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Srdan Verstovsek, M.D., Ph.D.

Present Title & Affiliation

Primary Appointment

Associate Professor, Department of Leukemia, Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX

Education & Training

Degree-Granting Education

1994 PhD Faculty for Natural Sciences, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia, -, Natural Sciences
1992 MD School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia, -, Medicine

Board Certifications

2002 Oncology Board Certification
1998 Internal Medicine Board Certification

Experience/Service

Other Appointments/Responsibilities

Medical Advisory Board Member, American Partnership for Eosinophilic Disorders, N/A, 2009-present
Medical Advisory Board Member, The Mastocytosis Society, N/A, 2005-present
Medical Advisory Board Member, The Chronic Myeloproliferative Disorders Education Foundation, N/A, 2005-present
Executive Committee Member, International Working Group for Myelofibrosis Treatment and Research (IWG-MTR), N/A, 2005-present
Graduate Faculty, Graduate School of Biological Sciences, Univ of Texas, Houston, TX, 2003-present

Consultantships

Ziopharm, Inc, Boston, 4/2005-12/2008

Institutional Committee Activities

Member, Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, 8/2006-12/2006
Member, Faculty Senate for the Department of Leukemia, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, 9/2005-9/2008
Member, Institutional Review Board, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, 9/2005-9/2008
Member, Clinical Research Committee I, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, 9/2003-9/2006

Honors and Awards

2011 Distingquished Alumnus Award, Division of Cancer Medicine Hematology/Oncology Fellowship Program, MD Anderson Cancer Center
2010 Celgene 2010 Young Investigator Award for Clinical Research in Hematology
2009 Marshall Heritage Foundation
2007 North Star Charitable Foundation
2006 Cancer Treatment and Research Award
2005 Chambers Medical Foundation Award, 2005
2005 The Joe W. and Dorothy Dorsett Brown Foundation Award
2002 Ronald Cates Memorial Fund for Leukemia
2001 Achievement in Cancer Research Award, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Division of Medicine, Fellowship Program
1989-1991 Travel Award for Scientific Training, Croatian Ministry of Science

Professional Memberships

American Association for Cancer Research
Member, 2003-present
American Medical Association
Member, 2005-present
American Society of Clinical Oncology
Member, 1999-present
American Society of Hematology
Member, 2004-present
European Hematology Association
Member, 2002-present

Selected Publications

Peer-Reviewed Original Research Articles
1. Jabbour E, Thomas D, Kantarjian H, Zhou L, Pierce S, Cortes J, Verstovsek S. Comparison of thalidomide and lenalidomide as therapy for myelofibrosis. Blood 118(4):899-902, 7/28/2011. e-Pub 5/26/2011. PMID: 21622644.
2. Manshouri T, Estrov Z, Quintás-Cardama A, Burger J, Zhang Y, Livun A, Knez L, Harris D, Creighton CJ, Kantarjian HM, Verstovsek S. BONE MARROW STROMA SECRETED CYTOKINES PROTECT JAK2V617F-MUTATED CELLS FROM THE EFFECTS OF A JAK2 INHIBITOR. Cancer Res 71(11):3831-40, 6/1/2011. e-Pub 4/21/2011. PMID: 21512135.
3. Santos FP, Verstovsek S. JAK2 Inhibitors: Are They the Solution? Clin Lymphoma Myeloma Leuk 11 Suppl 1:S28-36, 6/2011. e-Pub 5/4/2011. PMID: 22035745.
4. Cortés JE, Freireich EJ, Kantarjian H, Verstovsek S. Retrospect of hematologic malignancies 2010. Clin Lymphoma Myeloma Leuk 11 Suppl 1:S1, 6/2011. e-Pub 5/23/2011. PMID: 22035736.
5. Gale RP, Barosi G, Barbui T, Cervantes F, Dohner K, Dupriez B, Gupta V, Harrison C, Hoffman R, Kiladjian JJ, Mesa R, Mc Mullin MF, Passamonti F, Ribrag V, Roboz G, Saglio G, Vannucchi A, Verstovsek S. What are RBC-transfusion-dependence and -independence? Leuk Res 35(1):8-11, 1/2011. e-Pub 8/2010. PMID: 20692036.
6. Al-Kali A, Verstovsek S, Kantarjian H, Luthra R, Cortes J. Competing cell clones in myeloproliferative neoplasm. Blood 116(23):5074-5, 12/2010. PMID: 21127188.
7. Verstovsek S, Kantarjian H, Mesa RA, Pardanani AD, Cortes-Franco J, Thomas DA, Estrov Z, Fridman JS, Bradley EC, Erickson-Viitanen S, Vaddi K, Levy R, Tefferi A. Safety and Efficacy of INCB018424, a JAK1 and JAK2 Inhibitor, in Myelofibrosis. N Engl J Med 363(12):1117-27, 9/2010. PMID: 20843246.
8. Quintás-Cardama A, Vaddi K, Liu P, Manshouri T, Li J, Scherle PA, Caulder E, Wen X, Li Y, Waeltz P, Rupar M, Burn T, Lo Y, Kelley J, Covington M, Shepard S, Rodgers JD, Haley P, Kantarjian H, Fridman JS, Verstovsek S. Preclinical characterization of the selective JAK1/2 inhibitor INCB018424: implications for the treatment of myeloproliferative neoplasms. Blood 115(15):3109-17, 4/2010. e-Pub 2/2010. PMID: 20130243.
9. Santos FP, Kantarjian HM, Jain N, Manshouri T, Thomas DA, Garcia-Manero G, Kennedy D, Estrov Z, Cortes J, Verstovsek S. Phase II study of CEP-701, an orally available JAK2 inhibitor, in patients with primary or post polycythemia vera/essential thrombocythemia myelofibrosis. Blood 115(6):1131-6, 2/2010. e-Pub 12/2009. PMID: 20008298.
10. Abdel-Wahab O, Manshouri T, Patel J, Harris K, Yao J, Hedvat C, Heguy A, Bueso-Ramos C, Kantarjian H, Levine RL, Verstovsek S. Genetic analysis of transforming events that convert chronic myeloproliferative neoplasms to leukemias. Cancer Res 70(2):447-52, 1/2010. e-Pub 1/2010. PMID: 20068184.
11. Sever M, Kantarjian H, Pierce S, Jain N, Estrov Z, Cortes J, Verstovsek S. Cytogenetic abnormalities in essential thrombocythemia at presentation and transformation. Int J Hematol 90(4):522-525, 11/2009. e-Pub 8/2009. PMID: 19728024.
12. Tam CS, Kantarjian H, Cortes J, Lynn A, Pierce S, Zhou L, Keating MJ, Thomas DA, Verstovsek S. Dynamic Model for Predicting Death Within 12 Months in Patients With Primary or Post-Polycythemia Vera/Essential Thrombocythemia Myelofibrosis. J Clin Oncol 27(33):5587-93, 11/2009. e-Pub 9/2009. PMID: 19786661.
13. Quintás-Cardama A, Kantarjian H, Manshouri T, Luthra R, Estrov Z, Pierce S, Richie MA, Borthakur G, Konopleva M, Cortes J, Verstovsek S. Pegylated Interferon Alfa-2a Yields High Rates of Hematologic and Molecular Response in Patients With Advanced Essential Thrombocythemia and Polycythemia Vera. J Clin Oncol 27(32):5418-24, 11/2009. e-Pub 10/2009. PMID: 19826111.
14. Vega-Ruiz A, Cortes JE, Sever M, Manshouri T, Quintás-Cardama A, Luthra R, Kantarjian HM, Verstovsek S. Phase II study of imatinib mesylate as therapy for patients with systemic mastocytosis. Leuk Res 33(11):1481-4, 11/2009. e-Pub 2/2009. PMID: 19193436.
15. Quintás-Cardama A, Kantarjian H, Manshouri T, Thomas D, Cortes J, Ravandi F, Garcia-Manero G, Ferrajoli A, Bueso-Ramos C, Verstovsek S. Lenalidomide Plus Prednisone Results in Durable Clinical, Histopathologic, and Molecular Responses in Patients With Myelofibrosis. J Clin Oncol 27(28):4760-6, 10/2009. e-Pub 8/2009. PMID: 19720904.
16. Nussenzveig RH, Cortes J, Sever M, Quintás-Cardama A, Ault P, Manshouri T, Bueso-Ramos C, Prchal JT, Kantarjian H, Verstovsek S. Imatinib mesylate therapy for polycythemia vera: final result of a phase II study initiated in 2001. Int J Hematol 90(1):58-63, 7/2009. e-Pub 5/2009. PMID: 19484334.
17. Jain N, Cortes J, Quintas-Cardama A, Manshouri T, Luthra R, Garcia-Manero G, Kantarjian H, Verstovsek S. Imatinib has limited therapeutic activity for hypereosinophilic syndrome patients with unknown or negative PDGFRalpha mutation status. Leuk Res 33(6):837-9, 6/2009. e-Pub 11/2008. PMID: 19013640.
18. Tam CS, Abruzzo LV, Lin KI, Cortes J, Lynn A, Keating MJ, Thomas DA, Pierce S, Kantarjian H, Verstovsek S. The role of cytogenetic abnormalities as a prognostic marker in primary myelofibrosis: Applicability at the time of diagnosis and later during disease course. Blood 113(18):4171-8, 4/2009. PMID: 19131547.
19. Verstovsek S, Tefferi A, Kantarjian H, Manshouri T, Luthra R, Pardanani A, Quintas-Cardama A, Ravandi F, Ault P, Bueso-Ramos C, Cortes JE. Alemtuzumab therapy for hypereosinophilic syndrome and chronic eosinophilic leukemia. Clin Cancer Res 15(1):368-73, 1/2009. PMID: 19118067.
20. Tam CS, Nussenzveig RM, Popat U, Bueso-Ramos CE, Thomas DA, Cortes JA, Champlin RE, Ciurea SE, Manshouri T, Pierce SM, Kantarjian HM, Verstovsek S. The natural history and treatment outcome of blast phase BCR-ABL negative myeloproliferative neoplasms. Blood 112(5):1628-37, 6/2008. PMID: 18566326.

Editorials
1. Verstovsek S. Janus-Activated Kinase 2 Inhibitors: A New Era of Targeted Therapies Providing Significant Clinical Benefit for Philadelphia Chromosome-Negative Myeloproliferative Neoplasms. J Clin Oncol 29(7):781-3, 3/2011. e-Pub 1/2011. PMID: 21220594.
Other Articles
1. Ostojic A, Vrhovac R, Verstovsek S. Ruxolitinib: a new JAK1/2 inhibitor that offers promising options for treatment of myelofibrosis. Future Oncol-Review Article 7(9):1035-43, 9/2011. PMID: 21919691.
2. Santos FP, Verstovsek S. JAK2 inhibitors: What's the true therapeutic potential? Blood Rev 25(2):53-63, 3/2011. e-Pub 11/2010. PMID: 21095048.
3. Verstovsek S. Therapeutic Potential of Janus-activated Kinase-2 Inhibitors for the Management of Myelofibrosis. Clin Cancer Res 16(7):1988-96, 4/2010. e-Pub 3/2010. PMID: 20215535.
4. Apostolidou E, Kantarjian HM, Verstovsek S. JAK2 Inhibitors: A Reality? A Hope? Clin Lymphoma Myeloma 9:S340-S345, 9/2009. PMID: 19778862.
5. Verstovsek S. Preclinical and clinical experience with dasatinib in Philadelphia chromosome-negative leukemias and myeloid disorders. Leuk Res 33(5):617-23, 5/2009. e-Pub 11/2008. PMID: 19013641.
6. Atallah E, Verstovsek S. Prospect of JAK2 inhibitor therapy in myeloproliferative neoplasms. Expert Rev Anticancer Ther 9(5):663-70, 5/2009. PMID: 19445582.
7. Verstovsek S. Therapeutic potential of JAK2 inhibitors. Hematology:636-42, 2009. PMID: 20008249.

Book Chapters
1. Santos FPS, Verstovsek S. Myelofibrosis. In: Emerging Cancer Therapeutics: Leukemia. 2, 2. Ed(s) Popat U. Demos Medical Publishing: New York, 307-328, 2011.

Last updated: 11/9/2011