Holly Pacenta, MD

As a young child growing up near Cleveland, Ohio, Dr. Pacenta had an interest in helping people, so it's no surprise that she chose a career in medicine. She was especially drawn to pediatrics because, "Kids are so resilient. Even when they're sick they're still kids: wanting to play, have fun and joke around."

"I also think it's important to get to know my patients and to treat them like family." It was this desire that led Dr. Pacenta to pediatric oncology. As a medical student she was fascinated by the improvements being made in the field of pediatric cancer.

Dr. Pacenta's primary area of interest is relapsed leukemia, especially new treatments including immunotherapy, cellular therapy and targeted therapy. "These treatments are very exciting because they may improve cure rates and decrease toxicity for children with cancer. One such treatment is KYMRIAH® (tisagenlecleucel). It's the first FDA approved CAR T-cell and has demonstrated excellent outcomes for patients with relapsed and/or refractory B-cell ALL therapy. Cellular immunotherapy introduces a new era in the treatment of children and young adults and I'm excited about the ability to provide this treatment to patients at Cook Children's."

Dr. Pacenta enjoys spending time with her husband and their German shepherd puppy, Fritz. They love the mountains of Colorado, a favorite place to hike and snow ski. She's also a big fan of Cleveland sports teams and enjoys traveling back to Ohio to visit friends and family.