Partners
Return to Top
Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children
92 W Miller Street, MP318
Orlando, FL 32806
+1 321-841-8588
arnoldpalmerhospital.com/pediatric-specialties/pediatric-neuro-oncology
Orlando Health is a $2.6 billion not-for-profit health care organization and a community-based network of physician practices, hospitals, and outpatient care centers. Orlando Health serves 1.8 million Central Florida residents and more than 4,500 international patients annually. Since 1996, more than 138,000 babies have been born at Winnie Palmer Hospital. Many of these families stay within our health system, entrusting their care and the care of their family to our team of experts.
Arnold Palmer Hospital is consistently one of the top three enrolling Children’s Oncology Group (COG) sites in Florida and the only Pediatric Oncology Experimental Therapeutics Investigators’ Consortium (POETIC) site in Florida. We are invited participants in COG invitation-only studies and joined as a collaborating center for two early phase St. Jude studies. Our system-wide biorepository gives every patient the opportunity to bank data and specimens for future research.
Research Team
Principal Investigator
Amy Smith, MD
Division Chief, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology
Dr. Smith’s national involvement includes acting as the current study chair of Children’s Oncology Group (COG) study ACNS0831 and Vice-Chair of the COG CNS ependymoma sub-committee. She is an ad-hoc reviewer for the Journal of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Pediatric Blood and Cancer, and the Journal of Clinical Neurology and Neurosurgery. Dr. Smith participated in the congressionally-directed PDQ brain tumor and a Department of Defense grant peer-review processes as a brain tumor expert. She is also the Governor’s Appointee to the Florida Cancer Control and Research Advisory Committee.
"Innovation and collaboration allows each hospital and team to bring the best of their expertise and energy to the work that we do. This dramatically improves the depth and quality of the care we provide."
-Dr. Amy Smith
Principal Investigator
Claudia Zapata, MD
Pediatric Hematology/Oncology
Dr. Claudia Zapata is a board-certified physician specializing in hematology and oncology care for infants, children and young adults. She treats patients with cancer, central nervous system tumors, hemophilia, sickle cell anemia and more at the Haley Center for Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders at Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children.
Dr. Zapata earned her medical degree from Florida State University in Tallahassee and Master of Science degree in pharmacology from Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. She completed her residency in pediatrics at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Miami and a fellowship in pediatric hematology-oncology at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where she focused on neuroblastoma research. Dr. Zapata completed additional training with a fellowship in clinical pharmacology at Thomas Jefferson University.
Dr. Zapata’s clinical interests are early phase clinical trials and new therapies. She has received the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award-T32 grant in clinical pharmacology, Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation Young Investigator Grant, and Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation Center of Excellence Scholar award.
Dr. Zapata is certified by the American Board of Pediatrics in pediatric hematology and oncology. She is a member of several professional organizations, including the Children’s Oncology Group, American Academy of Cancer Research, and American Society of Hematology. She also lectures and has published extensively in peer-reviewed medical journals. She is fluent in English and Spanish.
The Arnold Palmer Hospital campus in Orlando, Florida.
Join our quarterly newsletter
Receive updates on POETIC new projects and activities.
Pediatric Oncology Experimental Therapeutics Investigators' Consortium
© Copyright 2023 | Website designed by Amanda M. Buckley