Laura “Katie” Metrock, M.D., assistant professor in the Division of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology, has been selected to take over as director of the Pediatric Neuro-oncology Program starting October 1, 2023. In this capacity, Dr. Metrock will oversee and grow and develop clinical, research, and educational aspects of the neuro-oncology program.

Dr. Metrock is a graduate of the Medical College of Georgia, Augusta. She completed her pediatric residency training, pediatric hematology-oncology fellowship, and pediatric neuro-oncology fellowship at Emory University in Atlanta, GA. She joined the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and Children’s of Alabama as faculty in 2018. Dr. Metrock is the director of the UAB Pediatric Neuro-Oncology Fellowship Program and the director of the Alabama Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders Pediatric Neurofibromatosis Tumor Clinic.

Nationally, she serves as the co-chair of the Quality Assurance Committee for the Neurofibromatosis Clinic Trials Consortium (NFCTC) and course co- director of the national Children’s Tumor Foundation (CTF) Virtual Case Conference. She is also a CTF Clinical Care Advisory Board Contributor.

Her research interests are focused on improving outcomes for children with tumors associated with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF-1). She is a co-investigator on two clinical trials involving 1. Poly-ICLC for Pediatric NF1-associated low-grade gliomas and 2. Selumetinib for prevention of plexiform neurofibroma growth and morbidity in NF-1 patients. She also serves as the principal investigator for a phase II study using Digoxin for relapsed/refractory non-WNT, non-SHH medulloblastoma and co-investigator for an international SIOPE/CONNECT Phase-III clinical trial to study neurocognitive outcomes in young children with low-risk medulloblastoma (YCMB-LR) when treated with either “Head Start” 4 or HIT-SKK chemotherapy regimens.

Lastly, Dr. Metrock is a member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Central Nervous System Cancers Guidelines Panel.

Congratulations to Dr. Metrock in this new role.