HOPA member Aseala Abousaud, PharmD, BCOP is a Lymphoma Clinical Pharmacy Specialist at Emory Winship Cancer Institute whose practice includes collaborating with healthcare providers in clinic to optimize patient care, among other responsibilities.

Please describe your current position and the types of patients you see in clinical practice.

I am the Lymphoma Clinical Pharmacy Specialist at Emory Winship Cancer Institute. My practice includes collaborating with healthcare providers in clinic to optimize patient care, serving as the drug information expert for my team, educating patients on their oral and IV treatment regimens, managing toxicities on treatment, involvement in clinical trials, and precepting/mentoring pharmacy learners including pharmacy students and residents.  I see aggressive and indolent B and T cell lymphomas in the outpatient setting.

Please tell us about your research interests and the potential impact of your research on patient care.

I have always had strong interest in research and feel very lucky to have been involved with great physician mentors. I am a co- investigator on several studies where I played a major role in developing the protocol. CARPET (Chimeric Antigen Receptor Predicts Efficacy and Toxicity) is a prospective pharmacokinetic study I started working on as a resident and have continued to work on looking at CD4:CD8 ratio of CAR-T cells at different time points after infusion of cells. DAMPEN- CI (Duvelisib Ameliorates Manifestations of Pneumonia in Established Novel Coronavirus Infection) is a prospective study that looked at duvelisib in hospitalized COVID positive patients where I was heavily involved in monitoring drug-drug interactions, dose adjustments and toxicity management while patients were actively on study. DEEP-T (Duvelisib Exposure to Enhance Immune Profiles of T Cells in Patients with Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma) is a prospective study done prior to CAR-T that we are still accruing for currently. I also have done retrospective research in T cell lymphoma where I feel there is a great need for more information and data looking at cutaneous T cell lymphoma patients with N3 involvement, ropeginterferon’s use in cutaneous T cell lymphoma, and several peripheral T cell lymphoma studies.

What is one of the proudest moments of your career?

One of my proudest moments is being nominated as the clinical pharmacist to The Cellular Therapy Research Review Committee alongside a physician and pathologist where we review proposed protocols to use the blood bank received from my involvement with my CARPET pharmacokinetic study.

What advice would you offer to other oncology pharmacists who are either just beginning their career or expanding their role?

Be patient, consistent, and innovative. It is the small steps and interventions made that build long term rapport and this can take some time to establish. Always evaluate how to improve and grow your position in ways that feel job satisfying to you and your interest. Be an advocate for your work life balance.

As a newer practitioner, what advice would you offer to other oncology trainees who are just beginning their career?

Enjoy connecting to patients and absorbing as much knowledge from those around you. The most important thing as a learner is not necessarily having the knowledge but knowing what you do not know. Learning team skills and how to uplift and empower those around you will take you far.