I am a hematologist-oncologist specializing in the care of patients with multiple myeloma and other disorders affecting plasma cells (the cells that produce the antibodies that protect us against infection). I treat patients who have received a diagnosis of multiple myeloma or a diagnosis of another plasma cell disorder, such as monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS), smoldering myeloma, or amyloidosis. Many of the patients I see have a disease that has been deemed hard to treat or high risk. A blood cancer diagnosis dramatically changes the trajectory of a patient’s life. I am acutely aware of the impact that I have on a patient’s cancer treatment journey and am passionate about having the opportunity to make a difference in my patients’ lives. Throughout my 14-plus years of caring for patients with multiple myeloma and plasma cell disorders, my patients and their family members have always been the most important people in the room for me. It is my responsibility to educate my patients with relevant information about their disease, alleviate their concerns at each stage in the process, and develop a treatment plan that best befits their individual needs. This is not a responsibility that I take lightly. I am committed to making each of my patients feel comforted in the expertise of their care team and empowered by the information provided to them.

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, 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.

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, recently joined the faculty of Mount Sinai Hospital and is the Clinical and Operations Director of the Myeloma Program for the system. He previously was Associate Professor of Hematology and Oncology at the Wake Forest School of Medicine and led the Myeloma program there for 6 years. His focus is early phase clinical trials, translational medicine using 3D culture models, and immunotherapies. He has led a number of first-in-human studies with bi-specific therapies and has opened the first tri-specific therapy for myeloma targeting NK cells. He is one of three winners of the second Myeloma Crowd Research Initiative (MCRI) competition. His project uses a three-dimensional organoid tumor modeling platform which allows the testing of multiple treatment combinations against a specific tumor to identify which treatments will work best for each individual’s type of myeloma. This personalized approach may help doctors to help find useful drug combinations that will have the most impact and avoid treatments that will be ineffective. Dr. Rodriguez earned his MD at Escuela de Medicina Ignacio A. Santos, Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, Monterrey, Mexico. He completed his residency at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center at El Paso and a fellowship at the University of Louisville.

HealthTree Foundation Founder and President, Blood Cancer Survivor