Contact
Email: exa1114@miami.edu
Roles
Research Assistant Professor
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Biography
Dr. Erden Atilla is a physician-scientist and Research Assistant Professor in the Division of Transplantation and Cellular Therapy at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. He received his medical degree and completed specialty training in Internal Medicine and fellowship in Hematology, and Bone Marrow Transplantation at the University of Ankara School of Medicine in Türkiye. He pursued postdoctoral research at Baylor College of Medicine with Dr. Malcolm Brenner and at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center with Dr. Geoffrey Hill, focusing on immunotherapy, stem cell transplantation, and cellular therapy innovation.
Dr. Atilla’s research centers on the development of engineered cellular therapies for hematologic malignancies. His work integrates combinatorial antigen targeting, cytokine modulation, and safety-switch strategies to enhance efficacy and reduce toxicity. He has extensive experience developing complex syngeneic and xenograft murine models to evaluate CAR T-cell efficacy, immunotherapy outcomes, and toxicity mechanisms—advancing both bench-to-bedside and reverse translational research pipelines. Dr. Atilla has contributed to the advancement of off-the-shelf and universal allogeneic CAR T-cell platforms, including donor-derived T cells engineered to resist host immune rejection. His ongoing efforts focus on modulating the tumor microenvironment in AML, optimizing cell manufacturing, and designing early-phase translational studies. He collaborates with multidisciplinary teams across national and international partners in translational hematology and immunotherapy. -
Education & Training
Education
Post Graduate Training
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Research Interests
Dr. Atilla’s research is at the forefront of cancer immunotherapy, with a particular focus on chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. His work centers on the development of engineered cellular therapies for hematologic malignancies, integrating innovative genetic and immunologic strategies to enhance efficacy while improving safety. His recent publications highlight his contributions to toxicity management, aiming to mitigate cytokine-driven adverse effects associated with potent immunotherapies.
In parallel, he investigates mechanisms of immune evasion and the tumor microenvironment’s influence on CAR T-cell persistence and function. To support clinical translation, he employs sophisticated murine models that enable mechanistic dissection of therapeutic responses and toxicities, effectively bridging fundamental discovery with patient-directed treatment strategies.
Reflecting his translational philosophy, Dr. Atilla embraces a multidirectional approach—“bed to bench-side”—that moves beyond the classical bench-to-bedside paradigm, recognizing the iterative, reciprocal nature of innovation between clinical insight and laboratory advancement. -
Publications
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