New York Myeloma Roundtable

Saad Z. Usmani, MBBS MD MBA FACP FRCP FASCO Chief of Myeloma Service Member, Myeloma, Cellular Therapy and Adult BMT Services Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY Professor, Weill Cornell Medical College, Cornell University

Dr. Usmani received his medical education at Allama Iqbal Medical College in Lahore, Pakistan. He completed a residency in internal medicine at Sinai-Grace Hospital/Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan and a fellowship in hematology and oncology at the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington, Connecticut. He joined the Myeloma Institute for Research & Therapy, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, AR in 2010 as the Director of Developmental Therapeutics. He was recruited to the Levine Cancer Institute/Atrium Health in 2013 as the inaugural Division Chief of Plasma Cell Disorders and Director of Clinical Research for Hematologic Malignancies where he built an internationally renowned myeloma program. He joined Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in 2021 as the Chief of Myeloma Service and holds a faculty position as Professor of Clinical Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College, Cornell University. Dr. Usmani is board-certified in internal medicine, medical oncology, and hematology. He is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (UK), and Fellow of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. He holds membership and leadership roles on national/international committees, including the International Myeloma Working Group (Scientific Advisory Board Member), the ALLIANCE Myeloma NCTN Committee (Chair), the American Society of Hematology (ASH), the American Society of Clinical Oncology, International Myeloma Society (Board Member), the American Society of Transplant & Cellular Therapy, and the National Cancer Institute Myeloma Steering Committee. Dr. Usmani has served as the Vice-Chair of the SWOG Myeloma Committee and has served as chair for the ASH Scientific Committee on Plasma Cell Neoplasia, and the ASCO Scientific Committee on Lymphoma and Plasma Cell Disorders. He has received several international awards recognizing his clinical and translational research contributions to the field, including the Celgene Young Investigator Award for Clinical Research, COMY Award for Excellence in Myeloma Research, LLS Scholar in Clinical Research, the International Myeloma Society Bart Barlogie Award for Clinical and Translational Research, the LLS CDP Achievement Award, and the Giants in Cancer Care Award. He has led the clinical development of several novel therapies, including anti-CD38 monoclonal antibodies, bispecific antibodies and CART cell therapies resulting in regulatory approvals in multiple myeloma. Dr. Usmani has authored/co-authored more than 360 peer-reviewed research manuscripts (NEJM, Lancet, Nature Medicine, JCO, Cancer Cell, Blood, Leukemia, etc.). Active in clinical and translational research, Dr. Usmani has research interests focused on plasma cell disorders—in particular, high-risk multiple myeloma.

Sham Mailankody, MBBS

I am a medical oncologist specializing in the care of people with multiple myeloma and related plasma cell disorders. With my colleagues at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK), I am focused on identifying optimal treatment strategies for people with these disorders. My research focuses on the development of novel immune and cellular therapies, including chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapies, for patients with myeloma. I also serve as the Clinical Director of the Cellular Therapy Service and the Research Director of the Myeloma Service at MSK.

Faith Davies, MBBCh, MRCP, MD, FRCPath

Faith Davies, MBBCh, MRCP, MD, FRCPath, is a member of the faculty of the Department of Medicine at New York University Langone Health and Director of the Clinical Myeloma Program at the Perlmutter Cancer Center. She is recognized internationally for her focus on innovative targeted molecular therapies and her expertise in the treatment of relapsed refractory disease. Her focus is on the biology and treatment of myeloma with an emphasis on potential new drugs and new genetic technologies and their applications to myeloma. Her laboratory work is aimed at identifying biologically based therapeutic targets in myeloma that are amenable to small molecule interventions and translating those laboratory findings into individualized treatment in the clinical setting. Prior to joining NYU Langone Health, Dr. Davies was Deputy Director of the Myeloma Institute at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS). She also served as Professor of Medicine and Director of the Phase I Clinical Trials Program for both the Myeloma Institute and the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute. Dr. Davies came to UAMS in 2014 from the Institute of Cancer Research and the Royal Marsden Hospital, both in London. She earned her medical degree from the College of Medicine, University of Wales. She completed her general medical training in Cardiff and Birmingham and hematology specialty training in Leeds and London.

Urvi Shah, MD

Dr. Urvi Shah is a faculty on the myeloma service, division of hematologic malignancies at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Her research focuses on studying the role of diet, microbiome, and other lifestyle-related risk factors in plasma cell disorders as well as identifying interventions to improve outcomes for these patients. She also studies immune therapies (including CAR T cell therapies) for myeloma. Being a lymphoma survivor herself she is passionate about helping patients make wise nutritional and lifestyle choices as they face a plasma cell disorder diagnosis as well as raising awareness about healthy choices to prevent cancer.

Cesar Rodriguez, MD

Dr. Cesar Rodriguez is Associate Professor of Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, The Tisch Cancer Institute, and the Center of Excellence for Multiple Myeloma, and serves as Clinical Director of Multiple Myeloma at The Mount Sinai Hospital. Dr. Rodriguez has extensive experience treating patients with plasma cell disorders. He is a member of the International Myeloma Working Group which conducts collaborative research and produces consensus guidelines for the myeloma community. Dr. Rodriguez has more than 10 years of experience in clinical research and is the principal investigator of numerous clinical trials for multiple myeloma focused on early drug development and immunotherapies that include T cell and NK cell directed therapies. He is also working on a 3D organoid model to better understand the biology of the tumor niche.

Jenny Ahlstrom

HealthTree Foundation Founder and President, Blood Cancer Survivor