MCRT Webcast: MGUS and Smoldering Myeloma (SMM) - September 26, 2020

Irene Ghobrial, MD, is a Professor at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI), Harvard Medical School and an associate member of the Broad Institute. She is Director of the Michele & Stephen Kirsch Laboratory and co-director of the Center for Prevention of Progression (CPOP) at DFCI. Additionally, she is the co-leader of the Blood Cancer Research Partnership (BCRP), a consortium for innovative clinical trials of community oncology sites coordinated by DFCI. Dr. Ghobrial’s research focuses on understanding mechanisms of tumor progression from early precursor conditions such as monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) and smoldering disease to symptomatic multiple myeloma and Waldenström Macroglobulinemia. She specifically focuses on the role of malignant bone marrow niche in regulating disease progression. She is interested in the development of new molecular/genomic markers that predict progression in precursor conditions which can identify patients who should be eligible for therapeutic interventions to prevent progression or potentially cure the disease at the early stages before clonal evolution occurs. She has authored or co-authored more than 250 publications and book chapters. She has received multiple awards including membership in the American Society of Clinical Investigation, the Robert A. Kyle Award for Research in Waldenström Macroglobulinemia, and the Mentor of the Year Award at DFCI in 2014. Dr. Ghobrial completed her hematology/oncology subspecialty training at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Rochester, MN and internal medicine training at Wayne State University in Detroit, MI. She earned her medical degree from the Cairo School of Medicine in Egypt.

Shaji Kumar, MD, is a Professor of Medicine and a Consultant in the Division of Hematology at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN. His research focuses on development of novel drugs for treatment of myeloma. His research team evaluates the in vitro activity of novel drugs that, based on their mechanisms of action, are likely to have activity in the setting of myeloma. Dr. Kumar also evaluates novel combinations of different drugs to identify synergistic combinations that can result in better treatment responses and eventually better patient outcomes. His work on drug development is complemented by an active program studying the biology of myeloma, with a focus on the study of bone marrow microenvironment in multiple myeloma and how it influences the tumor cells, especially the increased bone marrow microvessels seen in myeloma. His clinical research focuses on outcomes of patients with myeloma and amyloidosis, especially high-risk disease. Dr. Kumar conducts National Institutes of Health-funded research on translation of novel therapeutic targets in multiple myeloma as well as the role of cereblon pathways in myeloma. He also receives funding from the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation to study the relationship between molecular profiles, treatment regimens for patients with multiple myeloma and outcomes. Additional research, funded by the National Cancer Institute, investigates the prevalence, onset and biomarkers for progression of monoclonal gammopathies. Dr. Kumar was a research associate at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in the Harvard Cancer Center, a fellow at the Mayo Clinic, and received his medical degree and completed an internship and clinical residencies at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences.