About

Regina Myers, MD, is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics (Oncology) at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. She holds a B.S. in Human Development from Cornell University, earned in 2008, and an M.D. from Yale University School of Medicine, completed in 2013. She is also pursuing a Master of Science in Clinical Epidemiology at the University of Pennsylvania, expected in 2025. Her professional focus is on pediatric oncology, with involvement in cellular immunotherapy and clinical research. Her work includes investigating risk factors for neurotoxicity following CAR T-cell therapy in pediatric patients, outcomes of hematopoietic cell transplantation after CAR T-cell therapy, and the development of ligands for in vivo restimulation of chimeric antigen receptor T cells. She has contributed to research on clinical trial generalizability in pediatric acute myeloid leukemia, neuroimaging findings related to neurotoxicity after CAR T-cell therapy, and personalized care strategies for pediatric acute myeloid leukemia. Her research aims to improve treatment outcomes and safety in pediatric cancer therapies.

Research topics

• Psychology
• Medicine
• Medical emergency
• Psychiatry
• Medical education

Selected publications

• Autistic young adults’ routine travel pre- and post-license

  Autism · 2025-11-30

  article

  Compared with their non-licensed peers, licensed autistic adults appear to report more positive outcomes in objective measures of quality of life, particularly participation in activities outside of the home. We examined if this is due to individual differences/factors or the ability to independently drive. We conducted a prospective follow-up survey study of 16–21 years old in the United States and compared engagement in activities outside of the home over time by licensing status. Our final sample included 111 young adults; at follow-up, 62% did not have a permit or a license, 18% had obtained a permit, and 20% were licensed. Generally, travel patterns were consistent, except for reported increases in employment. The lack of overall differences across groups over time suggests individual differences in resources, barriers/facilitators to traveling, or general characteristics may underlie objective measures of quality of life rather than the obtainment of a license. Furthermore, regardless of licensure status, most respondents were not traveling everywhere they wanted to go, and nearly 80% were interested in a transportation modality they did not currently use. Thus, there is a continued need to support autistic adults’ independent use of various transportation modalities. Lay abstract Short Report: Obtaining a driver’s license may not change autistic young adults’ engagement in activities outside of the home Autistic adults who have a driver’s license say they participate in activities outside of their home, like employment or socializing, more often than those who do not have a license. It is unclear if this is because these adults can drive or if people who obtain licenses are different in some way than those who do not obtain a license. To examine this, we administered multiple surveys to a group of autistic young adults (16–21 years old) to see if their travel patterns changed after obtaining a license. In total, 111 young adults completed our surveys. Generally, we did not see changes in adults’ travel patterns, regardless of if they obtained a license or not. The only change was an increase in employment over time among young adults who never obtained a learner’s permit/license and those who obtained a license. Overall, our findings suggest that individual differences may be why some adults are engaged in activities outside of the home more often than others. We also found that most adults in our sample were not traveling everywhere they wanted to go or using all the modes of transportation they were interested in. This suggests more efforts are needed that improve autistic adults’ independent mobility across transportation modes (e.g., driving, public transportation).

  PublisherDOI

• “It Gave Us an Outlet”: School Staff Perspectives on Implementing and Sustaining Culturally Relevant Well‐Being Initiatives in Schools

  Psychology in the Schools · 2025-03-06

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  ABSTRACT School staff are exposed to high levels of occupational stressors and often work within significant resource constraints, putting them at risk for burnout and secondary traumatic stress (STS). Initially developed to support community‐based social workers, the Stress‐Less Initiative (SLI) is a 12‐session, team‐based, and internally facilitated intervention intended to build personal, team, and organizational resilience to mitigate STS and burnout. Our pilot of SLI among school staff providing after‐school programming in two under‐resourced K‐8 public schools explored its feasibility and impact in the school setting. To evaluate this pilot, we interviewed five school staff with varying levels of participation in SLI to understand their experiences, perceived outcomes, and opportunities to optimize and sustain SLI and other supportive well‐being initiatives for school staff. Interviewees described SLI as timely, relevant, and personally meaningful and pointed to several associated individual, team, and interpersonal outcomes. They also highlighted opportunities for optimizing school‐based well‐being initiatives to support their sustainability and impact and staff engagement as well as more general staff needs and preferences for professional development. These results further our understanding of how workplace‐based strategies can be implemented in school settings to support staff facing myriad stressors that impact their health, well‐being, and effectiveness.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Exploring programme implementation of a US paediatric hospital-based violence intervention programme by injury mechanism

  Injury Prevention · 2025-05-24 · 1 citations

  articleSenior author

  Background Hospital-based violence intervention programmes (HVIPs) support recovery following interpersonal violence, with most patients participating following firearm injuries. There remains insufficient understanding of who HVIPs serve and how programmes are implemented, especially among paediatric patients. We sought to describe the implementation of a paediatric HVIP and examine relationships between HVIP implementation metrics and mechanism of injury (firearm vs non-firearm). Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study using HVIP records from 2018 to 2023, identifying 2021 patients (8–18 years) treated at our urban paediatric trauma centre in the northeastern USA, 416 of whom enrolled in our HVIP. We conducted bivariate and multivariate regression analyses examining differences in patient-level characteristics and HVIP implementation by injury mechanism. Results Most patients (94%) experienced non-firearm injuries. Firearm-injured patients were more likely to enrol in our HVIP (adjusted OR=4.01, 95% CI 2.64 to 6.14) than non-firearm-injured patients, though non-firearm-injured patients represented 85% of HVIP participants. In comparison to non-firearm-injured patients, firearm-injured patients had longer programme duration (adj_ B =43.73, 95% CI 4.84 to 82.63 days), more documented encounters (adj_ B =16.30, 95%CI 3.44 to 29.16) and more recovery goals (adj_ B =3.37, 95%CI 1.21 to 5.52). HVIP goal resolution and graduation rates did not significantly differ by mechanism. Conclusion Our study identified metrics to describe HVIP implementation among paediatric patients with diverse injury types and documented consistent HVIP engagement, retention and outputs for those with firearm and non-firearm injuries alike. Our work suggests the relevance, and acceptability of HVIPs for paediatric patients with diverse injuries and offers a framework for process measurement in future implementation, outcome and impact evaluations.

  PublisherDOI

• Paired Video-Based Counseling and Firearm Safety Device Distribution in a Pediatric Emergency Department

  Academic Pediatrics · 2025-10-28 · 2 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

• “This program is literally saving lives”: A participatory qualitative study of youth outcomes in a community-based music program to interrupt violence

  BMC Public Health · 2025-05-29 · 1 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  INTRODUCTION: Despite urgent need for evidence-based violence prevention solutions, demonstrating the impact of community-based violence prevention programs, which are primed to be culturally relevant and community-tailored, remains difficult. Thus, our community-academic research team, conducted a participatory evaluation to identify proximal outcomes of Beyond the Bars (BTB), an urban United States-based music enrichment program seeking to empower young people and facilitate community healing from cycles of disinvestment and violence. METHODS: =17.31 years, 69% male), 4 adult instructors (75% male), and 6 adult community partners (50% male). We coded interview transcripts and then iteratively analyzed relevant coded text to identify salient themes within and across interest holder groups. RESULTS: Interviewees identified similar programmatic impacts on students, which we consolidated into five themes: (1) access to safe, creative spaces (2), musical and technical skill development (3), personal growth (4), relational and interpersonal growth, and (5) growth mindset and future orientation. They described outcomes as progressive, with students' gaining musical, social, and creative skills and access to a safe and supportive community being foundational to enhancements in self-efficacy and future orientation and budding efforts to advocate within their communities. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings demonstrate integration of strengths-based approaches in youth violence prevention programming to support holistic wellbeing beyond risk reduction. Further, our work underscores need to develop evidence for and elevate community-generated solutions to rebuild and heal communities.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Mapping Case Management Activities to Support Implementation and Fidelity of a Pediatric Hospital‐Based Violence Intervention Program

  Health & Social Care in the Community · 2025-01-01

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Background: Hospital‐based violence intervention programs (HVIPs) provide community‐based case management to victims of violence and address recovery across a range of needs, including safety, medical, mental health, legal, and basic needs. Describing and standardizing program practices are essential in supporting victim service program replication and growth. Our aim was to explicate the discrete activities undertaken within a pediatric HVIP to support resolution of client needs. With this information, we developed visual goal maps, which can be used to enhance fidelity and delivery of evidence‐informed HVIP case management services. Methods: As part of a formative evaluation of a pediatric HVIP affiliated with a major urban Level I pediatric trauma center, we coded a retrospective sample of HVIP encounter notes ( n = 2218) from a random sample of 67 former clients, stratified to ensure representation of a diversity of client demographics and needs. Program activities, resources, outputs, and outcomes were identified using a structured coding schema. Using a directed content analysis approach, we reviewed coded data to categorize discrete programmatic activities undertaken in support of clients’ recovery goals. Results: We developed visual goal maps that illustrate common and exemplar activities HVIP case managers complete as they support clients in addressing recovery goals across 12 need domains. Maps illustrate common and exemplar activities HVIP staff complete as they support clients in addressing recovery goals across 12 need domains. Organizing the activities is used to achieve goals within need domains differentiated between case management services (e.g., obtain insurance information) and measurable recovery goals (e.g., provide mental health therapy). Conclusions: These maps provide a user‐friendly visualization to inform case management services to support client recovery. Within victim service programs, the maps may be useful tools to enhance training, guide care planning, support supervision, standardize program services, and ensure implementation fidelity.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• “This Program Is Literally Saving Lives”: A Participatory Qualitative Study of Youth Outcomes in a Community-Based Music Program to Interrupt Violence 

  Research Square · 2025-04-03

  preprintOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Early Outcomes After Initiation of Faricimab in Patients With Diabetic Macular Edema

  Ophthalmic surgery, lasers & imaging retina · 2025-05-15 · 5 citations

  articleOpen access

  Background and Objective This study evaluated treatment patterns and outcomes among patients with diabetic macular edema (DME) treated with the bispecific antibody faricimab in routine clinical practice in the United States. Patients and Methods FARETINA-DME was a retrospective study among patients with DME initiating faricimab from February 2022 to June 2023 identified from the United States IRIS ® Registry. Results Four thousand five hundred fourteen (4,514) patients (6,204 eyes) previously treated with anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) therapy and 691 treatment-naïve patients (851 eyes) were included. In previously treated eyes, mean ± SD visual acuity was 64.0 ± 18.3 letters at index and 65.3 ± 19.0 at faricimab injection 4. In treatment-naïve eyes, visual acuity improved from 60.3 ± 19.8 to 63.9 ± 18.5 letters ( P < 0.01). Mean ± SD central subfield thickness improved from 364.3 ± 132.2 to 330.1 ± 121.2 μm in previously treated eyes and 359.6 ± 115.0 to 307.4 ± 114.6 μm in treatment-naïve eyes (both P < 0.01). Conclusions In patients with DME receiving faricimab, visual acuity was maintained in previously treated and improved in treatment-naïve eyes. Both groups had anatomical improvement.

  PublisherDOI

• Driving Toward Independence: Perspectives From Autistic Adolescents and Their Families

  Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders · 2025-10-24

  article
  PublisherDOI

• “I just dried my tears … and went about my day”: Implementing a secondary traumatic stress group intervention with a multidisciplinary health care team.

  Traumatology An International Journal · 2025-08-21

  article
  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Allison E. Curry

  University of Pennsylvania

  58 shared

• Joel A. Fein

  University of Pennsylvania

  41 shared

• Benjamin E. Yerys

  Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

  28 shared

• Cynthia J. Mollen

  University of Pennsylvania

  21 shared

• Catherine C. McDonald

  Philadelphia University

  21 shared

• Mark R. Zonfrillo

  Brown University

  20 shared

• Emma B. Sartin

  Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

  17 shared

• Meghan E. Carey

  Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

  16 shared

Education

• PhD

  Temple University

  2016

• MS

  Temple University

  2010

• BA

  University of Pennsylvania

  2005