Experts on Bone Marrow Transplant

The Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplant Program at UCSF Children's Hospital has a team of doctors, nurses, social workers, child life specialists, pharmacists and nutritionists who work together to provide the best care possible for our patients and their families.

Read more about our bone marrow transplant team.

Nurses in the Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplant Program have expertise in the special needs of bone marrow transplant patients.

Marisa Quinn is one of two nurse coordinators on the Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplant Program team at UCSF Children's Hospital. She has been a pediatric nurse since 1995 and has been with the UCSF BMT team since December 2001. She enjoys her role as an educator, patient advocate and case manager, and utilizes her experience to assist patients and families through the challenges of transplantation. As evidence of her passion to quality care, she led the UCSF BMT program to acquire Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT) accreditation in June 2004 and continues to act as the teams quality improvement representative.

The support staff includes other experts — including social workers, child life specialists, pharmacists and nutritionists — who work with the doctors and nurses to provide the best care possible.

Eve Alley is a certified child life specialist for the Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplant Program at UCSF Children's Hospital. She helps children and families adjust to and understand hospitalization, illness, injury and treatment. Her goal is to promote children's normal growth and development while reducing the stress that can be caused by illness and hospitalization. Alley also is the coordinator for the Little Wishes Program, which provides an opportunity for patients to make a wish for something that will help comfort them during their hospital stay, such as a favorite book, CD player, cherished toy, pajamas or art supplies. Alley received her undergraduate degree in psychology and human development from the University of California, Davis and graduate degree in child life from Mills College. She also is certified in guided imagery. Before joining UCSF in 2001, Alley worked at the Kapiolani Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Orla Clifford is the office administrator for the Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplant Program at UCSF Children's Hospital and is responsible for the day-to-day management of the office, including budgeting, grant administration and patient scheduling. Clifford makes sure that the doctors, nurses and other members of the BMT team have what they need to best care for their patients. Clifford joined the BMT program in 1999 after working as the administrator for the Pediatric Pulmonary Division.

Helen Crouch is the unrelated donor search coordinator for both the pediatric and adult bone marrow transplant (BMT) programs at UCSF Medical Center. She was the administrative assistant for the UCSF Children's Hospital BMT Program from 1990 to 1998, managing the program's budget and patient scheduling. She became the search coordinator in January of 1999. In December 2002, Crouch was certified by the National Marrow Donor Program as the Certified Hematopoietic Transplant Coordinator.

Lisa Englert is the pediatric clinical pharmacy coordinator at UCSF Children's Hospital, where she primarily works with the patients in the Blood and Marrow Transplant Program. She writes chemotherapy orders, assists with drug therapy decisions and works to minimize adverse effects. Englert helps patients get ready for discharge by teaching and counseling both patients and their families about their medication needs. Englert also orders appropriate medications, optimizing therapy and resolving insurance issues. In addition, she is involved in clinical drug studies and is an assistant clinical professor at the UCSF School of Pharmacy, where she co-coordinates the pediatric pharmacotherapy course each spring.

Amanda Magary Kice has been a clinical social worker at UCSF Children's Hospital since 2000. She specializes in pediatric bone marrow transplant and has dedicated her career to improving the care of children and their families during the transplant process. Kice is a bilingual therapist and provides individual, couple, family and group counseling in the hospital and the clinic. She also provides resources to children and families throughout their bone marrow transplant experience. Kice received her masters in science in social work at Columbia University in New York, specializing in children and family mental health. While completing her master's, she trained at Mount Sinai Medical Center.

Kelly Ann Klaczkiewicz is a registered dietitian who assesses and manages the nutritional needs for infants and children with special dietary requirements, including those being treated in intensive care and undergoing bone marrow transplants. In providing medical nutrition therapy for patients, Klaczkiewicz works closely with patients parents by providing them with nutrition support recommendations and dietary goals for their child. Klaczkiewicz received her bachelor of sciences degree in human nutrition and food science with a dietetic concentration from Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO. She subsequently completed a dietetic internship program at UCSF before joining the staff in 2003.