Our Fellows
Current Fellows
Fourth Year Fellow
John Mariano, M.D.
John is a Rochester native from the Greece/Charlotte part of town and went to Aquinas for high school. He stayed relatively local for college at both St. John Fisher College and Cornell University ultimately graduating from Cornell in 2010. He then moved on to a post-baccalaureate research position at the FDA on the NIH main campus in Maryland before returning to the Rochester area for medical school at the University of Rochester. During medical school, he received Physician Scientist training award from the American Society of Hematology for a dedicated research year and ultimately graduated with distinctions in community service, education and research. He then completed his Internal Medicine-Pediatrics residency at the University of Rochester where he was awarded the American Society of Hematology HONORS award for research and graduated with distinctions in research and education. He is completing a combined fellowship program in Adult and Pediatric Hematology/Oncology with interests in Adolescent and Young Adult oncology, survivorship, and interdisciplinary support for oncology patients. Outside of medicine he enjoys wood-working (on a very amateur scale), his large Italian family parties, exploring parks with his dog, and traveling with his wife/lifetime travel partner, Nicolette.
Third Year Fellow
Laura Duarte, M.D.
Laura was born and raised in Bogota, Colombia. She went to university directly from high school and obtained her MD after 6 years; she then practiced medicine for a little while, focusing exclusively in pediatric patients and mostly in Hematology and Oncology cases. She moved to the US in 2019 to complete her residency in Pediatrics at Downstate HSU, formerly SUNY Downstate, in Brooklyn, NY. She is interested in translational research and novel treatments for leukemia as well as benign hematology and bone marrow transplant. When she's not working, she likes reading, listening to and playing music and travelling; she also has a deep and long-lived love for LEGOs.
First Year Fellow
Hayley Flanagan, M.D.
Hayley is originally from the suburbs of Chicago. She completed medical school at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, and then went on to complete her internal medicine-pediatrics residency at the University of Rochester. Her interests within hematology/oncology include working with adolescent and young adult patients with hematologic malignancies, as well as bone marrow transplantation and cellular therapies. Outside of work, she enjoys reading, being outdoors, and traveling the world.
Recent Graduates
JoAnn Bolude, M.D.
Plush Care Medicine
Renee Boulware, M.D., M.P.H.
Physician at Summerwood Pediatrics, Syracuse, NY
Carol Fries Simpson, M.D.
Assistant Professor, Hematology/Oncology
Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
University of Rochester, Golisano Children's Hospital
Carol Fries Simpson, M.D.
Akua Asante, M.D.
Blood Bank/Transfusion Medicine
Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
University of Rochester, Golisano Children's Hospital
Akua Asante, M.D.
Sana Usmani, D.O.
Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Attending
King's County Hospital, Brooklyn, NY
Laila Mahmood, M.D., M.P.H.
Assistant Professor, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology
Georgetown University Medical Center
Children’s National Medical Center
Razia Akhtar, M.D.
Assistant Professor of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Amy-Lee Bredlau, M.D., M.S.-C.L.I.
Associate Medical Director, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals
Shannon Norman, M.D.
Attending Physician, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology
Providence Alaska Medical Center, Anchorage, AK
Christina Wiedl, D.O.
Assistant Professor of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology
Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA
Previous Graduates
- Shalu Narang, M.D.
Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology
University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Newark, NJ
- Brenda J. Wittman, M.D.
Attending Physician, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology
Providence Alaska Medical Center, Anchorage, AK
- Lauren B. Bruckner, M.D., Ph.D.
Chief Medical Information Officer
Roswell Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY
- John Horan, M.D., M.P.H.
Associate Professor, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology
Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA
- Judeth McGann, M.D.
Private Practice
Woodland Healthcare, Woodland, CA
- David N. Korones, M.D.
Professor, Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology
Chief, Pediatric Palliative Care
University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY
David Korones, M.D.
- Allen Eskenazi, M.D.
Private Practice
Physicians to Children, Inc., Roanoke, VA
- James Palis, M.D.
Professor, Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology
University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY
James Palis, M.D.
- Barbara L. Asselin, M.D.
Professor, Division of Pediatric Hospital Medicine
University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY
Barbara L. Asselin, M.D.
- Reggie Duerst, M.D.
Associate Professor, Pediatrics-Hematology, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation
Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, IL