Stefanie Sarantopoulos, MD, PhD
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My major objective is to cure patients of their cancer.
– Stefanie Sarantopoulos, MD, PhD

Stefanie Sarantopoulos, MD, PhD

Cellular Therapy Specialist, Stem Cell Transplant Specialist

Duke Health Provider question
Accepting New Patients
Call for an Appointment
Areas of Expertise
Where I See Patients
Duke Adult Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinic - Durham, NC
Duke Blood Cancer Center - Durham, NC
Board Certified
American Board of Internal Med, Hematology
My major objective is to cure patients of their cancer.
– Stefanie Sarantopoulos, MD, PhD

About Me

I am a doctor and researcher who specializes in bone marrow transplants. Patients usually come to me after their cancer treatment has been unsuccessful or when their disease is high-risk and may require further care. When I first see a patient, it is important for me to hear their story, the history of their condition and their treatment goals. This information is important so we can decide, together, which treatments to pursue and to what degree. For me, it is a privilege to get to know where people come from and to help families through their difficult time. I grew up working in a restaurant, so I was exposed to serving the public at an early age. As I became educated, I decided that I wanted to help others in a different capacity, so I pursued medicine. Outside of work, I like spending time enjoying nature and the beauty of North Carolina with my children and husband.

Current Appointments and Affiliations
Languages I Speak
English, German

Call for an Appointment

Areas of Expertise

Training and Education

Board Certification
American Board of Internal Med, Hematology
Fellowship
Hematology and Oncology, Dana-Farber/Partners Cancer Care (Massachusetts), 2002-2005
Medicine, Harvard Medical School (Massachusetts), 2002-2005
Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital (Massachusetts), 2002-2005
Residency
Internal Medicine, Boston Medical Center (Massachusetts), 1998-2002 (Chief Resident, 2001-2002)
Education
MD, Boston University School of Medicine (Massachusetts), 1998

Clinical Focus and Research

My Research Interests

I head a laboratory that focuses on the development of chronic graft versus host disease. Our major objective is to understand this important transplant toxicity so that we can bring novel therapeutic and preventative agents to patients. I am very interested in developing novel small molecule and cellular immune therapies for blood and lymph node cancers (leukemia and lymphomas). Our hope is that our work will lead to safer, more effective bone marrow transplants for patients.

Publications and Grants

Insurance Accepted

Duke Health contracts with most major health insurance carriers and transplant networks, including the ones listed below.

    • Aetna Choice POS, Aetna Choice POS II
    • Aetna Elect Choice HMO, Aetna Open Access Elect Choice
    • Aetna Health Network Only, Aetna Health Network Option
    • Aetna HMO
    • Aetna Limited Benefit Insurance PPO
    • Aetna Managed Choice POS
    • Aetna Medicare Assure Plan (HMO D-SNP)
    • Aetna Medicare Eagle Plan (PPO)
    • Aetna Medicare Essential Plan (PPO)
    • Aetna Medicare Value Plan (HMO)
    • Aetna Open Access HMO, Open Access Aetna Select, Aetna Open Access Managed Choice
    • Aetna Open Choice PPO
    • Aetna PCP Coordinated POS Plan
    • Aetna Quality Point of Service (QPOS)
    • Aetna Select HMO
    • Aetna Traditional Choice
    • Aetna Voluntary Indemnity Group Plan
    • Aetna Whole Health – Duke WakeMed WKCC
    • Aetna/CVS Health
    • Ambetter of North Carolina
    • Blue Advantage
    • Blue Medicare (HMO, PPO)*
    • Blue Options (123, PPO, HSA)
    • Blue Select
    • NC State Employees Health Plan
    • *Duke HomeCare and Hospice does not participate in the plan.

    • Cigna Behavioral Health (*Limited eligibility)
    • Cigna Choice Plus
    • Cigna Connect Individual Family Plan
    • Cigna Open Access
    • Cigna Open Access Plus
    • *Please call Cigna Behavioral Heath to see if the provider is participating in your plan.

    • Duke Basic
    • Duke Select
    • Experience Health Medicare Advantage (HMO) Plan
  • Gateway Health Alliance
  • Healthgram
    • Humana Choice (PPO)
    • Humana Choice - Medicare Advantage (PPO)
    • Humana ChoiceCare - Medicare Advantage (PPO)
    • Humana Gold Choice - Medicare Advantage (PFFS)
    • Humana Gold Plus - Medicare Advantage (HMO)
    • Humana Medicare Advantage Group Plan - NC State Retirees
  • MedCost
    • First Medicare Direct
    • Medicare Part A
    • Medicare Part B
    • AmeriHealth Caritas North Carolina
    • Carolina Complete Health
    • Healthy Blue
    • NC Medicaid Direct
    • WellCare of North Carolina
    • TRICARE Prime
    • TRICARE Prime Remote
    • TRICARE Select
    • AARP Medicare Advantage Plan 2 (HMO-POS)
    • AARP Medicare Complete (HMO, PPO)*
    • AARP Medicare Complete Essential (HMO)*
    • All Savers Alternate Funding
    • All Savers Fully Insured
    • United Healthcare (HMO, PPO, POS)
    • United Healthcare Charter/Charter Balance/Charter Plus
    • United Healthcare Choice/Choice Plus
    • United Healthcare Core/Core Essential
    • United Healthcare Navigate/Navigate Plus/Navigate Balanced
    • United Healthcare Option PPO
    • United Healthcare Passport Connect Choice/Choice Plus
    • United Healthcare Passport Connect Options PPO
    • United Healthcare Select/Select Plus
    • United Healthcare Shared Services - Harvard Pilgrim/UHC Options PPO Network
    • United Medical Resources (UMR)
    • *Duke HomeCare and Hospice and mental health providers do not participate with the plan.

Before scheduling your appointment, we strongly recommend you contact your insurance company to verify that the Duke Health location or provider you plan to visit is included in your network. Your insurance company will also be able to inform you of any co-payments, co–insurances, or deductibles that will be your responsibility. If you proceed in scheduling an appointment and your health insurance benefits do not participate with Duke, your out of pocket liability may be higher. We will contact you regarding your coverage and patient liability. If you are uninsured, learn more about our financial assistance policy.

External Relationships

This faculty member (or a member of their immediate family) has reported outside activities with the companies or institutions listed below. This information has been reported to the health system leadership and, when appropriate, management plans are in place to address potential conflicts of interest.
  • 11th Annual Guangzhou International Forum supported by the Guangdong Province Anti-Cancer Association
  • ASTCT (American Society of Transplantation and Cellular Therapy)
  • European Bone Marrow Transplant (EBMT) meeting--gave a talke Saturday March 19,2022 - on zoom
  • Grant from the European Commission in collaobation with INserm/Bordeaux Univ in France, Dr. Jonathan Visentin, has been awarded and is pending;
  • NIH/NCI, working on consensus criteria for chronic GVHD (Steve Pavletic lead at NCI)
  • Rigel Pharmaceuticals Inc advisory board Jan 2020 and now signed consulting contract; Rigel also supplies the drug, fostamatinib (also called TAvalese) for our NIH-funded Duke clinical trial
  • The American Society of Hematology (ASH)