Skip to Content

'
Katy Rezvani, MD, PhD

Present Title & Affiliation

Primary Appointment

Professor, Department of Stem Cell Transplantation, Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Director of Translational Research, Department of Stem Cell Transplantation - Research, Division of Internal Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Associate Clinical Medical Director, Department of Stem Cell Transplantation, Division of Internal Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX

Education & Training

Degree-Granting Education

2005 Imperial College, London, England, PHD, Doctor of Philosophy
1993 University College, London, England, MBBS, (with distinction), Medicine
1990 University College, London, England, BSC, (with honors), Neuroanatomy/Neuroscience

Postgraduate Training

2/2001-12/2007 Research Fellowship, LRF/NHLBI funded in Stem Cell Allotransplantation Section (SCAT),, Hematology Branch NHLBI, NIH,, Bethesda, MD
12/1999-2/2001 Clinical Fellowship, Hem-Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplant, Hammersmith Hospital, London, United Kingdom
8/1996-12/1999 Clinical Fellowship, Hammersmith Hospital, London, United Kingdom
2/1996-8/1996 Senior House Officer, University College London Hospital, London, United Kingdom
8/1995-2/1996 Clinical Residency, Royal Marsden Hospital, London, United Kingdom
2/1994-8/1995 Clinical Residency, Harefield and Hillingdon Hospitals, Hillingdon, United Kingdom
2/1994-8/1994 Internship, Mount Vernon Hospital, Northwood, United Kingdom
8/1993-2/1994 Internship, University College London Hospital, London, United Kingdom

Board Certifications

4/2012 Royal College of Physicians, London, England, Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians (FRCP)
10/2010 Royal College of Pathologists, Fellowship of the Royal College of Pathologists (FRCPath)
2000 Membership of the Royal College of Pathologists (MRCPath), England, Boards in Hematology
1996 Membership of the Royal College of Pathologists (MRCP) England, Boards in Internal Medicine

Experience/Service

Academic Appointments

Associate Professor, Hematology, and Consultant, Hammersmith Hospital, Imperial College, London, United Kingdom, 8/2011-5/2012
Associate Professor, Hematology, Clinical Senior Lecturer and Consultant, Hammersmith Hospital, London, England, London, United Kingdom, 1/2008-7/2011

Administrative Appointments/Responsibilities

Clinical Director of the John Goldman Cellular Therapy Laboratory and Clinical Lead Adult Stem Cell Transplant Program, Hammersmith Hospital, London, England, 1/2008-5/2012

Honors and Awards

2011 Clinical Excellence Award (level 6), Hammersmith Hospital, London, England
2010 Clinical Excellence Award (level 3), Hammersmith Hospital, London, England
2007 Best scientific abstract award, American Society of Blood and Marrow Transplantation
2007 Young Investigator Travel Award for best abstract, International Society of Cellular Therapy
2006 Lenfant Biomedical Fellowship Award, National Heart Lung Blood Institute
1993 Distinction in Medicine, University College, London, England
1993 Distinction in Pharmacology, University College, London, England
1993 Distinction in Surgery, University College, London, England
1990 Intercalated BSc Scholarship, Medical Research Council of UK

Selected Publications

Peer-Reviewed Original Research Articles
1. Rezvani K, Brody JD, Kohrt HE, Logan AC, Advani R, Czerwinski DK, Weng WK, Negrin RS, Carlton V, Faham M, Levy R, Barrett J. Cancer Vaccines and T Cell Therapy. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant. e-Pub 10/2012. PMID: 23041602.
2. Ali S, Sergeant R, O'Brien SG, Foroni L, Hedgley C, Gerrard G, Milojkovic D, Stringaris K, Khoder A, Alsuliman A, Gilleece M, Gabriel IH, Cooper N, Goldman JM, Apperley JF, Clark RE, Marin D, Rezvani K. Dasatinib may overcome the negative prognostic impact of KIR2DS1 in newly diagnosed patients with chronic myeloid leukemia. Blood 120(3):697-8, 7/2012. PMID: 22822001.
3. Rezvani K, Yong AS, Mielke S, Savani BN, Jafarpour B, Eniafe R, Le RQ, Musse L, Boss C, Childs R, John Barrett A. Lymphodepletion is permissive to the development of spontaneous T-cell responses to the self-antigen PR1 early after allogeneic stem cell transplantation and in patients with acute myeloid leukemia undergoing WT1 peptide vaccination following chemotherapy. Cancer Immunol Immunother 61(7):1125-36, 7/2012. e-Pub 12/2011. PMID: 22198310.
4. Chaidos A, Patterson S, Szydlo R, Chaudhry MS, Dazzi F, Kanfer E, McDonald D, Marin D, Milojkovic D, Pavlu J, Davis J, Rahemtulla A, Rezvani K, Goldman J, Roberts I, Apperley J, Karadimitris A. Graft invariant natural killer T-cell dose predicts risk of acute graft-versus-host disease in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Blood 119(21):5030-6, 5/2012. e-Pub 2/2012. PMID: 22371885.
5. Alikian M, Gerrard G, Subramanian PG, Mudge K, Foskett P, Khorashad JS, Lim AC, Marin D, Milojkovic D, Reid A, Rezvani K, Goldman J, Apperley J, Foroni L. BCR-ABL1 kinase domain mutations: methodology and clinical evaluation. Am J Hematol 87(3):298-304, 3/2012. e-Pub 1/2012. PMID: 22231203.
6. Rezvani K, Kanfer EJ, Marin D, Gabriel I, Rahemtulla A, Taylor A, Macdonald D, Dazzi F, Milojkovic D, Foroni L, Pavlu J, Sargent J, Le Dieu R, Goldman JM, Apperley J, Szydlo R. EBMT risk score predicts outcome of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in patients who have failed a previous transplantation procedure. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant 18(2):235-40, 2/2012. e-Pub 6/2011. PMID: 21723225.
7. Marin D, Gabriel IH, Ahmad S, Foroni L, de Lavallade H, Clark R, O'Brien S, Sergeant R, Hedgley C, Milojkovic D, Khorashad JS, Bua M, Alsuliman A, Khoder A, Stringaris K, Cooper N, Davis J, Goldman JM, Apperley JF, Rezvani K. KIR2DS1 genotype predicts for complete cytogenetic response and survival in newly diagnosed chronic myeloid leukemia patients treated with imatinib. Leukemia 26(2):296-302, 2/2012. e-Pub 8/2011. PMID: 21844874.
8. Milojkovic D, Apperley JF, Gerrard G, Ibrahim AR, Szydlo R, Bua M, Reid A, Rezvani K, Foroni L, Goldman J, Marin D. Responses to second-line tyrosine kinase inhibitors are durable: an intention-to-treat analysis in chronic myeloid leukemia patients. Blood 119(8):1838-43, 2/2012. e-Pub 12/2011. PMID: 22174159.
9. Marin D, Ibrahim AR, Lucas C, Gerrard G, Wang L, Szydlo RM, Clark RE, Apperley JF, Milojkovic D, Bua M, Pavlu J, Paliompeis C, Reid A, Rezvani K, Goldman JM, Foroni L. Assessment of BCR-ABL1 transcript levels at 3 months is the only requirement for predicting outcome for patients with chronic myeloid leukemia treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitors. J Clin Oncol 30(3):232-8, 1/2012. e-Pub 11/2011. PMID: 22067393.
10. Rezvani K. Aurora: a new direction for a new dawn. Blood 119(2):322-3, 1/2012. PMID: 22247517.
11. Mielke S, McIver ZA, Shenoy A, Fellowes V, Khuu H, Stroncek DF, Leitman SF, Childs R, Battiwalla M, Koklanaris E, Haggerty J, Savani BN, Rezvani K, Barrett AJ. Selectively T cell-depleted allografts from HLA-matched sibling donors followed by low-dose posttransplantation immunosuppression to improve transplantation outcome in patients with hematologic malignancies. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant 17(12):1855-61, 12/2011. e-Pub 5/2011. PMCID: PMC3179818.
12. Auner HW, Pavlu J, Szydlo R, Giles C, Kanfer E, Macdonald D, Marin D, Milojkovic D, Rezvani K, Goldman JM, Apperley JF, Landgren O, Rahemtulla A. Autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation in multiple myeloma patients from ethnic minority groups in an equal access healthcare system. Br J Haematol. e-Pub 11/2011. PMID: 22050411.
13. Rezvani K. MAGE: the spell is broken. Clin Cancer Res 17(22):6955-7, 11/2011. e-Pub 11/2011. PMID: 22068655.
14. Rezvani K. CD40-ligand/interleukin-2 vaccines in chronic lymphocytic leukemia: the impact of vaccine design. Cytotherapy 13(9):1029-30, 10/2011. PMID: 21916777.
15. Rezvani K, de Lavallade H. Vaccination strategies in lymphomas and leukaemias: recent progress. Drugs 71(13):1659-74, 9/2011. PMID: 21902290.
16. Rezvani K, de Lavallade H. Improving outcomes in myeloid leukemia patients: does a new DNA vaccine hold the answer? Expert Rev Vaccines 10(7):933-5, 7/2011. PMID: 21806391.
17. Garland P, de Lavallade H, Sekine T, Hoschler K, Sriskandan S, Patel P, Brett S, Stringaris K, Loucaides E, Howe K, Marin D, Kanfer E, Cooper N, Macdonald D, Rahemtulla A, Atkins M, Danga A, Milojkovic D, Gabriel I, Khoder A, Alsuliman A, Apperley J, Rezvani K. Humoral and cellular immunity to primary H1N1 infection in patients with hematologic malignancies following stem cell transplantation. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant 17(5):632-9, 5/2011. e-Pub 8/2010. PMID: 20708085.
18. Reddy N, Rezvani K, Barrett AJ, Savani BN. Strategies to prevent EBV reactivation and posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorders (PTLD) after allogeneic stem cell transplantation in high-risk patients. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant 17(5):591-7, 5/2011. e-Pub 8/2010. PMID: 20732435.
19. Yong AS, Stephens N, Weber G, Li Y, Savani BN, Eniafe R, Keyvanfar K, Kurlander R, Rezvani K, Barrett AJ. Improved outcome following allogeneic stem cell transplantation in chronic myeloid leukemia is associated with higher expression of BMI-1 and immune responses to BMI-1 protein. Leukemia 25(4):629-37, 4/2011. e-Pub 1/2011. PMCID: PMC3076540.
20. Ibrahim AR, Eliasson L, Apperley JF, Milojkovic D, Bua M, Szydlo R, Mahon FX, Kozlowski K, Paliompeis C, Foroni L, Khorashad JS, Bazeos A, Molimard M, Reid A, Rezvani K, Gerrard G, Goldman J, Marin D. Poor adherence is the main reason for loss of CCyR and imatinib failure for chronic myeloid leukemia patients on long-term therapy. Blood 117(14):3733-6, 4/2011. e-Pub 2/2011. PMID: 21346253.
21. Gerrard G, Mudge K, Stewart R, Foskett P, Stevens D, Khorashad JS, Szydlo R, Rezvani K, Marin D, Reid A, Apperley J, Goldman J, Foroni L. Duplex quantitative PCR for molecular monitoring of BCR-ABL1-associated hematological malignancies. Am J Hematol 86(3):313-5, 3/2011. e-Pub 2/2011. PMID: 21328433.
22. Rezvani K. Peptide vaccine therapy for leukemia. Int J Hematol 93(3):274-80, 3/2011. e-Pub 3/2011. PMID: 21380929.
23. Rezvani K, Yong AS, Mielke S, Jafarpour B, Savani BN, Le RQ, Eniafe R, Musse L, Boss C, Kurlander R, Barrett AJ. Repeated PR1 and WT1 peptide vaccination in Montanide-adjuvant fails to induce sustained high-avidity, epitope-specific CD8+ T cells in myeloid malignancies. Haematologica 96(3):432-40, 3/2011. e-Pub 12/2010. PMCID: PMC3046275.
24. de Lavallade H, Garland P, Sekine T, Hoschler K, Marin D, Stringaris K, Loucaides E, Howe K, Szydlo R, Kanfer E, Macdonald D, Kelleher P, Cooper N, Khoder A, Gabriel IH, Milojkovic D, Pavlu J, Goldman JM, Apperley JF, Rezvani K. Repeated vaccination is required to optimize seroprotection against H1N1 in the immunocompromised host. Haematologica 96(2):307-14, 2/2011. e-Pub 10/2010. PMCID: PMC3031700.
25. Rezvani K. Posttransplantation vaccination: concepts today and on the horizon. Hematology Am Soc Hematol Educ Program 2011:299-304, 2011. PMID: 22160049.
26. Gabriel IH, Sergeant R, Szydlo R, Apperley JF, DeLavallade H, Alsuliman A, Khoder A, Marin D, Kanfer E, Cooper N, Davis J, MacDonald D, Bua M, Foroni L, Giles C, Milojkovic D, Rahemtulla A, Rezvani K. Interaction between KIR3DS1 and HLA-Bw4 predicts for progression-free survival after autologous stem cell transplantation in patients with multiple myeloma. Blood 116(12):2033-9, 9/23/2010. e-Pub 6/18/2010. PMID: 20562327.
27. Rezvani K, Barrett AJ. Characterizing and optimizing immune responses to leukaemia antigens after allogeneic stem cell transplantation. Best Pract Res Clin Haematol 21(3):437-53, 9/2008. PMID: 18790448.
28. Mielke S, Nunes R, Rezvani K, Fellowes VS, Venne A, Solomon SR, Fan Y, Gostick E, Price DA, Scotto C, Read EJ, Barrett AJ. A clinical-scale selective allodepletion approach for the treatment of HLA-mismatched and matched donor-recipient pairs using expanded T lymphocytes as antigen-presenting cells and a TH9402-based photodepletion technique. Blood 111(8):4392-402, 4/15/2008. e-Pub 9/18/2007. PMCID: PMC2288732.
29. Savani BN, Mielke S, Adams S, Uribe M, Rezvani K, Yong AS, Zeilah J, Kurlander R, Srinivasan R, Childs R, Hensel N, Barrett AJ. Rapid natural killer cell recovery determines outcome after T-cell-depleted HLA-identical stem cell transplantation in patients with myeloid leukemias but not with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Leukemia 21(10):2145-52, 10/2007. e-Pub 8/2/2007. PMID: 17673900.
30. Savani BN, Montero A, Srinivasan R, Singh A, Shenoy A, Mielke S, Rezvani K, Karimpour S, Childs R, Barrett AJ. Chronic GVHD and pretransplantation abnormalities in pulmonary function are the main determinants predicting worsening pulmonary function in long-term survivors after stem cell transplantation. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant 12(12):1261-9, 12/2006. PMCID: PMC1849949.
31. Li J, Melenhorst J, Hensel N, Rezvani K, Sconocchia G, Kilical Y, Hou J, Curfman B, Major E, Barrett AJ. T-cell responses to peptide fragments of the BK virus T antigen: implications for cross-reactivity of immune response to JC virus. J Gen Virol 87(Pt 10):2951-60, 10/2006. PMID: 16963754.
32. Rezvani K, Mielke S, Ahmadzadeh M, Kilical Y, Savani BN, Zeilah J, Keyvanfar K, Montero A, Hensel N, Kurlander R, Barrett AJ. High donor FOXP3-positive regulatory T-cell (Treg) content is associated with a low risk of GVHD following HLA-matched allogeneic SCT. Blood 108(4):1291-7, 8/2006. e-Pub 4/2006. PMCID: PMC1895877.
33. Savani BN, Rezvani K, Mielke S, Montero A, Kurlander R, Carter CS, Leitman S, Read EJ, Childs R, Barrett AJ. Factors associated with early molecular remission after T cell-depleted allogeneic stem cell transplantation for chronic myelogenous leukemia. Blood 107(4):1688-95, 2/2006. e-Pub 8/2005. PMCID: PMC1895415.
34. Barrett J, Rezvani K. Neutrophil granule proteins as targets of leukemia-specific immune responses. Curr Opin Hematol 13(1):15-20, 1/2006. PMID: 16319682.
35. Rezvani K, Brenchley JM, Price DA, Kilical Y, Gostick E, Sewell AK, Li J, Mielke S, Douek DC, Barrett AJ. T-cell responses directed against multiple HLA-A*0201-restricted epitopes derived from Wilms' tumor 1 protein in patients with leukemia and healthy donors: identification, quantification, and characterization. Clin Cancer Res 11(24 Pt 1):8799-807, 12/2005. PMID: 16361568.
36. Terpos E, Rezvani K, Basu S, Milne AE, Rose PE, Scott GL, Rahemtulla A, Samson D, Apperley JF. Plasmacytoma relapses in the absence of systemic progression post-high-dose therapy for multiple myeloma. Eur J Haematol 75(5):376-83, 11/2005. PMID: 16191086.
37. Sconocchia G, Lau M, Provenzano M, Rezvani K, Wongsena W, Fujiwara H, Hensel N, Melenhorst J, Li J, Ferrone S, Barrett AJ. The antileukemia effect of HLA-matched NK and NK-T cells in chronic myelogenous leukemia involves NKG2D-target-cell interactions. Blood 106(10):3666-72, 11/2005. e-Pub 7/2005. PMCID: PMC1895055.
38. Savani BN, Srinivasan R, Espinoza-Delgado I, Dorrance C, Takahashi Y, Igarashi T, Rezvani K, Lundqvist A, Barrett AJ, Childs RW. Treatment of relapsed blast-phase Philadelphia-chromosome-positive leukaemia after non-myeloablative stem-cell transplantation with donor lymphocytes and imatinib. Lancet Oncol 6(10):809-12, 10/2005. PMID: 16198987.
39. Fujiwara H, Melenhorst JJ, El Ouriaghli F, Kajigaya S, Grube M, Sconocchia G, Rezvani K, Price DA, Hensel NF, Douek DC, Barrett AJ. In vitro induction of myeloid leukemia-specific CD4 and CD8 T cells by CD40 ligand-activated B cells gene modified to express primary granule proteins. Clin Cancer Res 11(12):4495-503, 6/2005. PMCID: PMC2366103.
40. Sconocchia G, Provenzano M, Rezvani K, Li J, Melenhorst J, Hensel N, Barrett AJ. CD34+ cells cultured in stem cell factor and interleukin-2 generate CD56+ cells with antiproliferative effects on tumor cell lines. J Transl Med 3(1):15, 4/2005. e-Pub 4/2005. PMCID: PMC1087889.
41. Sconocchia G, Keyvanfar K, El Ouriaghli F, Grube M, Rezvani K, Fujiwara H, McCoy JP, Hensel N, Barrett AJ. Phenotype and function of a CD56+ peripheral blood monocyte. Leukemia 19(1):69-76, 1/2005. PMID: 15526027.
42. Sconocchia G, Fujiwara H, Rezvani K, Keyvanfar K, El Ouriaghli F, Grube M, Melenhorst J, Hensel N, Barrett AJ. G-CSF-mobilized CD34+ cells cultured in interleukin-2 and stem cell factor generate a phenotypically novel monocyte. J Leukoc Biol 76(6):1214-9, 12/2004. e-Pub 9/2004. PMID: 15345723.
43. Fujiwara H, El Ouriaghli F, Grube M, Price DA, Rezvani K, Gostick E, Sconocchia G, Melenhorst J, Hensel N, Douek DC, Barrett AJ. Identification and in vitro expansion of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells specific for human neutrophil elastase. Blood 103(8):3076-83, 4/2004. e-Pub 12/2003. PMID: 15070688.
44. Grube M, Rezvani K, Wiestner A, Fujiwara H, Sconocchia G, Melenhorst JJ, Hensel N, Marti GE, Kwak LW, Wilson W, Barrett JA. Autoreactive, cytotoxic T lymphocytes specific for peptides derived from normal B-cell differentiation antigens in healthy individuals and patients with B-cell malignancies. Clin Cancer Res 10(3):1047-56, 2/2004. PMID: 14871984.
45. El-Ouriaghli F, Sloand E, Mainwaring L, Fujiwara H, Keyvanfar K, Melenhorst JJ, Rezvani K, Sconocchia G, Solomon S, Hensel N, Barrett AJ. Clonal dominance of chronic myelogenous leukemia is associated with diminished sensitivity to the antiproliferative effects of neutrophil elastase. Blood 102(10):3786-92, 11/2003. e-Pub 7/2003. PMID: 12893759.
46. Rezvani K, Grube M, Brenchley JM, Sconocchia G, Fujiwara H, Price DA, Gostick E, Yamada K, Melenhorst J, Childs R, Hensel N, Douek DC, Barrett AJ. Functional leukemia-associated antigen-specific memory CD8+ T cells exist in healthy individuals and in patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia before and after stem cell transplantation. Blood 102(8):2892-900, 10/2003. e-Pub 6/2003. PMID: 12829610.
47. Rezvani K, Mee M, Dawson S, McIlhinney J, Fujita J, Mayer RJ. Proteasomal interactors control activities as diverse as the cell cycle and glutaminergic neurotransmission. Biochem Soc Trans 31(2):470-3, 4/2003. PMID: 12653665.
48. Barrett AJ, Rezvani K, Solomon S, Dickinson AM, Wang XN, Stark G, Cullup H, Jarvis M, Middleton PG, Chao N. New developments in allotransplant immunology. Hematology Am Soc Hematol Educ Program:350-71, 2003. PMID: 14633790.
49. Pawson R, Potter MN, Theocharous P, Lawler M, Garg M, Yin JA, Rezvani K, Craddock C, Rassam S, Prentice HG. Treatment of relapse after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation with reduced intensity conditioning (FLAG +/- Ida) and second allogeneic stem cell transplant. Br J Haematol 115(3):622-9, 12/2001. PMID: 11736947.
50. Pocock CF, Lucas GF, Giles C, Vassiliou G, Cwynarski K, Rezvani K, Apperley JF, Goldman JM. Immune neutropenia associated with anti-human neutrophil antigen-2a (NB1) antibodies following unrelated donor stem cell transplantation for chronic myeloid leukaemia: perpetuation by granulocyte colony-stimulating factor. Br J Haematol 113(2):483-5, 5/2001. PMID: 11380420.
51. Olavarria E, Kanfer E, Szydlo R, Kaeda J, Rezvani K, Cwynarski K, Pocock C, Dazzi F, Craddock C, Apperley JF, Cross NC, Goldman JM. Early detection of BCR-ABL transcripts by quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction predicts outcome after allogeneic stem cell transplantation for chronic myeloid leukemia. Blood 97(6):1560-5, 3/2001. PMID: 11238091.
52. Rezvani K, Flanagan AM, Sarma U, Constantinovici N, Bain BJ. Investigation of ethnic neutropenia by assessment of bone marrow colony-forming cells. Acta Haematol 105(1):32-7, 2001. PMID: 11340251.
53. Pocock C, Szydlo R, Davis J, de La Fuente J, Craddock C, Cwynarski K, Olavarria E, Rezvani K, Kanfer E, Apperley J, Goldman J. Stem cell transplantation for chronic myeloid leukaemia: the role of infused marrow cell dose. Hematol J 2(4):265-72, 2001. PMID: 11920259.
54. Phillips D, Rezvani K, Bain BJ. Exercise induced mobilisation of the marginated granulocyte pool in the investigation of ethnic neutropenia. J Clin Pathol 53(6):481-3, 6/2000. PMCID: PMC1731218.

Book Chapters
1. Neelakantan P and Rezvani K. : Peptide Vaccines in Myeloid Leukemias. In: Handbook of the Biologically Active Peptides, The 2nd Edition. In Press.
2. Alsuliman A, Garland P, and Rezvani K. The Role of Regulatory T Cells in GVL and GVHD. Nova Science Publishers. In Press.
3. Wickramasinghe SN, Rezvani K. ISCH- The Measurement of Serum Vitamin B 12, Serum Folate and Red Cell Folate. In: Advanced Laboratory Methods in Haematology, 2002.

Last updated: 3/5/2013