Karen K Ballen, MD
Hematologic Malignancy
Additional Locations
Bio & Overview
Dr. Karen Ballen is a professor of medicine at UVA School of Medicine. She also serves as the chief of the division of hematology/oncology, and the medical director of the stem cell transplantation program at UVA Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Dr. Ballen received her undergraduate degree in history and literature from Harvard College and her doctorate from Dartmouth Medical School. She completed her medical residency at Beth Israel Hospital and a hematology/oncology fellowship at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, both in Boston, MA. Before joining UVA's faculty in 2017, Dr. Ballen was the director of the Leukemia Program at Massachusetts General Hospital and a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Ballen’s research interests are in novel therapeutic strategies for acute leukemia, including immunotherapy and targeted agents. She is an international expert in stem cell transplants, particularly for patients who have a difficult time finding a donor. Dr. Ballen started one of the first cord blood banks in the Unites States, and she has published over 150 articles on transplants and acute leukemia. She is on the advisory committee of the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research and the chair of the cord blood advisory committee for the National Marrow Donor Program.
In her spare time, Dr. Ballen likes to hike. She and her daughter climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in 2016.
Academic Information
- Department
- Medicine
- Academic Role
- Professor
- Division
- Hematology / Oncology
- Research Interests
- Novel treatment for acute leukemia, stem cell transplantation, cord blood transplantation, haploidentical transplantation, immunotherapy treatment for hematologic malignancies.
- Gender
- Female
- Languages
- English
- Age Groups Seen
- Adults (21-65)
Older Adults (65+)
- Primary Education
- Dartmouth Medical School
- Residency
- Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
- Fellowships
- Brigham and Women's Hospital
- Certification
- American Board of Internal Medicine (Hematology), American Board of Internal Medicine (Medical Oncology), American Board of Internal Medicine (Internal Medicine)
- Appointment
- Chief - Division of Hematology and Oncology Section Head, Hematology and Stem Cell Transplantation, Medical Director - Stem Cell Transplantation Program
- Additional Specialties
- Cellular Therapy
Highlights
Dr. Karen Ballen video profile
My name is Karen Ballen and I am the Section Chief for stem cell transplantation and hematologic malignancies, which are blood cancers here at UVA. Most of the patients that I see have cancers of the blood such as leukemia, lymphoma or myeloma. I specialize in very aggressive, curative treatments for those patients using stem cell transplantation. When new patients come to us, we send them a letter in advance letting them know what to expect, but it's usually a several hour visit here at UVA and they'll meet with me and also other members of our team including our nurses and social work. We explain the transplant process, the testing that we might need to do with the transplant, what the transplant admission is like and what the recovery period is like so that the patient and their family can be well prepared and informed. We have a great team here. We always put the patient first. I think that shows in how we treat patients every day. We also are able to offer very cutting edge clinical trials. Patients are able to receive excellent standard care, but also have the opportunity to receive new treatments that might benefit them. I really enjoy getting to know people and getting to know our patients as people, and their background and their families. If you try hard enough, there's something that you have in common with everyone, whether it's a sports team, a family interest, travel, and so making that connection is really important. Of course, when we see our patients do well, that's just wonderful and keeps us going. Keeps us going every day.
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