Diversity and Development in Hematology with Belinda Avalos, MD

In this episode, host Shikha Jain, MD, speaks with ASH president, Belinda Avalos, MD, about the importance of DEI practices in medicine, leading molecular medicine developments and more. • Welcome to another exciting episode of Oncology Overdrive 0:14 • About Avalos 0:18 • The interview 1:18 • How did you know you know you wanted to be a hematologist and how did you end up in this space doing the work you're doing now? 1:47 • Jain and Avalos on the innovations and patient relationships in the field of HemOnc that drive physician interest. 3:25 • What drove your passion to get involved in DEI and equitable care in medicine? 5:08 • Jain and Avalos on diversity in clinical trials. 7:48 • Jain and Avalos on the importance of multidisciplinary approaches to patient care. 9:08 • What do you see as the biggest barriers to driving change in this space? How can we actually make changes that will result in real-world transformation? 10:11 • Tell me about the work that you do in the spaces of women in hematology and medicine. 11:25 • What types of things should we be doing to drive gender equity changes in medicine? 13:40 • Do you feel hopeful about where we are going with the changes being driven by societies like ASH? 15:24 • What else excites you about hematology and the innovation in the field now? 17:02 • What are the biggest transformations we are going to see in hematology over the next decade? 23:26 • Where will you be focusing your time moving forward? 27:53 • If someone could only listen to the last few minutes of this episode, what would you want listeners to take away? 29:16 • How to contact Avalos 30:15 • Thanks for listening 30:44 Belinda R. Avalos, MD, is the American Society of Hematology 2025 president, and is a professor of medicine and a senior advisor to the president of Atrium Health Levine Cancer.

We'd love to hear from you! Send your comments/questions to Dr. Jain at oncologyoverdrive@healio.com. Follow Healio on X and LinkedIn: @HemOncToday and https://www.linkedin.com/company/hemonctoday/. Follow Dr. Jain on X: @ShikhaJainMD. Avalos can be reached by contacting ASH at www.hematology.org.

Disclosures: Jain and Avalos report no relevant financial disclosures.