Mala Shanmugam
myeloma
Mala Shanmugam, PhD
Atlanta, GA
United States
Emory University
I am a cancer biologist and Associate Professor in the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology at the Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University School of Medicine. I am a recipient of the Lexie Clayton Impact Award from The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. My research focus includes understanding how metabolic states regulate specific cancer hallmarks such as the evasion of cell death; proliferation and growth; and invasion and metastasis to identify targetable metabolic vulnerabilities. We have an interest in investigating how mitochondrial metabolism impacts multiple myeloma therapy efficacy and more recently are examining how the bone marrow niche is regulated by neural signaling. My research lab comprised of talented scientist trainees, who in collaboration with the Winship team of multiple myeloma physicians and scientists are endeavoring to ask provocative and innovative questions for curing multiple myeloma.
Program Name(s)
Translational Research Program
Project Title
Deciphering the metabolic basis for t(11;14) multiple myeloma venetoclax sensitivity
Investigating anti-neoplastic effects of beta blockers in multiple myeloma
Julia Paczkowska
immunobiology of Hodgkin's disease
Julia Paczkowska, PhD
Boston, MA
United States
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Dr. Julia Paczkowska completed her master’s degree in pharmacy at Poznan University of Medical Science, Poland. Thereafter, she obtained her PhD in medical sciences from the Institute of Human Genetics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poznan, with a thesis focusing on deregulated transcription factors and microRNAs in the pathogenesis of classic Hodgkin lymphoma. After obtaining her degree, she began her post-doctoral studies in the laboratory of Dr. Margaret Shipp at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. Dr. Paczkowska’s postdoctoral research focuses on the immunobiology of classic Hodgkin lymphoma and related B-cell malignancies.
Program Name(s)
Career Development Program
Project Title
Surbhi Sidana, MD
Stanford, CA
United States
Stanford
I am a hematologist/oncologist specializing in the treatment of multiple myeloma and related disorders. I am an Associate Professor in the Division of BMT/ Cell Therapy Division at Stanford University. I lead the Myeloma Disease Focused Group and am the Associate Director for Clinical Research for the Division. I have a broad research portfolio that includes clinical trials of novel therapies in myeloma, translational and outcomes research. I have a special focus on immunotherapy related research and am the principal investigator of several clinical trials of CAR-T cell therapy and bispecific antibodies in myeloma. I also co-lead a multi-center consortium of academic medical centers in the US collaborating to generate insights from real-world application of CAR-T therapy and bispecific antibodies in myeloma. I am actively involved with cooperative groups and professional societies, including holding leadership positions with the goal of advancing treatment of hematological disorders.
Program Name(s)
Career Development Program
Project Title
Raymond Mailhot
Equity in Access
Raymond Mailhot, MD, MPH
Miami, FL
United States
University of Miami
Despite Hodgkin lymphoma’s (HL) favorable prognosis, Black and Hispanic patients have worse survival rates compared to White patients. Insurance status and non-White race and ethnicity are associated with the inequitable receipt of optimal treatments, as well as survivorship care. Patients’ decision-making experiences with their clinicians influence cancer care, and shared decision-making (SDM) is central to patient-centered care when patients have multiple treatment options. However, in hematologic cancer care, many physicians underestimate patient preference for SDM, and HL survivors report minimal involvement in decision-making about their treatment and care.
Program Name(s)
Equity in Access
Project Title
Insurance Inequities in Hodgkin Lymphoma Treatment and Survivorship in the Southeast
Stefan Bjelosevic, PhD
Boston, MA
United States
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
I am a Postdoctoral Fellow with a strong background in malignant hematology research. My work focusses on identifying targetable metabolic vulnerabilities in aggressive leukemias in which effective treatment regimens are limited. I completed my PhD under the mentorship of Professor Ricky Johnstone at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne, Australia, where I discovered that FLT3-ITD mutations, among the most common in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), promote the biosynthesis of the amino acid serine. Genetic or pharmacological ablation of serine biosynthesis was selectively lethal to FLT3-ITD-mutant AML cells and synergized with cytarabine, the standard of care chemotherapy agent. This work was published in Cancer Discovery in 2021. My postdoctoral work unifies and builds on my interests and expertise in AML model generation and characterization, large-scale genetic screening, transcription, epigenetics, cellular metabolism, and use of in vivo models for therapeutic validation.
Program Name(s)
Career Development Program
Project Title
Nika Danial, PhD
Boston, MA
United States
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Nika Danial is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and the Department of Cancer Biology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, where she Co-Directs the T32 Training Program in Cancer Chemical Biology and Metabolism. She received a B.S. degree in Biological Sciences from Stanford University, and a Ph.D. in Molecular, Cellular and Biophysical Studies from Columbia University. Her postdoctoral studies with the late Stanley J. Korsmeyer focused on the role of BCL-2 family proteins in mitochondrial apoptosis, where she discovered a molecular link between cell survival/death regulatory pathways and metabolism. Dr. Danial’s lab studies fundamental aspects of metabolic biology, including causes and consequences of cellular nutrient utilization patterns and metabolic signals that shape cell fate, function, and stress responses. This research has led to advances in metabolic mechanisms that link nutrient signaling to diseases such as cancer and diabetes.
Program Name(s)
Discovery
Project Title
Lipid-dependent regulation of oncogenic signaling in DLBCL growth and therapeutic response
Ravindra Majeti
preleukemia, AML
Ravindra Majeti, MD, PhD
Palo Alto, CA
United States
Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University
Dr. Majeti is Professor of Medicine, Chief of the Division of Hematology, and Member of the Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine. He is a board-certified hematologist. While at Stanford, he completed post-doctoral training in the laboratory of Irving Weissman, MD, where he investigated acute myeloid leukemia (AML) stem cells and therapeutic targeting with anti-CD47 antibodies. Dr. Majeti directs an active NIH-funded laboratory that focuses on the molecular characterization and therapeutic targeting of leukemia stem cells in human hematologic disorders, particularly AML, and has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles.
Program Name(s)
CMML Initiative
Project Title
Stephen Forman
leukemia and immunotherapy
Stephen Forman, MD
Duarte, CA
United States
Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope
Stephen J. Forman, MD, is a hematologist-oncologist, international expert in leukemia, lymphoma, and bone marrow transplant (BMT), and pioneer in immunotherapy. Dr. Forman has spent his 45-year career at City of Hope (COH), leading the Department of Hematology for 38 years and directing the Hematology Malignancies Research Institute since 2015. Under his leadership, COH developed one of the world’s largest and most successful BMT centers, which has led to dramatic increase in survival rates for blood cancers. He also directs the T cell Therapeutics Research Laboratories, the goal of which is to develop new ways to use the immune system to fight cancer. In this role, he leads a team of scientists in developing chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-engineered T cells for treatment of a variety of cancers, including leukemia. Based on this research, Dr. Forman has led the advancement of multiple laboratory discoveries to the clinic, including CD19-directed CAR T cells for adults with leukemia.
Program Name(s)
Academic Clinical Trials Program (ACT)
Project Title
CD19-CAR T cells as Consolidation for Older Adults with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in Remission
Yue Wang, PhD
Los Angeles, CA
United States
University of California, Los Angeles
Yue Wang, PhD, is a postdoctoral researcher at UCLA with extensive expertise in developmental and stem cell biology. He earned his PhD in Regenerative Medicine from the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, where he conducted groundbreaking research on the regulatory mechanisms of trophoblast lineage differentiation. Dr. Wang also developed a stem-cell based organoid model to study Zika virus effects on human placenta. At UCLA, he works with Dr. Hanna Mikkola and uses single cell technologies to understand how Trisomy 21 affects human B cell development and transformation to aggressive form of B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in children with Down Syndrome. His work aims to identify cellular origins and molecular mechanisms driving this unique type of leukemia, offering potential insights for safer and more effective therapies.
Program Name(s)
Career Development Program
Project Title
Robert Soiffer
transplantation
Robert Soiffer, MD
Boston, MA
United States
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Robert J. Soiffer, MD, is Chief of the Division of Hematologic Malignancies and Chair of the Executive Committee for Clinical Programs at Dana Farber Cancer Institute as well as the Worthington and Margaret Collette Professor of Medicine in the Field of Hematologic Oncology at Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Soiffer served as President of the American Society for Transplant and Cellular Therapies and Chair of the Advisory Board for the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research. He is a member of the Executive Steering Committees for Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network. Dr. Soiffer is Immediate Past Chair of the Board of Directors for the National Marrow Donor Program.
Dr. Soiffer conducts research focused on modulation of immune reconstitution in the setting of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HCT). His goal is to develop technologies to improve patient outcomes by optimizing graft versus leukemia (GVL) activity without inducing graft versus host disease (GVHD). Dr. Soiffer has co-authored more than 400 peer-reviewed manuscripts and numerous book chapters, review articles, editorials, and monographs.
Program Name(s)
Specialized Center of Research Program
Project Title
Understanding and Overcoming Mechanisms of Immune Evasion after Allogeneic Transplant
Lawrence Boise
CART and myeloma
Lawrence Boise, PhD
Atlanta, GA
United States
Emory University
Lawrence Boise, PhD is the R. Randall Rollins Chair of Oncology and Professor in the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology in the Emory University School of Medicine. Dr. Boise also serves as the Associate Director of Education and Training in the Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University. He received his PhD from VCU-Medicine and did his postdoctoral training at the University of Michigan and the University of Chicago. Dr. Boise took his first faculty position at the University of Miami in 1996 and rose to the rank of Professor before moving to Emory in 2009. Dr. Boise was involved in early studies to identify genes that control cell survival and cell death and has been studying these processes to better understand how to improve our treatment of cancer, particularly the plasma cell malignancy multiple myeloma. Dr. Boise serves as a Senior Editor at Molecular Cancer Research and is on the editorial board of Blood Cancer Discovery.
Program Name(s)
Discovery
Project Title
Mignon Loh, MD
Seattle, WA
United States
Seattle Children's Hospital
Dr. Loh is a Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Washington and Seattle Children’s Hospital. She is the Division Head of Hematology, Oncology, Bone marrow transplant, and Cellular therapies and also directs the Ben Towne Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorder Research. Over her 30-year career, Dr. Loh has studied primary patient samples in the laboratory to make seminal observations about leukemia pathogenesis that informs accurate molecular diagnoses, improves risk stratification, and identifies novel therapeutic approaches. These studies have been performed in juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia and acute lymphoblastic leukemia, leading to innovative clinical trials. Her strength as a collaborator and leader also allows her to capitalize on the expertise and strengths of individual scientists to create highly productive teams that produce cutting edge results, and this proposal will continue that trajectory with Dr. Price’s expertise.
Program Name(s)
Translational Research Program
Project Title
Affinity-Tuned T-Cell Engagers for Dual Targeting of B-Myeloid Mixed Phenotype Acute Leukemia