2024 Inspector Training @ ASFA

Joseph Schwartz, MD, MPH

Dr. Schwartz received his MD from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology and his MPH from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. Upon completion of his training, he pursued a decades-long career in promoting excellence in the field of Transfusion Medicine, Apheresis & Cellular Therapy across a multitude of facilities including Columbia University Irving Medical Center, Moffitt Cancer Center and joined the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT) as their Senior Medical Officer and was appointed as Chief Medical Officer beginning January 2027. In these capacities, he brought many years of leadership experience directing Transfusion Medicine, Apheresis & Cellular Therapy Services. Throughout his tenure in the field, Dr. Schwartz became an active member of the professional and academic community. He had been involved in many professional organizations including AABB, CAP, ISCT, and ASCP as well as many leadership positions, including chairing Lab Practice Committees. He served as the president of ASFA in 2018-2019 and is currently the Immediate Past-President of the World Apheresis Association. He is currently a scientific member of BEST – the premier research organization for Transfusion Medicine and Cellular Therapies.  He served on the writing committee of ASFA’s Therapeutic Apheresis guidelines for five editions. Furthermore, he promoted quality and standardization through dissemination of the FACT-JACIE international standards for cellular therapy. For these efforts and many more, he earned many honors including the AABB Hemphill Jordan Leadership Award (2019), ASFA’s Presidential Award (2021), ASFA’s Francis Morrison lectureship Award (2023), and ASFA’s Lecturer award (2024). 

Dr. Nicole Aqui is an Associate Professor of Clinical Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. She is also the attending Pathologist, Section Chief, and Apheresis Services for the division of Transfusion Medicine, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Aqui is also the Director of the Clinical Service Center, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. Dr. Aqui is an Ambulatory EMR Operations Committee member, Residency Program Director, and Vice Chair of the Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity Committee. She completed her undergraduate degree in Cellular And Molecular Biology at the University Of Maryland College Park and her medical degree at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.  She is an expert in transfusion medicine, apheresis, blood banking, hematopoietic stem cell and immune effector cell collection/processing, and sickle cell disease. Dr. Aqui has numerous publications and research.

Suzanne Birnley, MS, MBA

Suzanne is passionate about immunology, and her research thesis focused on T-cell homeostasis and interleukin-2. She managed an academic research lab for a decade before joining the FACT team in Accreditation Services as a Coordinator, then served as the Accreditation Services Manager, and most recently joined the executive team as the Director of Operations. She has served as the staff liaison for multiple FACT standing committees and has also participated in multiple editions of the standards review.

Speaker Topic: Panel Discussion: Three Approaches to Meeting Standards

Joan Sevcik is the Director of Clinical Apheresis for the North East Division at Vitalant. She oversees the Therapeutic Apheresis program as well as the FACT-accredited collection sites at the University of Pittsburgh (adult and Pediatric), the University of Illinois Hospital in Chicago, and Johns Hopkins in Baltimore (allogeneic collections only). Joan has worked in multiple roles in therapeutic apheresis since 2002. Joan has been a FACT Inspector since 2016 and is a member of the Standards Committee. 

Katherine is an Advanced level practitioner leading, developing, facilitating, and providing complex case management for patients requiring Peripheral Blood Stem Cell (PBSC) mobilization, Apheresis, and Blood & Marrow Transplantation at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead for malignant & nonmalignant diseases.  She completed her postgraduate certificate in Midwifery and Pediatric Oncology Nursing at the University of Sydney Susan Wakil School of Nursing and Midwifery and her postgraduate certificate in Apheresis at the University of Adelaide in Sydney, Australia. Katherine serves on the National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA) Australia Assessor. She has co-authored two publications: Blood & Marrow Transplantation – A Guide for Parents and Other Family Members and Haematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation. Katherine has been a FACT inspectorate since 2009.

CO-HOST

Dr. Suzanne Thibodeaux is an Assistant Professor for the Division of Laboratory and Genomic Medicine, Department of Pathology and Immunology at Washington University St. Louis School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO. Dr. Thibodeaux completed her undergraduate and medical degrees at Tulane University in New Orleans, LA. She completed her Ph.D. and residency at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, TX. Dr. Thibodeaux completed her fellowship with the Division of Transfusion Medicine and Therapeutic Pathology, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA. She is certified by the American Board of Pathology in Clinical Pathology, Blood Banking, and Transfusion Medicine. She also currently serves as the Assistant Medical Director for Transfusion Services, Laboratory Medical Director (Cellular Therapy Lab), Blood Bank Director, Laboratory Medical Director (Creve Cour), and Medical Director (Celluar Therapy Lab) at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, as well as Laboratory Director at CareSTL Health, all located in St. Louis, MO. Dr. Thibodeaux is also a course director, rotation supervisor, content expert, and thread leader for Washington University St. Louis School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO.