Marina Konopleva, MD, PhD, is a Professor of Oncology and Molecular Pharmacology at Montefiore Einstein, where she serves as the Director of the Leukemia Program and Co-Director of the Blood Cancer Institute. Her clinical expertise is in the treatment of patients with hematologic malignancies, specifically acute myeloid and acute lymphoblastic leukemia, as well as high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome and chronic myeloid leukemia.
After earning her Doctor of Medicine from the First Pavlov Medical Institute in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1990, Dr. Konopleva completed her postgraduate training in internal medicine at I.P. Pavlov State Medical Institute in 1993. She went on to obtain her PhD in experimental hematology from the Federal Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion, and completed her postdoctoral fellowship in Molecular Hematology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in 1998.
Dr. Konopleva's laboratory research focuses on activating cell death, metabolic inhibitors, and immune-oncology in AML. Her research has led to key contributions, including the identification of the dependence of AML cells on the anti-apoptotic protein BCL-2 and the FDA approval of the BCL-2 inhibitor venetoclax in combination with low-intensity chemotherapy for elderly patients unfit for standard chemotherapy. This therapy has demonstrated both low toxicity and a documented survival benefit for elderly patients with AML. Dr. Konopleva's research has greatly benefited leukemia research, clinical research, and the lives of patients. She is a scholar of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and her research is funded by the NIH, Department of Defense, and various private foundations. Her work has been published in numerous peer-reviewed journals, and she has presented nationally and internationally.
Dr. Konopleva is board-certified by the Russian Board of Hematology, the American Board of Internal Medicine, and the American Board of Internal Medicine - Hematology. She is a member of several professional societies, including the American Society of Hematology, the American Association of Cancer Research, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the American Society for Clinical Investigation, and the Society of Hematologic Oncology.
Dr. Konopleva has won many awards for her work, including the R. Lee Clark Prize for Basic/Translational Science, the Students' Faculty Choice Award from MD Anderson Cancer Center in 2019, the Otis W. and Pearl L. Walters Faculty Achievement Award in Clinical Research from MD Anderson Cancer Center in 2020, and the Mentor of the Year award from the Division of Cancer Medicine at MD Anderson Cancer Center in 2022.
About IMMONC
Immune Oncology Research Institute (IMMONC) is dedicated to advancing research aimed at preventing, treating, and ultimately curing cancer while making these innovations accessible to those who need them. If you're interested in joining our team, please feel free to contact us at [email protected] or at +374-41 310-048.