Lauren M. Vasta

MD, FAAP

Lieutenant Colonel, Army

Department of Primary Appointment:
School of Medicine
Pediatrics
Title
Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Fellowship Program Director
Location: Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, MD
Research Interests:
Cancer genetics, cancer predisposition, cancer incidence/epidemiology studies, DICER1 mutations
Office Phone

Education

Saint Joseph's University 2003-2007 - Bachelor of Science in Biology
Georgetown University School of Medicine - 2007-2001 - Doctorate of Medicine
Pediatric Residency National Capital Consortium WRNMCC - 2011-2014
Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Fellowship National Capital Consortium WRNMMC - 2017 - 2022

Biography

LTC Lauren M. Vasta was born and raised outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She currently serves as the Program Director of the Pediatric Hematology and Oncology Fellowship at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
LYC Vasta earned her Bachelors of Science in Biology with a minor in Healthcare Ethics from Saint Joseph’s University. In June of 2007, LTC Vasta commissioned into the U.S. Army through the Health Professions Scholarship Program and studied medicine at the Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington, DC. She received her Doctorate of Medicine in 2011.
LTC Vasta completed her pediatric internship and residency at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC) in Bethesda, Maryland in 2014. Her first assignment was at Bassett Army Community Hospital at Fort Wainwright, Alaska. In 2016, LTC Vasta volunteered to take the Brigade Surgeon position with the 35th Air Defense Artillery Unit on Osan Air Base in the Republic of Korea.
In 2017, LTC Vasta was accepted into fellowship training for Pediatric Hematology and Oncology at WRNMMC. LTC Vasta also conducts research as a clinical fellow with the Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics at the National Cancer Institute in Rockville, Maryland. Her research endeavors earned her multiple research awards at WRNMMC and she was awarded the Young Investigators Award at the International Society of Pediatric Oncology 2020 Congress.
LTC Vasta became the Program Director of the Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Fellowship at the National Capital Consortium in June 2023.

Career Highlights: Positions, Projects, Deployements, Awards and Additional Publications

OIC Pediatrics Department Bassett Army Community Hopsital, Fairbanks AK 2015-2017

Chief Newborn Medical Services Bassett Army Community Hopsital, Fairbanks AK 2014-2017

Brigade Surgeon 35th Air Defense Artillery Brigade Osan ROK 2016-2017

Chief, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, TAMC, Jan 2022 - April 2023

Chief, Pediatric Inpatient Services, TAMC, Jun 2022 - April 2023

Program Director, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Fellowship June 2023 - Present

Representative Bibliography

Kolberg C, Doman E, Mignano S, Mullikin D, Wadzinski W, Foster B. Recognizing a Mediastinal Mass: A Case of Primary Mediastinal Large B-Cell Lymphoma with Pruritis in a 23-year-old Adult Male Sailor. Mil Med . 2022 Aug 3;usac238

Vasta LM, Zanetti RC, Anderson AB, Zhu K, Potter BK, Park AB, Lin J, Shriver CD, Warwick AB. Survival in Pediatric, Adolescent, and Young Adult Patients with Sarcoma in the Military Health System: Comparison with the SEER population. J Pediatr Hematol Oncol, Aug 6, 2021: vol 43, number 6.

Zanetti RC, Vasta LM, Kachur ME, Romanelli KA, DeVan ML, Newton, TC. Adding Fuel to the Fire: Successful Management of Hyperhemolysis in Beta Thalassemia Major with Complement Pathway Blockade. J Pediatr Hematol Oncol, Jan 20, 2021.

Vasta LM, Khan, NE, Higgs C, Harney LA, Carr AG, McMaster ML, Harris AK, Schultz KA, Stewart DR. Evaluation of Hematologic Indices in Individuals with a Pathogenic Germline DICER1 Variant. Blood Advances, Jan 12, 2021: vol 5, number 1

Golmard L, Vasta LM, Duflos V, Corsini C, Dubois d’Enghien C, McMaster ML, Harney LA, Carr AG, Ling A, Dijoud F, Gauthier A, Miettienen M, Cost NG, Gauthier-Villars M, Orbach D, Irtan S, Haouy S, Schultz KA, Stoppa-Lyonnet D, Coupier I, Stewart DR, Sirvent N. Extending the spectrum of DICER1-related tumors with Sertoli and Leydig cell tumors of the testis. J Med Genet, Mar 29, 2021.

Vasta LM, Reynolds SM, Sami S, Emerick JE, Parekh DS, Vogt KE. Hypoglycemia Due to Acquired Carnitine Deficiency in a Pediatric Patient Receiving Chemotherapy. J Pediatr Hematol Oncol, Mar 3, 2021.

Vasta LM, McMaster ML, Harney LA, Ling, A, Kim J, Harris AK, Carr AG, Damrauer SM, Rader DJ, Kember RL, Kanetsky PA, Nathanson KL, Pyle LC, Greene MH, Schultz KA, Stewart DR; Regeneron Genetics Center Research Team. Lack of Pathogenic Germline DICER1 Variants in Males with Testicular Germ-Cell Tumors or Testicular Abnormalities. Cancer Genetics, Oct 2020, vol 248-249: 49-56

Vasta LM, Nichols A, Harney LA, Best AF, Carr AG, Harris AK, Miettinen M, Schultz KA, Kim, HJ Stewart DR. Nasal chondromesenchymal hamartomas in a cohort with pathogenic germline variation in DICER1. Rhinology Online, 3:15-24, April 13, 2020. PMID: 34164613 http://doi.org/10.4193/RHINOL/20.007.