Jeffrey Joel Molldrem, M.D.
Department of Hematopoietic Biology & Malignancy, Division of Cancer Medicine
Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Professor and Chair, Department of Hematopoietic Biology and Malignancy, Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Dual/Joint/Adjunct Appointment
Professor (tenured), Department of Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy, Division of Cancer Medicine, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Research Interests
The long-term goal of my lab is to develop immunotherapies for leukemia and other hematological diseases through an understanding of T-cell immunity against hematopoietic progenitors. Our central hypothesis is that T-cells target and eliminate these progenitors by recognizing determinants of self-antigens when tolerance has been reversed by aberrant self-antigen expression. As models, we have studied myeloid leukemia and MDS and have found that CD8 lymphocytes recognized the HLA-A2-restricted PR1 peptide, derived from both P3 and NE, due to aberrant subcellular localization and over-expression.
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 1990 | University of Minnesota, Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN, USA, MD, Medicine |
| 1986 | Moorhead State University, Moorhead, MN, USA, BA, Chemistry |
Postgraduate Training
| 1993-1996 | Clinical Associate and Post-doctoral Fellow, Hematology and Oncology, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD |
| 1990-1993 | Clinical Residency, Internal Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA |
Board Certifications
| 1996 | American Board of Internal Medicine, Diplomate in Hematology |
| 1993 | American Board of Internal Medicine, Diplomate in Internal Medicine |
Experience & Service
Academic Appointments
Faculty (tenure track), UT Graduate School for Biomedical Sciences, Clinical and Translational Sciences Program, Houston, TX, 2013 - Present
Faculty (tenure track), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Program in Immunology, Houston, TX, 1998 - Present
Administrative Appointments/Responsibilities
Institute Head and Director, ECLIPSE (Evolution of Cancer, Leukemia and Immunity Post Stem cEll Transplant), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2017 - Present
Scientific Director, Oncology Research for Biologics and Immunotherapy Translation (ORBIT), UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2015 - Present
Program Co-leader, Cancer Center Support Grant (CCSG), Basic Science Programs, Immunology, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2011 - Present
Program Co-Leader, Cancer Center Support Grant (CCSG), Clinical/Translational Thematic Programs, Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2011 - 2018
Co-Director, Center for Cancer Immunology Research (CCIR), Department of Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2003 - Present
Chief, Section of Transplantation Immunology, Department of Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 1999 - Present
Associate Medical Director, Bone Marrow Transplant Lab, Department of Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 1998 - 2012
Other Appointments/Responsibilities
Scientific Advisory Board, Baylor Institute for Immunology Research (BIIR), Houston, TX, 2012 - 2012
Scientific Advisory Board, Texas Cancer Vaccine, Dallas, 2012 - 2012
Scientific Advisory Board, Gabrielle's Angel Foundation for Cancer Research, New York, NY, 2010 - 2017
Founder and Director, Scientific Advisory Board, The Vaccine Company, Houston, TX, 2004 - 2009
International Scientific Advisory Committee, Jose Carreras International Leukaemia Foundation, Barcelona, 2003 - 2014
Medical Advisory Board, Aplastic Anemia and Myelodysplasia Foundation, Inc. (AA&MDSIF), Annapolis, MD, 2002 - 2007
Endowed Positions
Virginia H. Cockrell Distinguished Professorship in Immunology, Department of Stem Cell Transplantation - Research, Division of Cancer Medicine, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2006 - Present
Honors & Awards
| 2017 | Division of Cancer Medicine 2017 Excellence in Entrepreneurship Award, Division of Cancer Medicine |
| 2015 | President's Recognition for Faculty Excellence, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2015 | Robert M. Chamberlain Distinguished Mentor Award Nominee, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2014 | Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science |
| 2013 | Robert M. Chamberlain Distinguished Mentor Award Nominee, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2009 | American Society of Clinical Investigators |
| 2007 | Division of Cancer Medicine Mentor Award, Fellowship Program, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2003 | Julie and Ben Rogers Award for Excellence, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2001 | Faculty Scholar Award, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 1993 | Solomon Scholars Resident Research Award, University of California Los Angeles |
| 1990 | Thomas J. Livermore Award for Outstanding Research in Hematology, University of Minnesota |
| 1990 | Chugai-Upjohn Sponsored Award, American Society of Hematology |
| 1989 | Minnesota Medical Foundation Research Award, University of Minnesota |
Professional Memberships
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Popat U, Mehta RS, Rezvani K, Fox P, Kondo K, Marin D, McNiece I, Oran B, Hosing C, Olson A, Parmar S, Shah N, Andreeff M, Kebriaei P, Kaur I, Yvon E, de Lima M, Cooper LJ, Tewari P, Champlin RE, Nieto Y, Andersson BS, Alousi A, Jones RB, Qazilbash MH, Bashir Q, Ciurea S, Ahmed S, Anderlini P, Bosque D, Bollard C, Molldrem JJ, Chen J, Rondon G, Thomas M, Miller L, Wolpe S, Simmons P, Robinson S, Zweidler-McKay PA, Shpall EJ. Enforced fucosylation of cord blood hematopoietic cells accelerates neutrophil and platelet engraftment after transplantation. Blood 125(19):2885-92, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 25778529.
- Li H, Tong P, Gallegos J, Dimmer E, Cai G, Molldrem JJ, Liang S. PAND: A distribution to identify functional linkage from networks with preferential attachment property. PLoS One 10(7):e0127968, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 26158709.
- Mittendorf EA, Philips AV, Meric-Bernstam F, Qiao N, Wu Y, Harrington S, Su X, Wang Y, Gonzalez-Angulo AM, Akcakanat A, Chawla A, Curran M, Hwu P, Sharma P, Litton JK, Molldrem JJ, Alatrash G. PD-L1 expression in triple-negative breast cancer. Cancer Immunol Res 2(4):361-70, 2014. e-Pub 2014. PMID: 24764583.
- Parmar S, Liu X, Tung SS, Robinson SN, Rodriguez G, Cooper LJ, Yang H, Shah N, Yang H, Konopleva M, Molldrem JJ, Garcia-Manero G, Najjar A, Yvon E, McNiece I, Rezvani K, Savoldo B, Bollard CM, Shpall EJ. Third-party umbilical cord blood-derived regulatory T cells prevent xenogenic graft-versus-host disease. Cytotherapy 16(1):90-100, 2014. e-Pub 2013. PMID: 24480547.
- Dondossola E, Rangel R, Guzman-Rojas L, Barbu EM, Hosoya H, St John LS, Molldrem JJ, Corti A, Sidman RL, Arap W, Pasqualini R. CD13-positive bone marrow-derived myeloid cells promote angiogenesis, tumor growth, and metastasis. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 110(51):20717-22, 2013. e-Pub 2013. PMID: 24297924.
- Wu MC, Maity A, Lee S, Simmons EM, Harmon QE, Lin X, Engel SM, Molldrem JJ, Armistead PM. Kernel machine SNP-set testing under multiple candidate kernels. Genet Epidemiol 37(3):267-75, 2013. e-Pub 2013. PMID: 23471868.
- Zhang M, Sukhumalchandra P, Enyenihi AA, St John LS, Hunsucker SA, Mittendorf EA, Sergeeva A, Ruisaard K, Al-Atrache Z, Ropp PA, Jakher H, Rodriguez-Cruz T, Lizee G, Clise-Dwyer K, Lu S, Molldrem JJ, Glish GL, Armistead PM, Alatrash G. A novel HLA-A*0201 restricted peptide derived from cathepsin G is an effective immunotherapeutic target in acute myeloid leukemia. Clin Cancer Res 19(1):247-57, 2013. e-Pub 2012. PMID: 23147993.
- Chacon JA, Wu RC, Sukhumalchandra P, Molldrem JJ, Sarnaik A, Pilon-Thomas S, Weber J, Hwu P, Radvanyi L. Co-stimulation through 4-1BB/CD137 improves the expansion and function of CD8(+) melanoma tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes for adoptive T-cell therapy. PLoS One 8(4):e60031, 2013. e-Pub 2013. PMID: 23560068.
- Alatrash G, Mittendorf EA, Sergeeva A, Sukhumalchandra P, Qiao N, Zhang M, St John LS, Ruisaard K, Haugen CE, Al-Atrache Z, Jakher H, Philips AV, Ding X, Chen JQ, Wu Y, Patenia RS, Bernatchez C, Vence LM, Radvanyi LG, Hwu P, Clise-Dwyer K, Ma Q, Lu S, Molldrem JJ. Broad cross-presentation of the hematopoietically derived PR1 antigen on solid tumors leads to susceptibility to PR1-targeted immunotherapy. J Immunol 189(11):5476-84, 2012. e-Pub 2012. PMID: 23105141.
- de Lima M, McNiece I, Robinson SN, Munsell M, Eapen M, Horowitz M, Alousi A, Saliba R, McMannis JD, Kaur I, Kebriaei P, Parmar S, Popat U, Hosing C, Champlin R, Bollard C, Molldrem JJ, Jones RB, Nieto Y, Andersson BS, Shah N, Oran B, Cooper LJ, Worth L, Qazilbash MH, Korbling M, Rondon G, Ciurea S, Bosque D, Maewal I, Simmons PJ, Shpall EJ. Cord-blood engraftment with ex vivo mesenchymal-cell coculture. N Engl J Med 367(24):2305-15, 2012. PMID: 23234514.
- Ma Q, Li D, Nurieva R, Patenia R, Bassett R, Cao W, Alekseev AM, He H, Molldrem JJ, Kroll MH, Champlin RE, Sale GE, Afshar-Kharghan V. Reduced graft-versus-host disease in C3-deficient mice is associated with decreased donor Th1/Th17 differentiation. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant 18(8):1174-81, 2012. e-Pub 2012. PMID: 22664751.
- Mittendorf EA, Alatrash G, Qiao N, Wu Y, Sukhumalchandra P, St John LS, Philips AV, Xiao H, Zhang M, Ruisaard K, Clise-Dwyer K, Lu S, Molldrem JJ. Breast cancer cell uptake of the inflammatory mediator neutrophil elastase triggers an anti-cancer adaptive immune response. Cancer Res 72(13):3153-62, 2012. e-Pub 2012. PMID: 22564522.
- Alatrash G, Ono Y, Sergeeva A, Sukhumalchandra P, Zhang M, St John LS, Yang TH, Ruisaard K, Armistead PM, Mittendorf EA, He H, Qiao N, Rodriguez-Cruz T, Liang S, Clise-Dwyer K, Wieder ED, Lizee G, Lu S, Molldrem JJ. The role of antigen cross-presentation from leukemia blasts on immunity to the leukemia-associated antigen PR1. J Immunother 35(4):309-20, 2012. PMID: 22495388.
- Li H, Su X, Gallegos J, Lu Y, Ji Y, Molldrem JJ, Liang S. dsPIG: A tool to predict imprinted genes from the deep sequencing of whole transcriptomes. BMC Bioinformatics 13(271):271, 2012. e-Pub 2012. PMID: 23083219.
- Ciurea SO, Thall PF, Wang X, Wang SA, Hu Y, Cano P, Aung F, Rondon G, Molldrem JJ, Korbling M, Shpall EJ, de Lima M, Champlin RE, Fernandez-Vina M. Donor-specific anti-HLA antibodies and graft failure in matched unrelated donor hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Blood 118(22):5957-64, 2011. e-Pub 2011. PMID: 21967975.
- Staquicini FI, Cardó-Vila M, Kolonin MG, Trepel M, Edwards JK, Nunes DN, Sergeeva A, Efstathiou E, Sun J, Almeida NF, Tu SM, Botz GH, Wallace MJ, O'Connell DJ, Krajewski S, Gershenwald JE, Molldrem JJ, Flamm AL, Koivunen E, Pentz RD, Dias-Neto E, Setubal JC, Cahill DJ, Troncoso P, Do KA, Logothetis CJ, Sidman RL, Pasqualini R, Arap W. Vascular ligand-receptor mapping by direct combinatorial selection in cancer patients. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 108(46):18637-42, 2011. e-Pub 2011. PMID: 22049339.
- Sergeeva A, Alatrash G, He H, Ruisaard K, Lu S, Wygant J, McIntyre BW, Ma Q, Li D, St John L, Clise-Dwyer K, Molldrem JJ. An anti-PR1/HLA-A2 T-cell receptor-like antibody mediates complement dependent cytotoxicity against acute myeloid leukemia progenitor cells. Blood 117(16):4262-72, 2011. e-Pub 2011. PMID: 21296998.
- Armistead PM, Liang S, Li H, Lu S, Van Bergen CA, Alatrash G, St John L, Hunsucker SA, Sarantopoulos S, Falkenburg JH, Molldrem JJ. Common minor histocompatibility antigen discovery based upon patient clinical outcomes and genomic data. PLoS One 6(8):e23217, 2011. e-Pub 2011. PMID: 21858034.
- Ma Q, Wang C, Jones D, Quintanilla KE, Li D, Wang Y, Wieder ED, Clise-Dwyer K, Alatrash G, Mj Y, Munsell MF, Lu S, Qazilbash MH, Molldrem JJ. Adoptive transfer of PR1 cytotoxic T lymphocytes associated with reduced leukemia burden in a mouse acute myeloid leukemia xenograft model. Cytotherapy 12(8):1056-62, 2010. e-Pub 2010. PMID: 20735170.
- Kanodia S, Wieder E, Lu S, Talpaz M, Alatrash G, Clise-Dwyer K, Molldrem JJ. PR1-specific T cells are associated with unmaintained cytogenetic remission of chronic myelogenous leukemia after interferon withdrawal. PLoS One 5(7):e11770, 2010. e-Pub 2010. PMID: 20668669.
- Sergeeva A, Ono Y, Rios R, Molldrem JJ. High titer autoantibodies to GM-CSF in patients with AML, CML, and MDS are associated with active disease. Leukemia 22(4):783-90, 2008. e-Pub 2008. PMID: 18216869.
- Leen AM, Myers GD, Sili U, Huls MH, Weiss H, Leung KS, Carrum G, Krance RA, Chang CC, Molldrem JJ, Gee AP, Brenner MK, Heslop HE, Rooney CM, Bollard CM. Monoculture-derived T lymphocytes specific for multiple viruses expand and produce clinically relevant effects in immunocompromised individuals. Nat Med 12(10):1160-6, 2006. e-Pub 2006. PMID: 16998485.
- Molldrem JJ, Lee PP, Kant S, Wieder E, Jiang W, Lu S, Wang C, Davis MM. Chronic myelogenous leukemia shapes host immunity by selective deletion of high-avidity leukemia-specific T cells. J Clin Invest 111(5):639-47, 2003. PMID: 12618518.
- Kochenderfer JN, Kobayashi S, Wieder ED, Su C, Molldrem JJ. Loss of T-lymphocyte clonal dominance in patients with myelodysplastic syndrome responsive to immunosuppression. Blood 100(10):3639-45, 2002. e-Pub 2002. PMID: 12393644.
- Molldrem JJ, Leifer E, Bahceci E, Saunthararajah Y, Rivera M, Dunbar C, Liu J, Nakamura R, Young NS, Barrett AJ. Antithymocyte globulin for treatment of the bone marrow failure associated with myelodysplastic syndromes. Ann Intern Med 137(3):156-63, 2002. PMID: 12160363.
- Molldrem JJ, Lee PP, Wang C, Felio K, Kantarjian HM, Champlin RE, Davis MM. Evidence that specific T lymphocytes may participate in the elimination of chronic myelogenous leukemia. Nat Med 6(9):1018-23, 2000. PMID: 10973322.
- Molldrem J, Dermime S, Parker K, Jiang YZ, Mavroudis D, Hensel N, Fukushima P, Barrett AJ. Targeted T-cell therapy for human leukemia: Cytotoxic T lymphocytes specific for a peptide derived from proteinase 3 preferentially lyse human myeloid leukemia cells. Blood 88(7):2450-7, 1996. PMID: 8839835.
Patient Reviews
CV information above last modified April 17, 2024