Adolescent and Young Adult Program Team
J. Andrew Livingston, M.D.
AYA Program Co-Director
Assistant Professor, Sarcoma Medical Oncology
J. Andrew Livingston, M.D., is a board certified pediatrician, internist, and adult medical oncologist with a particular interest in the care of adolescents and young adults with cancer as well as patients with soft tissue and bone sarcomas. He is a panel member on the committee that developed the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Guidelines on AYA Oncology and also serves on the AYA Committee for SWOG. His clinical and laboratory research focuses on developing new treatment strategies for patients with osteosarcoma. Livingston is the principle investigator on multiple clinical trials for patients with osteosarcoma that has spread to the lungs. He has also earned an American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Young Investigator Award and the NIH/NCI Paul Calabresi Career Development Award in Clinical Oncology.
Michael Roth, M.D.
AYA Program Co-Director
Director of Survivorship Program
Associate Professor, Pediatrics
Michael Roth, M.D., is an associate professor of Pediatrics and co-director of the Adolescent and Young Adult Program. He is also the chair of the AYA Committee within the Children’s Oncology Group. He has clinical expertise treating patients with leukemia and lymphoma, and providing supportive care for adolescents and young adults from initial diagnosis through long-term survivorship. His research focuses on identifying and addressing disparities in care and outcomes for AYA cancer patients and survivors. He earned his medical degree from New York University School of Medicine and completed his pediatrics residency and hematology/oncology fellowship at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, New York, where he also was assistant professor of Pediatrics prior to his appointment at MD Anderson.
Program Manager
Wendy Griffith has worked with children and young adults in Texas for over a decade, starting with her undergraduate and graduate internships where she first found her love for oncology. Griffith joined MD Anderson in 2008 as a social worker in the Head and Neck Clinic where she had the opportunity to provide counseling and resource linkages to patients of all ages, but especially to young adults. She co-manages the Young Adult Advisory Council, which works with patients and employees to improve the experience of care for young adults at MD Anderson by collaborating in the development, implementation, and evaluation of policies, programs and services that impact young adults. She also created and facilitates the Young Adult Support Group for young adult patients (ages 18 to 39) and their caregivers. Her role in the AYA Oncology Program is to ensure our services are well-known throughout MD Anderson and to be a liaison to neighboring institutions, community organizations, and philanthropic partners. She can be reached at WEGriffith@mdanderson.org
Angela R. Yarbrough, D.N.P., M.S.N., R.N., F.N.P.-B.C.
Nurse Practitioner
Angela Yarbrough has been providing care to pediatric and young adult patients for over 20 years. She spent the first 12 years of her career as a registered nurse and certified family nurse practitioner at hospitals and universities in Mississippi, and has been at MD Anderson since 2009. Her experience includes general pediatrics, pediatric nephrology, pediatric intensive care and outpatient pediatric oncology and endocrinology. Yarbrough works in both the Childhood Survivor Clinic and Adolescent and Young Adult Clinic providing clinical care to her patients. She is passionate about survivorship care of children and young adult patients and serves as the disease committee nurse for outcomes and survivorship for the Children’s Oncology Group. She completed her Doctorate of Nursing Practice in 2019. She can be reached at ARYarbrough@mdanderson.org.
Brandy Boeger, RN, MSN, CPNP-PC/AC
Advance Practice
Provider
Brandy Boeger has been providing care to
pediatric and young adult patients for nearly 15 years. She began her
career as an inpatient oncology nurse and transitioned to the nurse
practitioner role following graduate and post graduate training in
2010. As a nurse practitioner, she has experience in solid tumors,
leukemias, lymphomas, cancer survivorship and pediatric nephrology.
Brandy works in our Childhood Survivor Clinic and AYA Clinic. She can
be reached at blboeger@mdanderson.org
Nurse Practitioner
Bell has been providing care to pediatric and young adult patients with cardiology and oncology needs for nearly 19 years. She began her career as a staff nurse and has earned positions of increasing responsibility ever since, including a role as a program director at a regional hospital in which she coordinated the nursing care of all pediatric service lines. As a nurse practitioner at the Children’s Cancer Hospital for 11 years, she works with children and adolescents with leukemia and lymphoma. Bell was pivotal in the development and maintenance of our Pediatric Onco-fertility consult service. She can be reached at dabell@mdanderson.org .
Lauren Adams, LCSW, CCTP
Social Work Counselor
Adams is a
licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) who has worked with adolescents
and young adults (AYAs) and their families for over five years. As the
social work counselor in the AYA clinic, Adams provides counseling to
patients and caregivers at no cost. Adolescents and young adults can
experience a variety of unique concerns and questions as they continue
with treatment. Adams is available to provide counseling to assist
with these concerns that can include adjusting to a new diagnosis,
anxiety, depression, grief and trauma, navigating healthy
relationships, body image, sexuality and intimacy, and adjusting to
life after cancer. She can also provide education on advanced care
planning and help patients and families connect with community
resources to increase support. All of her services are provided in
person or over the phone. Adams can be reached at leadams@mdanderson.org.
Sandra Medina-George, M.S.
Vocational Counselor
Medina-George is a Licensed Psychological Associate (LPA) who has worked with pediatric oncology patients and their families for 30+ years. As a vocational counselor, she assists adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with college and vocational program exploration. Utilizing career and neuropsychological assessments, she helps individuals plan meaningful career paths tailored to their specific interests and talents. She helps college students with obtaining financial aid, scholarships, and educational accommodations. In addition, she provides guidance regarding leave of absence from college and reduced academic schedules. She is the co-leader of the MD Anderson Young Adult Advisory Council where she works to enhance the lives of AYA cancer survivors. She can be reached at samedina@mdanderson.org .
Meagan Zwahlen
AYA Clinic Nurse
Meagan is a certified pediatric hematology/oncology (CPHON) nurse who has had a passion for oncology since her first semester of nursing school. She began working at MD Anderson as a Summer Nurse Extern on the inpatient pediatric floor in 2015 and then happily accepted a full-time position there in 2016 after she graduated with honors from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. She stayed in that position for 4 years and then transitioned to outpatient when she joined the AYA team in 2020. Meagan loves getting to connect with AYA patients, and especially enjoys the opportunity to link them to the vast number of resources provided through both the AYA Clinic and MD Anderson. Meagan can be reached at mnzwahlen@mdanderson.org.
Jessica Corredor, MS, CGC
Genetic Counselor
Jessie Corredor is a certified genetic counselor who works to help AYA patients gain access to genetic counseling services. She joined MD Anderson in 2016, after completing her genetic counseling degree at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. During her graduate education she developed a passion for genetic counseling in children, adolescents, and young adults. This passion continued when she accepted a position seeing patients in MD Anderson’s Breast Center and Children’s Cancer Hospital, where she works with patients of all ages, including numerous AYA patients. As a genetic counselor to AYA patients, Jessie uses patient and family history information to determine whether individuals could benefit from genetic testing. Jessie then has the opportunity to help patients and families understand their genetic testing results, help determine other family members' cancer risks, discuss prevention options, and even review potential impacts on future generations. Patients can discuss a referral and appointment for genetic counseling with their provider at their initial visit to the AYA clinic.
Eliana Shkedy, MS, RDN, LD
Dietitian
Eliana Shkedy is a registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN) in the Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) clinic. She is passionate about educating individuals with cancer and their caregivers on the importance of nutrition during their journey through all phases of cancer treatment. She works closely with patients during treatment to optimize their nutrition status and find foods that they can enjoy, and after treatment on how to achieve optimal health. All of her services are provided in person, over the phone, or by video visit at no cost. Patients can request a nutrition consultation with their provider during any visit to the AYA Clinic.
Janae Harris
AYA Patient Navigator
Janae Harris is a certified pediatric hematology/oncology (CPHON) nurse who has extensive oncology nursing experience and a deep passion for the adolescent and young adult (AYA) population. She has taken on various roles in her 15 years of nursing including an inpatient clinical staff nurse, outpatient nurse coordinator for bone marrow transplant long-term survivors, outpatient AYA Clinic nurse, and most recently – AYA Patient Navigator. As the AYA Patient Navigator, Janae’s primary goal is to connect patients with all aspects of the AYA Program and help them navigate through the MD Anderson system at large. She has a major role in facilitating fertility preservation as well as family planning discussions. Janae enjoys connecting with patients directly and can be reached at jdharris2@mdanderson.org.
Program Coordinator
Maldonado has more than 15 years of experience supporting executive level physician administrators. She works with our team to coordinate administrative appointments, facilitate patient access and education, and assist faculty in sharing information about our AYA program, both internally and beyond the institution. Reach her during office hours at 713-745-0477 or at aya@mdanderson.org