Madeline Cantini, BSN, RN
This Spotlight appeared in our March 2026 newsletter.
Please tell us how you got connected to the Foundation.
I’m based in Houston, Texas where I worked as a Senior Clinical Research Nurse at the Gulf States Hemophilia and Thrombophilia Center at the University of Texas Health Science Center before retiring following 30 years of service. I am still active in the bleeding disorders community and have served on the Faculty of the VWD Connect Foundation since 2017.
Where do you live? What’s a special spot you would take a visitor? We like to hear from the locals.
I was born in Galveston, TX – a BOI (Born on the Island). I moved to Houston following graduation from Nursing School in 1974.
For anyone wanting to be a cowboy or cowgirl I would recommend coming for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo which is the largest livestock exhibition and rodeo in the world. It’s kicked off by the Downtown Rodeo Roundup and Parade, Rodeo Run and the World’s Championship BBQ Contest. The Rodeo features championship rodeo action, livestock competitions and auctions and concerts. Since the beginning of the rodeo in 1932, more than $660 million dollars has been committed to the youth of Texas and education.
If you could tell incoming nurses who want to work in the bleeding field one message, what would it be?
Working in bleeding disorders provides opportunities for professional growth to advance their careers through education, training and leadership roles.
I know you and Ed and Sabrina (VWD Connect Faculty Social Workers) have been friends forever. Do you think the three of you are better at teaming up for work or for fun?
I have had the pleasure of working with Ed and Sabrina not only as faculty for the VWD Connect Foundation but as colleagues during my time at the Hemophilia and Thrombophilia Center. In addition, to teaming up for projects at the center we always found time to get together for fun times. I would have to say, whether for work or fun we made a good team.
Why did you decide to become a nurse and how did you choose to specialize with bleeding disorders?
I became a nurse in 1974, and back in the ’70s women were still gravitating to traditional roles in the workplace such as teaching, nursing or secretarial work. I knew I had always wanted to work with patients in oncology, so I pursued a degree in nursing. Two years following graduation and working as a nurse on the surgical ward, I moved to Houston and pursued a job at M.D. Anderson Cancer Hospital and was offered the job of a clinical research nurse.
I did not choose to specialize in bleeding disorders – in fact it was the other way around and bleeding disorders chose me. I was ready to make a change, and a previous nursing colleague of mine was working in the HTC treating pediatric and adult patients and they were looking for a clinical RN. She contacted me to see if I was interested. While I had no experience with bleeding disorders or pediatric patients I felt I was ready for a challenge. I interviewed and was hired and after 30 years of working in the center, I felt it was the best career decision I ever made.
The Foundation is having our tenth patient conference this year. Seeing where we are now, what’s next?
1) Ongoing research and development of innovative therapies, gene therapy
2) Continuing to address the unmet needs and concerns of patients with von Willebrand disease and their families.