For hematologist Maria Chaudhry, MBBS, The James is the perfect place to pursue her dual goals — partnering with multiple myeloma patients to reduce the disease’s symptoms, while working in the lab to help find a cure for the chronic disease. Get to know The James’ March Physician of the Month: What is multiple myeloma? “My clinic and research are focused on plasma cell disorders, especially multiple myeloma, a cancer in which plasma cells can create bone fractures and pain as well as suppression of normal bone marrow function, leading to anemia, immune deficiencies and the risk of infection. Multiple myeloma is not currently curable, so the focus of research is to develop non-toxic therapies that can control the disease. Eventually, we hope to develop therapies that can cure this cancer.” Better treatments through research “My research interest is in drug development, so I conduct early-phase clinical trials — which means first-in-human studies — in order to look for therapies with novel mechanisms of action to treat patients and improve their outcomes. Many multiple myeloma patients have side effects and toxicities from previous treatments, and they have poor quality of life because of symptoms of the disease. These patients need therapies that can be tolerated easily.” Inspiration at home and at the hospital “Since I can remember, I’ve always wanted to be a doctor. A lot of my family members were in health care, so that’s what initiated my interest in this field. Eventually, I wanted to focus on hematology-oncology because I wanted to take care of patients with cancer. In medical school, I worked at a cancer hospital as a volunteer, and I loved taking care of those patients.” “Together, we’re striving to create a cancer-free world” “The James is a leading academic center, and our research allows us to offer cutting-edge therapies and treatment plans to our patients. Another benefit of working here is that I get the chance to collaborate with an exceptional group of physicians, surgeons, radiologists and others — together, we’re striving to create a cancer-free world.” Clinical trials: Early access to novel treatments “A benefit of treatment at a comprehensive cancer center like The James is the ability to enroll in clinical trials that provide novel therapies. These are the drugs that can eventually be approved by the FDA and made available to the community, but at a comprehensive cancer center, patients can have access to these therapies earlier in their treatment courses.”