This year’s Presidential Lecture, held June 15 in Robbins Auditorium, featured the work of Ulrich Steidl, M.D., Ph.D., and Amit Verma, M.B.B.S..
Over the past decade, Drs. Steidl and Verma have collaborated on studies of two closely intertwined diseases: myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML). They were among the first researchers to demonstrate that MDS, a common precursor of AML, arises from wayward bone-marrow stem cells, raising hopes for treating or preventing both diseases.
The Presidential Lecture, established in 2017, highlights outstanding research conducted at Einstein and Montefiore.
Dr. Steidl’s topic was “Understanding the Molecular and Cellular Pathogenesis of Myeloid Malignancies at the Stem Cell Level,” and Dr. Verma presented “Therapeutic Targeting of MDS and AML.” Dr. Steidl is a professor of cell biology, of oncology, and of medicine, the Rose C. Falkenstein Chair in Cancer Research, the Diane and Arthur B. Belfer Faculty Scholar in Cancer Research, the deputy director of Montefiore Einstein Cancer Center (MECC), and the interim director of the Ruth L. and David S. Gottesman Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine.
Dr. Verma is a professor of oncology, of medicine, and of developmental and molecular biology, the associate director of translational science at MECC, and the director of the division of hemato-oncology at Einstein and Montefiore.