Hind Rafei, M.D., M.S.
Department of Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy, Division of Cancer Medicine
About Dr. Hind Rafei
Dr. Rafei is an Assistant Professor of Medicine and Physician-Scientist in the department of Hematopoietic Biology and Malignancy at MD Anderson Cancer Center, where she leads a research program focused on overcoming immunosuppressive barriers in the tumor microenvironment (TME) to advance adoptive cell therapies for solid tumors. She has developed expertise in both T and NK cell therapies. Her research program is uniquely centered on dissecting the interplay between epigenetics and metabolism and how these axes dictate immune cell fate and function, with the goal of modulating them to enhance the efficacy of cellular therapies, particularly CAR-T cells for solid tumors. Her work has led to multiple high-impact publications, including a first-author paper in Nature (2025) identifying the transcription factor cAMP response element modulator (CREM) as a critical checkpoint of CD3ζ and cytokine signaling in CAR-engineered NK cells. Her program has been supported through numerous competitive grants, including awards from ASCO, NIH, CPRIT, DoD, all centered on advancing cellular therapies for solid tumors. Her lab research leverages her team’s expertise in CAR and CRISPR engineering, lymphocyte biology, and metabolic and epigenetic remodeling, all supported by a strong translational infrastructure and a sustained record of innovation.
Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Department of Hematopoietic Biology and Malignancy, Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Department of Leukemia, Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
Regular Faculty Member, GSBS UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 2021 | MD Anderson UTHealth Graduate School, Houston, Texas, US, M.S. in Cancer Biology |
| 2014 | American University of Beirut, Beirut, LB, MD |
| 2010 | American University of Beirut, Beirut, LB, BS in Biology |
Postgraduate Training
| 2018-2021 | Post-doc Research Fellowship, Cellular Therapy, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas |
| 2018-2021 | Clinical Fellowship, Hematology/Medical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas |
| 2016-2018 | Postdoctoral Volunteer in Research, Laboratory and Translational Research in GATA2 Deficiency Bone Marrow Failure Syndrome, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD |
| 2015-2018 | Clinical Residency, Internal Medicine, The George Washington University, Washington, DC |
| 2014-2015 | Research Fellowship, Translational Research in Thoracic and Breast Oncology and Cancer Genetics, American University of Beirut, Beirut |
Licenses & Certifications
| 2021 | ABIM Medical Oncology |
| 2021 | ABIM Hematology |
| 2020 | Texas Medical Board |
| 2018 | ABIM Internal Medicine |
Experience & Service
Faculty Academic Appointments
Associate Faculty Member, GSBS UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, 2022 - 2025
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Department of Stem Cell Transplantation, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2021 - 2025
Administrative Appointments/Responsibilities
Associate Director of Education and Fellowship, Department of Institute for Cell Therapy Discovery and Innovation, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, 2024 - 2025
Intramural Institutional Committee Activities
Member, GSBS MS Student Examining Committee, Musfirat Shubaita, GSBS, 2025
Judge, GSBS 2025 Research Day, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2025
Poster Judge, James P. Allison Institute 3rd Scientific Symposium, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2025
Member, GSBS Student Scholarship Committee, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2025 - Present
Member, GSBS PhD Student Examining Committee, Shan (Chloe) He, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2025
Judge, GSBS 2025 Immunology Symposium, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2025
Panelist, DoCM Faculty Awards Review Committee, MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2024
Member, GSBS PhD Student Advisory Committee, Yu-Sung (Kevin) Hsu, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2024 - 2025
Member, GSBS PhD Student Examining Committee, Xin Ru (Cheryl) Jiang, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2024
Member, GSBS PhD Student Advisory Committee, Ramiz Iqbal, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2024 - Present
Faculty Representative, Faculty Career Expo, MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2024
Chair, T32 Oncology Fellow Advisory Committee, Ranjan Upadhyay, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2023 - Present
Member, GSBS PhD Student Advisory Committee, Shan (Chloe) He, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2022 - 2025
Member, TRIUMPH Post-Doctoral Fellow Advisory Committee, Alyssa Merting, PhD, MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2022 - 2023
Member, The George Washington University Cancer Center Breast Care Committee, The George Washington University, 2017 - 2018
Member, The George Washington University Internal Medicine Program Evaluation Committee, The George Washington University, 2017
Member, The George Washington University Resident Peer Review Committee, The George Washington University, 2016 - 2018
Member, ASCO-Sponsored Cancer Research Interest Group, The George Washington University, 2015 - 2016
Member, The George Washington University Cancer Committee, The George Washington University, 2015 - 2018
Member, Standing Committee for Research Exchange, Lebanese Medical Students International Committee, American University of Beirut, 2010 - 2011
Extramural Institutional Committee Activities
Member, SITC 2025 Abstract Review Committee, SITC, 2025
Mentor, ISCT Early Stage Professionals Mentoring Program, ISCT, 2025 - Present
Member, SITC 2024 Abstract Review Committee, SITC, 2024
Member, SITC Awards Review Committee- 2024 SITC-Bristol Myers Squibb Postdoctoral Cancer Immunotherapy Translational Fellowship Award, SITC, 2024
Member, SITC Awards Review Committee- 2023 SITC Genentech Women in Cancer Immunotherapy Fellowship, SITC, 2023
Member, SITC 2023 Abstract Review Committee, SITC, 2023
Mentor, ASCO Virtual Situational Mentoring Program, ASCO, 2022 - Present
Member, American College of Physicians (ACP) DC Chapter Governor’s Council, American College of Physicians, 2016 - 2018
Vice President, ACP DC Chapter Refugee Health Subcommittee, American College of Physicians, 2016 - 2018
Editorial Activities
Editorial Board Member, Scientific reports, 2025 - Present
Associate Editor, Frontiers of Immunology, 2022 - Present
Associate Editor, Frontiers of Oncology, 2022 - Present
Guest Editor, Research Topic, “NK cell modifications to advance their anti-tumor activities”, Frontiers in immunology, 2022 - Present
Honors & Awards
| 2025 | Potu N. Rao Award for Excellence in Basic Science nominee, DoCM, MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2025 | Pancreatic Cancer Research Program (PCARP) Award, Department of Defense CDMRP |
| 2025 | PEGS Young Scientist Keynote Finalist |
| 2025 - Present | Brain SPORE CEP |
| 2025 - Present | CPRIT IIRA, CPRIT |
| 2025 - Present | Andrew Sabin Family Fellowship Award, MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2024 - Present | MPI R01, NCI/NIH |
| 2024 - Present | Ovarian SPORE Career Enhancement Program Award, MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2022 - 2024 | Institutional Research Grant Award, MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2020 - 2021 | ASCO Conquer Cancer Foundation Young Investigator Award, American Society of Clinical Oncology |
| 2020 - 2021 | ASCO JCO Clinical Cancer Informatics’ Reviewer Mentoring Program, ASCO JCO |
| 2019 | AACR Molecular Biology in Clinical Oncology Workshop, AACR |
| 2019 | ASCO Conquer Cancer Foundation Bristol-Myers Squibb Endowed Merit Award, American Society of Clinical Oncology |
| 2019 | Clifton D. Howe Award, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2019 | Joseph E. Johnson Leadership National Award, American College of Physicians ACP |
| 2019 | The Shannon Timmins Endowed Fellowship in Leukemia Research Award, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2018 | Jorge C. Rios, MD Award for Excellence in Internal Medicine, The George Washington University |
| 2017 - Present | Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society, The George Washington University Chapter |
| 2017 | Resident Research Award, The George Washington University |
| 2016 | Intern of the Year, The George Washington University |
| 2016 - 2018 | Special Volunteer in Research Award, The National Institutes of Health |
| 2014 - Present | Medical Doctorate with Distinction, American University of Beirut |
| 2014 - 2023 | Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society, American University of Beirut Chapter |
| 2011 - 2014 | Merit Scholarship, Medical School, American University of Beirut Faculty of Medicine |
| 2011 - 2014 | Faculty of Medicine Dean’s Honor List, American University of Beirut |
| 2010 - Present | Bachelor of Science with High Distinction, American University of Beirut |
| 2008 - 2010 | Merit Scholarship, Undergraduate Studies, American University of Beirut |
| 2008 - 2010 | Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean’s Honor List, American University of Beirut |
| 2007 | Top 10 Outstanding Students of Lebanon |
| 2007 - 2014 | Merit Scholarship for Academic Excellence, American University of Beirut |
Professional Memberships
Selected Presentations & Talks
Local Presentations
- 2025. Next-Generation TCR/CAR-T Cell Engineering to Overcome Tumor Microenvironmental Barriers. Invited. Anderson Lab meeting. Virtual, US.
- 2025. From Bench to Bedside and Beyond: Navigating Translational Research as a Physician-Scientist. Invited. Calabresi Master Class. Houston, Texas, US.
- 2025. Targeting cAMP-induced immunosuppression to enhance CAR-T cell efficacy in the ovarian cancer tumor microenvironment. Invited. Ovarian SPORE CEP Updates. Houston, Texas, US.
- 2025. CAR-based immunotherapies for solid tumors. Invited. Hematopoietic Biology and Malignancy Seminars. Houston, Texas, US.
- 2024. Ovarian Cancer SPORE Project 2 Updates, Next-Generation Engineered NK Cell Immunotherapy for Ovarian Cancer. Invited. Ovarian Cancer SPORE, MD Anderson Cancer Center. Houston, Texas, US.
- 2024. Targeting an epigenetic checkpoint of CAR-NK cell activation. Invited. Inaugural symposium, Institute for Cell Therapy Discovery and Innovation. Houston, Texas, US.
- 2024. Research Opportunities in the Department of Stem Cell Transplant and Cellular Therapy. Invited. Introduction to Research Series, Hematology/Oncology Fellowship Program, Division of Cancer Medicine. Houston, Texas, US.
- 2024. Adoptive Cell Therapy Platform updates. Invited. TDD Presentations, MD Anderson Cancer Center. Houston, Texas, US.
- 2023. Research Opportunities in the Department of Stem Cell Transplant and Cellular Therapy. Invited. Introduction to Research Series, Hematology/Oncology Fellowship Program, Division of Cancer Medicine. Houston, Texas, US.
- 2022. Research Opportunities in the Department of Stem Cell Transplant and Cellular Therapy. Invited. Introduction to Research Series, Hematology/Oncology Fellowship Program, Division of Cancer Medicine. Houston, Texas, US.
- 2022. Next-Generation Engineered NK Cell Immunotherapy for Pancreatic Cancer. Invited. Moon Shots Scientifc Seminar, PDAC Moon Shot Update. Houston, Texas, US.
- 2021. Research Opportunities in the Department of Stem Cell Transplant and Cellular Therapy. Invited. Introduction to Research Series, Hematology/Oncology Fellowship Program, Division of Cancer Medicine. Houston, Texas, US.
- 2020. Modulating Immunometabolism to Improve the Activity of CAR-NK Cells Targeting CD70. Invited. Gallick Lab Meeting, Department of Genitourinary Medical Oncology, MD Anderson Cancer Center. Houston, Texas, US.
- 2020. Use of CAR-transduced natural killer cells in CD19-positive lymphoid tumors. Invited. Hong’s Journal Club Conference, Hematology/Oncology Fellowship Program, Division of Cancer Medicine. Houston, Texas, US.
- 2019. Clonal Hematopoiesis. Invited. Hematology Tumor Boards, Memorial Hermann Hospital- LBJ. Houston, Texas, US.
- 2019. Off-the-shelf virus specific T-cells for therapy of adenovirus disease in immunosuppressed patients. Invited. Grand Rounds, Division of Cancer Medicine. Houston, Texas, US.
- 2019. Breast Implant-Associated Lymphoma. Invited. Hong’s Case Conference, Hematology/Oncology Fellowship Program, Division of Cancer Medicine. Houston, Texas, US.
- 2018. TKI-Associated Neurotoxicity. Invited. Leukemia Inpatient Conference, Leukemia Department. Houston, Texas, US.
- 2018. Patient Safety Conference: A Case of Respiratory Failure. Invited. Patient Safety Conference. Washington, DC, US.
- 2017. GATA2 Deficiency: a Journey through Phenotype, Genotype and Bone Marrow Transplantation. Invited. Chairman’s Rounds. Washington, DC, US.
- 2017. Triple-Hit” Lymphoma: Therapeutic Challenges. Invited. Grand Rounds, The George Washington University Cancer Center. Washington, DC, US.
- 2017. Phase II Study: Induction Chemotherapy and Transoral Surgery as Definitive Treatment (Tx) for Locally Advanced Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OPSCC): a Novel Approach. Poster. The George Washington University Research Day 2017. Washington, DC, US.
- 2017. A Meager Marrow”- an intriguing presentation of vitamin B12 deficiency. Invited. Clinico-Pathologic Conference. Washington, DC, US.
- 2016. Thrombocytopenia in the Critically Ill Patient. Invited. Weekly Life Conference, Veterans Affairs Medical Center of Washington DC. Washington, DC, US.
- 2016. Fungal Infections in Primary Immunodeficiencies: Challenges, Pathophysiology and Novel Therapy. Invited. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Grand Rounds, National Institutes of Health. Bethesda, MD, US.
- 2016. Is the Force Awakened? Publication Trends in Oncology Big Data as Phase II CancerLinQ® is launched. Poster. The George Washington University Research Day 2016. Washington, DC, US.
- 2014. Enigma of the Lung- role of PCP prophylaxis in ALL patients. Invited. Weekly Leukemia Conference, Leukemia Service, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Beirut, LB.
- 2014. Sorafenib: Passions, Demons and Dilemmas. Invited. Weekly Leukemia Conference, Leukemia Service, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Beirut, LB.
- 2014. Perspective of Lebanese Oncologists on the Symptom Burden among adult cancer patients. Poster. American University of Beirut 4th Biomedical Research Day 2014. Beirut, LB.
- 2012. Diurnal Variation in the Response to Oral Glucose Tolerance Test for the Diagnosis of Gestational Diabetes. Invited. American University of Beirut Medical Center, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Grand Rounds. Beirut, LB.
- 2010. Location of Stem Cells for Basal Cell Carcinoma and their Characteristics. Invited. American University of Beirut, Department of Biology Research Seminars. Beirut, LB.
- 2010. Presence of Stem Cells for Cancer?. Invited. American University of Beirut, Department of Biology Research Seminars. Beirut, LB.
- 2009. Sonic Hedgehog Gene and its Role in the Development of the Nervous System. Invited. American University of Beirut, Department of Biology Research Seminars. Beirut, LB.
Regional Presentations
- 2025. Targeting and epigenetic checkpoint of CAR-NK cell activation. Invited. Center for Cancer Epigenetics Retreat. Festival Hill, Texas, US.
- 2025. NK-Cell based CAR Therapy: Current Status and Future Directions. Invited. Advanced Breast Cancer Conference, MD Anderson Cancer Center, US.
- 2019. Averting a Catastrophe: Asherson’s Syndrome. Invited. Citywide Hematology Grand Rounds, Houston Methodist Hospital, US.
- 2017. Post-Transfusion Purpura: A Case Report of a Rare Phenomenon. Conference. American College of Physicians Virginia Chapter 2017 Annual Meeting. Washington, DC, US.
- 2016. Double Thromboembolism Threat. Poster. American College of Physicians DC Chapter 2016. Washington, DC, US.
National Presentations
- 2025. Inside Out: Reprogramming CAR-Engineered Cell Therapies to Overcome Exhaustion and TME Stress. Invited. Advanced Therapies USA. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US.
- 2025. Targeting the Tumor Microenvironment to Enhance CAR-based Immunotherapies in Solid Tumors. Invited. CAR-TCR Summit. Boston, Massachusetts, US.
- 2025. Targeting the tumor microenvironment to enhance CAR-based immunotherapies in solid tumors. Invited. Society of Leukocyte Biology Webinar Series, US.
- 2025. CREM is a regulatory checkpoint of CAR and IL-15 signaling in NK cells. Conference. AACR Annual Meeting 2025. Chicago, IL, US.
- 2025. NK-Cell based CAR Therapy: Current Status and Future Directions. Invited. AACR Special Conference in Cancer Research- Translating Targeted Therapies in Combination with Radiotherapy. San Diego, CA, US.
- 2024. Epigenetic Reprogramming of CAR-NK cells to Enhance their Efficacy in the Acidic Tumor Microenvironment of Ovarian Cancer. Conference. 2024 Gynecologic cancers SPORE Workshop, NCI/NIH. Bethesda, MD, US.
- 2024. NK-Cell based CAR Therapy: Current Status and Future Directions. Invited. Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center Second Annual Stem Cell Transplant and Cellular Therapy Symposium. Phoenix, AZ, US.
- 2024. Targeting T-Cell Lymphoma Using CD70-Directed Cord Blood-Derived CAR-NK Cells. Poster. Keystone Symposium on Emerging Cellular Therapies 2024. Santa Fe, NM, US.
- 2023. Targeting T-Cell Lymphoma Using CD70-Directed Cord Blood-Derived CAR-NK Cells. Poster. American Society of Hematology 2023 Annual Meeting. San Diego, CA, US.
- 2023. NK Cells vs. T cells: What is Ideal Cell for Allogeneic Immune Effector Cellular Therapy?. Invited. American Society of Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics 49th Annual Meeting. San Antonio, Texas, US.
- 2023. NK Cells: Next Generation Cell Therapies for Cancer. Invited. AAPM 65th Annual Meeting & Exhibition. Houston, Texas, US.
- 2022. Next-Generation Engineered NK Cells for Cancer Immunotherapy. Invited. The Leo and Anne Albert Institute for Bladder Cancer Care and Research 8th Annual Symposium. Houston, Texas, US.
- 2020. CD22 Expression Level as a Predictor of Survival in Patients (Pts) with Relapsed/Refractory (R-R) Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) Treated with Inotuzumab Ozogamicin (INO) in Combination with Low-Intensity Chemotherapy (mini-hyper-CVD) with or without Blinatumomab: Results from a Phase 2 Study. Poster. American Society of Hematology 2020 Annual Meeting. Virtual, US.
- 2020. Impact of Cytogenetic Abnormalities (CA) on Outcome of Patients (Pts) with Relapsed/Refractory (R-R) Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) Treated with Inotuzumab Ozogamicin (INO) in Combination with Low-Intensity Chemotherapy (mini-hyper-CVD) with or without Blinatumomab: Results from a Phase 2 Study. Poster. American Society of Hematology 2020 Annual Meeting. Virtual, US.
- 2020. Sequential Combination of Inotuzumab Ozogamicin (InO) with Low-Intensity Chemotherapy (mini-hyper-CVD) with or without Blinatumomab (Blina) as Salvage Therapy for Patients (Pts) with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) in First Relapse. Poster. American Society of Hematology 2020 Annual Meeting. Virtual, US.
- 2020. Role of Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplant (ASCT) in Patients (Pts) with Relapsed/Refractory (R-R) Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) Treated with Inotuzumab Ozogamicin (INO) in Combination with Low-Intensity Chemotherapy (mini-hyper-CVD) with or without Blinatumomab (Blina): Results from a Phase 2 Study. Poster. American Society of Hematology 2020 Annual Meeting. Virtual, US.
- 2020. Modulating immunometabolism to improve the activity of chimeric antigen receptor-natural killer (CAR-NK) cells targeting CD70. Conference. 6th annual Immuno-Oncology Young Investigators’ Forum 2020. Virtual, US.
- 2019. Prognostic Impact of Full Hematologic Recovery and Achievement of Measurable Residual Disease (MRD) Negativity in Patients with Relapsed or Refractory (R/R) Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) After First Salvage Therapy. Poster. Society of Hematologic Oncology 2019 Annual Meeting. Houston, TX, US.
- 2019. Off-the-shelf virus specific T-cells for therapy of adenovirus disease in immunosuppressed patients. Conference. American Society of Clinical Oncology 2019 Annual Meeting. Chicago, IL, US.
- 2019. Role of killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR)-ligand interactions to prevent relapse in patients (pts) receiving matched unrelated stem cell transplant (SCT) for acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Poster. American Society of Clinical Oncology 2019 Annual Meeting. Chicago, IL, US.
- 2017. Aspirin Use and Survival in Head and Neck Cancer Patients. Conference. American Society of Clinical Oncology 2017 Annual Meeting. Chicago, IL, US.
- 2017. Pulmonary hypertension following dasatinib treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Poster. American Thoracic Society Annual Meeting. Washington, DC, US.
- 2017. An Essential Vitamin for Effective Hematopoiesis: A Simple Cure for Bone Marrow Failure. Poster. Society of General Internal Medicine Annual Meeting. Washington, DC, US.
- 2016. Prevalence of Inherited and Acquired Thrombophilia in Females Post Multiple Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) Attempts. Poster. American Society of Hematology 2016 Annual Meeting. San Diego, CA, US.
- 2016. Chimerism with Coagulopathy; the Risks of Rituximab. Poster. Society of Hematologic Oncology 2016 Annual Meeting. Houston, TX, US.
International Presentations
- 2025. CREM is a regulatory checkpoint of CAR and IL-15 signaling in NK cells. Invited. NK2025 (prerecorded). Hobart, AU.
- 2024. NK-Cell based CAR Therapy: Current Status and Future Directions. Invited. 9th Kaunas/ Lithuania International Hematology/ Oncology Colloquium, Kaunas, Lithuania, US.
- 2023. Targeting T-Cell Lymphoma Using CD70-Directed Cord Blood-Derived CAR-NK Cells. Poster. Society for Natural immunity NK2023 20th meeting. Oslo, NO.
- 2015. Screening for the Prevalence of EGFR and ALK Mutations in Lung Adenocarcinoma Patients in the Levant Area, a Prospective Analysis. Poster. 47th Middle East Medical Assembly. Beirut, LB.
Grant & Contract Support
| Date: | 2026 - 2028 |
| Title: | Modulating hypoxia-activated stromal programs to potentiate CAR-T cell therapy in kidney cancer |
| Funding Source: | CDMRP |
| Role: | Mentor |
| ID: | CA250303 |
| Date: | 2026 - 2029 |
| Title: | Metabolic reprogramming of CAR-T cells to overcome acidosis-mediated immunosuppression in pancreatic cancer |
| Funding Source: | CPRIT |
| Role: | PI |
| ID: | RP260608 |
| Date: | 2025 - 2026 |
| Title: | Next-generation CAR-T cell therapy to target the tumor microenvironment of glioblastoma |
| Funding Source: | BRAIN SPORE CEP |
| Role: | PI |
| Date: | 2025 - 2026 |
| Title: | Enhancing CAR-T cell efficacy in renal cell carcinoma through dual targeting of stromal and tumor cells |
| Funding Source: | ASCO Conquer Cancer Foundation |
| Role: | Mentor |
| Date: | 2025 - 2027 |
| Title: | Combining TROP2-Directed CAR-NK Cells With HIF2a Inhibition for the Immunotherapy of Pancreatic Cancer |
| Funding Source: | Department of Defense U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs Fiscal Year 2024 Pancreatic Cancer Research Program Translational Research Partnership Award - Pilot Clinical Trial PA240287 |
| Role: | Co-PI |
| Date: | 2025 - 2027 |
| Title: | Enhancing the metabolic fitness of CAR-T cells for the immunotherapy of Pancreatic Cancer |
| Funding Source: | Andrew Sabin Family Foundation |
| Role: | PI |
| Date: | 2024 - 2029 |
| Title: | TROP2-Directed CAR-NK Cells for the Immunotherapy of Pancreatic Cancer |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Co-PI |
| ID: | R01CA288617 |
| Date: | 2024 - 2026 |
| Title: | Targeting acidosis-induced epigenetic reprogramming to enhance CAR-T cell efficacy in the ovarian cancer tumor microenvironment |
| Funding Source: | Ovarian Cancer SPORE Career Enhancement Program |
| Role: | PI |
| Date: | 2024 - 2025 |
| Title: | Next-generation, TROP2-targeting CAR NK cells for treating solid tumors |
| Funding Source: | Marcus Foundation |
| Role: | Co-I |
| Date: | 2023 - 2028 |
| Title: | Next Generation Engineered NK cells for Platinum-Resistant Ovarian Cancer |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Co-I |
| ID: | P50 CA281701-01 |
| Date: | 2022 - 2023 |
| Title: | Next-Generation Engineered NK Cell Immunotherapy for Pancreatic Cancer |
| Funding Source: | Pancreatic Cancer MoonShot- MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| Role: | Project Leader |
| Date: | 2022 - 2023 |
| Title: | UTMDACC Institutional Research Grant (IRG) |
| Funding Source: | MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| Role: | PI |
| ID: | 2022-00061329-Y1 |
| Date: | 2022 - 2023 |
| Title: | Next-Generation Engineered NK Cell Immunotherapy for Ovarian Cancer |
| Funding Source: | MD Anderson Cancer Center, Blanton-Davis Ovarian Cancer Research Program |
| Role: | Co-I |
| Date: | 2020 - 2021 |
| Title: | Modulating Immunometabolism to Improve the Activity of CAR-NK Cells Targeting CD70 in Renal Cell Carcinoma |
| Funding Source: | American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) |
| Role: | PI |
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Biederstadt A, Basar R, Park JM, Uprety N, Shrestha R, Reyes Silva F, Dede M, Watts J, Acharya S, Xiong D, Liu B, Daher M, Rafei H, Banerjee P, Li P, Islam S, Fan H, Shanley M, Jin J, Kumar B, Woods V, Lin P, Tiberti S, Nunez Cortes AK, Jiang XR, Biederstadt I, Zhang P, Li Y, Rawal S, Liu E, Muniz-Feliciano L, Deyter GM, Shpall EJ, Fowlkes NW, Chen K, Rezvani K. Genome-wide CRISPR screens identify critical targets to enhance CAR-NK cell antitumor potency. Cancer Cell, 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 40845844.
- Rafei H, Basar R, Acharya S, Hsu YS, Liu P, Zhang D, Bohn T, Liang Q, Mohanty V, Upadhyay R, Li P, Phadatare P, Dede M, Xiong D, Fan H, Jones CM, Kunz S, Daher M, Nunez Cortes AK, Shanley M, Liu B, Moseley SM, Zhang C, Fang D, Banerjee P, Uprety N, Li Y, Shrestha R, Wan X, Shen H, Woods V, Gilbert AL, Rawal S, Dou J, Tan Y, Park JM, Reyes Silva F, Biederstadt A, Kaplan M, Jiang XR, Biederstadt I, Kumar B, Tiberti S, Moore M, Jin J, Yang RZ, Muniz-Feliciano L, Rosemore S, Lin P, Deyter GM, Fowlkes NW, Jain AK, Marin D, Maitra A, Chen K, Bopp T, Shpall EJ, Rezvani K. CREM is a regulatory checkpoint of CAR and IL-15 signalling in NK cells. Nature, 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 40468083.
- Nieto Y, Banerjee P, Kaur I, Basar R, Li Y, Daher M, Rafei H, Kerbauy LN, Kaplan M, Marin D, Griffin L, Barnett M, Bassett R, Uprety N, Shrestha R, Silva FR, Islam S, Ganesh C, Borneo Z, Ramdial J, Ramirez A, Hosing C, Alousi A, Popat U, Qazilbash M, Ahmed S, Iyer S, Sainz TP, Vega F, Fowlkes NW, Alexis K, Emig M, Harstrick A, Overesch A, Shpall EJ, Rezvani K. Allogeneic NK cells with a bispecific innate cell engager in refractory relapsed lymphoma: a phase 1 trial. Nat Med, 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 40186077.
- He S, Tan Y, Ye Q, Gubin M, Rafei H, Peng W, Rezvani K, Mohanty V, Chen K. Literature-scaled immunological gene set annotation using AI-powered immune cell knowledge graph (ICKG). bioRxiv, 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 40060525.
- Melo Garcia L, Gangadharan A, Banerjee P, Li Y, Zeng AGX, Rafei H, Lin P, Kumar B, Acharya S, Daher M, Muniz-Feliciano L, Deyter GM, Dominguez G, Park JM, Reyes Silva F, Nunez Cortes AK, Basar R, Uprety N, Shanley M, Kaplan M, Liu E, Shpall EJ, Rezvani K. Overcoming CD226-related immune evasion in acute myeloid leukemia with CD38 CAR-engineered NK cells. Cell Rep 44(1):115122, 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 39754720.
- Manzar GS, Dudzinski SO, Yoder AK, Seo A, Nasr LF, Rafei H, Becnel MR, Patel KK, Lee HC, Kaufman GP, Gaballa MM, Ye JC, Saini N, Thomas SK, Amini B, Orlowski RZ, Dabaja BS, Pinnix CC, Gunther JR, Wu SY, Fang PQ. Outcome of Patients With Central Nervous System Multiple Myeloma (CNS-MM) Treated With CNS-Directed Radiation Therapy. Clin Lymphoma Myeloma Leuk 25(4):271-284, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 39709251.
- Acharya S, Basar R, Daher M, Rafei H, Li P, Uprety N, Ensley E, Shanley M, Kumar B, Banerjee PP, Melo Garcia L, Lin P, Mohanty V, Kim KH, Jiang X, Pan Y, Li Y, Liu B, Nunez Cortes AK, Zhang C, Fathi M, Rezvan A, Montalvo MJ, Cha SL, Reyes-Silva F, Shrestha R, Guo X, Kundu K, Biederstadt A, Muniz-Feliciano L, Deyter GM, Kaplan M, Jiang XR, Liu E, Jain A, Roszik J, Fowlkes NW, Solis Soto LM, Raso MG, Khoury JD, Lin P, Vega F, Varadarajan N, Chen K, Marin D, Shpall EJ, Rezvani K. CD28 Costimulation Augments CAR Signaling in NK Cells via the LCK/CD3zeta/ZAP70 Signaling Axis. Cancer Discov 14(10):1879-1900, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 38900051.
- Kumar B, Singh A, Basar R, Uprety N, Li Y, Fan H, Cortes AKN, Kaplan M, Acharya S, Shaim H, Xu AC, Wu M, Ensley E, Fang D, Banerjee PP, Garcia LM, Tiberti S, Lin P, Rafei H, Munir MN, Moore M, Shanley M, Mendt M, Kerbauy LN, Liu B, Biederstadt A, Gokdemir E, Ghosh S, Kundu K, Reyes-Silva F, Jiang XR, Wan X, Gilbert AL, Dede M, Mohanty V, Dou J, Zhang P, Liu E, Muniz-Feliciano L, Deyter GM, Jain AK, Rodriguez-Sevilla JJ, Colla S, Garcia-Manero G, Shpall EJ, Chen K, Abbas HA, Rai K, Rezvani K, Daher M. BATF is a major driver of NK cell epigenetic reprogramming and dysfunction in AML. Sci Transl Med 16(764):eadp0004, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 39259809.
- Shanley, M, Daher, M, Dou, J, Li, S, Basar, R, Rafei, H, Dede, M, Gumin, J, Pantaleόn Garcίa, J, Nunez Cortes, AK, He, S, Jones, C, Acharya, S, Fowlkes, NW, Xiong, D, Singh, S, Shaim, H, Hicks, SC, Liu, B, Jain, A, Zaman, MF, Miao, Q, Li, YE, Uprety, N, Liu, E, Muniz-Feliciano, L, Deyter, GM, Mohanty, V, Zhang, P, Evans, S, Shpall, EJ, Lang Jr, FF, Chen, K, Rezvani, K. Interleukin-21 engineering enhances NK cell activity against glioblastoma via CEBPD. Cancer cell 42(8):1450-1466.e11, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 39137729.
- He, S, Gubin, M, Rafei, H, Basar, R, Dede, M, Jiang, XL, Liang, Q, Tan, Y, Kim, KH, Gillison, M, Rezvani, K, Peng, W, Haymaker, CL, Hernandez, S, Solis Soto, LM, Mohanty, V, Chen, K. Elucidating immune-related gene transcriptional programs via factorization of large-scale RNA-profiles. iScience 27(6), 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 38957791.
- He S, Gubin MM, Rafei H, Basar R, Dede M, Jiang X, Liang Q, Tan Y, Kim K, Gillison ML, Rezvani K, Peng W, Haymaker C, Hernandez S, Solis LM, Mohanty V, Chen K. Elucidating immune-related gene transcriptional programs via factorization of large-scale RNA-profiles. bioRxiv, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 38798470.
- Khouri, IF, Alzahrani, K, Kantarjian, HM, Milton, D, Gulbis, A, Sasaki, K, Jain, N, Short, NJ, Kadia, TM, Daher, M, Rafei, H, Im, JS, Marin, D, Olson, AL, Popat, UR, Qazilbash, MH, Ramdial, JL, Rondon, G, Srour, S, Kebriaei, P, Shpall, E, Champlin, RE, Jabbour, EJ. Safety and long-term survival results of the addition of inotuzumab ozogamicin to the conditioning regimen of allogeneic stem cell transplantation. American journal of hematology 99(5):836-843, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 38400519.
- Marin, D, Li, Y, Basar, R, Rafei, H, Daher, M, Dou, J, Mohanty, V, Dede, M, Nieto, Y, Uprety, N, Acharya, S, Liu, E, Wilson, JM, Banerjee, PP, Macapinlac, HA, Ganesh, C, Thall, PF, Bassett Jr, R, Ammari, M, Rao, SS, Cao, K, Shanley, M, Kaplan, M, Hosing, C, Kebriaei, P, Nastoupil, L, Flowers, CR, Moseley, SM, Lin, P, Ang, O, Popat, UR, Qazilbash, MH, Champlin, RE, Chen, K, Shpall, E, Rezvani, K. Safety, efficacy and determinants of response of allogeneic CD19-specific CAR-NK cells in CD19+ B cell tumors. Nat Med 30(3):772-784, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 38238616.
- Li L, Mohanty V, Dou J, Huang Y, Banerjee PP, Miao Q, Lohr JG, Vijaykumar T, Frede J, Knoechel B, Muniz-Feliciano L, Laskowski TJ, Liang S, Moyes JS, Nandivada V, Basar R, Kaplan M, Daher M, Liu E, Li Y, Acharya S, Lin P, Shanley M, Rafei H, Marin D, Mielke S, Champlin RE, Shpall EJ, Chen K, Rezvani K. Loss of metabolic fitness drives tumor resistance after CAR-NK cell therapy and can be overcome by cytokine engineering. Sci Adv 9(30):eadd6997, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 37494448.
- Li Y, Basar R, Wang G, Liu E, Moyes JS, Li L, Kerbauy LN, Uprety N, Fathi M, Rezvan A, Banerjee PP, Muniz-Feliciano L, Laskowski TJ, Ensley E, Daher M, Shanley M, Mendt M, Acharya S, Liu B, Biederstädt A, Rafei H, Guo X, Melo Garcia L, Lin P, Ang S, Marin D, Chen K, Bover L, Champlin RE, Varadarajan N, Shpall EJ, Rezvani K. KIR-based inhibitory CARs overcome CAR-NK cell trogocytosis-mediated fratricide and tumor escape. Nat Med 28(10):2133-2144, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 36175679.
- Kumar B, Afshar-Kharghan V, Mendt M, Sackstein R, Tanner MR, Popat U, Ramdial J, Daher M, Jimenez J, Basar R, Melo Garcia L, Shanley M, Kaplan M, Wan X, Nandivada V, Reyes Silva F, Woods V, Gilbert A, Gonzalez-Delgado R, Acharya S, Lin P, Rafei H, Banerjee PP, Shpall EJ. Engineered cord blood megakaryocytes evade killing by allogeneic T-cells for refractory thrombocytopenia. Front Immunol 13:1018047, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 36203567.
- Olson A, Lin R, Marin D, Rafei H, Bdaiwi MH, Thall PF, Basar R, Abudayyeh A, Banerjee P, Aung FM, Kaur I, Abueg G, Rao S, Chemaly R, Mulanovich V, Al-Atrash G, Alousi AM, Andersson BS, Anderlini P, Bashir Q, Castro KM, Daher M, Galvan IM, Hosing C, Im JS, Jones RB, Kebriaei P, Khouri I, Mehta R, Molldrem J, Nieto Y, Oran B, Popat U, Qazilbash M, Rondon G, Saini N, Spencer B, Srour S, Washington D, Barnett M, Champlin RE, Shpall EJ, Rezvani K. Third-Party BK Virus-Specific Cytotoxic T Lymphocyte Therapy for Hemorrhagic Cystitis Following Allotransplantation. J Clin Oncol 39(24):2710-2719, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 33929874.
- Saberian C, Abdel-Wahab N, Abudayyeh A, Rafei H, Joseph J, Rondon G, Whited L, Gruschkus S, Fa'ak F, Daher M, Knape C, Safa H, Shoukier M, Suarez-Almazor ME, Marcotulli M, Ludford K, Gulbis AM, Konopleva M, Ohanian M, Ravandi F, Garcia-Manero G, Oran B, Popat UR, Mehta R, Alousi AM, Daver N, Champlin R, Diab A, Al-Atrash G. Post-transplantation cyclophosphamide reduces the incidence of acute graft-versus-host disease in patients with acute myeloid leukemia/myelodysplastic syndromes who receive immune checkpoint inhibitors after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. J Immunother Cancer 9(2), 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 33637601.
- Short NJ, Rafei H, Daver N, Hwang H, Ning J, Jorgensen JL, Kadia TM, DiNardo CD, Wang SA, Jabbour E, Popat U, Oran B, Cortes J, Konopleva M, Yilmaz M, Issa GC, Kantarjian H, Ravandi F. Prognostic impact of complete remission with MRD negativity in patients with relapsed or refractory AML. Blood Adv 4(24):6117-6126, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 33351107.
- Rafei H, Jabbour EJ, Kantarjian H, Sinicrope KD, Kamiya-Matsuoka C, Mehta RS, Daver NG, Kadia TM, Naqvi K, Cortes J, Konopleva M. Neurotoxic events associated with BCR-ABL1 tyrosine kinase inhibitors: a case series. Leuk Lymphoma 60(13):3292-3295, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31246142.
- Lumley CJ, Kaffenberger TM, Desale S, Tefera E, Han CJ, Rafei H, Maxwell JH. Post-diagnosis aspirin use and survival in veterans with head and neck cancer. Head Neck 41(5):1220-1226, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 30537085.
- Parta M, Shah NN, Baird K, Rafei H, Calvo KR, Hughes T, Cole K, Kenyon M, Schuver BB, Cuellar-Rodriguez J, Zerbe CS, Holland SM, Hickstein DD. Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation for GATA2 Deficiency Using a Busulfan-Based Regimen. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant 24(6):1250-1259, 2018. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 29412158.
- Shah NN, Parta M, Baird K, Rafei H, Cole K, Holland SM, Hickstein DD. Monozygotic twins with GATA2 deficiency: same haploidentical-related donor, different severity of GvHD. Bone Marrow Transplant 52(11):1580-1582, 2017. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 28825694.
- Jose A, Rafei H, Ahari J. Combination targeted pulmonary hypertension therapy in the resolution of Dasatinib-associated pulmonary arterial hypertension. Pulm Circ 7(4):803-807, 2017. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 28644066.
- DeStefano CB, Malkovska V, Rafei H, Shenoy A, Fitzpatrick K, Aggarwal A, Catlett JP. DA-EPOCH-R for post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorders. Eur J Haematol 99(3):283-285, 2017. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 28509395.
- Rafei H, Yunus R, Nassereddine S. Post-Transfusion Purpura: A Case Report of an Underdiagnosed Phenomenon. Cureus 9(5):e1207, 2017. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 28580204.
- Rafei H, Nassereddine S, Garcia IF. Disseminated intravascular coagulation-like reaction following rituximab infusion. BMJ Case Rep 2017, 2017. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 28179388.
- Tfayli A, Rafei H, Mina A, Khalil M, Fakhreddin N, Mahfouz R, Hamouri S, Farhat F, Salem Z, Dbouk H, Rabee H, Saghir N, Shamseddine A, Makarem J, Bitar N, Mougharbil A, Assi H, Temraz S, Mukherji D, Matalka I, Zaatari G. Prevalence of EGFR and ALK Mutations in Lung Adenocarcinomas in the Levant Area - a Prospective Analysis. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev 18(1):107-114, 2017. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 28240017.
- Rafei H, El-Bahesh E, Finianos A, Liu ML, Schechter GP. Plasmablastic Lymphoma: Case Report of Prolonged Survival of an Advanced Human Immunodeficiency Patient and Literature Review. Case Rep Hematol 2017:9561013, 2017. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 29090101.
- Hossain A, Rafei H, Jariwala A, El-Shami K. A rare breed: Wild-type braf and ighv expression in a 29 year old lady with classical hairy cell leukemia. Leuk Res Rep 7:20-22, 2017. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 28275540.
- Rafei H, Khalil M, Hassoun Y, Mina A, Nasser Z, Tfayli A. Perspective of Lebanese oncologists on the symptom burden among adult cancer patients. J Med Liban 64(4):200-4, 2016. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 29845844.
- Mina A, Rafei H, Khalil M, Hassoun Y, Nasser Z, Tfayli A. Role of baseline echocardiography prior to initiation of anthracycline-based chemotherapy in breast cancer patients. BMC Cancer 15(1):10, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 25605569.
Review Articles
- Rafei H, Rezvani K. Advances and challenges in chimeric antigen receptor-natural killer cell immunotherapy for cancer. Br J Haematol 206(2):443-446, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 39622255.
- Li Y, Rezvani K, Rafei H. Next-generation chimeric antigen receptors for T- and natural killer-cell therapies against cancer. Immunol Rev 320(1):217-235, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 37548050.
- Sanchez-Petitto G, Rezvani K, Daher M, Rafei H, Kebriaei P, Shpall EJ, Olson A. Umbilical Cord Blood Transplantation: Connecting Its Origin to Its Future. Stem Cells Transl Med 12(2):55-71, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 36779789.
- Rafei H, Daher M, Rezvani K. Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) natural killer (NK)-cell therapy: leveraging the power of innate immunity. Br J Haematol 193(2):216-230, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 33216984.
- Ravindranathan D, Alhalabi O, Rafei H, Shah AY, Bilen MA. Landscape of Immunotherapy in Genitourinary Malignancies. Adv Exp Med Biol 1342:143-192, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 34972965.
- Rafei H, Jenq RR. Microbiome-intestine cross talk during acute graft-versus-host disease. Blood 136(4):401-409, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32526029.
- Rafei H, Kantarjian HM, Jabbour EJ. Targeted therapy paves the way for the cure of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. Br J Haematol 188(2):207-223, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 31566728.
- Rafei H, Kantarjian HM, Jabbour EJ. Recent advances in the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Leuk Lymphoma 60(11):2606-2621, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31092071.
- Rafei H, DiNardo CD. Hereditary myeloid malignancies. Best Pract Res Clin Haematol 32(2):163-176, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31203998.
- Alhalabi O, Rafei H, Shah A, Siefker-Radtke A, Campbell M, Gao J. Targeting advanced urothelial carcinoma-developing strategies. Curr Opin Oncol 31(3):207-215, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 30844889.
- Rafei H, Haroun F, Tabbara IA. Novel Immunotherapeutic Agents for the Treatment of Multiple Myeloma. Am J Clin Oncol 42(3):317-329, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 30557165.
- Rafei H, Kharfan-Dabaja MA. Treatment of Del17p and/or aberrant TP53 chronic lymphocytic leukemia in the era of novel therapies. Hematol Oncol Stem Cell Ther 11(1):1-12, 2018. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 28549767.
- Rafei H, Kharfan-Dabaja MA, Nishihori T. A Critical Appraisal of Extracorporeal Photopheresis as a Treatment Modality for Acute and Chronic Graft-Versus-Host Disease. Biomedicines 5(4), 2017. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 29019937.
- Nassereddine S, Rafei H, Elbahesh E, Tabbara I. Acute Graft Versus Host Disease: A Comprehensive Review. Anticancer Res 37(4):1547-1555, 2017. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 28373413.
- Rafei H, El-Bahesh E, Finianos A, Nassereddine S, Tabbara I. Immune-based Therapies for Non-small Cell Lung Cancer. Anticancer Res 37(2):377-387, 2017. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 28179283.
Other Articles
- Rafei H, Rezvani K Mitigating infection risks: The promise and challenge of bispecific antibodies in haematological malignancies. Br J Haematol 205(3):764-766, 2024. PMID: 39039831.
- Li, Y, Basar, R, Wang, G, Liu, E, Moyes, JS, Li, L, Kerbauy, LN, Uprety, N, Fathi, M, Rezvan, A, Banerjee, PP, Muniz-Feliciano, L, Laskowski, TJ, Ensley, E, Daher, M, Shanley, M, Mendt Vilchez, MC, Acharya, S, Liu, B, Biederstädt, A, Rafei, H, Guo, X, Melo Garcia, L, Lin, P, Ang, O, Marin, D, Chen, K, Bover, L, Champlin, RE, Varadarajan, N, Shpall, E, Rezvani, K Correction to. Nature medicine 30(3):906, 2024. PMID: 38182787.
- Short, NJ, Rafei, H, Daver, N Erratum. Blood Advances 5(2):366, 2021. PMID: 33496732.
Editorials
- Rafei H, Mehta RS, Rezvani K. Editorial: Cellular Therapies in Cancer. Front Immunol 10:2788, 2019. PMID: 31827476.
Abstracts
- Rafei H, Basar R, Acharya S, Hsu Y, Liu P, Zhang D, Liang Q, Mohanty V, Upadhyay R, Li P, Phadatare P, Dede M, Xiong D, Jones C, Daher M, Nunez Cortes AK, Shanley M, Liu B, Moseley SM, Zhang P, Fang D, Banerjee P, Uprety N, Li Y, Shrestha R, Wan X, Shen H, Woods V, Gilbert A, Rawal S, Dou J, Tan Y, Park J, Silva FR, Biederstädt A, Kaplan M, Jiang XR, Biederstädt I, Tiberti S, Moore M, Jin J, Muniz-Feliciano L, Lin P, Deyter GM, Fowlkes NW, Jain A, Marin D, Chen K, Shpall E, Rezvani K. CREM is a regulatory checkpoint of CAR and IL-15 signaling in NK cells. AACR Annual Meeting 2025, 2025. e-Pub 2025.
- Biederstädt A, Basar R, Park J, Dede M, Watts JG, Uprety N, Shrestha R, Reyes-Silva F, Daher M, Liu B, Rafei H, Banerjee PP, Li P, Acharya S, Islam ST, Fan H, Xiong D, Woods VC, Lin P, Tiberti S, Nunez Cortes AK, Jiang XR, Biederstädt I, Zhang PC, Li Y, Rawal S, Liu E, Muniz-Feliciano LH, Deyter GM, Shpall EJ, Fowlkes NW, Chen K, Rezvani K. Genome-wide CRISPR screens identify critical targets to enhance CAR-NK cell antitumor potency. AACR Annual Meeting 2025, 2025. e-Pub 2025.
- He S, Tan Y, Mohanty V, Rafei H, Rezvani K, Chen K. AI-derived immune cell knowledge graphs to advance immunotherapy. AACR Annual Meeting 2025, 2025. e-Pub 2025.
- Morelli MP, Basar R, Marin D, Huey R, Banerjee P, Willis J, Van Morris II, Rafei H, Dasari A, Kee B, Zeller B, Diao S, Menter D, Shpall E, Kopetz S, Rezvani K. A phase Ib study of immunotherapy with ex-vivo pre-activated and expanded CBNK cells in combination with cetuximab, in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) with minimal residual disease (MRD): Final report. 2025 ASCO Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium, 2025. e-Pub 2025.
- Dai Y, Peng F, Sinjab A, Yang S, Chen M, Treekitkarnmongkol W, Gomez Bolanos LI, Zhou T, Serrano AG, Liao J, Pei G, Liu Y, Liu Y, Jiang J, Cho KS, Chu Y, Yu K, Wang R, Feng J, Rahal Z, Han G, Jimbo N, Hayashi T, Kishikawa S, Takamochi K, Basi A, Spira A, Dubinett S, Itoh T, Yao T, Suzuki K, Solis LM, Swisher S, Li M, Fujimoto J, Wistuba II, Burks J, Akdemir K, Rafei H, Rezvani K, Myers J, Kadara H, Wang L. Spatial transcriptomics identifies unique tumor and microenvironment pathomic programs that are associated with the lung premalignancy and adenocarcinoma continuum. AACR Annual Meeting 2025, 2025. e-Pub 2025.
- He S, Mohanty V, Gubin M, Rafei H, Basar R, Dede M, Jiang X, Tan Y, Gillison M, Rezvani K, Peng W, Chen K. Elucidating immune-related gene transcriptional programs via factorization of large-scale RNA profiles. AACR Annual Meeting 2024, 2025. e-Pub 2025.
- He S, Tan Y, Mohanty V, Rafei H, Rezvani K, Chen K. Characterization of transcriptional programs with translational implications in natural killer (NK) cells via single-cell data factorization and knowledge graph integration. SITC Annual Meeting 2024, 2024. e-Pub 2024.
- Knisely A, Rafei H, Basar R, Banerjee PP, Metwalli Z, Lito K, Fellman BM, Yuan Y, Wolff RA, Morelli MP, Meyer LA, Wang XS, Westin SN, Meric-Bernstam F, Shpall EJ, Lu KH, Rezvani K, Jazaeri AA. Phase I/II study of TROP2 CAR engineered IL15-transduced cord blood-derived NK cells delivered intraperitoneally for the management of platinum resistant ovarian cancer, mesonephric-like adenocarcinoma, and pancreatic cancer. 2024 ASCO Annual Meeting, 2024. e-Pub 2024.
- Morelli MP, Basar R, Marin D, Banerjee P, Huey R, Willis J, Morris V, Rafei H, Dasari A, Kee B, Zeller B, Diao S, Menter D, Shpall EJ, Kopetz S, Rezvani K. Phase IB study of immunotherapy combining ex-vivo pre-activated and expanded cord blood NK cells with cetuximab in colorectal cancer patients with minimal residual disease: an interim report. SITC Annual Meeting 2024, 2024. e-Pub 2024.
- Jiang XR, Rafei H, Basar R, Daher M, Liang Q, Biederstadt I, Zhang P, Xiong D, Kang J, Gumin J, Shanley M, Jones C, Gilbert A, Shaim H, Muniz-Feliciano L, Deyter G, Banerjee P, Moore M, Li Y, Fang D, Acahrya S, Jiang H, Uprety N, Shrestha R, Jia B, Daniel P, Munir M, Banjo O, Shpall EJ, Jain A, Chen K, Lang F, Manzano CG, Fueyo J, Rezvani K. Oncolytic viruses induce sustained anti-tumor cytotoxicity in NK cells. SITC Annual Meeting 2024, 2024. e-Pub 2024.
- Lin P, Reyes Silva FC, Lin P, Gilbert AL, Acharya S, Nunez Cortes AK, Banerjee P, Fang D, Garcia LM, Daher M, Basar R, Patel KK, Lee H, Orlowski RZ, Rafei H, Marin D, Champlin RE, Shpall EJ, Rezvani K. CD70 CAR NK Cells in the Treatment of Multiple Myeloma. ASH Annual Meeting 2023, 2023. e-Pub 2023.
- Rafei H, Basar R, Acharya S, Zhang P, Liu P, Moseley SM, Li P, Daher M, Agarwal N, Marques-Piubelli ML, Uprety N, Garcia LM, Shanley M, Banerjee P, Li Y, Rosemore SL, Kumar B, Nunez Cortes AK, Biederstädt A, Islam S, Kaplan M, Hu B, Manzar G, Lin P, Marin D, Champlin RE, Vega F, Shpall EJ, Rezvani K. Targeting T-Cell Lymphoma Using CD70-Directed Cord Blood-Derived CAR-NK Cells. ASH Annual Meeting 2023, 2023. e-Pub 2023.
- Acharya S, Basar R, Daher M, Li P, Rafei H, Uprety N, Ensley E, Shanley M, Kumar B, Banerjee P, Garcia LM, Lin P, Mohanty V, Pan Y, Miao Q, Kim KH, Jiang X, Li Y, Liu B, Nunez Cortes AK, Zhang P, Fathi M, Rezvan A, Montalvo MJ, Liu E, Varadarajan N, Chen K, Marin D, Champlin RE, Shpall EJ, Rezvani K. Generation and Screening of Various CD70 CAR NK Cells Identify the Most Effective Construct Against Hematologic Malignancies. ASH Annual Meeting 2023, 2023. e-Pub 2023.
- Shaim H, Rafei H, Kaplan M, Basar R, Daher M, Shanley M, Banerjee P, Kumar B, Nunez Cortes AK, Islam S, Jiang XR, Kerbauy LN, Lin P, Gokdemir E, Uprety N, Acharya S, Mendt MC, Garcia LM, Biederstädt A, Liu B, Liu E, Ang S, Burger JA, Wierda WG, Ferrajoli A, Shpall EJ, Rezvani K. NK Cell Dysfunction in CLL Is Mediated through SHP-1 Signaling and Is Associated with Poor Prognosis. ASH Annual Meeting 2023, 2023. e-Pub 2023.
- He S, Mohanty V, Rafei H, Basar R, Jiang X, Gillison M, Rezvani K, Chen K. Immune hallmarks construction via non-negative matrix factorization with data-driven functional validations and translational implications. SITC Annual Meeting 2023, 2023. e-Pub 2023.
- Kumar B, Singh A, Basar R, Uprety N, Li Y, Fan H, Shanley M, Acharya S, Mendt MC, Lin P, Biederstädt A, Rafei H, Banerjee P, Mohanty V, Shaim H, Dede M, Garcia LM, Kerbauy LN, Nunez Cortes AK, Miao Q, Dou J, Reyes FS, Guo X, Kaplan M, Ang S, Jiang XR, Liu E, Liu B, Champlin RE, Kantarjian H, Marin D, Chen K, Abbas HA, Shpall EJ, Rai K, Rezvani K, Daher M. Epigenetic Scarring Leads to Irreversible NK Cell Dysfunction in Myeloid Malignancies. ASH Annual Meeting 2023, 2023. e-Pub 2023.
- Khouri IF, Alzahrani K, Gulbis A, Sasaki K, Jain N, Short NJ, Kadia TM, Daher M, Rafei H, Im JS, Marin D, Olson AL, Popat UR, Qazilbash MH, Ramdial J, Rondon G, Srour SA, Kebriaei P, Shpall EJ, Kantarjian HM, Champlin RE, Jabbour E. Addition of Inotuzumab Ozogamicin to the Conditioning Regimen of Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation (allo-SCT) for Relapsed CD22 (+) Lymphoid Malignancies: Long-Term Survival Results. ASH Annual Meeting 2023, 2023. e-Pub 2023.
- Garcia LM, Gangadharan A, Banerjee P, Lin P, Daher M, Rafei H, Kumar B, Rezvani K. Chimeric Antigen Receptor-Engineered NK Cells Overcome CD226 Downregulation As an Immune Escape Mechanism in Acute Myeloid Leukemia. ASH Annual Meeting 2023, 2023. e-Pub 2023.
- Wang G, Liu Y, Ramalingam P, Malpica A, Euscher E, Lawson B, Hameed N, Sood A, Rafei H, Basar R, Rezvani K, Jazaeri A, Liu J. TROP2 Expression is A Favorable Prognostic Marker in Patients with Advanced High Grade Ovarian Carcinoma. United States And Canadian Academy of Pathology 2023, 2023. e-Pub 2023.
- Basar R, Daher M, Uprety N, Ensley E, Nunez Cortes AK, Acharya S, Shrestha R, Liu B, Shanley M, Li Y, Reyes FS, Dede M, Rafei H, Shaim H, Kaplan M, Lin P, Banerjee P, Mohanty V, Dou J, Mendt MC, Miao Q, Ammari M, Liu E, Guo X, Kumar B, Biederstädt A, Jiang XR, Ang S, Varadarajan N, Champlin RE, Chen K, Marin D, Shpall EJ, Rezvani K. DAP10 Co-Stimulation Imparts Memory-like Features to CD5 Targeting Cord Blood Derived CAR-NK Cells. ASH Annual Meeting 2023, 2023. e-Pub 2023.
- Wang G, Liu Y, Ramalingam P, Malpica A, Euscher ED, Lawson BC, Hameed N, Sood A, Rafei H, Basar R, Rezvani K, Jazaeri A, Liu J. TROP2 Expression is A Favorable Prognostic Marker in Patients with Advanced High Grade Ovarian Carcinoma. United States And Canadian Academy of Pathology 2022, 2022. e-Pub 2022.
- Sasaki K, Kantargian HM, Ravandi F, Short NJ, Kebriei P, Huan X, Jain N, Konopleva M, Garcia-Manero G, Champlin RE, Kadia TM, Takahashi K, Daver N, Rafei H, Khoury JD, Jorgensen JL, Wang SA, Khouri MR, Jacob J, Garris R, O'Brien SM, Jabbour E. Long-Term Follow-up of the Combination of Low-Intensity Chemotherapy Plus Inotuzumab Ozogamicin with or without Blinatumomab in Patients with Relapsed-Refractory Philadelphia Chromosome-Negative Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: A Phase 2 Trial. ASH Annual Meeting 2020 136(Supplement 1):40-42, 2020. e-Pub 2020.
- Rafei H, Kantarjian H, Sasaki K, Short NJ, Ravandi F, Huang X, Khoury J, Wang S, Jorgensen J, Khouri I, Kebriaei P, Champlin R, Jain N, Dabaja B, Masarova L, Issa G, Pemmaraju N, Kadia T, Paul S, Jammal N, Garcia-Manero G, Wierda W, DiNardo C, Daver N, Montalban-Bravo G, Khouri R, Nasnas P, Thompson P, Jacob J, Rostykus M, Garris R, Konopleva M, O’Brien S, Jabbour EJ. Role of Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplant (ASCT) in Patients (Pts) with Relapsed/Refractory (R-R) Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) Treated with Inotuzumab Ozogamicin (INO) in Combination with Low-Intensity Chemotherapy (mini-hyper-CVD) with or without Blinatumomab (Blina): Results from a Phase 2 Study. ASH Annual Meeting 2020 136(Supplement 1):39-41, 2020. e-Pub 2020.
- Rafei H, Kantarjian H, Sasaki K, Short NJ, Ravandi F, Huang X, Khoury J, Wang S, Jorgensen J, Khouri I, Kebriaei P, Jain N, Dabaja B, Alvarado Y, Kadia T, Paul S, Chew S, Garcia-Manero G, Burger J, DiNardo C, Daver N, Montalban-Bravo G, Yilmaz M, Ohanian M, Khouri M, Thompson P, Jacob J, Rostykus M, Garris R, Konopleva M, O’Brien S, Jabbour EJ. Sequential Combination of Inotuzumab Ozogamicin (InO) with Low-Intensity Chemotherapy (mini-hyper-CVD) with or without Blinatumomab (Blina) as Salvage Therapy for Patients (Pts) with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) in First Relapse. ASH Annual Meeting 2020 136(Supplement 1):36-38, 2020. e-Pub 2020.
- Sasaki K, Kantarjian H, Ravandi F, Short NJ, Kebriaei P, Huang X, Jain N, Konopleva M, Garcia-Manero G, Champlin R, Kadia T, Takahashi K, Rafei H, Khoury JD, Jorgensen J, Khouri MR, Jacob J, Garris R, O’Brien S, Jabbour EJ. A Prognostic Model for Survival in Patients with Relapsed/Refractory Philadelphia Chromosome-Negative Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia on the Combination of Low-Intensity Chemotherapy plus Inotuzumab Ozogamicin with or without Blinatumomab. ASH Annual Meeting 2020 136(Supplement 1):2-4, 2020. e-Pub 2020.
- Rafei H, Kantarjian H, Sasaki K, Short NJ, Ravandi F, Huang X, Khoury J, Wang S, Jorgensen J, Yin C, Khouri I, Kebriaei P, Jain N, Takahashi K, Dabaja B, Verstovsek S, Kadia T, Paul S, Rausch C, Garcia-Manero G, Wierda W, DiNardo C, Daver N, Montalban-Bravo G, Yilmaz M, Nasnas P, Khouri R, Kwari M, Jacob J, Rostykus M, Garris R, Konopleva M, O’Brien S, Jabbour EJ. Impact of Cytogenetic Abnormalities (CA) on Outcome of Patients (Pts) with Relapsed/Refractory (R-R) Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) Treated with Inotuzumab Ozogamicin (INO) in Combination with Low-Intensity Chemotherapy (mini-hyper-CVD) with or without Blinatumomab: Results from a Phase 2 Study. ASH Annual Meeting 2020 136(Supplement 1):45-47, 2020. e-Pub 2020.
- Saberian C, Abdel-Wahab N, Abudayyeh A, Rafei H, Joseph J, Daher M, Whited LK, Gruschkus SK, Knape C, Cornelison-Marcotulli M, Gulbis A, Konopleva M, Ohanian M, Ravandi F, Garcia-Manero G, Rondon G, Oran B, Popat UR, Mehta RS, Alousi AM, Champlin RE, Daver N, Diab A, Al-Atrash G. Lower Risk of Graft Versus Host Disease After Exposure to Checkpoint Inhibitors with the Use of Post-Transplant Cyclophosphamide Prophylaxis. ASH Annual Meeting 2020 136(Supplement 1):1, 2020. e-Pub 2020.
- Sasaki K, Kantarjian H, Ravandi F, Short NJ, Kebriaei P, Huang X, Jain N, Konopleva M, Garcia-Manero G, Champlin R, Kadia T, Takahashi K, Rafei H, Khoury JD, Jorgensen J, Khouri MR, Jacob J, Garris R, O’Brien S, Jabbour EJ. Long-Term Follow-Up of the Combination of Low-Intensity Chemotherapy plus Inotuzumab Ozogamicin with or without Blinatumomab in Patients with Relapsed/Refractory Philadelphia Chromosome-Negative Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: A Phase 2 Trial. ASH Annual Meeting 2020 136(Supplement 1):40–42, 2020. e-Pub 2020.
- Saberian C, Abdel-Wahab N, Abudayyeh A, Rafei H, Joseph J, Daher M, Whited LK, Gruschkus SK, Knape C, Cornelison-Marcotulli M, Gulbis A, Konopleva M, Ohanian M, Ravandi F, Garcia-Manero G, Rondon G, Oran B, Popat UR, Mehta RS, Alousi AM, Champlin RE, Daver N, Diab A, Al-Atrash G. Post-Transplantation Cyclophosphamide Reduces the Incidence of Acute Graft-Versus-Host Disease in Patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia/Myelodysplastic Syndromes Who Receive Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors after Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation. Society of Hematologic Oncology 2020:S201 - S202, 2020. e-Pub 2020.
- Rafei H, Kantarjian H, Sasaki K, Short NJ, Ravandi F, Huang X, Khoury J, Wang S, Jorgensen J, Khouri I, Kebriaei P, Jain N, Dabaja B, Masarova L, Kadia T, Paul S, Nichols D, Garcia-Manero G, Burger J, DiNardo C, Daver N, Montalban-Bravo G, Yilmaz M, Bose P, Khouri R, Thompson P, Jacob J, Rostykus M, Garris R, Konopleva M, O’Brien S, Jabbour EJ. CD22 Expression Level as a Predictor of Survival in Patients (Pts) with Relapsed/Refractory (R-R) Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) Treated with Inotuzumab Ozogamicin (INO) in Combination with Low-Intensity Chemotherapy (mini-hyper-CVD) with or without Blinatumomab: Results from a Phase 2 Study. ASH Annual Meeting 2020 136(Supplement 1):23-25, 2020. e-Pub 2020.
- Short NJ, Rafei H, Daver NG, Hwang H, Ning J, Cortes JE, Jorgensen JL, Kadia TM, DiNardo CD, Wang SA, Jabbour E, Popat U, Oran B, Konopleva MY, Garcia-Manero G, Borthakur GM, Bhalla KN, Issa GC, Kantarjian HM, Ravandi F. Achievement of Complete Remission (CR) with Measurable Residual Disease (MRD) Negativity Is Highly Prognostic in Patients (pts) with Relapsed or Refractory (R/R) Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) Receiving First Salvage Chemotherapy. ASH Annual Meeting 2019 134(Supplement_1):735, 2019. e-Pub 2019.
- Rafei H, Rezvani K, Shpall EJ. The Future of Cellular Therapy. Society of Hematologic Oncology 2019 Annual Meeting Volume 19(S102 - S105), 2019. e-Pub 2019.
- Rafei H, Ravandi F, Hwang H, Ning J, Cortes J, Kadia T, DiNardo C, Jabbour E, Daver N, Konopleva M, Garcia-Manero G, Borthakur G, Issa G, Kantarjian H, Short N. Prognostic Impact of Full Hematologic Recovery and Achievement of Measurable Residual Disease (MRD) Negativity in Patients with Relapsed or Refractory (R/R) Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) After First Salvage Therapy. Society of Hematologic Oncology 2019 Annual Meeting(S218 - S219), 2019. e-Pub 2019.
- Rafei H, Fernández-Viña M, Carmazzi Y, Moore B, Willis D, Basar R, Banerjee PP, Daher M, Hosing C, Kebriaei P, Khouri IF, Mehta R, Nieto Y, Qazilbash MH, Shpall EJ, Champlin RE, Marin D, Rezvani K, Cao K. Role of killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR)-ligand interactions to prevent relapse in patients (pts) receiving matched unrelated stem cell transplant (SCT) for acute myeloid leukemia (AML). ASCO Annual Meeting 2019 37(15_suppl):7049-7049, 2019. e-Pub 2019.
- Olson AL, Lin R, Bdaiwi M, Thall PF, Rafei H, Kaur I, Li L, Abueg G, Timmons M, Chemaly R, Marin D, Alousi AM, Ahmed S, Ciurea SO, Hosing C, Kebriaei P, Jones RB, Andersson BS, Oran B, Abuddayeh A, Popat U, Champlin RR, Shpall EJ, Rezvani K. Third-Party BK Virus Specific Cytotoxic T Lymphocyte Therapy for Hemorrhagic Cystitis Following Allotransplantation. ASH Annual Meeting 2019 134(Supplement_1):3596, 2019. e-Pub 2019.
- Rafei H, Imahashi N, Basar R, Banerjee PP, Daher M, Ganesh C, Hosing C, Kaur I, Kebriaei P, Khouri IF, Mehta R, Nieto Y, Olson AL, Qazilbash MH, Spencer BP, Srour S, Shpall EJ, Champlin RE, Marin D, Rezvani K. Off-the-shelf virus specific T-cells for therapy of adenovirus disease in immunosuppressed patients. ASCO Annual Meeting 2019 37(15_suppl):7008-7008, 2019. e-Pub 2019.
- Siegel RS, Rafei H, Joshi A, el-Shami K, Taheri MR, Guebre-Xabiher H, Sadeghi N. Phase II Study: Induction Chemotherapy and Transoral Surgery as Definitive Treatment (Tx) for Locally Advanced Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OPSCC): a Novel Approach. ASCO Annual Meeting 2018 36(15_suppl):6004-6004, 2018. e-Pub 2018.
- Rafei H, Jose A, Ahari J. Pulmonary hypertension following dasatinib treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. American Thoracic Society Annual Meeting 2017, 2017. e-Pub 2017.
- Jain T, Rafei H, Yunus R. Advanced Therapy for high Clinical Suspicion Pulmonary Embolism. Society of General Internal Medicine Annual Meeting 2017 32(Suppl 2):83–808, 2017. e-Pub 2017.
- Rafei H, Poon A, Ershler W. An Essential Vitamin for Effective Hematopoiesis: A Simple Cure for Bone Marrow Failure. Society of General Internal Medicine Annual Meeting 2017 32(Suppl 2):83–808, 2017. e-Pub 2017.
- Rafei H, Lumley C, Han CJ, Kaffenerger TM, Maxwell J. Aspirin Use and Survival in Head and Neck Cancer Patients. ASCO Annual Meeting 2017 35(15_suppl):6042-6042, 2017. e-Pub 2017.
- Holland SM, Baird K, Parta M, Rafei H, Shah NN, Cole K. Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem-Cell Transplantation for GATA2 Deficiency Using a Busulfan-Based Regimen. ASH Annual Meeting 2017 130(Supplement 1):2447, 2017. e-Pub 2017.
- Rafei H, Reljic T, Nishihori T, Ayala E, Kumar A, Kharfan-Dabaja MA. Bendamustine appears to be a safe and effective alternative to carmustine when combined with etoposide, cytarabine and melphalan as conditioning regimen for autologous HCT for lymphomas: results of a systematic review/meta-analysis. Society of Hematologic Oncology 2017 Annual Meeting 17(S361), 2017. e-Pub 2017.
- Siegel RS, Rafei H, Joshi A, el-Shami K, Taheri MR, Guebre-Xabiher H, Sadeghi N. Phase II Study: Induction Chemotherapy and Transoral Surgery as Definitive Treatment (Tx) for Locally Advanced Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OPSCC): a Novel Approach. ASCO Annual Meeting 2017 35(15_suppl):6078-6078, 2017. e-Pub 2017.
- Rafei H, Garcia I. Chimerism with Coagulopathy; the Risks of Rituximab. Society of Hematologic Oncology 2016 Annual Meeting 16(S3), 2016. e-Pub 2016.
- Rafei H, Ascensao JL, Aggarwal A. Platelet Count Increase Seen with Ledipasvir-Sofosbuvir Combination Treatment of Chronic Hepatitis C in Patients with Thrombocytopenia. ASH Annual Meeting 2016, 2016. e-Pub 2016.
- Aggarwal A, Rafei H, Alakeel F, Finianos AN, Liu ML, El-Bahesh E, Ascensao JL, Mobarek D. Outcome of Patients with Double-Expressor Lymphomas (DELs) Treated with R-CHOP or R-EPOCH. ASH Annual Meeting 2016, 2016. e-Pub 2016.
- Rafei H, Eissa H, Amin S, Ramzy A, Mobarek D. Prevalence of Inherited and Acquired Thrombophilia in Females Post Multiple Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) Attempts. ASH Annual Meeting 2016, 2016. e-Pub 2016.
- Mobarek D, Rafei H, Finianos AN, El-Bahesh E, Alakeel F, Lui ML, Ascensao J. Low Prevalence of CD30 Expression in Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma Patients with MYC Rearrangement. ASH Annual Meeting 2016, 2016. e-Pub 2016.
- Tfayli A, Rafei H, Khalil M, Mina A, Fakhreddin N, Mahfouz R, Farhat F, Rabee H, Hamouri S, Dbouk H, Salem Z, Sagir N, Shamseddine A, Bitar N, Mougharbil A, Makarem J, Daw W. Screening for the Prevalence of EGFR and ALK Mutations in Lung Adenocarcinoma Patients in the Levant Area, a Prospective Analysis. European Journal of Cancer 51(suppl 3):S30–S31, 2015. e-Pub 2015.
- Tfayli A, Khalil M, Mina A, Rafei H, Fakhreddin N, Mahfouz R, Farhat F, Hamouri S, Dbouk H, Zaatari Z. Screening for the prevalence of EGFR and ALK mutations in lung adenocarcinoma patients in the Levant area, a prospective analysis, 2015. e-Pub 2015.
- Rafei H, Mina A, Khalil M, Fakhreddine N, Farhat F, Dbouk H, Salh H, Salem Z, Mahfouz R, Zaatari Z, Tfayli A. Screening for the prevalence of EGFR and ALK mutations in lung adenocarcinoma patients in the Levant area, a prospective analysis. ASCO Annual Meeting 2015, 2015. e-Pub 2015.
- Khouri I, Wu S, Haddad F, Milton D, Kadia T, Short N, Sasaki K, Im J, Marin D, Mehta R, Rondon G, Rafei H, Ramdial J, GarciaManero G, Li D, Gulbis A, Dabaja B, Jabbour E, Ma Q. Post-transplant bendamustine (PT-BEN) with or without cyclophosphamide for gvhd prophylaxis after haplo-identical or matched unrelated donor transplants: A phase I/II trial. ASH 2025 Annual Meeting.
- Rosemore S, Liu P, Banerjee P, Basar R, Acharya S, Rafei H, Rezvani K. Effect of Expansion and Tumor Challenge on Chemokine Receptor Expression in Cord Blood-Derived CAR-NK Cells. 2023 MD Anderson Cancer Center Summer Experience.
- Rosemore S, Liu P, Banerjee P, Basar R, Acharya S, Daher M, Islam S, Li P, Silva FR, Cortez AKN, Kumar B, Kundu K, Biederstadt A, Uprety N, Shanley M, Liu B, Li Y, Li S, Hu B, Jiang XR, Munir M, Manzar GS, Kaplan M, Guo X, Zhang P, Lin P, Watts L, Shrestha R, Shpall EJ, Rezvani K, Rafei H. Effect of Expansion and Tumor Challenge on Chemokine Receptor Expression in Cord Blood Derived CAR NK Cells. AACR 2024 Undergraduate Student Caucus and Poster Competition.
Book Chapters
- Rafei, H, Mehta, RS, Oran, B, Rezvani, K, Shpall, E, Olson, AL. Umbilical Cord Blood Transplantation, 101-114, 2023.
- Rafei, H, Basar, R, Rezvani, K, Daher, M. Chimeric antigen receptor-modified cells for the treatment of solid tumors, 97-131, 2022.
- Rafei H, Mehta RS, Oran B, Rezvani K, Shpall EJ, Olson A. Umbilical Cord Blood Transplantation. In: Manual of Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapies. ELSEVIER, 2022.
- Rafei H, Basar R, Rezvani K, Daher M. Chimeric Antigen Receptor-Modified Cells for the Treatment of Solid Tumors: First Steps in a Thousand-Mile March. In: Adoptive Immune Cell Therapy for Cancer: Successes and Challenges. Elsevier/Academic Press, 97-131, 2022.
- Alhalabi O, Rafei H, Bilen MA, Shah AY. Current Landscape of Immunotherapy in Genitourinary Malignancies. In: Immunotherapy. 3rd Edition. Springer, 2020.
- Rafei H, Olson A, Mehta RS, Oran B, Rezvani K, Shpall EJ. Alternative Donor Transplants: Cord Blood Transplant. In: The MD Anderson Manual of Medical Oncology. 4th Edition. McGraw Hill Professional, 2020.
- Rafei H, Konoplev SN, Wang S, Short NJ, Kantarjian HM, Jabbour EJ. Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. In: The MD Anderson Manual of Medical Oncology. 4th Edition. McGraw Hill Professional, 2020.
Patient Reviews
CV information above last modified December 13, 2025