centers. Locally, I have also been involved in projects looking at: 1) identifying factors impacting on the outcome of patients, in particular ALL patients on active treatment; 2) pharmacogenomics modifiers of cancer therapy; and 3) developing a pediatric Phase I core group as well as a survivorship center in association with the MD Anderson/Mays Cancer Center at UT Health San Antonio. In 2018, I transitioned from this position to directing the UT Health Physicians Practice activities for the Department of Pediatrics working to expand the clinical footprint of our pediatric programs within south Texas.