Our Members
Gaurav Goyal, M.D.
Dr. Goyal is a hematologist-oncologist with a special interest in histiocytic disorders. He completed medical school at Smt. N.H.L. Municipal Medical College in Ahmedabad, India, in 2011, and then moved to the United States for further training. He completed his internal medicine residency at Creighton University Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska, in 2016, followed by a fellowship in hematology and oncology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, in 2019.
During his fellowship, Dr. Goyal developed a deep interest in histiocytosis and went on to establish the first multidisciplinary Histiocytosis Working Group in collaboration with Dr. Ronald Go, dedicated to improving the understanding and care of patients with these rare diseases. This group was later expanded to form the Histio-Care Network, with multi-institution collaborations to advance the practice, education, and research for patients and families affected by histiocytic disorders. His research spans a wide range of topics including the epidemiology, molecular biology, clinical presentation, treatment, and long-term outcomes of histiocytic disorders. He has led the guidelines for the management of Erdheim-Chester disease and Adult Langerhans cell histiocytosis.
After joining the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in 2019, Dr. Goyal expanded his focus to include cancer survivorship and long-term outcomes. In 2022, he launched the Histiocytic Disorder Follow-Up Study to better understand the long-term health effects in people living with histiocytosis.
Dr. Goyal's work has been supported by multiple organizations, including the Histiocytosis Association, AIDS Malignancy Consortium, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and the American Cancer Society. He leads national and international collaborations and clinical trials, and holds several leadership roles, including serving as chair of the HLH in Adults & Adult LCH Working Groups under the Histiocyte Society.
Ronald S. Go, M.D.
Dr. Go was born and raised in the Philippines, where he earned his medical degree from the University of Santo Tomas in Manila. He completed his residency in internal medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, followed by a fellowship in hematology-oncology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. He practiced as a community hematologist at Gundersen Health System for 13 years before rejoining the staff at Mayo Clinic. Dr. Go currently serves as Chair of Classical (Benign) Hematology in the Division of Hematology at Mayo Clinic Rochester. His clinical and research interests include histiocytic disorders, immunohematology, monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS), and thrombotic microangiopathy. He is also the inaugural Chair of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Guidelines Panel for Histiocytic Neoplasms.
Jithma P. Abeykoon, M.D.
Consultant in the Division of Hematology at Mayo Clinic, MN. My clinical focus includes lymphoma and histiocytic malignancies. As a clinician-investigator, my research encompasses both basic and clinical studies aimed at uncovering new biological pathways and developing innovative treatment strategies for patients with histiocytic neoplasms. I am actively involved in early-phase clinical trials testing novel therapies to improve patient outcomes.
Throughout my career, I have led preclinical research that identified promising drug combinations with antitumor effects across hematologic and solid tumor models, often through mechanisms such as inducing homologous recombination repair deficiency by decreasing RAD51 expression. I have translated these findings into clinical applications by initiating a phase 1 trial at Mayo Clinic for patients with histiocytic malignancies and relapsed lymphoma (NCT04640779). I also serve on the Education Committee of the Histiocytic Society, contributing to educational initiatives for professionals in this field. Additionally, I co-lead the Mayo Clinic Histiocytic Neoplasia Practice and was the first to report a successful treatment of a refractory CNS-involved Erdheim-Chester Disease patient with the CSF1R inhibitor pexidartinib. I am the principal investigator for two upcoming clinical trials: one evaluating a novel CSF1R inhibitor and another investigating ERK inhibition in collaboration with MSKCC, set to open in late 2025. Committed to advancing care for patients with histiocytic malignancies, I am dedicated to driving research and education in this specialized area while delivering compassionate care for patients with histiocytic cancers.
Mitali Sen, M.D.
Dr. Mitali Sen is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Dr Sen was born and raised in north India and she received her medical degree from the Government Medical College and Hospital, Chandigarh, India. She then completed her residency in Internal Medicine at Jefferson Einstein Philadelphia Hospital, followed by Rheumatology fellowship at Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia.
Dr. Sen has over five years of experience as a rheumatologist with a clinical focus on systemic lupus erythematosus and Sjögren's disease. Her clinical and research interests also include the intersection of autoimmune diseases and histiocytic neoplasms, with an emphasis on improving diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for patients affected by these complex conditions.
Acosta Medina, M.D.
Dr. Acosta Medina is a clinical fellow and current Instructor of Medicine at Mayo Clinic, Rochester with a special interest in histiocytic disorders. He was born and raised in Mexico City where he earned his medical degree from the Universidad Panamericana School of Medicine in 2020. He completed a research fellowship under the mentorship of Dr. Ronald S. Go within the Division of Hematology at Mayo Clinic prior to his transition to the same institution's Internal Medicine Residency Program (graduating class of '24) and Hematology-Oncology Fellowship Program (graduating class of '27).
Throughout his 5 years working under the mentorship and guidance of members of the Histio-Care Network (previously Mayo Clinic – University of Alabama Histiocytosis Working Group), he has led and/or co-authored multiple research collaborations seeking to advance the current gaps in knowledge surrounding the molecular biology, treatment outcomes, and survivorship of patients affected by histiocytic disorders. His clinical and research interests include the overlap of histiocytic disorders with myeloid malignancies, allogeneic bone marrow transplantation, and thrombotic microangiopathies. Dr. Acosta currently serves as the fellow co-chair for the Histio-Care Network.
Nora Bennani, M.D.
Dr. Nora Bennani is an Associate Professor of Medicine and faculty member at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science, Rochester, MN. She specializes in lymphomas, with a particular research focus on T-cell lymphomas and Histiocytic Neoplasms. As an NIH-funded clinical investigator, Dr. Bennani is actively involved in advancing immunotherapeutic strategies for Non-Hodgkin lymphomas and Histiocytic Neoplasms, including CAR T-cell therapy and oncolytic virotherapy. She also serves as the Program Director of the Clinical Cell Therapy Fellowship at Mayo Clinic Rochester. Her work has been widely recognized, with multiple peer-reviewed publications and federally funded grants supporting her research. She is also a member of the ECOG-ACRIN Lymphoma Committee and the Immunotherapy Subcommittee and is a member of the Histiocytic Working Group at Mayo Clinic.
Robert Vassallo, MD
Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Rochester, MN
Dr Vassallo is a Mayo Clinic pulmonology specialist based in Rochester, Minnesota. He completed his medical education from the University of Malta School of Medicine, followed by a residency, fellowship, and a Mayo Foundation scholarship in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science.
In 2003, he joined the consulting staff of Mayo Clinic, where he now practices as a pulmonary specialist with clinical efforts committed to outpatient consultative care and inpatient pulmonary hospital care. He is a Professor in the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and holds a joint appointment with the Department of Physiology and Biomedical Engineering. In addition to clinical commitments, he leads a translational research program focused on understanding how smoking and dysregulated immunity cause injury to the lung and lead to diseases like emphysema, Pulmonary Langerhans cell Histiocytosis, and pulmonary fibrosis.