JosephCAlvarnasMD

Hematology/Oncology

Vice President Government Affairs; Chief Clinical Advisor, AccessHope; Professor of Hematology/Hematopoietic Cell Transplant

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Office
1500 Duarte Rd
Duarte, CA 91010
Phone+1 626-359-8111

Fax+1 626-301-8889

Summary

I am a hematologist and blood stem cell transplant physician. I serve as the Vice President of Government Affairs because advocacy provides a way to ensure that government policy serves patients effectively and empowers physicians to provide innovative, life-saving care and clinical trials to patients in need. I am interested in the economics of cancer care. I work with employers and health plans to provide more effective cancer care to their employees. I am interested in the creation of more meaningful value-based care models that integrate adequate data complexity and patient-centricity into their constructs.

Being Human is Tough

Dr. Joseph Alvarnas is the one who made that statement. He is City of Hope's Vice President of Government Affairs, Senior Medical Director for Employer Strategy

Education & Training

Stanford Health Care-Sponsored Stanford UniversityFellowship, Hematology and Medical Oncology, 1992 - 1997
Stanford Health Care-Sponsored Stanford UniversityResidency, Internal Medicine, 1989 - 1992
University of California San Francisco School of MedicineClass of 1989
Santa Clara UniversityBS, Biology, 1981 - 1985

Certifications & Licensure

AZ State Medical License 1997 - 2025
CA State Medical License 1991 - 2025
American Board of Internal Medicine Hematology

Awards, Honors, & Recognition

Top Doctor Pasadena Magazine, 2012-2014, 2016-2018
Timothy F. Beckett, Jr., Award for Excellence in Clinical Teaching Stanford University Medical Center, 1993
Award for Teaching Excellent as a Member of the House staff Stanford University Medical Center, 1992
Valedictorian Santa Clara University, 1985
Phi Beta Kappa Santa Clara University, 1985
Alpha Sigma Nu National Jesuit Honor Society Santa Clara University, 1985
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Clinical Trials

Autologous Transplant in HIV Patients (BMT CTN 0803) Start of enrollment: 2010 Apr 01
Completed
Phase 2

Publications & Presentations

PubMed

Autologous vs Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation for Patients With Peripheral T-cell Lymphomas—Closer, Yet Still So Far to Go
Joseph C. Alvarnas, Ann Vanderplas, Jasmine Zain
JAMA Network Open. 2021-05-03
109 citations
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia, version 2.2021
Patrick A. Brown, Bijal D. Shah, Anjali S. Advani, Patricia Aoun, Michael Boyer
Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. 2021-09-01
82 citations
Long-term remission of Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation from matched sibling donors: a...
Ginna G. Laport, Joseph C. Alvarnas, Joycelynne Palmer, David S. Snyder, Marilyn L. Slovak
Blood. 2008-08-01

Journal Articles

Reaping the benefits of recent advances for adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia
Brown PA, Alvarnas JC, J Natl Compr Canc Netw, 7/1/2012
Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
Alvarnas JC, Brown PA, Aoun P, Ballen KK, Bellam N, Blum W, Boyer MW, Carraway HE, Coccia PF, Coutre SE, Cultrera J, Damon LE, Deangelo DJ, Douer D, Frangoul H, Frankf..., J Natl Compr Canc Netw, 7/1/2012
Implementation of a configurable loboratory information management system for use in cellular process development and manufacturing
Russom D, Ahmed A, Gonzalez N, Alvarnas J, Digiusto D, Cytotherapy, 1/1/2011
RNA-based gene therapy for HIV with lentiviral vector-modified CD34+ cells in patients undergoing transplantation for AIDS-related lymphoma
DiGiusto DL, Krishnan A, Li L, Li H, Li S, Rao A, Mi S, Yam P, Stinson S, Kalos M, Alvarnas J, Lacey SF, Yee JK, Li M, Couture L, Hsu D, Forman SJ, Rossi JJ, Zaia JA, Sci Transl Med, 1/1/2010
Emergency Double Unrelated Umbilical Cord Blood Transplant for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia after Very Late Deferral of Bone Marrow Donor
Sarkodee-Adoo C, Alvarnas J, Briggs A, Schriber J, Karanes C, Nademanee C, Chiffelle R, Gach R, Sulski S, Rakkar A, and Forman S, Bone Marrow Transplantation, 1/1/2008
Long-term remission of Philadelphia chromosome positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia following allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation from matched sibling donor...
Laport GG, Alvarnas JC, Pamer JM, Snyder DS, Slovak ML, Cherry AM, Wong RM, Negrin RS, Blume KG, Forman SJ, Blood, 1/1/2008
Does follicularity in large cell lymphoma predict outcome after autologous stem cell transplantation?
Krishnan A, Nademanee A, Fung H, Angelopoulou M, Molina A, Gaal K, Dagis A, Palmer J, Alvarnas J, Slovak M, Kogut N, Popplewell L, Rodriguez R, Schriber J, Wang S, Fo..., Biol. Blood Marrow Transplant, 6/1/2006
The Development of a Successful Satellite Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) Unit as a Model for Health Care Outreach
Schriber J, Alvarnas J, Dimpfel S, Sarkodee-Adoo C, Forman S, Biol. Blood and Marrow Transplant, 1/1/2006
Increased Risk of Squamous Cell Skin Cancer Following Allogeneic Transplant: Possible Relationship to Sun Exposure
Schriber J, Alvarnas J, Sarkodee-Adoo C, Briggs A, Cytotherapy, 1/1/2006
When FACT Isn’t Enough Improving the Quality of a Bone Marrow Transplant Program Using the Malcolm Baldrige Model
Schriber J, Majkowski G, Kendrick S, Simpson E, Sarkodee-Adoo C, Briggs A, Forman S, Alvarnas J, Cytotherapy, 1/1/2006
Long term survival after ASCT for AML: Multivariate analysis shows adverse effects collecting and infusing larger numbers of CD 34 positive cells
Clarence B. Sarkodee-Adoo, Anthony S. Stein, Margaret R. O’Donnell, M. Bhatia, E. Bolotin, K.P. Chang, Mark Kirschbaum, Neil Kogut, Auayporn Nademanee, Pablo Parker,..., Blood, 11/1/2005
Sucessful allogeneic bone marrow transplantation in a patient with active Coccidioidomycosis
Schriber J, Almond H, Alvarnas J, Sarkadee Adoo, Bone Marrow Transplant, 1/1/2005
Getting it Right the First Time; A Successful Approach to FACT Accreditation Inspection
Majkowski G, Alvarnas J, Simpson E, Williams M, Sarkodee-Adoo C, Kendrick S, Schriber J, Cytotherapy, 1/1/2005
Stem cell purging in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: A promise not quite fulfilled
Alvarnas JC, Forman SJ, Oncology, 1/1/2004
Prognostic indicators and survival in patients with stage IIIB inflammatory breast carcinoma after dose-dense chemotherapy
Somlo G, Frankel P, Chow W, Leong L, Margolin K, Morgan R, Shibata S, Chu P, Forman S, Lim D, Twardowski P, Weitzel J, Alvarnas J, Kogut N, Schriber J, Fermin E, Yen..., J Clin Oncol, 1/1/2004
Expansion of CD3+CD56+ Cells from Peripheral Blood Progenitor Cells of Patients Undergoing Autologous Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation
Alvarnas JC, Linn YC, Hoppe EG, Negrin RS, Biol Blood Marrow Transplant, 1/1/2001
Phase II trial of high-dose intravenous doxorubicin, etoposide and cyclophosphamide with autologous stem cell support in patients with residual or responding recurrent...
Morgan RJ, Doroshow JH, Leong L, Schriber J, Shibata S, Forman S, Hamasaki V, Margolin K, Somlo G, Alvarnas J, McNamara M, Longmate J, Raschko J, Chow W, Vasilev S, Mc..., Bone Marrow Transplant, 1/1/2001
High-dose paclitaxel in combination with doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide and peripheral blood progenitor cell rescue in patients with high-risk primary and responding me...
Somlo G, Doroshow JH, Synold T, Longmate J, Reardon D, Chow W, Forman SJ, Leong LA, Margolin KA, Morgan Jr. RJ, Raschko JW, Shibata SI, Tetef ML, Yen Y, Kogut N, Schri..., Brit J Cancer, 1/1/2001
High-dose therapy with hematopoietic cell transplantation for patients with central nervous system involvement by non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
Alvarnas JC, Negrin RS, Horning SJ, Hu WW, Long GD, Schriber JR, Stockerl-Goldstein K, Tierney K, Wong R, Blume KG, Chao NJ, Biol Blood Marrow Transplant, 1/1/2000
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Abstracts/Posters

Comparative Analysis of Immune Reconstitution in HIV-Positive Recipients of Allogeneic and Autologous Stem Cell Transplant on the BMT CTN 0903/AMC-080 and BMT CTN 0803...
Joseph C. Alvarnas, 61st Annual American Society of Hematology Meeting, Orlando, FL, 12/9/2019

Lectures

Genomic/Genetic Testing: The Who, What, Where, When, & Why
61st Annual American Society of Hematology Meeting - Orlando, FL - 12/7/2019
How to Incorporate Palliative Care Into Practice: Addressing Barriers and Solutions
60th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting - 12/2/2018

Press Mentions

Precision, Personalization, and Equity: Key Trends Shaping the Future of Cancer CareSeptember 22nd, 2024
Cost-Saving Medicare Advantage May Be a Disadvantage for Complex Cancer Surgery PatientsNovember 21st, 2022
New California Law Targets Inequity in Cancer Care. Some Say It Doesn't Go Far EnoughOctober 28th, 2022
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