Roles
Professor
Chief, Division of Myeloma, Department of Medicine
Director, Sylvester Myeloma Institute
Co-Leader, Translational and Clinical Oncology Program
Paul J. DiMare Endowed Chair in Immunotherapy
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Biography
I am Professor of Medicine, Chief of the Myeloma Division, and Co-Leader of the Translational and Clinical Oncology (TCO) Program at NCI-designated Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center (Sylvester). In my Co-Leader role, I work closely with Dr. Jaime Merchan to oversee the clinical and research operations for TCO as well as the development of the research program. Dr. Merchan and I complement each other's talents and strengths and serve as key conduits to move science from the lab into the clinic, and vice versa. As a Cancer Center Support Grant member, I participate in research activities as an independent investigator, as a leader of research governance committees, and I serve on multi-disciplinary research teams.
I am a frequent speaker and faculty member for national and international meetings on myeloma and hematologic malignancies. I am on the editorial board for Hemasphere, Leukemia, and Blood Advances and serve as a reviewer for grants and for several high-impact journals. -
Education & Training
Education
Post Graduate Training
Licensures and Certifications
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Honors & Awards
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Teaching Interests
I am a frequent speaker and faculty member for national and international meetings on myeloma and hematologic malignancies. I also participate in medical education through mentoring and teaching of medical students, PhD students, fellows, post-docs, and junior faculty. -
Research Interests
Over the past several years, I have designed and conducted a series of studies to define biological mechanisms of multiple myeloma (MM) and the transformation from myeloma precursor disease (monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance [MGUS] and smoldering myeloma) to MM. We continue to model and integrate clinical, immune microenvironment, and genomic data to better characterize the pathogenesis and (sub)clonal evolution of MM and its precursor disease to better evaluate the mutagenic impact of different chemotherapeutic agents and to improve clinical outcomes. Our group has strong expertise in both clinical and genome profiling analysis. In addition, we have a proven track record on the development of high-throughput laboratory and analytical pipelines (including bioinformatics, statistical modeling, and artificial intelligence (AI)), and we have the skills and experience on how to integrate large and complex genomic datasets.
For more than a decade, I have launched several early-intervention clinical trials for patients with high-risk smoldering myeloma, with the aim to delay or prevent transformation. Furthermore, as part of my interest in effective, non-intense therapies, I have designed clinical studies to seek rapid and deep responses in patients with smoldering myeloma as well as newly diagnosed MM. Beyond traditional clinical criteria for complete remission, I have developed novel strategies to define minimal residual disease (MRD) detection post-therapy in MM and in patients with related disorders, using cell-, molecular-, and imaging-based methods. My goal is to define sensitive MRD methods that can be used for longitudinal monitoring without the need for invasive biopsies. The intention is to use AI to integrate these data with genomic, demographic, clinical, and therapeutic features to develop individualized prognostication, to redefine the concept of high-risk disease, and to design, for the first time, patient-tailored therapeutic strategies. -
Publications
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Professional Activities
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