Luciano Costa, MD, PHD

• Multiple Myeloma

Dr. Costa is actively involved in research pertaining to the development of new therapies for lymphoid malignancies and novel approaches to hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. He currently serves as PI of ten industry-sponsored research projects, as well as two federal grants. He has 41 and counting publicatoins in peer-reviewed journals such as Blood and Bone Marrow Transplant and the British Journal of Hematology. Dr. Costa’s main interest is in the development of innovative therapeutic strategies in lymphoid malignancies. In addition to being the local PI in several non-Hodgkin lymphoma and multiple myeloma trials, Dr. Costa has launched an investigator-initiated trial using two new agents (lenalidomide and ofatumumab) for the management of relapsed chronic lymphocytic leukemia. This trial was designed with prospective assessment of biomarkers and will allow detailed understanding of the in vivo effect of these two compounds in the leukemia cells and in the immune system. Dr. Costa was recently appointed Director of Research for the Medical University of South Carolina’s (MUSC) Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (HSCT) Program. He is also interested in the development of strategies that will improve the safety and efficacy of HSCT. Dr. Costa developed and validated a new cost-based algorithm for autologous HSC mobilization with 100% mobilization success and 93% predictability. Working in collaboration with Dr. Robert Stuart, he has developed an investigator-initiated trial for reduced intensity allogeneic transplantation in advanced hematologic malignancies. This trial encompasses an innovative transplantation approach to advanced B cell malignancies, integrates radioimmunotherapy into the conditioning regimen, and incorporates an mTOR inhibitor as an enhancer of the cytotoxic effect of the conditioning regimen and anti graft-versushost disease (GVHD) prophylactic agent. Another area of interest for Dr. Costa is the development of biomarkers for GVHD. Collaboration has been established with Dr. John Arthur, director of the MUSC Nephrology Proteomics Facility, to discover and validate early biomarkers for severe acute GVHD based on plasma exosomes.