Susannah E. Koontz, Pharm.D., BCOP
Clinical Practice and Education Consultant
Pediatric Hematology/Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation
Houston, Texas
Dr. Susannah Koontz joined the staff of the Division of Pharmacy in 1998 as the clinical pharmacy specialist for the Children's Cancer Hospital at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. Her clinical practice focuses on therapeutic drug monitoring, side effect management, supportive care and patient education in the pediatric oncology patient. Dr. Koontz holds academic appointments with the University of Houston College of Pharmacy and The University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy. She serves as a preceptor for pharmacy residents and students and participates in didactic teaching for students and practitioners in the fields of pharmacy, medicine and nursing. Dr. Koontz actively collaborates with pediatric oncologists to design therapeutic trials and conduct clinical research in pediatric patients being treated for hematological malignancies, solid tumors as well as those undergoing stem cell transplantation.
In 2007, she was appointed as a pharmacy reviewer to the Pediatric Central Institutional Review Board (CIRB) Initiative through the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in consultation with the Department of Health and Human Services Office for Human Research Protection (OHRP). She is a member of the Children’s Oncology Group (COG), American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) and Hematology/Oncology Pharmacy Association (HOPA), where she has served on their Education and Standards committee. Dr. Koontz has been published in various peer-reviewed medical and pharmacy journals including Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Journal of Neuro-Oncology and International Journal of Pharmaceutical Compounding and has been an invited speaker at international, national and local meetings for various healthcare professionals.
Dr. Koontz earned her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Michigan in 1996 and completed both her Pharmacy Practice Residency (PGY1) and Oncology Pharmacy Residency (PGY2) at the University of Kentucky Chandler Medical Center in 1997 and 1998, respectively. She has been a Board Certified Oncology Pharmacist since 1999.
Kamakshi V. Rao, Pharm.D., BCOP
Oncology Clinical Pharmacy Specialist
University of North Carolina Hospitals and Clinics
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Dr. Kamakshi Rao is an Oncology Clinical Pharmacy Specialist at the University of North Carolina (UNC) Hospitals and Clinics located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. At UNC, Dr. Rao’s clinical practice focuses in the area of adult bone marrow and stem cell transplantation. She rounds with the multidisciplinary bone marrow transplant team and provides education to medical residents and fellows. Additionally, Dr. Rao serves as co-coordinator for the UNC pharmacy practice residency program and is a preceptor for UN2C pharmacy students, PGY1, and PGY2 oncology residents. At UNC, Dr. Rao serves on numerous patient care and oncology focused subcommittees. She is a member of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP), Hematology/Oncology Pharmacy Association (HOPA), and American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (ASBMT). Previously, she worked as an Oncology Clinical Pharmacy Specialist at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Rao has served as the Network Facilitator for Oncology in ASHP’s Division of Clinical Specialists and Scientists, participated in and presented at a number of meetings, including ASHP, HOPA, ASBMT, American Society of Hematology (ASH), and American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), and published in numerous journals.
Dr. Rao graduated from Rutgers University College of Pharmacy. She then completed a pharmacy practice residency at the Medical College of Virginia followed by an Oncology Pharmacy Fellowship at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey. She became a Board Certified Oncology Pharmacist in 2003.
LeAnne Davidson Kennedy, Pharm.D., BCOP
Pharmaceutical Care Coordinator
Hematology and Oncology
Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Dr. LeAnne Kennedy is the clinical coordinator for inpatient hematology and oncology at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center (WFUBMC) in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Dr. Kennedy has been working with the blood and marrow transplant service at WFUBMC for 14 years and has an interest in supportive care and anti-infective therapies. She is an adjunct assistant professor at Campbell University and University of North Carolina Schools of Pharmacy and Wake Forest University School of Health Sciences. Dr. Kennedy is involved in many organizations and has recently founded the North Carolina Oncology Pharmacist Association. In 2005, LeAnne received the Award of Excellence from HOPA which is the Hematology and Oncology Association.
Dr. Kennedy graduated from Campbell University School of Pharmacy in 1993 and went on to complete a pharmacy practice residency at WFUBMC. She received board certification in oncology in 2002.
Disclosure Statements
In accordance with the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education’s Standards for Commercial Support and the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education’s Guidelines for Standards for Commercial Support, ASHP requires that all individuals involved in the development of activity content disclose their relevant financial relationships and that conflicts of interest be identified and resolved prior to delivery of the activity.
The faculty and planners report the following relationships:
- Susannah E. Koontz, Pharm.D., BCOP reports that she serves on the speakers bureau for Genzyme Oncology and Enzon Pharmaceuticals.
- Kamakshi V. Rao, Pharm.D., BCOP reports that she has no relationships pertinent to this activity.
- LeAnne Davidson Kennedy, Pharm.D., BCOP reports that she serves on the speakers bureau for MGI Pharma.
- Erika L. Thomas, M.B.A., R.Ph. reports that she has no relationships pertinent to this activity.