Where Are They Now? Priyanka Pophali, MBBS

Priyanka Pophali, MBBS, is a faculty member in the Division of Hematology, Medical Oncology, and Palliative Care at the University of Wisconsin.

When did you become interested in the study of medicine? In lymphoma specifically?

I grew up with parents who are both physicians, and witnessing their passion for medicine firsthand drew me into medicine. My mother is an anesthesiologist and critical care specialist, and my father is a hematologist-oncologist, both still practicing in Nagpur, India. I tagged along with my father to a lot of hematology conferences while in medical school, so my interest in hematology started early. It was during residency at the Cleveland Clinic and then fellowship at the Mayo Clinic that I narrowed my clinical and research interest to lymphoma through clinical experiences and work with my early mentors, Dr. Brian Hill and Dr. Carrie Thompson. Lymphomas are so diverse in their biology, presenting symptoms, ages affected, treatment options, and prognosis. I have been interested in survivorship research since working with Dr. Minoo Battiwalla at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) prior to residency, and the field of lymphoma offered many opportunities to improve the survivorship experience for patients living with and beyond their lymphoma diagnosis.

At what point in your career did you receive funding from the Lymphoma Research Foundation? What kind of grant(s) did you receive?

I received the Lymphoma Research Foundation’s then Lymphoma Clinical Research Mentoring Program (LCRMP, now LSRMP) award in 2018 while I was in my final year of hem/onc fellowship at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. The award supported my work during advanced fellowship training in lymphoma and the transition to my first year on faculty at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

What scientific project did you pursue as part of your Foundation research grant(s), and how did the Foundation support your interest in cancer survivorship?

The project that was supported by the Foundation grant was titled “Impact of Health Behaviors on Outcomes in Lymphoma Survivors: A Prospective Database and Pilot Intervention Study.” The database portion of the study led to two manuscripts, and the pilot study was published as an online abstract as a part of the ASCO meeting. We showed that physical activity is associated with lymphoma-specific survival and health behaviors such as physical activity and smoking are significantly associated with quality of life for lymphoma survivors. Our pilot study results supported the feasibility of exercise prescription to improve physical activity for lymphoma survivors. The ability to conduct this research consolidated my interest in lymphoma survivorship, and the Foundation has supported me not just through funding but also by connecting me with lymphoma and survivorship experts across the country. I have continued to work in cancer survivorship and recently took on the role of director of the Cancer Survivorship Research Program at the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center in Madison, Wisconsin.

How has the treatment landscape for lymphoma/CLL changed since you first started conducting your research?

There have been so many exciting developments in the treatment landscape for lymphoma/chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) since I entered the field. New agents such as antibody drug conjugates, checkpoint inhibitors, and targeted small molecules are being used for the frontline treatment of lymphomas/CLL. For relapsed lymphoma, we are using CAR T, bispecific antibodies, and novel agents for an increasing number of lymphoma types. As our patients with lymphoma live longer with these newer treatments, it becomes even more important that we address long-term and late effects from these treatments, which currently are unknown. So, survivorship research addressing the long-term impact of newer treatments on our patients and their quality of life remains paramount.

Was the support and grant funding you received from the Foundation vital to advancing/ dedicating your career to studying lymphoma?

Absolutely! I truly believe that participating in the Lymphoma Scientific Research Mentoring Program (LSRMP) program has been vital to my career in lymphoma. I received not just feedback on my research project but also career mentorship and built (what I hope) are lifelong connections with peers and pioneers in the field.

As treatments improve and the number of lymphoma survivors continues to increase, why is survivorship research so important?

Survivorship is about preparing and supporting our patients for the rest of their lives after a lymphoma diagnosis. As we use newer treatments for our patients, the truth is we don’t know what to expect for them in the future 5, 10, 15, 20 years or even decades later. Survivorship research aims to identify the impacts of lymphoma and its treatments on an individual’s life and interventions to make it better. This includes physical, psychological, social, and functional changes that can impact their quality of life in the short and long term. So as our treatments change, our understanding of survivorship and guidance for survivors needs to keep up, and thus survivorship research will always remain important.

How has technology impacted survivorship today?

Technology has affected all aspects of our lives, and as with everything, there are pros and cons to using technology as a tool for survivorship. The advantages are in collecting data from patients (patient-reported outcomes) electronically for researchers, for patients to keep track of their health needs and medical appointments, and for ease of communicating with the healthcare team. The disadvantages are the prevalence of misinformation, particularly from social media, but if used well, technology has the potential to revolutionize survivorship care. For example, we attempted to use a document called a survivorship care plan to inform patients and primary care physicians of follow-up needs in survivorship but learned that it was not very effective, as it was a static tool and limited by what we knew at the time the document was created. There are ongoing studies to develop electronic tools within the health record or mobile applications that can keep track of and update survivorship guidance for our patients.

How has your involvement with the Foundation continued since being a Scholar? How has being involved in the Foundation’s scientific meetings impacted your career?

Since my time as an LSRMP Scholar, I have remained involved with the Foundation through participating in Foundation patient education programs in person and virtually. I have attended the Foundation’s Survivorship Scientific Workshop as well as the AYA Scientific Workshops. I am also a member of the Foundation’s AYA Consortium. These scientific meetings have provided avenues to discuss current research gaps, identify priorities, and focus research efforts. I look forward to my continued engagement with the Foundation’s programs as I grow in my career as a lymphoma survivorship researcher.

Why is the Foundation’s mission and focus on lymphoma-specific research and programming important? Put another way: How would the lymphoma community be impacted if there was no Lymphoma Research Foundation?

The Lymphoma Research Foundation’s work to support lymphoma-specific research through grant mechanisms, scientific workshops, and mentorship programs has been particularly important for early-career investigators such as myself whose careers have benefited greatly by working with the Foundation. I often refer patients to the patient education programs, peer mentoring, and online resources that the Foundation offers, and I know many patients appreciate having the support. Additionally, the Foundation’s advocacy to help maintain research funding is crucial to continue to support lymphoma-specific research.

What research or projects are you currently pursuing that you would like to share with our readers?

As the newly appointed director, I am currently working on expanding the efforts and reach of the survivorship research program at the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center, Madison. This effort is not limited to lymphoma but includes all cancer types. A couple of projects that I am excited about are nurse navigator-led survivorship care transition visits for patients after allogeneic and autologous stem cell transplant and CAR T and geriatric assessment-based interventions for older patients undergoing intensive therapies that would include pre-habilitation interventions.

What are you most excited about in the field of lymphoma research today? Why?

I am most excited about the variety of treatment options available and emerging for our patients with lymphoma to meet their treatment goals as well as the increasing recognition and emphasis on quality of life in both clinical care and research.