Who We Are

Scientific and Medical Advisory Board

Our cord blood bank's Scientific and Medical Advisory Board is comprised of a distinguished field of scientific and medical doctors with an impressive resume of experience ranging from Obstetrics and Gynecology to medical research and analysis and Microbiology and Immunology. Following are the members of the CorCell Scientific and Medical Advisory Board:

Jack Goldberg, M.D. - Chairman

Dr. Jack Goldberg has served as the Medical Director for CorCell since 1996, and also serves as the Head of the Division of Hematology and Oncology at the University of Pennsylvania Health System, Presbyterian Medical Center. Dr. Goldberg completed his medical training at SUNY Health Science Center in Syracuse, New York. After earning his medical degree, he completed an internship and residency at University Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. Thereafter he returned to SUNY Health Science Center in Syracuse and completed his fellowship in hematology and medical oncology. Dr. Goldberg remained on the faculty at SUNY Health Science Center and continued his career in academic hematology and medical oncology. He achieved the rank of an Associate Professor in Medicine and Pathology while actively pursuing research in hematopoiesis and disorders of the blood including leukemia and lymphoma.

In 1989, Dr. Goldberg became the head of the Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology at the Cooper Health System and was named Professor of Medicine at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. He has been an American Cancer Society Professor of Clinical Oncology for the past 10 years. Dr. Goldberg also served as Medical Director of the Coagulation Laboratory, the Adult Hemophilia Center, and is Co-Director of the Cooper Hospital Blood Bank. He served as professor of the Coriell Institute for Medical Research and is Medical Director of CorCell. In addition to these responsibilities, Dr. Goldberg is the Head of the New Jersey Pain Initiative and he continues to be active in research in hematopoiesis. Dr. Goldberg has more than eighty publications in peer review journals. He has been a consultant to the National Cancer Institute serving on a number of review committees. He is a board member of the American Cancer Society and the Leukemia Society, and HLA Registry. Dr. Goldberg has a number of awards for distinguished service and teaching awards at both the SUNY Health Science Center in Syracuse, New York, and at Cooper Hospital University Medical Center. He is also the recipient of grants from the National Cancer Institute and the American Cancer Society.

Isadore G. Ances, MD

Dr. Ances is Head of the Division of Research and Director of Education in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Camden, New Jersey. Dr. Ances received his Medical Degree from the University of Maryland School of Medicine and completed his internship at the University Hospital of Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. Following his internship, Dr. Ances returned to the University of Maryland to begin his residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Dr. Ances served in the Military as a Medical Officer for the United States Air Force in Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinics. Following military service, Dr. Ances completed his residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Maryland after which he worked as Research Assistant and Associate in Endocrinology and Steroid Chemistry. Following his research experience, Dr. Ances was Professor in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore for fifteen years, progressing from Assistant to Associate to full Professor. From 1984 to the present, Dr. Ances has served as Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in addition to his titles in research and education. Through his career, Dr. Ances has served as Consultant in Adolescent Obstetrics and Gynecology, Director of the Western Health Center for Maternal and Infant Care, and Director of Division of Adolescent Pregnancy and Family Planning. Dr. Ances is a Fellow in the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology and a member in numerous related societies.

Carlo M. Croce, MD

Dr. Carlo Croce is Director of the Kimmel Cancer Institute and Kimmel Cancer Center at the Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and has held this position since 1991. During this same time, Dr. Croce has been Professor and Chairman of the Department of Microbiology/Immunology at Thomas Jefferson University. Dr. Croce has been a member of the CorCell Scientific and Medical Advisory Committee since 1996, serving as its first Chairman.

Dr. Croce completed his medical training at the University of Rome, Italy in 1969. In the ten years following, Dr. Croce worked for the Wistar Institute in Philadelphia in the capacities of Associate Scientist and Research Associate, Associate Member and Professor. Following a year sabbatical at the Carnegie Institution in Baltimore, Maryland, Dr. Croce served as a member of the Mammalian Genetics Study Section for four years at the National Institutes of Health.

Dr. Croce returned to the Wistar Institute in 1980 as Associate Director and Institute Professor, and served as both the Wistar Professor of Human Genetics and Wistar Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia until 1991. During this same period, Dr. Croce served on the Advisory Committee on Cell and Developmental Biology for the American Cancer Society; as Director of the Fels Institute for Cancer Research and Molecular Biology at the Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia; and Professor of Pathology and Medicine at Temple School of Medicine.

Dr. Croce is the recipient of numerous awards and honors among which are included the Outstanding Investigator Award, National Cancer Institute from 1985 through 1992; The John Scott Prize; the Pasarow Cancer Award; the CLAS Distinguished Scientist Award; Scientific Excellence in Medicine Award, American Italian Cancer Foundation; the R. Bourgine Award and Gold Medal of Paris in 1999; and the AACR-Pezcoller International Award for Cancer Research in 1999. Dr. Croce served as Editor in Chief of Cancer Research from 1990-1999; and is the author or co-author of more than 560 articles and publications.

I. Steven Udvarhelyi, MD

Dr. Udvarhelyi, is Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer for Independence Blue Cross and its affiliated companies Keystone Health Plan East and AmeriHealth. Independence Blue Cross and its affiliates provide health coverage to over 4 million individuals, with approximately 3 million of these members residing in the greater Philadelphia area. In his role as Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Udvarhelyi has overall responsibility for medical management programs and policies, and is the chief medical spokesperson for the company. Specific areas of responsibility include utilization management, case management, disease management, quality management, network management, prevention and wellness, research and evaluation activities, and claim payment policy. In addition, Dr. Udvarhelyi serves as an executive sponsor for the Corporate Data Warehouse initiative.

Dr. Udvarhelyi is a board certified internist who completed his residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Minnesota, and completed a fellowship in General Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. He is a graduate of Harvard University and the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and has a master's degree in health services administration from the Harvard School of Public Health.

Dr. Udvarhelyi has over ten years of experience in the managed care industry, and has been on the forefront of quality of care issues. Before joining Independence Blue Cross in 1996, Dr. Udvarhelyi worked for Prudential Health Care as National Medical Director, and later as Vice President of Operations for the Prudential's four health care plans in Florida. Prior to his managed care experience, Dr. Udvarhelyi served on the faculty of Harvard Medical School. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA); the National Council of Physician Executives of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, and on the Board of Directors for the American Association of Health Plans (AAHP) in his capacity as Chair of the AAHP Committee on Quality Health Care. Dr. Udvarhelyi has published numerous articles on health care and quality in journals such as the Journal of the American Medical Association and the Harvard Business Review.

Zbigniew Roger Mrowiec, PhD

Dr. Mrowiec received his Masters in Science specializing in medical analysis from the University of Bialystok, Poland. He went on to receive a First Degree Specialization in Laboratory Diagnosis and his Ph.D. in biology from the Medical University of Bialystok, Poland.

Dr. Mrowiec's professional experience spans two continents and began at the Institute of Hematology in Warsaw, Poland where he served as Assistant Professor and Head of the Blood Product Laboratory until 1993. From 1991 - 1994 he completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, New York and then served as Assistant Professor, Department of Oncology at the Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Currently Dr. Mrowiec is the Director of the Stem Cell Laboratory at Bergen Community Regional Blood Center in Paramus, New Jersey.

He has been honored as a Visiting Fellow, Albert Einstein College of Medicine from 1991 - 1994 and as the President of the Polish Society of Hematology and Transfusiology, Warsaw Division from 1988 - 1991. He has published over forty-one (41) articles and abstracts with publications such as the American Journal of Hematology, Transfusion, Biotechnic & Histochemistry, Blood and Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Ronald J. Wapner MD

Dr. Wapner is Professor and Vice Chairman, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Medical College of Pennsylvania/Hahnemann University in Philadelphia. Dr. Wapner graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Pittsburgh, and received his Medical Degree from Jefferson Medical College. Upon earning his Medical Degree, he completed a residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and served as Chief Resident. He then completed two fellowships at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, one in Maternal-Fetal Medicine and one in Medical Genetics.

Dr. Wapner served as Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Jefferson Medical College from 1990 until his recent appointment as Vice Chairman of OB-GYN at MCP/Hahnemann. Prior to 1990, he served in the capacities of Associate Professor of OB-GYN and Associate Professor of Radiology, Division of Ultrasound at Jefferson. He has served as Director, Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and full-time Faculty, Active Medical Staff at Jefferson Medical College from 1981 to the present. While on the staff of Jefferson, he has also held the position of Director of Reproductive Genetics. Dr. Wapner is the principal investigator in the Maternal-Fetal Medicine Unit Network and is the co-principal investigator on the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development-funded study to offer expectant parents a more accurate assessment of Down syndrome in the first trimester.

Dr. Wapner is Genetics Consultant to several companies and Medical Centers in the greater Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware area, and is Perinatal Consultant to ten hospitals in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. He holds the position of Peer Reviewer and Editorial Consultant on seven major medical publications, is an active member of twenty medical societies and committees, is the author or co-author of more than 110 publications and Chapters, and has received numerous awards and honors over the past thirty years. Dr. Wapner is Certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the Subspecialty Board, Maternal-Fetal Medicine, and the American Board of Medical Genetics.

Robert Iannone, M.D.

Robert Iannone, M.D. is the Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Division of Oncology, Section of Stem cell Transplantation. In addition to his service as a member of the CorCell Scientific and Medical Advisory Board, Dr. Iannone serves on the Busulfex in Pediatrics Advisory Board for Orphan Medical, Minnetonka, MN, and the Advisory Board for NaPro Biotherapeutics, Bolder, CO.

Dr. Iannone’s research on bone marrow transplantation for the treatment of sickle cell anemia is supported through a grant from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health. He currently is the principal investigator for novel clinical trials of bone marrow transplantation for patients with hemoglobinopathies and inborn errors of metabolism at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Dr. Iannone was formerly the Chief Resident of Pediatrics at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Iannone received his B.S. (Summa Cum Laude) from The Catholic University of America, and his M.D. (Alpha Omega Alpha) from Yale University School of Medicine. Dr. Iannone completed his resident training in pediatrics, and fellowship training in pediatric hematology and oncology at Johns Hopkins Hospital. In addition to authoring and co-authoring numerous journal articles, he has served as referee for the Journal of the American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology and Medical Pediatric Oncology.

Dr. Iannone is a board certified pediatrician and pediatric hematologist-oncologist.

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