Ashkan Emadi, Md, Phd

Biography

Dr. Emadi is a hematologist/medical oncologist and an organic chemist who is an Associate Professor of Medicine, Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics at the University of Maryland School Of Medicine, and Marlene & Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center (UMGCCC). He previously served as a medical officer at the Division of Hematology Products (DHP), Office of Hematology and Oncology Products (OHOP), Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER), United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Dr. Emadi's overarching career goal is to change the outcomes for acute leukemias in adults by designing, conducting and analyzing rationally-based innovative strategies that will positively affect cures and translate into prolongation of meaningful survival. His in-depth knowledge and experience in organic chemistry and drug design, preclinical and clinical development, and drug approval covers the entire spectrum of drug development. Dr. Emadi is the co-chair of the Clinical Research Committee (CRC) of UMGCCC. Dr. Emadi developed novel methodologies for the regiospecific synthesis of multiple naphthoquinone derivatives related to the natural product conocurvone, which exhibit HIV integrase inhibitory activity as well as anti-neoplastic activity. He was granted “Highest Standards of Academic Achievement Award” for his scholarly activity during Ph.D., and holds the patent on the compounds and their synthesis. He was awarded the prestigious “Martin and Mary Kilpatrick Award” for exceptional ability and promise in chemistry and outstanding achievement in chemical research. Dr. Emadi's translational and clinical research is focused on exploiting and targeting metabolic pathways in neoplastic cells. Dr. Emadi is the Principal Investigator of fully funded investigator-initiated clinical trials for treatment of patients with newly diagnosed and relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML) involving tryptophan and glutamine metabolisms. He is particularly interested in exploiting indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) and mutant isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) for treatment of acute leukemia. Further, Dr. Emadi is dedicated to mentoring the next generation of basic and clinical investigators who will build upon and refine any inroads that the current generation of cancer investigators makes in overcoming these devastating diseases. To this end, at UMGCCC, Dr. Emadi serves as Director of the three-year Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)-accredited Hematology and Oncology Fellowship Program. He annually recruits and mentors five of the best candidates who are board eligible in internal medicine and wish to achieve training and certification in both hematology and medical oncology.

Research Interest

Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS), Myeloproliferative Neoplasms (MPN)