Thank you to everyone who participated in the inaugural Pacific Northwest Move for MDS community event! We will continue to accept donations up until 30 days after the event (July 12th), so if you’d like to support the MDS Foundation or any of our fundraisers you still have time to do so!
The above video is a partial recording of the Main Program. Congratulations again to all of our honorees and race winners!
The MDS Foundation aims to raise awareness of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), an often unrecognized and under-diagnosed rare group of bone marrow failure disorders that affects an estimated 12,000-20,000 people each year in the United States, with this number expected to grow.
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Honorees
Bart Scott, MD
Bart Scott is a medical oncologist at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Washington. He is Professor of Medicine in the Division of Oncology at the University of Washington Medical Center and Director of Myeloid Malignancies at the Seattle Cancer Center Alliance. He is board certified in internal medicine and medical oncology by the American Board of Internal Medicine. Dr. Scott received his medical degree from the University of South Alabama. He then completed his internship and residency at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. He completed his fellowship in medical oncology at the University of Washington in Seattle. Dr. Scott has participated in a number of studies involving myelodysplastic syndromes and myeloproliferative disorders. He has published numerous articles in journals such as American Journal of Medicine, Leukemia & Lymphoma, Blood, and Journal of Clinical Oncology. Dr. Scott has been an invited lecturer on the management and treatment of myelodysplastic syndromes and transplantation for bone marrow failure. He is a member of the American Medical Association, the American Society of Hematology, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, and the Southwest Oncology Group, among many others.
Adrianne Maurer, MSN, RN, AG-ACNP, BMTCN
Adrianne Maurer is a nurse practitioner at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance and the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington. She specializes in the care of patients with acute and chronic leukemias and MDS, as well as the post-transplant management of graft-versus-host disease in these patients.
Adrianne was born and raised in Massachusetts and received her Bachelor’s degree in nursing from Northeastern University in Boston, where she graduated magna cum laude. She began her nursing career at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, TN, where she worked for eight years. She served as a bedside nurse and charge nurse on the inpatient hematology/oncology floor, where her passion for hematology blossomed. In 2016, she decided to pursue a Master’s degree as a nurse practitioner at Vanderbilt University, and during this time, she continued to work as an outpatient infusion nurse at the Vanderbilt Clinic. Upon completing her Master’s degree in 2019, where she graduated summa cum laude, she received her board certification as an adult-gerontology acute care nurse practitioner and moved to Seattle, WA with her husband and two dogs to begin working at SCCA. Here, she began working with leukemia and MDS patients, but has since grown her practice to include post-transplant care, benign hematology, sickle cell anemia, and procedures including bone marrow biopsies and lumbar punctures.
In her current position at SCCA, Adrianne mentors students, new providers, and fellows as they begin their careers. She was instrumental in assisting in the implementation of a new electronic health record at SCCA, serving as a point-person for training and troubleshooting. Adrianne is currently a part of a working group looking into improving the safety and consistency of performing procedures by nursing staff and advanced practice providers.
She received her Oncology Certified Nurse (OCN) certification in 2014, and her Bone Marrow Transplant Certified Nurse (BMTCN) certification in 2020. She is a member of the Advanced Practice Society of Hematology and Oncology and the Oncology Nursing Society, and has recently served as a lecturer for an American Society of Clinical Oncology program on chronic myeloid leukemia. She is also a member of a working group for developing tools for identifying and managing acute and chronic graft-versus-host disease. Her research interests include quality of life issues in the transplant-ineligible MDS patient, managing graft-versus-host disease in the post-transplant setting, and the management of pregnancy in active leukemias/MDS.
Maria Elena Midkiff
Maria Elena Midkiff, born on December fourteenth in 1945, in Guayaquil Ecuador was the youngest of four siblings.
After graduating from Colegion Germania, in Ecuador, Maria Elena relocated to the United States where she furthered education and received her college degree in Finance. She had a long and successful career as a Financial Analyst with Northrop Grumman.
Maria Elena was a woman of faith, very spiritual and blessed to be surrounded by many lifelong friends.
Maria Elena was a proud and loving mother to her two four-legged babies (Tina and Toby), whom she adored and spoiled.
Maria’s MDS diagnosis came in 2018. She fought a long, hard battle with cancer and complications after a bone marrow transplant in 2019.
Maria Elena was called home by her Heavenly Father on July 17, 2019. Close friends and loved ones remained by her side until she succumbed.
Maria Elena wanted to make a difference and share a hope for the wellbeing of patients who have been diagnosed with MDS and their families. In compliance with her trust, a gift was donated to the MDS Foundation to help care for the patients with hope for an MDS cure.