Education & Training:
Columbia University, Columbia College, 1989 B.A.
Nova Southeastern University, College of Osteopathic Medicine, 1994 D.O.
Miami Children's Hospital, 1995-199, Residency in Pediatrics
Medical University of South Carolina, 1997-2000, Fellowship in Pediatric Hematology-Oncology
Research Interests:
Dr. Kraveka’s clinical practice is focused on pediatric oncology. Her clinical interests include neuroblastoma, pediatric sarcomas, pediatric precision medicine, early phase oncology trials, and clinical trial development. She is actively involved in clinical pediatric research in the Children’s Oncology Group (COG) and Beat Childhood Cancer Research Consortium (BCC) and serves as the Institutional Principal Investigator (PI) for these consortia. As PI, she is responsible for the conduct of over 50 Phase I, II and III clinical trials for pediatric oncology patients at MUSC. She has been involved in the development of over 10 pediatric oncology clinical trials. Dr. Kraveka is also a member of National Cancer Institute Pediatric and Adolescent Solid Tumor Steering Committee. Dr. Kraveka’s laboratory research focuses on sphingolipid and retinoid mediated therapies in pediatric cancers and the function and regulation of the enzyme dihydroceramide desaturase (DEGS-1) in pediatric cancer. The long-term goals of her research are to develop more effective treatments for children with cancer.
Some of our current major projects include:
Precision Medicine for Neuroblastoma, Rare Tumors and Relapsed/Refractory Pediatric Cancers
Incorporation of difluoromethylornithine (DFMO) as chemopreventative agent for neuroblastoma therapy
Identification of new biomarkers in neuroblastoma
Development of novel inhibitors to DEGS-1 for pediatric cancer therapy
Examining the role ceramide synthases in high-risk neuroblastoma
Evaluation of sphingosine kinase inhibitors in pediatric cancers
Highlight Publications:
1. Lewis EC, Kraveka JM, Ferguson W, Eslin D, Brown VI, Bergendahl G, Roberts W, Wada RK, Oesterheld J, Mitchell D, Foley J, Zage P, Rawwas J, Rich M, Lorenzi E, Broglio K, Berry D, Saulnier Sholler GL. A subset analysis of a phase II trial evaluating the use of DFMO as maintenance therapy for high-risk neuroblastoma. Int J Cancer. 2020 Dec 1;147(11):3152-3159. PMID: 32391579.
2. Park JR, Kreissman SG, London WB, Naranjo A, Cohn SL, Hogarty MD, Tenney SC, Haas-Kogan D, Shaw PJ, Kraveka JM, Roberts SS, Geiger JD, Doski JJ, Voss SD, Maris JM, Grupp SA, Diller L. Effect of Tandem Autologous Stem Cell Transplant vs Single Transplant on Event-Free Survival in Patients With High-Risk Neuroblastoma: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA. 2019 Aug 27;322(8):746-755. PMID: 31454045.
3. Bai A, Bielawska A, Rahmaniyan M, Kraveka JM, Bielawski J, Hannun YA. Dose dependent actions of LCL521 on acid ceramidase and key sphingolipid metabolites. Bioorg Med Chem. 2018 Dec 15;26(23-24):6067-6075. PMID: 30448190
4. Swift CC, Eklund MJ, Kraveka JM, Alazraki AL. Updates in Diagnosis, Management, and Treatment of Neuroblastoma. Radiographics. 2018 Mar-Apr;38(2):566-580. PMID: 29528815.
5. Venant H, Rahmaniyan M, Jones EE, Lu P, Lilly MB, Garrett-Mayer E, Drake RR, Kraveka JM, Smith CD, Voelkel-Johnson C. The Sphingosine Kinase 2 Inhibitor ABC294640 Reduces the Growth of Prostate Cancer Cells and Results in Accumulation of Dihydroceramides In Vitro and In Vivo. Mol Cancer Ther. 2015 Dec;14(12):2744-52. PMID: 26494858.
6. Saulnier Sholler GL, Bond JP, Bergendahl G, Dutta A, Dragon J, Neville K, Ferguson W, Roberts W, Eslin D, Kraveka J, Kaplan J, Mitchell D, Parikh N, Merchant M, Ashikaga T, Hanna G, Lescault PJ, Siniard A, Corneveaux J, Huentelman M, Trent J. Feasibility of implementing molecular-guided therapy for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory neuroblastoma. Cancer Med. 2015 Jun;4(6):871-86. PMID: 25720842.
Saulnier Sholler GL, Gerner EW, Bergendahl G, MacArthur RB, VanderWerff A, Ashikaga T, Bond JP, Ferguson W, Roberts W, Wada RK, Eslin D, Kraveka JM, Kaplan J, Mitchell D, Parikh NS, Neville K, Sender L, Higgins T, Kawakita M, Hiramatsu K, Moriya SS, Bachmann AS. A Phase I Trial of DFMO Targeting Polyamine Addiction in Patients with Relapsed/Refractory Neuroblastoma. PLoS One. 2015 May 27;10(5):e0127246. PMID: 26018967.
7. Alexander S, Kraveka JM, Weitzman S, Lowe E, Smith L, Lynch JC, Chang M, Kinney MC, Perkins SL, Laver J, Gross TG, Weinstein H. Advanced stage anaplastic large cell lymphoma in children and adolescents: results of ANHL0131, a randomized phase III trial of APO versus a modified regimen with vinblastine: a report from the children's oncology group. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2014 Dec;61(12):2236-42. PMID: 25156886.
8. Rahmaniyan M, Curley RW Jr, Obeid LM, Hannun YA, Kraveka JM. Identification of dihydroceramide desaturase as a direct in vitro target for fenretinide. J Biol Chem. 2011 Jul 15;286(28):24754-64. PMID: 21543327.
9. Kraveka JM, Li L, Szulc ZM, Bielawski J, Ogretmen B, Hannun YA, Obeid LM, Bielawska A. Involvement of dihydroceramide desaturase in cell cycle progression in human neuroblastoma cells. J Biol Chem. 2007 Jun 8;282(23):16718-28. PMID: 17283068.