BOBÌåÓý

Dina Khalaf, MD, was drawn to biology in seventh grade as she learned about the impact of a hepatitis endemic in Egypt. She was moved by the need to help people suffering.

“I had wanted to become an engineer like my dad, but that was my call for medicine,� said Dr. Khalaf, who joined the University of Florida Division of Hematology and Oncology this winter as a clinical associate professor after 15 years as an academic hematologist at some of Canada’s most prestigious cancer institutions.

At UF, Dr. Khalaf will provide personalized treatments, including bone marrow transplants, for patients with bone marrow failure and blood cancers, including acute myeloid leukemia, or AML, the most aggressive adult leukemia. Dr. Khalaf was drawn to UF by the leadership at the BOBÌåÓý Cancer Center and BOBÌåÓý Blood and Marrow Transplant and Leukemia Program, which is accredited by the Foundation for Accreditation of Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation and is one of the largest programs in the Southeast.

“Everyone is dedicated to making this place a center of excellence,� Dr. Khalaf said.

Her clinical focus includes actively involving patients in decision-making as part of precision medicine.

“We’re not using the one-size-fits-all treatment for everyone as it used to be for the past 50-plus years,� Dr. Khalaf said. “You can tailor the treatment to match each patient’s genetic profile and general health condition, and this allows the patient to get involved in the treatment to choose what suits their lifestyle and their needs.�

Personal experience with cancer helped steer Dr. Khalaf’s path: While she was in medical school at Ain Shams University School of Medicine in Egypt, two of her grandparents were diagnosed with cancer. But it was a conversation with a mentor in her third year that solidified it: He advised her to pick a specialty she would never get bored studying.

“That was oncology,� Dr. Khalaf said. “I was fascinated by cancer, disease biology, how malignant cells evolve and metastasize and how there are multimodal ways of therapy, whether that’s radiation therapy, chemotherapy or surgery. Now, we live in an era of CAR T-cell and CRISPR gene therapy.�

An internship in malignant hematology and oncology solidified her passion, and she completed her residency at the National Cancer Institute of Cairo at Cairo University. After immigrating to Canada, Dr. Khalaf pursued additional specialized training in malignant hematology, completing a fellowship at the University Health Network, which is affiliated with the University of Toronto and includes Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, the largest cancer center in Canada.

Dr. Khalaf’s research aims to push the boundaries of leukemia treatment, with a focus on longevity and better quality of life for her patients.

With the evolution in cellular therapy and allogeneic stem cell transplant, a type of immunotherapy called CAR T-cell therapy has transformed outcomes for patients with lymphoproliferative disease and is on the horizon for patients with AML. That’s just one of the advances that drives Dr. Khalaf.

“What really inspires me is the response that I see in my patients� results � the hope in their eyes,� she said. “For example, I saw a patient in their 80s eight years ago who, upon receiving a diagnosis of AML, went to start writing up their will. Now, they are still enjoying remission, still traveling, skiing, riding their bike with their grandkids. Helping people survive this illness gives me hope.�

Dr. Khalaf’s research includes frailty in older adult patients with AML or myelodysplastic syndrome, and she is interested in studying patient-related outcomes in cellular therapy. She also hopes to start a local database and biobank patient samples.

Another passion is education and mentorship. At UF, she is involved in the Hematology and Oncology Fellowship with the aim of reinvigorating journal clubs and educational malignant hematology rounds. A strong focus will be studying genomics in AML, a fast-changing area of the field.

Her mentorship philosophy is guiding trainees to uncover their own passions.

“I like to meet trainees and mentees where they are,� she said.

Outside of work, Dr. Khalaf is an avid yogi who’s dedicated to fitness and exercise classes. She loves traveling with her husband, a gastroenterologist who will join the UF faculty this spring. They have four children between them, spread across Toronto, Texas and South Carolina, as well as family in the United States and Egypt.

The pandemic prompted her to delve into a new challenge: drum lessons. It’s an outlet for stress that reflects her determination to get the best from herself so she can best care for others.

“You’re basically crashing hats and drums with sticks � it’s so good for your mental health,� she said.