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Our Researchers

 David Cachia, MD

David Cachia, MD

Research Focus: Glioma biology

  • Improving quality of life for glioma patients and their caregivers

Representative Publications:

  1. Day J, Yust-Katz S, Cachia D, Wefel J, Tremont Lukats IT, Bulbeck H, Rooney AG. Interventions for the management of fatigue in adults with a primary brain tumour. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2022, Issue 9. Art. No.: CD011376.
  2. Das A, Alshareef M, Porto GBF, Infinger LK, Vandergrift WA, Lindhorst SM, A, Varma A, Patel S, Cachia D. Preconditioning with INC280 and LDK378 Drugs Sensitizes MGMT-unmethylated Glioblastoma to Temozolomide: Pre-clinical Assessment. J Neurol Sci 2020 Nov 15;418:117102.
 Jan Cerny, MD, PhD, FACP

Jan Cerny, MD, PhD, FACP

Research Focus: Biology of Leukemia stem cells

  • Optimization of therapies for aggressive leukemias
  • Chimeric Antigen Receptor T - cell based therapies for malignant and non-malignant disorders

Representative Publications:

  1. Cerny J, Yu H, Ramanathan, et al. Expression of CD25 independently predicts early treatment failure of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Br J Haemat 2013; 160(2): 262-6.
  2. Zhou Z, Nath R, Cerny J, et al. Reduced Intensity Conditioning for Acute Myeloid Leukemia: A comparison of Melphalan and Busulfan based Regimens from the CIBMTR Database. Blood Adv 2020 Jul 14;4(13):3180-3190.
 Andrew Gillis-Smith, MD

Andrew Gillis-Smith, MD

Research Focus: Novel therapeutics for treatment of lymphoid malignancies

  • Molecularly-stratified treatment approaches
  • Aggressive lymphoma outcomes in older adults

Representative Publications:

  1. C1763102: A Phase 1b Study of Oral AS-1763 in Patients with Previously Treated Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia/Small Lymphocytic Lymphoma or Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. Role: Site Principal Investigator.
  2. M20-621: A Phase 3, Randomized, Open-Label Study to Evaluate Safety and Efficacy of Epcoritamab in Combination with R-CHOP Compared to R-CHOP in Subjects with Newly Diagnosed Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL) (EPCORE DLBCL-2). Role: Site Principal Investigator.
 Matthew Hemming, MD, PhD

Matthew Hemming, MD, PhD

Research Focus: Basic and translational research in sarcoma

  • Sarcoma epigenetics of oncogene regulation
  • Characterizing oncogenic fusion proteins driving sarcoma

Representative Publications:

  1. Sicinska E, Kola VSR, Kerfoot JA, Taddei ML, Al-Ibraheemi A, Hsieh YH, Church AJ, Landesman-Bollag E, Landesman Y, Hemming ML. ASPSCR1::TFE3 Drives Alveolar Soft Part Sarcoma by Inducing Targetable Transcriptional Programs. Cancer Research. 2024 Apr 24.
  2. Hemming ML, Benson MR, Loycano MA, Anderson JA, Andersen JL, Taddei ML, Krivtsov AV, Aubrey BJ, Cutler JA, Hatton C, Sicinska E, Armstrong SA. MOZ and Menin-MLL Complexes Are Complementary Regulators of Chromatin Association and Transcriptional Output in Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor. Cancer Discovery. 2022.
 Ryan Holstead, MD

Ryan Holstead, MD

Research Focus: Clinical outcomes in Pancreatic Cancer

  • Large Language Model Derived Oncology Summaries
  • Medical Education

Representative Publications:

  1. Ryan G. Holstead Utility of Large Language Models to Produce a Patient-Friendly Summary From Oncology Consultations. JCO Oncol Pract 20, 1157-1159(2024). DOI:10.1200/OP.24.00057.
  2. Ryan Holstead and Ryann Quinn., Global interest in podcasts designed for medical oncology trainees.. JCO 42, 9019-9019(2024). DOI:10.1200/JCO.2024.42.16_suppl.9019.
 Shaoguang Li, MD, PhD

Research Focus: Molecular Basis of Leukemogenesis and Myeloproliferative Neoplasms 

  • Understanding the biology of leukemia stem cells (LSCs)
  • Identification of molecular targets specific for LSCs
  • Elucidation of signaling pathways critical for the development of myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), with a focus on polycythemia vera (PV) induced by JAK2V617F
  • Understanding the biology of PV-initiating cells
  • Characterization of the self-renewal mechanisms of normal hematopoietic stem cells  

Representative Publication:

  1. Chen Y, Shan Y, Lu M, et al. Alox5 blockade eradicates JAK2V617F-induced polycythemia vera in mice. Cancer Res. 2017;77(1):164-174.
 Kriti Mittal MD, MS, FACP​

Kriti Mittal, MD, MS, FACP

Research Focus: Clinical and translation research in Genitourinary malignancies (Bladder, Kidney, Prostate, and Testicular Cancers)

  • Immunotherapy related adverse events
  • Patient reported outcomes

Representative Publications:

  1. Schuster ALR, Crossnohere NL, Boakye EA, Angove R, Baldwin B, Barreto EA, Chen RC, Gillespie TW, Hamilton B, McCleary NJ, Karmo M, Kaufmann T, Lee W, Mehta V, Meyer L, Mittal K, Owens L, Peterson R, Pusic A, Rainey AM, Richardson A, Shapiro L, Sibbitt B, Smith C, Vargo M, Vickers A, Brundage M, Snyder C. A Framework to Promote Implementation of Patient-Reported Outcomes in Institutions Caring for Vulnerable and Underserved Cancer Populations. Patient. 2024.
  2. Mittal K, Joshi M. FGFR inhibitors in urothelial cancer: Contextualizing THOR within the new treatment landscape. Med. 2024 Mar 8;5(3):176-178.
 Shyam A. Patel, MD, PhD

Shyam A. Patel, MD, PhD

Research Focus: TP53-mutant myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML)

  • Genomics of clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP)

Representative Publications:

  1. Patel SA, Gerber WK, Zheng R, …, Gerber JM. Natural history of clonal haematopoiesis seen in real-world haematology settings. Br J Haematol. 2024; 204:1844-1855.
  2. Patel SA, Cerny J, Gerber WK, …, Gerber JM. Prognostic heterogeneity and clonal dynamics within distinct subgroups of myelodysplastic syndrome and acute myeloid leukemia with TP53 disruptions. EJHaem. 2023; 4:1059-1070.
 Laurie K. Pearson, MD

Laurie K. Pearson, MD

Research Focus: Outcomes of hematologic malignancies in the geriatric population

  • Geriatric underrepresentation on clinical trials
  • Identification of tolerable therapies for older adults with hematologic malignancies

Representative Publications:

  1. Kumar AJ, Pearson LK, Wong JB, Friedberg JW, Parsons SK, LeClair AM. Understanding treatment decisions for Hodgkin lymphoma: a qualitative study. Leuk Lymphoma 2023 Oct 28:1-9. PMID 37897330.
  2. Nikita N, Pearson LK, Zheng Y, Lu-Yao G, Mitchell EP, Simon MA, Dotan E. Missed Opportunities in Geriatric Clinical Trial Enrollment: The ECOG-ACRIN experience. International Society of Geriatric Oncology (SIOG) Annual Meeting in Valencia, Spain 2023.
 Jason R. Pitarresi, PhD

Jason R. Pitarresi, PhD

Research Focus: Cellular plasticity and metastasis

  • Tumor immunology
  • Cancer cachexia​

Representative Publications:

  1. Pitarresi JR, […] Stanger BZ, Rustgi AK. PTHrP Drives Pancreatic Cancer Growth and Metastasis and Reveals a New Therapeutic Vulnerability. Cancer Discovery (2021) PMID: 33589425.
  2. Li AL, […] Pitarresi JR*, Sims PA*, Rustgi AK*. FRA1 controls acinar cell plasticity during murine KrasG12D-induced pancreatic acinar to ductal metaplasia. Developmental Cell. (2024) PMID: 39178842. *co-corresponding
 Rena Zheng, MD, PhD

Rena Zheng, MD, PhD

Research Focus: Anticoagulation in venous thromboembolism in COVID-19 patients

Representative Publications:

  1. Natural history of clonal haematopoiesis seen in real-world haematology settings. Patel SA, Gerber WK, Zheng R, Khanna S, Hutchinson L, Abel GA, Cerny J, DaSilva BA, Zhang TY, Ramanathan M, Khedr S, Selove W, Woda B, Miron PM, Higgins AW, Gerber JM. Br J Haematol. 2024 May;204(5):1844-1855.
  2. The Association of Anticoagulation Intensity with Outcomes in Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients. Zheng R, Solomon A, DiLorenzo M, Rajendran I, Park J, Dhongade V, Garcia MA, Eberhardt RT, Sloan JM, Weinberg J, Klings ES. Adv Hematol. 2024 Mar 11; 2024:8838308.