Biography
I have trained at all large free-standing children’s hospitals that receive some of the rarest and most complicated pediatric patients. I received my B.S. degree in Biochemistry in 2005 and my Doctor of Medicine degree in 2011 both from the University of New Mexico and UNM School of Medicine. Additionally, between my undergraduate training and Medical School I obtained my Basic Emergency Medical Technician License (EMT). I then went on to do a Pediatric Residency at Phoenix Children's Hospital, finishing in 2014. My final training in Pediatric Hematology/ Oncology was completed at the Children’s Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases at Children's Hospital of Los Angeles in 2017. After completing training my family relocated to Norther California and I practiced in Pediatric Hematology Oncology from 2017 until moving back home in 2022 to once again practice and serve the local community of New Mexico at The University of New Mexico Hospital. I am board-certified in General Pediatrics as well as Pediatric Hematology and Oncology.
Personal Statement
My current teaching interests include teaching patients and families about their medical illness and prepping them for side effects and complications that may arise in an attempt to make them more prepared and less scared if and when things do occur. I enjoys teaching residents and colleagues in a way that is clinically pertinent. I strive to teach in a manner that will instill a recognition of knowledge when it is needed and also allow resident to feel comfortable question a management decision or exploring a deeper understanding without repercussions. My specific interest lie with leukemia, rare subtypes at that. It is the most common type of childhood cancer, requires one of the longest treatment courses and has outcomes that are excellent already and/or are continuously able to be improved upon. I also have a special interest in Palliative Care for which I completed an intensive abbreviated course in Boston, MA. I enjoy bridging the two worlds of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology and Palliative Care medicine in order to provide families with the best options and care for them and their children.
Research and Scholarship
Published Work
Behnert, Astrid MD; Lee, Alex G. PhD; Young, Elizabeth P. MD; Breese, Marcus R. PhD; Leung, Stanley G. BA; Behroozfard, Inge BS; Maruffi, Maria MD; Sweet-Cordero, E. Alejandro MD; Dvorak, Christopher C. MD; Chu, Julia MD; and Stieglitz, Elliot MD. “NUP98-NSD1 Driven MDS/MPN in Childhood Masquerading as JMML.†Journal of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology: August 18, 2020
Maruffi, Maria, Richard Sposto, Matthew J. Oberley, Lynn Kysh, and Etan Orgel. “Therapy for Children and Adults with Mixed Phenotype Acute Leukemia: A Systematic Review and MetaAnalysis.†Leukemia 32, no. 7 (July 1, 2018): 1515-28. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41375-018-0058-4.
Chapter. Cozen, W and Maruffi, M. “Cancer in Los Angeles County: Survival Trends among Adolescents and Young Adults, 1988-2013.†Cancer Surveillance Program Monograph. 2016. http://keck.usc.edu/cancer-surveillance-program/wpcontent/uploads/sites/166/2016/03/aya_survival_2017.pdf