CO-MEDICAL DIRECTOR

Dr. David Freyer is the Director of the Survivorship and Supportive Care Program at the Children’s Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA). He is a Professor of Clinical Pediatrics and Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California (USC). Dr. Freyer oversees clinical cancer survivorship and supportive care services and research, including hematology/oncology-related behavioral health, neuropsychology, and health education.

CO-MEDICAL DIRECTOR

Dr. James Hu is the Medical Director of the Sarcoma Program at the University of Southern California and is considered one of the nation’s experts on the disease. Dr. Hu has more than 20 years of clinical experience in medical oncology and brings this understanding to the bedside. Dr. Hu has the breadth of clinical experience and the academic discipline to provide each patient with an individualized treatment program. He has collaborated with other national experts to bring clinical trials to USC.

SOCIAL WORKER

Mario Espitia is a licensed clinical social worker in California with over 15 years of experience in healthcare and community-based mental health settings. He is passionate about collaborating with other healthcare providers to improve the quality of life of those with cancer and other medical conditions. Before joining the AYA@USC team, Mario worked for an outpatient palliative care clinic, providing psychosocial support and advance care planning services. He obtained his Doctorate in Social Work from USC and has experience developing continuing education programs for social workers.

PROJECT ADMINISTRATOR

Aura Kuperberg, Ph.D., brings passion, insight, and wisdom to AYA@USC group-based programs addressing the psychosocial needs of adolescents and young adults with cancer. It was early in her career, while doing her social work internship at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) in 1979 when she first dreamed of establishing support programs for these vulnerable young people. She earned a Ph.D. and a dual master’s degree from USC.

PROGRAM ADMINISTRATOR

Ms. Li received her master’s degree in Communication Management from the USC Annenberg School of Communication. With more than 15 years of expertise in program management, marketing, curriculum design, leadership development, and community outreach in higher education, she brings a wealth of experience to her role. Ms. Li's professional interests align closely with her responsibilities in the AYA cancer field, including expanding the AYA cancer network and raising awareness, crafting best practices, guidelines, and protocols, fostering educational and training initiatives, nurturing partnerships, enhancing psychosocial support systems, organizing AYA oncology research projects, and facilitating improved access to care. Ms. Li was the past president of USC Women in Management.

NURSE NAVIGATOR

Elaine received her master’s degree in Nursing from California State University Dominguez Hills. She worked many years as an Oncology Nurse at a solid tumor unit at UCLA Medical Center in Santa Monica. Later, she joined Novartis Oncology as a Nurse Educator for the Breast Cancer Team, helping the team understand doctors’ clinical needs and perspectives regarding Novartis products. Elaine accumulated extensive experience and knowledge about research, protocol, and guidelines for new drug development after working closely with researchers who have been passionate and dedicated to conquering diseases.