Mark Faber, DO, didn’t know how far his fellowship at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center would take him or the opportunities it would provide for his career.
“My mentors were Dr. Eunice Wang and Dr. Elizabeth Griffiths during my time at Roswell Park, both during my residency and my fellowship years,” he says. “They often invited me to their clinics to see patients with them and allowed me to participate in their research projects. These retrospective studies taught me that low-cost, internal projects can lead to significant clinical findings in a rather short period of time.”
Starting in July 2020 as a hematology/oncology fellow, Dr. Faber, now a malignant hematologist at Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center in Gilbert, Arizona, had many hands-on opportunities to advance his skills and learn from experts who are recognized as leaders in their field. He worked with the hematology team and had a chance to moonlight as a hospitalist in the Assessment and Treatment Center and on the inpatient service.
Working closely with Dr. Wang and Dr. Griffiths also gave Dr. Faber the chance to practice his presenting skills.
“The experience provided me with the opportunity to present my results at multiple ASH Annual Meetings and at the International Symposium on Myelodysplastic Syndromes in Copenhagen in 2024,” he says. “They shaped me to become a myeloid malignancies subspecialist after the completion of my fellowship. I now run the MDS/MPN program at my institution, thanks to Dr. Wang and Dr. Griffiths. To this day, I still occasionally email the Roswell Park leukemia physicians for advice on difficult cases.”
The importance of relationships
Dr. Faber also credits the close working relationship he had with the pharmacists and advanced practice providers at Roswell Park, especially those on the leukemia service, for underscoring the importance of bringing in all members of a care team to determine the best course of treatment for a patient and delivering accurate and effective care.
He continues to work on developing new treatments for those with lower-risk myelodysplastic syndrome, chronic myeloid leukemia and myeloproliferative neoplasms.
If he could provide advice to his younger self, or to new fellows joining the team at Roswell Park, Dr. Faber would encourage himself to look beyond a single kind of practice.
“Try to spend additional time in the outpatient clinics during elective/ research blocks to strengthen your clinical skills,” he says. “There is a very steep learning curve once you become an attending physician.”
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