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Director of the Blood and Marrow Transplant Center, Roswell Park Cancer Institute Areas of expertise: Bone marrow transplant, leukemia, lymphoma, multiple myeloma, blood cancer, hematologic oncology

Physician-scientist Dr. David Maloney is at the forefront of clinical trials to develop cell therapies for blood and other cancers, including understanding side effects of CAR T鈥檚 and how to deliver them in outpatient settings. A renowned researcher and clinician focusing on cancer immunotherapies and CAR T-cell therapies, he recently presented findings from the TRANSCEND trial for CD19 CAR T. This study showed that patients had improved quality-of-life (reduced fatigue and pain symptoms) starting six months after receiving CAR T-cell therapy. 

Dr. Maloney focuses on using genetically engineered T cells (such as CAR-T) to treat patients with leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma and selected other cancers without causing graft vs. host disease that has been associated with transplantation.  He was instrumental in developing and testing rituximab, the first antibody-based cancer drug on the market 鈥� one that has transformed the treatment of certain leukemias and lymphomas.

He is also an expert on blood-forming (hematopoietic) stem cell transplantation (HCT) in using a matched donor鈥檚 (allogeneic) or a patient鈥檚 own (autologous) stem cells in treatments for patients with hematologic malignancies. Recognizing that standard pre-transplant regimens are too toxic for many patients, Dr. Maloney and Fred Hutch colleagues are evaluating approaches that use antibodies to deliver radioactivity or cancer-killing drugs directly to tumors. They have also developed a less toxic, 鈥渞educed intensity鈥� (nonmyeloablative) regimen that can more safely provide long-term remissions for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL) and myeloma after allogeneic HCT.

Autologous HCT followed by reduced intensity allogenic HCT (tandem HCT) has proven effective for refractory NHL and myeloma patients. Dr. Maloney and colleagues have learned that nearly all of the anti-tumor activity of allogeneic HCT comes from the specific graft-vs-tumor activities of donor immune T cells, showing that antitumor immunity can be curative. Unfortunately, these T cells can also cause dangerous 鈥済raft-vs-host鈥� effects on normal tissues.

Dr. Maloney continues exploring the use of antibodies as anti-cancer therapies, including newer anti-CD20 antibodies (e.g. ofatumumab, Arzerra庐) for NHL patients, as well as radiolabeled antibodies, drug-carrying antibodies and unlabeled antibodies as targeted pre-transplant 鈥渃onditioning鈥� or as 鈥渕aintenance鈥� to extend remissions after allogeneic transplantation.

As medical director of the Cellular Immunotherapy Integrated Research Center at Fred Hutch, Dr. Maloney cares for patients at the Bezos Family Immunotherapy Clinic at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, the Hutch鈥檚 clinical-care partner. He is also professor of medicine in the Division of Oncology at the University of Washington.

Namrata Chandhok, M.D. is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine (Hematology) at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine/ Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. She received her MD from the George Washington University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C, completed her residency in Internal Medicine at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, MA and fellowship in Hematology/ Oncology at Yale University School of Medicine/ Yale New Haven Hospital in New Haven, CT. 

Dr. Chandhok specializes in the management of myeloid disorders, which include myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Her research focuses on the use of novel therapies to treat cancer and identification of cancer dependencies and vulnerabilities in the early stages of cancer that can be used to develop cancer prevention strategies.  She is also deeply invested in advancing health equity in cancer care.

Dr Sekeres has focused on leukemias, and particularly myelodysplastic syndromes and acute myeloid leukemia in older adults, for two decades. He has developed innovative therapies for these cancers; helped define the genetics of leukemia and related blood and bone marrow cancers along with clinical correlates; helped redefine prognostication, including innovative methods using machine learning and artificial intelligence; and helped define the epidemiology and patient reported outcomes in these conditions. He has also chaired the FDA’s Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee and is an expert on cancer regulatory issues, and is a widely published essayist focused on patient-doctor communication, with 60 essays in The New York Times.

Bone Marrow Leukemia Lymphoma Multiple Myeloma Myelodysplastic Syndrome
Specializing In:
Cellular Therapies, including stem cell transplantation, CAR-T cell therapies, TILs, TCR gene therapies

Biography:
My research is dedicated to developing gene-engineered cell therapies that target cancer cells in pre-clinical models. The goal of this research is to identify optimal cell therapies that can then be evaluated in cancer patients. It is my goal that our innovative laboratory and clinical research will lead to therapeutic options for patients with cancers. 

Positions
Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center
Vice Chair for Cellular Therapies
Senior Vice President and Associate Director for Translational Research
Department of Medicine
Background
Education and Training:
1997-2004 - PhD - Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC
1995-2004 - MD - Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC
1991-1995 - BS - Biochemistry/Chemistry, Texas Christian University, Forth Worth, TX
Residency:
2004-2006 - Resident, Department of Medicine, New York Presbyterian Weill/Cornell, Cornell Medical Center, New York City, NY
Fellowship:
2010-2011 - Research Fellow, Department of Medicine, Division of Medical Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York City, NY
2006-2010 - Clinical Fellow, Department of Medicine, Division of Medical Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York City, NY
Professional Memberships:
Society of Immunotherapy for Cancer
American Society of Hematology
American Society of Clinical Oncology
American Association for Cancer Research
American Association of Immunologists
Professional Experience:
2021-2022 - Senior Member, Department of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Tampa, FL
2016 鈥�2022 - Medical Director, Cell Therapy Facility, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL
2015-2022 - Associate Professor, Department of Oncologic Sciences, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL
2015-2021 - Associate Member, Department of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL
2014鈥�2015 - Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology and Oncology, School of Medicine, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
2014-2015 - Assistant Professor, Department of Cancer Biology, School of Medicine, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
2014-2015 - Assistant Member, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Nashville, TN
2011鈥�2013 - Clinical Instructor, Department of Medicine, New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center, New York, NY
2011鈥� 2013 - Assistant Attending Physician, Leukemia Service, Department of Medicine, Division of Hematologic Oncology, Memorial Hospital, New York, NY
2011鈥�2013 - Assistant Member, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY
Honors & Awards:
2018 - Miles for Moffitt Award
2018 - National Trio Achievement Award
2015 - Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator Award
2015 - SWASAP TRiO Achiever
2015 - TASSSP TRiO Achiever
2014 - ASCI Council Young Physician-Scientist Award
2012 - Amos Medical Faculty Development Program Scholar, American Society of Hematology
2011 - TRiO Achiever Award, Texas Christian University
2010 - K08 Mentored Clinical Scientist Career Development Award
2010 - Young-Investigator Award, American Society of Clinical Oncology
2010 - Clinical and Translational Science Center KL2 Scholars Award
2009 - Mortimer J. Lacher Fellow
2003 - Bernard Amos Immunology Graduate Student Research Award, Duke University
2001 - Sammuel DuBois Cook Graduate Student Award, Duke University
1995 - Summa Cum Laude, Texas Christian University
1995 - Phi Beta Kappa, Texas Christian University
1995 - Senior Scholar in Chemistry, Texas Christian University
1994 - Ronald E. McNair Fellowship for Undergraduate Research, Texas Christian University
1994 - Summer Honors Undergraduate Research Program, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA
1993 - Honors Premedical Academy, Rice University, Houston, TX
1992 - M.D. Anderson Pre-Med Scholarship

Dr. Pongas is a board certified hematologist and oncologist with clinical experience in indolent and aggressive lymphomas. His research interest is the development of cancer therapeutics for B cell lymphomas and viral associated lymphomas. He has done significant laboratory work in Diffuse Large B cell lymphoma elucidating the therapeutic role of inhibiting various PI3K isoforms. He collaborates with clinical scientists to develop novel therapies in lymphomas and with laboratory scientists to study the mechanism of resistance to the therapies and ways to bypass it. With this approach he hopes to develop combinational therapies and increase the cure rates of various lymphomas.