Akron Children's appoints Dr. Erin Wright as the new chairholder of the Jeffrey A. Barbour Chair for Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Research and Healing

11-07-2024 (Akron, Ohio)

Erin Wright, M.D., is the new chairholder of the Jeffrey A. Barbour Chair for Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Research and Healing.

Made possible by a donation from Judi Frost in memory of her son Jeffrey in 2019, the endowed chair supports compassionate care for children with cancer and blood disorders and helps advance the research endeavors within the Akron Children’s Showers Family Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders.

Dr. Wright has a special interest in brain and spinal cord tumors, neurofibromatosis, and targeted therapies to treat these conditions. She serves as the hospital’s director of neuro-oncology and the principal investigator for the Children’s Oncology Group and the Children’s Brain Tumor Network for Akron Children’s.

For many families, having a child with a brain or spinal cord tumor or any cancer diagnosis going through treatment can be difficult, and having to travel for treatment on a clinical trial can make things even harder. 

Dr. Wright wants to help make things easier for families by increasing local access to early-phase clinical trials at Akron Children’s. She also wants to focus her research on finding ways to identify tumors sooner and finding less invasive ways to target them.

“This is an area we still have so much knowledge to gain and progress to make,” said Dr. Wright.  “Tumors in the brain can affect so much more than physical concerns and being able to help patients and their families navigate all issues the tumor causes is one of my goals as a clinician.”

Dr. Wright earned her medical degree from Northeast Ohio Medical University. She completed her pediatric residency at the University of South Florida and her pediatric hematology/oncology fellowship at Akron Children’s. She completed her neuro-oncology fellowship at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. 

“I am honored to hold this endowed chair and hope to use this as an opportunity to advance the research internally in our department and collaboratively with other pediatric institutions,” said Dr. Wright.