Harry P. Erba, MD, PhD

I treat people with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), and myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN). In general, therapies initially developed for these cancers were drugs that killed cells that are dividing. Unfortunately, many normal cells in the body are also affected or killed by these drugs as well, leading to the unwanted toxicities of chemotherapy. Over the years, we have gained tremendous insight into the specific events that cause a cell to become cancerous and have developed better tools for distinguishing normal from cancerous cells. My clinical research effort for over 20 years has focused on the development of drugs that specifically target the abnormalities of the leukemia cell. I study the effects associated with treating people with investigational agents that target the molecular changes that are specific to blood cancers. I have been an active member of teams of doctors that have brought new treatments to people with leukemia, such as oral drugs that inactivate FLT3 and IDH. In this way we hope to improve the outcome of people with blood cancers with fewer unwanted side effects.