Marisol Betensky, M.D., always has wanted to make a difference.

She has a passion for unanswered questions and figuring out the answers. She sees the joy and optimism of children, even those who are very sick.

Betensky has followed these interests into a career in medicine and a calling at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospitalin St. Petersburg, Florida, where she recently became director of the Thrombosis Program. She replaced Neil Goldenberg, M.D., Ph.D., who remains a senior adviser to the programs in both St. Petersburg and Baltimore and a dedicated mentor to Betensky and others.

“I'm very honored to be able to work in this role with the rest of the thrombosis team,” says Betensky, an assistant professor of Pediatrics in the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Division of Hematology. “It's really an outstanding team of providers, from nurses to nurse practitioners, to physicians. So, I'm honored to be able to serve on this role. 

“Dr. Goldenberg did an outstanding job at growing the program and putting the foundation for what it is today. The goal for us is to really grow as a place of excellence for thrombosis care in this area of the country, not only for clinical care, but also for research, which I think we are doing great on both aspects.” 

Recently, Betensky discussed how she came to specialize in thrombosis, the role of her mentors and her interest in boxing.

If you hadn’t become a doctor, what would you be?

I would probably have worked for a non-governmental organization — an NGO — on human rights, women’s rights, children’s rights or drafting policy that’s health related. I would probably have wanted to have a really broad impact on people through policy making or something like that.

What made you choose pediatric hematology-oncology?

Pediatrics was easy. I really love kids. I really enjoy spending time with them.

They are so real, so honest. It's easy for me to talk to them. They make you laugh even when they are super sick. They teach you so much about how to approach challenges and difficult situations. I love that.

On hem-onc, I was mostly attracted to the science, to be honest, particularly hematology. I always tell residents it’s like putting a puzzle together when you're diagnosing hematology conditions and treating them. You have to talk to the patient and get information, but you also have to do all these tests and get all the information from the test and you have to put it all together. We don't have just a single test that tells you what the patient has. It's usually you have to get all these different pieces of the puzzle and put it together. I thought it was really interesting from an intellectual point of view.

There are so many unmet needs and unanswered questions in hematology that I thought if I dedicated my life to the clinical care of patients and the research associated with it, I could have a positive impact.

How did you develop an interest in thrombosis?

When I did my fellowship, my mentors were realizing that thrombosis was becoming a big problem in children, particularly in hospitalized children. Advancements in medical technology were resulting in children living longer with chronic medical conditions but as a tradeoff, many of the interventions we performed to improve their health led to complications such as thrombosis. I trained in a place where there were a lot of kids that were suffering from blood clots from the things we were doing to them to keep them alive. I realized we needed to learn how to anticipate and treat the causes of those clots, which didn’t used to be as common in children. 

We knew we could do better. The realization that there was such a huge unmet need when it came to thrombosis in children attracted me.

What makes Johns Hopkins All Children’s thrombosis program different from others?

First of all, the expertise that we have, both clinical and in research. I think we rival any other program in the country in expertise and knowledge.

The providers that we have are truly excellent and world renowned in the field.

We also we have developed several multidisciplinary clinics. We have a stroke clinic for example, where we work with neurology and physical therapy, so patients don’t have to make multiple trips to see their providers. They come one time and see the hematologist, neurologist, the physical therapist, the psychologist, whatever is needed. We’re establishing that model with other specialties where appropriate.

We also have a consulting service that is staffed mostly by providers who have expertise in thrombosis and hemostasis. When they consult about a patient with a thrombotic complication, it will most likely be someone who is an expert on those conditions. That doesn’t necessarily happen in other places. 

What can you say about working with Dr. Goldenberg?

He is truly the best mentor you can possibly have. If you ask any of his mentees, they will say the same thing. He really is a mentor in both the clinical and research aspects of my career.
He's really a person who doesn't need the spotlight on him. He wants the spotlight on his mentees. He gives you opportunities to do stuff, to learn, to take on new roles, to take on new responsibilities and he sort of fades into the background. He guides you, but he lets you drive.

What made you want to work at Johns Hopkins All Children’s?

I was very excited at the opportunity to work and learn from Dr. Goldenberg who is a world-renowned expert in the field of pediatric thrombosis. I also knew that joining the staff at Johns Hopkins All Children’s meant working in an institution that is fully committed to providing excellent care to children alongside incredibly talented physicians and clinical providers.

Tell us about your family and what you like to do to take your mind off work.

I have two girls. One is nearly 8 and the other 14 months, so they’re a handful. I spend a lot of time with my husband and the girls, but I like to keep some time for myself. I take dance lessons, which I’ve been doing for a long time. I like boxing, which I’ve been doing for three years. I like to be active. With the girls, we like to go to the beach, swim, things like that.