Megan Gooch
Biography
Megan Gooch, M.D., is a Health Sciences Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of California School of Medicine, Irvine, and a physician in the Division of Oncology at Children's Hospital of Orange County. She received her Doctor of Medicine from the University of Kentucky College of Medicine and completed a pediatric hematology/oncology fellowship at the University of California Irvine and Children's Hospital of Orange County. She is board certified in both general pediatrics and pediatric hematology-oncology.
Gooch's research focuses on cancer-associated cognitive impairment in adolescent and young adult patients with hematologic malignancies. As principal investigator of a study funded by the CHOC One Wish Grant, she examines the use of serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor to evaluate neurocognitive decline and recovery in pediatric, adolescent, and young adult patients newly diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia or lymphoblastic lymphoma. Her work has demonstrated the feasibility of cognitive training interventions to promote recovery in this patient population.
Gooch serves as director of the Pediatric Oncology Residency Rotation at Children's Hospital of Orange County and holds positions on multiple hospital committees, including the Transfusion Committee, Pharmacy Committee, and Oncology PowerPlan Build/Design/Maintenance. She is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, and the Children's Oncology Group.
Return to topEducation
- B.S. in Biology, University of Kentucky, 2010
- M.D., University of Kentucky College of Medicine, 2014
Distinctions
- Departmental honors in biology, University of Kentucky, 2010
- Magna cum laude, University of Kentucky, 2010
Areas of Expertise
- Pediatric Hematology-Oncology
- Thromboelastography in Thrombocytopenia
- Pneumococcal Vaccine Quality Improvement
- Hereditary Paraganglioma-Pheochromocytoma Syndrome
- Cancer-Associated Cognitive Impairment Recovery
- Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Biomarkers
- IRF4 Gene Rearrangement Lymphomas
Recent Publications
- Kim, F., Calhoun, C., Chang, C., Giovanetti, C., Wu, V., Israel, S., Benson, M., Thom, J., Mucker, D., Bergeron, S., Tran, H., Frediani, J., Morales, S., Gooch, M., Lin, C., Huynh, V., Chavan, R., “Comparing incidence and severity of GVHD in B-cell ALL patients undergoing allo-HSCT with and without prior CAR-T therapy: A single pediatric center study”, 2025. Presented at CHOC & UCI Rare Disease Symposium, Orange, CA.
- Gooch, M., Lomeli, N., Mucci, G., Bota, D., Torno, L., “Use of serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) to evaluate neurocognitive decline and recovery in pediatric, adolescent, and young adult (AYA) patients newly diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL)”, 2024. Presented at 3rd International Symposium on Late Complications after Childhood Cancer (ISLCCC 2024), Lucerne, Switzerland, June 27-29, 2024.
- Gooch, M., Mehta, A., John, T., Lomeli, N., Naeem, E., Mucci, G., Toh, Y. L., Chan, A., Bota, D. A., Torno, L., “Feasibility of cognitive training to promote recovery in cancer-associated cognitive impairment in adolescent and young adult patients” (opens in new tab), Journal of Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology, vol. 11, no. 3, pp. 290-296, 2022.
- Gooch, M., Kirov, I., Frediani, J., Sassoon, A., Nael, A., Lin, C., “IRF4 gene rearrangement in pediatric and adolescent patients diagnosed with large B-cell lymphoma” (opens in new tab), Leukemia Research, vol. 121, no. Supplement, pp. S43, 2022.
- Gooch, M., Myers, S., Lee, G., Elder, J., Raj, A., “Methotrexate hypersensitivity leading to a successful alternative chemotherapy for Burkitt's lymphoma”, 2017. Presented at University of Louisville Pediatric Research Day, Louisville, KY.
- Graham, D., Gooch, M., Ye, Z., Richer, E., Chishti, A., Reilly, E., D'Orazio, J., “Pheochromocytoma in a twelve-year-old girl with SDHB-related hereditary paraganglioma-pheochromocytoma syndrome” (opens in new tab), Case Reports in Genetics, vol. 2014, pp. 273423, 2014.
Contact Information
Email: goochm@uci.edu
Phone: (714) 509-4592
Address: 1201 W. La Veta Ave., Orange CA 92802
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Last updated on 5/19/2026.