Faculty & Staff

The Clinical Research Center for Myeloproliferative Neoplasms (MPNs) in the Leukemia department was founded in 2011 and is the largest single-institution center for MPNs worldwide. The clinical studies that led to regulatory approval of landmark therapeutics for MPNs, such as ruxolitinib (JAK1/2 inhibitor), were conducted at the Clinical Research Center for MPNs. Collectively, more than 100 early/advanced phase clinical trials on novel MPN medications have been conducted at the MPN Clinical Research Center. Notably, the MPN team has grown exponentially since 2005 (the team included one physician and one research nurse, and only one active MPN-specific clinical protocol was enrolling patients at that time).

The MPN research studies conducted at the Clinical Research Center for MPNs are published in prestigious medical journals and are frequently presented at the most important national and international conferences: for example, the American Society of Hematology (ASH), the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the Society of Hematologic Oncology (SOHO) and the European Hematology Association (EHA). Furthermore, the Clinical Research Center for MPNs periodically publishes the newsletter MPN Focus with the goal to educate MPN patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers about novel MPN therapeutics and the latest research findings in MPNs. Please visit MPN Awareness and Education page to view the collection of MPN Focus newsletters and other MPN educational materials.

On September 15, 2023, momelotinib received regulatory approval as a treatment for patients who have intermediate- or high-risk MF (primary or secondary MF) and anemia based on the data acquired in the pivotal phase 3 MOMENTUM trial (NCT04173494) and the data from a cohort of patients who participated in the phase 3 SIMPLIFY-1 trial (NCT01969838). Momelotinib is a unique JAK1/2 inhibitor because it also inhibits ACVR1 and thereby expression of hepcidin (master regulator or iron in the body) in the liver, leading to marked and sustained anemia benefits, including red blood cell transfusion independence. Regulatory approval of momelotinib is a major advancement in the treatment of anemic patients with MF. Until momelotinib received regulatory approval, there was a critical unmet need for MF patients with anemia, which is one of the hallmarks of the disease.

In February 2022, pacritinib received accelerated regulatory approval as a medication to treat patients with myelofibrosis and very low platelet counts (below 50x109/L); the accelerated approval of pacritinib was based on the efficacy that pacritinib demonstrated as a treatment for patients with myelofibrosis and thrombocytopenia (platelet counts below 100x109/L) in the Phase 3 PERSIST-2 clinical trial. Currently, several pivotal phase 3 trials in which other very promising MPN medications are being evaluated, are conducted at the Clinical Research Center for MPNs. Please visit Current MPN Research for more on MPN medications and recent research developments.

Faculty Treating MPNs and Affiliated Faculty

Prithviraj Bose, M.D., Professor, Leukemia

Zeev Estrov, M.D., Professor, Leukemia

Lucia Masarova, M.D., Assistant Professor, Leukemia

Naveen Pemmaraju, M.D., Professor, Leukemia 

Uday Popat, M.D., Professor, Stem Cell Transplantation

Carlos Bueso-Ramos, M.D., Ph.D., Professor, Hematopathology