Aron Flagg, MD, is a pediatric hematologist/oncologist and specializes in treating children who need bone marrow or stem cell transplants.
Dr. Flagg’s expertise includes immune deficiency and lymphoblastic leukemia, a common childhood cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow.
Dr. Flagg says he can trace his fascination with medicine back to age 5 when his parents gave him an anatomy coloring book. “I just always had an interest in medicine and ended up in pediatrics because I enjoyed the patients so much,” he says. “Although oncology was not my initial goal, I found I loved the continuity of care. Plus, it’s such a rewarding field. When you have a child who gets a transplant and you see them years later leading a normal life, it’s wonderful.”
During medical school, Dr. Flagg became interested in the infectious and immunological consequences of transplant and decided to pursue fellowship training that combined pediatric hematology/oncology and infectious diseases.
“There are many infectious complications patients can have after transplant, often due to chemotherapy because it affects the immune system,” Dr. Flagg explains. “I’m interested in how we can better prevent those infections and take better care of patients when they do occur.”
The best part of his job, Dr. Flagg says, is working with children and their families. “It’s not just taking care of the patient, but the parents, the siblings, and anyone who is an important part of a child’s life,” he says.
