Alex Bataller Torralba, MD, PhD
Department of Leukemia, Division of Cancer Medicine
Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Assistant Professor, Department of Leukemia, Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 2022 | University of Barcelona, Barcelona, ES, PhD in Translational Medicine |
| 2014 | University of Barcelona, Barcelona, ES, MD |
Postgraduate Training
| 2022-null | Leukemia Fellowship, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas |
| 2021-null | Master's Degree, Bioinformatics and Biostatistics, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Barcelona |
| 2020-2021 | Expert in Acute Myeloid Leukemia, CEU San Pablo University |
| 2019-2020 | Master's Degree, Molecular Oncology, Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid |
| 2018-2019 | Masters' Degree, Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, University of Valencia, Valencia |
| 2015-2019 | Medico Interno Residente (MIR), National Medical Board, Barcelona |
| null-2019 | ECFMG Certification of the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE), Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates |
| null-2019 | European Hematology Exam, European Hematology Association (EHA), Amsterdam |
Board Certifications
| null | Hematology and Hemotherapy, Ministry of Health, Spain, 2019 |
Experience & Service
Academic Appointments
Pre-doctoral Researcher, August Pi i Sunyer Biomedical Research institute (IDIBAPS) and Josep Carreras Leukemia Research Institute, Barcelona, 2019 - 2022
Administrative Appointments/Responsibilities
Chief fellow, Department of Leukemia Fellowship, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, 2023 - Present
Chief resident, Department of Hematology Residency Program, Hospital Clinic de Barcelona, Barcelona, 2018 - 2019
Elected member of the Education Commission, Hospital Clinic de Barcelona, Barcelona, 2017 - 2019
Other Appointments/Responsibilities
Hematology and Immunology lecturer, Academia de estudios AMIR, Madrid, 2016 - 2022
Student Mentor, Academia de estudios AMIR, Madrid, 2014 - 2015
Honors & Awards
| Bolsa de Viaje, Spanish Society of Hematology and Hemotherapy, Madrid, Spain | |
| Emili Letang Residency Award, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain | |
| Best abstract award,, Catalan Society of Hematology and Hemotherapy, Barcelona, Spain | |
| Abstract Achievement Award, American Society of Hematology, San Diego, California | |
| Excellence scholarship, Spanish Association against Cancer (AECC), Madrid, Spain | |
| Investigation grant, Spanish Foundation of Hematology and Hemotherapy, Valencia, Spain | |
| Travel grant, European Hematology Association (EHA), Amsterdam, Netherlands | |
| MSD Grant for the most outstanding resident of the promotion, Hospital Clinic de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain | |
| Abstract Achievement Award, American Society of Hematology, Virtual meeting | |
| Clinical Resident/Fellow Excellence Award for Teamwork, MD Anderson Cancer Center |
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Gener-Ricos G, Bataller A, Rodriguez-Sevilla JJ, Chien KS, Quesada AE, Almanza-Huante E, Hammond D, Sasaki K, DiNardo C, Kadia T, Daver N, Borthakur G, Issa GC, Short NJ, Kanagal-Shamanna R, Kantarjian HM, Garcia-Manero G, Montalban-Bravo G. NPM1-mutated myeloid neoplasms are a unique entity not defined by bone marrow blast percentage. Cancer 130(20):3452-3462, 2024. PMID: 38896064.
- Senapati J, Kantarjian HM, Bazinet A, Reville P, Short NJ, Daver N, Borthakur G, Bataller A, Jabbour E, DiNardo C, Haddad F, Sasaki K, Popat U, Oran B, Alousi AM, Loghavi S, Shpall E, Garcia-Manero G, Ravandi F, Kadia TM. Lower intensity therapy with cladribine/low dose cytarabine/venetoclax in older patients with acute myeloid leukemia compares favorably with intensive chemotherapy among patients undergoing allogeneic stem cell transplantation. Cancer 130(19):3333-3343, 2024. PMID: 38809547.
- Castano-Diez S, Alamo JR, Lopez-Guerra M, Gomez-Hernando M, Zugasti I, Jimenez-Vicente C, Guijarro F, Lopez-Oreja I, Esteban D, Charry P, Torrecillas V, Mont-de Torres L, Cortes-Bullich A, Bataller A, Guardia A, Munarriz D, Carcelero E, Riu G, Triguero A, Tovar N, Vela D, Bea S, Costa D, Colomer D, Rozman M, Esteve J, Diaz-Beya M. Chronic myelomonocytic leukemia with NPM1 mutation or acute myeloid leukemia?. Oncologist None(None):None, 2024. PMID: 39349391.
- Bataller A, Gener-Ricos G, Almanza-Huante E, Chien KS, Urrutia S, Bazinet A, Rodriguez-Sevilla JJ, Hammond D, Sasaki K, Takahashi K, DiNardo CD, Ravandi F, Borthakur G, Kadia TM, Kanagal-Shamanna R, Kantarjian HM, Garcia-Manero G, Montalban-Bravo G. Therapy-related chronic myelomonocytic leukemia does not have the high-risk features of a therapy-related neoplasm. Blood Adv 8(11):2695-2706, 2024. PMID: 38513082.
- Bataller A, Kantarjian H, Bazinet A, Kadia T, Daver N, DiNardo CD, Borthakur G, Loghavi S, Patel K, Tang G, Sasaki K, Short NJ, Yilmaz M, Issa GC, Alvarado Y, Montalban-Bravo G, Maiti A, Abbas HA, Takahashi K, Pierce S, Jabbour E, Garcia-Manero G, Ravandi F. Outcomes and genetic dynamics of acute myeloid leukemia at first relapse. Haematologica None(None):None, 2024. PMID: 38695144.
- Chorao P, Henriques M, Villalba M, Montoro J, Balaguer-Rosello A, Gonzalez EM, Gomez MD, Gomez I, Solves P, Santiago M, Asensi P, Lamas B, Bataller A, Granados P, Eiris J, Martinez D, Louro A, Rebollar P, Perla A, Salavert M, de la Rubia J, Sanz MA, Sanz J. Cytomegalovirus Reactivations in Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation from HLA-Matched and Haploidentical Donors with Post-Transplantation Cyclophosphamide. Transplant Cell Ther 30(5):538.e1-538.e10, 2024. PMID: 38331195.
- Bazinet A, Garcia-Manero G, Short N, Alvarado Y, Bataller A, Abuasab T, Islam R, Montalbano K, Issa G, Maiti A, Yilmaz M, Jain N, Masarova L, Kornblau S, Jabbour E, Montalban-Bravo G, Rausch CR, Pierce S, DiNardo CD, Kadia T, Daver N, Konopleva M, Huang X, Kantarjian H, Ravandi F. Oral decitabine and cedazuridine plus venetoclax for older or unfit patients with acute myeloid leukaemia: a phase 2 study. Lancet Haematol 11(4):e276-e286, 2024. PMID: 38452788.
- Bazinet A, Kantarjian H, Bataller A, Pemmaraju N, Borthakur G, Chien K, Alvarado Y, Bose P, Jabbour E, Yilmaz M, DiNardo C, Issa G, Montalban-Bravo G, Short N, Sasaki K, Bull-Linderman D, Daver N, Garcia-Manero G, Ravandi F, Kadia T. Reduced dose azacitidine plus venetoclax as maintenance therapy in acute myeloid leukaemia following intensive or low-intensity induction: a single-centre, single-arm, phase 2 trial. Lancet Haematol 11(4):e287-e298, 2024. PMID: 38548404.
- Castano-Diez S, Pomares H, Esteban D, Guijarro F, Jimenez-Vicente C, Zugasti I, Alamo JR, Mayayo VT, Lopez-Guerra M, de la Fuente C, Charry P, Cortes-Bullich A, Bataller A, Maluquer C, Colomer D, Rozman M, Arnan M, Xicoy B, Esteve J, Diaz-Beya M. Characteristics and long-term outcome in a large series of chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia patients including 104 formerly referred to as oligomonocytic. Br J Haematol 204(3):892-897, 2024. PMID: 38013238.
- Bataller A, Montalban-Bravo G, Bazinet A, Alvarado Y, Chien K, Venugopal S, Ishizawa J, Hammond D, Swaminathan M, Sasaki K, Issa GC, Short NJ, Masarova L, Daver NG, Kadia TM, Colla S, Qiao W, Huang X, Kanagal-Shamanna R, Hendrickson S, Ravandi F, Jabbour E, Kantarjian H, Garcia-Manero G. Oral decitabine plus cedazuridine and venetoclax in patients with higher-risk myelodysplastic syndromes or chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia: a single-centre, phase 1/2 study. Lancet Haematol 11(3):e186-e195, 2024. PMID: 38316133.
- Bataller A, Bazinet A, DiNardo CD, Maiti A, Borthakur G, Daver NG, Short NJ, Jabbour EJ, Issa GC, Pemmaraju N, Yilmaz M, Montalban-Bravo G, Takahashi K, Loghavi S, Garcia-Manero G, Ravandi F, Kantarjian HM, Kadia TM. Prognostic risk signature in patients with acute myeloid leukemia treated with hypomethylating agents and venetoclax. Blood Adv 8(4):927-935, 2024. PMID: 38113472.
- Velasco-Hernandez T, Trincado JL, Vinyoles M, Closa A, Martinez-Moreno A, Gutierrez-Aguera F, Molina O, Rodriguez-Cortez VC, Ximeno-Parpal P, Fernandez-Fuentes N, Petazzi P, Beneyto-Calabuig S, Velten L, Romecin P, Casquero R, Abollo-Jimenez F, de la Guardia RD, Lorden P, Bataller A, Lapillonne H, Stam RW, Vives S, Torrebadell M, Fuster JL, Bueno C, Sarry JE, Eyras E, Heyn H, Menendez P. Integrative single-cell expression and functional studies unravels a sensitization to cytarabine-based chemotherapy through HIF pathway inhibition in AML leukemia stem cells. Hemasphere 8(2):e45, 2024. PMID: 38435427.
- Bataller A, Loghavi S, Gerstein Y, Bazinet A, Sasaki K, Chien KS, Hammond D, Montalban-Bravo G, Borthakur G, Short N, Issa GC, Kadia TM, Daver N, Tang G, Quesada A, Patel KP, Ravandi F, Fiskus W, Mill CP, Kantarjian HM, Bhalla K, Garcia-Manero G, Oran B, DiNardo CD. Characteristics and clinical outcomes of patients with myeloid malignancies and DDX41 variants. Am J Hematol 98(11):1780-1790, 2023. PMID: 37665752.
- Bataller A, Haddad FG, Issa GC, Sasaki K, Jabbour E, Borthakur G, Ferrajoli A, Short NJ. Sudden lymphoid blast crisis after tyrosine kinase inhibitor discontinuation in chronic phase chronic myeloid leukemia: cautionary tales for appropriate molecular monitoring. Leuk Lymphoma 64(3):746-749, 2023. PMID: 36657414.
Other Articles
- Gener-Ricos G, Rodriguez-Sevilla JJ, Urrutia S, Bataller A, Bazinet A, Garcia-Manero G Advances in the management of higher-risk myelodysplastic syndromes: future prospects. Leuk Lymphoma 65(9):1233-1244, 2024. PMID: 38712556.
- Bazinet A, Kantarjian H, Arani N, Popat U, Bataller A, Sasaki K, DiNardo CD, Daver N, Yilmaz M, Abbas HA, Short NJ, Issa G, Jabbour E, Pierce SA, Chen J, Garcia R, Konopleva M, Garcia-Manero G, Alousi A, Shpall EJ, Champlin RE, Borthakur G, Ravandi F, Kadia T Evolving trends and outcomes in older patients with acute myeloid leukemia including allogeneic stem cell transplantation. Am J Hematol 98(9):1383-1393, 2023. PMID: 37334870.
- Bataller A, Montalban-Bravo G, Soltysiak KA, Garcia-Manero G The role of TGFbeta in hematopoiesis and myeloid disorders. Leukemia 33(5):1076-1089, 2019. PMID: 30816330.
Letters to the Editor
- Gener-Ricos G, Bewersdorf JP, Loghavi S, Bataller A, Goldberg AD, Sasaki K, Famulare C, Takahashi K, Issa GC, Borthakur G, Kadia TM, Short NJ, Senapati J, Carter BZ, Patel KP, Kantarjian H, Andreeff M, Stein EM, DiNardo CD. TP53 Y220C mutations in patients with myeloid malignancies. Leuk Lymphoma 65: 1511-1515, 2024.
- Bataller A, DiNardo CD, Bazinet A, Daver NG, Maiti A, Borthakur G, Short N, Sasaki K, Jabbour EJ, Issa GC, Pemmaraju N, Yilmaz M, Montalban-Bravo G, Loghavi S, Garcia-Manero G, Ravandi F, Kantarjian HM, Kadia TM. Targetable genetic abnormalities in patients with acute myeloblastic leukemia across age groups. Am J Hematol 99: 792-796, 2024.
- Bataller A, Abuasab T, McCall D, Wang W, Cuglievan B, Issa GC, Jabbour E, Short N, DiNardo CD, Tang G, Garcia-Manero G, Kantarjian HM, Sasaki K. Myeloid lineage switch in KMT2A-rearranged acute lymphoblastic leukemia treated with lymphoid lineagedirected therapies. Haematologica 109: 293-297, 2024.
- Urrutia S, Chien KS, Li Z, Bataller A, Almanza E, Sasaki K, Montalban-Bravo G, Short NJ, Jabbour E, Kadia TM, Ravandi F, Borthakur G, Alvarado Y, Daver N, Kanagal-Shamanna R, Bueso-Ramos C, Pierce SA, Kantarjian H, Garcia-Manero G. Performance of IPSS-M in patients with myelodysplastic syndrome after hypomethylating agent failure. Am J Hematol 98: E281-E284, 2023.
- Urrutia S, Li Z, Almanza E, Bataller A, Kanagal-Shamanna R, Senapati J, Sasaki K, Chien K, Montalban-Bravo G, DiNardo C, Borthakur G, Bueso-Ramos C, Pierce S, Kantarjian H, Garcia-Manero G. Characteristics of patients with myelodysplastic neoplasm and spliceosome mutations. Leukemia 37: 1397-1400, 2023.
- Almanza-Huante E, Bataller A, Urrutia S, Gener-Ricos G, Briski RE, Kanagal-Shamanna R, Lu KH, Westin SN, Yap TA, Takahashi K, Ravandi F, Alvarado Y, Kadia T, Sasaki K, Kantarjian HM, Garcia-Manero G. Outcomes of patients with therapy-related myeloid neoplasms after treatment with poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase proteins inhibitors for solid tumours. Br J Haematol 201: e25-e29, 2023.
- Bataller A, Chien KS, Sasaki K, Montalban-Bravo G, Kanagal-Shamanna R, Urrutia S, Almanza-Huante E, Gener-Ricos G, Ravandi F, Jabbour E, Kadia T, Borthakur G, Garcia-Manero G. PHF6 mutations in myelodysplastic syndromes, chronic myelomonocytic leukemia and acute myeloid leukemia. Leuk Res 127: 107044, 2023.
Selected Presentations & Talks
National Presentations
- 2024. Genetic dynamics and outcomes of AML at first relapse Hematology/Oncology Grand Rounds. Invited. Chicago, IL, US.
International Presentations
- 2024. Understanding and facing R/R AML. Invited. II Annual Meeting of the CETLAM group. Barcelona, ES.
- 2023. Characteristics and clinical outcomes of patients with myeloid malignancies and DDX41 mutations Update in diagnosis and management of acute myeloid leukemia. Invited. Barcelona, ES.
Formal Peers
- Design and validation of a CD123-directed CAR-T model for relapse/refractory acute myeloid leukemia. Barcelona, ES.
- Immunotherapy in acute myeloid leukemia. Barcelona, ES.
- Anaplastic lymphoma with peripheral blood expression. Barcelona, ES.
- KMT2A-Partial tandem duplications (MLL-PTD) in AML. Barcelona, ES.
- ALK negative Anaplastic lymphoma. Barcelona, ES.
- CLL progression and transformation in the ibrutinib era. Barcelona, ES.
- Early T-cell Precursor Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ETP-ALL). Barcelona, ES.
Grant & Contract Support
| Title: | Investigation grant FEHH |
| Funding Source: | Spanish Foundation of Hematology and Hemotherapy |
| Role: | Predoctoral researcher |
| Title: | Emili Letang Residency Award |
| Funding Source: | Hospital Clinic of Barcelona |
| Role: | Predoctoral researcher |
Patient Reviews
CV information above last modified January 21, 2025