We are delighted to welcome Dr. Gregory Nalesnik, DO, FAAP, to Gena Health as Clinical Advisor, Paediatrics
· Gena Health Team
Gregory is a paediatric haematologist-oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where he has practiced as an Assistant Attending Physician since 2024. He completed his fellowship in Paediatric Hematology-Oncology at Penn State Health Children's Hospital and his residency in Paediatrics at Jersey Shore University Medical Center, following his medical training at the University of Pikeville.
At MSK Kids, Gregory manages care for children and young adults across a broad range of cancers, including leukemias, lymphomas, bone and soft tissue tumours, and paediatric brain tumours, alongside patients undergoing stem cell transplant and CAR-T cellular therapy. His research centres on solid tumour prognostication using radiographic biomarkers, and on the pathways underlying chemotherapy resistance in high-risk disease, work that continues from his fellowship studies on high-risk leukaemia into his current research on Ewing sarcoma.
The distinct challenge of paediatric oncology
Paediatric oncology presents a different set of challenges for both clinicians and families. The person navigating treatment information is often a parent or caregiver, who must understand complex clinical information themselves while also being able to explain it appropriately to a child.
Outside the consultation, there are relatively few tools designed to support this dynamic. Clinician-vetted, evidence-backed information which families can return to between appointments can reduce reliance on fragmented online research and help them prepare more effectively for the next conversation with their care team.
For clinicians, paediatric oncology also brings distinct complexity. Treatment decisions must balance the goal of cure with the risk of long-term effects on a developing child, while many paediatric cancers are rare, with smaller patient populations, fewer trials and less commercial incentive for drug development.
Care can also extend over months or years, across treatment, remission, surveillance and sometimes relapse. Information therefore needs to persist across appointments, family members and care settings rather than being repeatedly reconstructed.
Expanding Gena’s clinical perspective
Dr. Nalesnik’s appointment marks Gena’s first clinical advisor specialising in paediatric oncology, with a particular focus on ensuring that the patient side of our platform works effectively for children, parents and caregivers.
His role will help shape Compass, Gena’s patient and caregiver-facing product, as a meaningful extension of the clinical consultation. Patients and caregivers access Compass when invited by their care team, keeping clinical judgement firmly in the driving seat rather than positioning the platform as a standalone consumer tool.
Within Compass, families can review clinician-curated information, understand complex options in clearer language, prepare questions for future appointments and maintain continuity between consultations.
Dr. Nalesnik brings direct experience of how paediatric oncologists, patients and families interact throughout often long and complex treatment pathways. That perspective will directly inform how Compass develops to support this population.
Quote from Dr. Gregory Nalesnik, DO, FAAP:
"Oncology is a complex and constantly-evolving ecosystem. The paediatric oncology population in particular faces unique challenges, and navigating the system can feel overwhelming. Gena Health is firmly committed to providing solutions to the everyday problems faced by oncologists and patients alike. I am thrilled to join Gena Health as a clinical advisor, with the shared goal of bringing innovative therapies to the patients and families who need it most. It is my hope that these vulnerable patients may have access to cutting-edge cancer therapies no matter where they are in the world.”
Quote from Skomer Bennett Clemmow, CEO and Co-Founder, Gena Health:
"Greg coming on board signifies our commitment to building a product that can have a real-world impact on one of the most underserved groups in oncology, paediatrics. We look forward to working with Greg on ensuring that our platform is both feasible from a clinical standpoint, but also for patients and their carers and parents who are so often looking for answers in an environment that's incredibly challenging to navigate.”