Heather Magnan, MD

I am a pediatric oncologist who specializes in the treatment of children and young adults with sarcomas and other solid tumors. My work has a special focus on desmoplastic small round cell tumor, with the goal of better understanding this rare and challenging tumor in order to offer more-effective treatment options for patients with this disease.

The aim of both my laboratory and clinical research is the development of new therapies for sarcomas that will target signaling pathways specific to each tumor type. With advances in molecular biology, we are learning a great deal about the specific genetic changes that occur to cause sarcomas. This information can be used to identify new therapeutic targets.

My interactions with children and young adults and my desire to help them get better are what drive me in my laboratory research. I enjoy working as part of a very specialized team of professionals with extraordinary experience in treating these cancers and in translating new laboratory findings to the clinic, where they may help patients. My hope is that I can see patients I have treated come back to visit me years later, healthy and well.