Meet the experts

Michael Jordan, MD

Michael Jordan is a physician–scientist specializing in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology and is a Professor of Pediatrics in the Divisions of Immunobiology, Bone Marrow Transplantation, and Immune Deficiency at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.

Jordan is internationally recognized for his expertise in hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) and other primary immune regulatory disorders. He has led pioneering research into the pathophysiology of HLH and helped develop novel therapies, including emapalumab – the first FDA-approved targeted treatment for HLH. His lab focuses on understanding immune dysregulation, particularly the roles of cytotoxic T cells and interferon gamma in HLH and related conditions.

Disclosures: Received research support from Bristol Myers Squibb and served as a consultant and received research support from Sobi.

Adi Zoref-Lorenz, MD, PhD

Adi Zoref–Lorenz is a physician-scientist specializing in HLH and hyperinflammation in cancer. She is a faculty member at Tel Aviv University and the Hematology Institute at Meir Medical Center in Israel, where she established a dedicated HLH clinical service and the Oncologic Hyperinflammation (OHI) Laboratory.

Her research focuses on unraveling the mechanisms that drive hyperinflammation in cancer and developing biomarkers and risk-adapted strategies to improve the diagnosis and treatment of HLH in adults.

Disclosures: Serves on the Adult HLH Advisory Board and has received consulting fees from Sobi.

Scott W. Canna, MD

Scott Canna leads a translational research program and cares for patients with rheumatologic and immune dysregulation disorders at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Canna’s team helped establish IL-18 as a biomarker in the diagnosis of Still’s Disease and related monogenic conditions, and they are now advancing several clinical trials of IL-18 blockade in autoinflammatory diseases. His research continues to explore the drivers of excessive immune responses in MAS, HLH, cytokine release syndrome (CRS), and other hyperinflammatory conditions, with a strong focus on IL-18 biology.

Disclosures: Funding received from Apollo Therapeutics, Bristol Myers Squibb, Janssen Research and Development, LLC, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, PracticePoint CME, Simcha Therapeutics, Sobi.

Francesca Minoia, MD

Francesca Minoia is a Pediatric Rheumatologist at the Pediatric Immuno-rheumatology Unit of the Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico in Milan, Italy. Her clinical and research interests focus on macrophage activation syndrome (MAS)/secondary HLH, cytokine storm syndromes, and systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (sJIA)/Still’s Disease. She currently serves as Secretary and Lead for Clinical Care of the MAS/sJIA Working Party of the Pediatric Rheumatology European Society (PReS).

She contributed to the 2016 MAS classification criteria in sJIA and the first PReS Academy Course on sJIA and MAS. In 2021, she received the PReS/PRINTO Grant for a project on optimizing treatment for MAS and sJIA.

Disclosures: Consultancies for Novartis and Sobi.