Meet Marina Konopleva, M.D., Ph.D.
Marina Y. Konopleva, M.D., Ph.D.
Department of Leukemia, Division of Cancer Medicine
About Dr. Konopleva
Dr. Konopleva is a Physician-Scientist, Professor, and active member of the clinical faculty in the Departments of Leukemia and Stem Cell Transplantation. Her laboratory is studying novel agents in acute myeloid and lymphocytic leukemias, focusing on BCL-2 targeting and agents targeting leukemic microenvironment and metabolism. Dr. Konopleva has extended her research to include clinical translational investigations and has developed clinical trials based on laboratory discoveries. These include BCL-2 inhibitor venetoclax, inhibitor of oxidative phosphorylation, CXCR4 inhibitors, AKT and mTOR inhibitors and hypoxia-activated prodrugs. She has also been an active mentor to trainees including undergraduate, medical and graduate students, post-doctoral fellows who have trained under her direction in support of her various laboratory grants and projects.
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Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Chief, Section of Leukemia Biology Research, Department of Leukemia, Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Frances King Black Endowed Professorship for Cancer Research, Department of Leukemia, Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Professor, Department of Leukemia, Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Dual/Joint/Adjunct Appointment
Professor, Department of Stem Cell Transplantation, Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 1998 | Federal Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion, St.-Petersburg, RUS, PHD, Experimental Hematology |
| 1990 | 1st Pavlov Medical Institute, St.-Petersburg, USA, MD, Medicine |
Board Certifications
| 2014 | American Board of Internal Medicine - Hematology |
| 2013 | American Board of Internal Medicine |
Experience & Service
Academic Appointments
Associate Professor (tenure clinical appointment), Department of Leukemia, Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2009 - Present
Associate Professor (clinical appointment), Department of Stem Cell Transplantation, Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2009 - Present
Assistant Professor (tenure track clinical appointment), Department of Leukemia, Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2008 - 2009
Assistant Professor (non-tenure track clinical appointment), Department of Leukemia, Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2007 - 2008
Honors & Awards
| 2016 | Waun Ki Hong Award for Excellence in Team Science, Division of Cancer Medicine - UT MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2015 | The Emil Frei, III Award for Excellence in Translational Research, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2011 | Scholar in Clinical Research Award, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society |
| 2011 | Faculty Scholar Award, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2010 | $750,000 Start-up Award, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center |
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Konoplev S, Lu X, Konopleva M, Jain N, Ouyang J, Goswami M, Roberts KG, Valentine M, Mullighan CG, Bueso-Ramos C, Zweidler-McKay PA, Jorgensen JL, Wang SA. CRLF2-Positive B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in Adult Patients: A Single-Institution Experience. Am J Clin Pathol 147(4):357-363, 2017. PMID: 28340183.
- Cho BS, Kim HJ, Konopleva M. Targeting the CXCL12/CXCR4 axis in acute myeloid leukemia: from bench to bedside. Korean J Intern Med 32(2):248-257, 2017. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 28219003.
- Daver N, Konopleva M. Cotargeting BCL-2 and BCL-XL for maximal efficacy in ALL. Blood 128(10):1316-7, 2016. PMID: 27609539.
- Tabe Y, Hatanaka Y, Nakashiro M, Sekihara K, Yamamoto S, Matsushita H, Kazuno S, Fujimura T, Ikegami T, Nakanaga K, Matsumoto H, Ueno T, Aoki J, Yokomizo T, Konopleva M, Andreeff M, Miida T, Iwabuchi K, Sasai K. Integrative genomic and proteomic analyses identifies glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase as a target of low-dose ionizing radiation in EBV infected-B cells. Int J Radiat Biol 92(1):24-34, 2016. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 26809544.
- Benito JM, Godfrey L, Kojima K, Hogdal L, Wunderlich M, Geng H, Marzo I, Harutyunyan KG, Golfman L, North P, Kerry J, Ballabio E, Chonghaile TN, Gonzalo O, Qiu Y, Jeremias I, Debose L, O'Brien E, Ma H, Zhou P, Jacamo R, Park E, Coombes KR, Zhang N, Thomas DA, O'Brien S, Kantarjian HM, Leverson JD, Kornblau SM, Andreeff M, Müschen M, Zweidler-McKay PA, Mulloy JC, Letai A, Milne TA, Konopleva M. MLL-Rearranged Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemias Activate BCL-2 through H3K79 Methylation and Are Sensitive to the BCL-2-Specific Antagonist ABT-199. Cell Rep 13(12):2715-27, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 26711339.
- Harada M, Benito J, Yamamoto S, Kaur S, Arslan D, Ramirez S, Jacamo R, Platanias L, Matsushita H, Fujimura T, Kazuno S, Kojima K, Tabe Y, Konopleva M. The novel combination of dual mTOR inhibitor AZD2014 and pan-Pim inhibitor AZD1208 inhibits growth in acute myeloid leukemia via HSF pathway suppression. Oncotarget 6(35):37930-47, 2015. PMID: 26473447.
- Samudio I, Konopleva M. Targeting leukemia's "fatty tooth". Blood 126(16):1874-5, 2015. PMID: 26472736.
- Konopleva M, Thall PF, Yi CA, Borthakur G, Coveler A, Bueso-Ramos C, Benito J, Konoplev S, Gu Y, Ravandi F, Jabbour E, Faderl S, Thomas D, Cortes J, Kadia T, Kornblau S, Daver N, Pemmaraju N, Nguyen HQ, Feliu J, Lu H, Wei C, Wilson WR, Melink TJ, Gutheil JC, Andreeff M, Estey EH, Kantarjian H. Phase I/II study of the hypoxia-activated prodrug PR104 in refractory/relapsed acute myeloid leukemia and acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Haematologica 100(7):927-34, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 25682597.
- Cho BS, Zeng Z, Mu H, Wang Z, McQueen T, Protopopova M, Cortes J, Marszalek JR, Peng SB, Ma W, Davis RE, Thornton DE, Andreeff M, Konopleva M. Anti-leukemia activity of the novel peptidic CXCR4 antagonist LY2510924 as monotherapy and in combination with chemotherapy. Blood 126(2):222-32, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 26031918.
- Tabe Y, Konopleva M. Role of Microenvironment in Resistance to Therapy in AML. Curr Hematol Malig Rep 10(2):96-103, 2015. PMID: 25921386.
- Daver N, Cortes J, Ravandi F, Patel KP, Burger JA, Konopleva M, Kantarjian H. Secondary Mutations as Mediators of Resistance to Targeted Therapy in Leukemia. Blood 125(21):3236-3245, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 25795921.
- Han L, Qiu P, Zeng Z, Jorgensen JL, Mak DH, Burks JK, Schober W, McQueen TJ, Cortes J, Tanner SD, Roboz GJ, Kantarjian HM, Kornblau SM, Guzman ML, Andreeff M, Konopleva M. Single-Cell Mass Cytometry Reveals Intracellular Survival/Proliferative Signaling in FLT3-ITD-Mutated AML Stem/Progenitor Cells. Cytometry A 87(4):346-56, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 25598437.
- Tabe Y, Jin L, Iwabuchi K, Wang RY, Ichikawa N, Miida T, Cortes J, Andreeff M, Konopleva M. Role of stromal microenvironment in nonpharmacological resistance of CML to imatinib through Lyn/CXCR4 interactions in lipid rafts. Leukemia 26(5):883-92, 2012. e-Pub 2011. PMID: 22005789.
- Konopleva M, Milella M, Ruvolo P, Watts JC, Ricciardi MR, Korchin B, McQueen T, Bornmann W, Tsao T, Bergamo P, Mak DH, Chen W, McCubrey J, Tafuri A, Andreeff M. MEK inhibition enhances ABT-737-induced leukemia cell apoptosis via prevention of ERK-activated MCL-1 induction and modulation of MCL-1/BIM complex. Leukemia 26(4):778-87, 2012. e-Pub 2011. PMID: 22064351.
- Benito J, Shi Y, Szymanska B, Carol H, Boehm I, Lu H, Konoplev S, Fang W, Zweidler-McKay PA, Campana D, Borthakur G, Bueso-Ramos C, Shpall E, Thomas DA, Jordan CT, Kantarjian H, Wilson WR, Lock R, Andreeff M, Konopleva M. Pronounced Hypoxia in Models of Murine and Human Leukemia: High Efficacy of Hypoxia-Activated Prodrug PR-104. PLoS One 6(8):e23108, 2011. e-Pub 2011. PMID: 21853076.
- Konopleva M, Tabe Y, Zeng Z, Andreeff M.. Therapeutic targeting of microenvironmental interactions in leukemia: mechanisms and approaches. Drug Resist Updat 12(4-5):103-113, 2009. e-Pub 2009. PMID: 19632887.
- Samudio I, Konopleva M, Carter B, Andreeff M. Apoptosis in leukemias: regulation and therapeutic targeting. Cancer Treat Res 145:197-217, 2009. PMID: 20306253.
- Konopleva M, Watt J, Contractor R, Tsao T, Harris D, Estrov Z, Bornmann W, Kantarjian H, Viallet J, Samudio I, Andreeff M. Mechanisms of antileukemic activity of the novel Bcl-2 homology domain-3 mimetic GX15-070 (obatoclax). Cancer Res 68(9):3413-20, 2008. PMID: 18451169.
- Mullican SE, Zhang S, Konopleva M, Ruvolo V, Andreeff M, Milbrandt J, Conneely OM. Abrogation of nuclear receptors Nr4a3 and Nr4a1 leads to development of acute myeloid leukemia. Nat Med 13(6):730-5, 2007. e-Pub 2007. PMID: 17515897.
- Konopleva M, Contractor R, Tsao T, Samudio I, Ruvolo PP, Kitada S, Deng X, Zhai D, Shi YX, Sneed T, Verhaegen M, Soengas M, Ruvolo VR, McQueen T, Schober WD, Watt JC, Jiffar T, Ling X, Marini FC, Harris D, Dietrich M, Estrov Z, McCubrey J, May WS, Reed JC, Andreeff M. Mechanisms of apoptosis sensitivity and resistance to the BH3 mimetic ABT-737 in acute myeloid leukemia. Cancer Cell 10(5):375-88, 2006. PMID: 17097560.
- Konopleva M, Zhang W, Shi YX, McQueen T, Tsao T, Abdelrahim M, Munsell MF, Johansen M, Yu D, Madden T, Safe SH, Hung MC, Andreeff M. Synthetic triterpenoid 2-cyano-3,12-dioxooleana-1,9-dien-28-oic acid induces growth arrest in HER2-overexpressing breast cancer cells. Mol Cancer Ther 5(2):317-28, 2006. PMID: 16505105.
- Konopleva M, Tsao T, Estrov Z, Lee RM, Wang RY, Jackson CE, McQueen T, Monaco G, Munsell M, Belmont J, Kantarjian H, Sporn MB, Andreeff M. The synthetic triterpenoid 2-cyano-3,12-dioxooleana-1,9-dien-28-oic acid induces caspase-dependent and -independent apoptosis in acute myelogenous leukemia. Cancer Res 64(21):7927-35, 2004. PMID: 15520199.
- Konopleva M, Elstner E, McQueen TJ, Tsao T, Sudarikov A, Hu W, Schober WD, Wang RY, Chism D, Kornblau SM, Younes A, Collins SJ, Koeffler HP, Andreeff M. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma and retinoid X receptor ligands are potent inducers of differentiation and apoptosis in leukemias. Mol Cancer Ther 3(10):1249-62, 2004. PMID: 15486192.
- Konopleva M, Cheng SC, Cortes JE, Hayes KJ, Pierce SA, Andreeff M, Giles FJ, O'Brien S, Kantarjian HM, Estey EH. Independent prognostic significance of day 21 cytogenetic findings in newly-diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia or refractory anemia with excess blasts. Haematologica 88:733-6, 2003. PMID: 12857550.
- Konopleva M, Konoplev S, Hu W, Zaritskey AY, Afanasiev BV, Andreeff M. Stromal cells prevent apoptosis of AML cells by up-regulation of anti-apoptotic proteins. Leukemia 16:1713-24, 2002. PMID: 12200686.
- Konopleva M, Tsao T, Ruvolo P, Stiouf I, Estrov Z, Leysath CE, Zhao S, Harris D, Chang S, Jackson CE, Munsell M, Suh N, Gribble G, Honda T, May WS, Sporn MB, Andreeff M. Novel triterpenoid CDDO-Me is a potent inducer of apoptosis and differentiation in acute myelogenous leukemia. Blood 99:326-35, 2002. PMID: 11756188.
- Konopleva M, Benton CB, Thall PF, Zeng Z, Shpall E, Ciurea S, Kebriaei P, Alousi A, Popat U, Anderlini P, Nieto Y, Parmar S, Qiao W, Chen J, Rondon G, McMullin B, Wang RY, Lu H, Schober W, Woodworth G, Gulbis A, Cool R, Andreeff M, Champlin R. Leukemia cell mobilization with G-CSF plus plerixafor during busulfan-fludarabine conditioning for allogeneic stem cell transplantation. Bone Marrow Transplant. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 25867648.
- Benito J, Ramirez MS, Millward NZ, Velez J, Harutyunyan KG, Lu H, Shi YX, Matre P, Jacamo R, Ma H, Konoplev S, McQueen T, Volgin A, Protopopova M, Mu H, Lee J, Bhattacharya PK, Marszalek JR, Davis RE, Bankson JA, Cortes JE, Hart CP, Andreeff M, Konopleva M. Hypoxia-activated prodrug TH-302 targets hypoxic bone marrow niches in pre-clinical leukemia models. Clin Cancer Res. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 26603259.
- Molina JR, Sun Y, Protopopova M, Gera S, Bandi M, Bristow C, McAfoos T, Morlacchi P, Ackroyd J, Agip AA, Al-Atrash G, Asara J, Bardenhagen J, Carrillo CC, Carroll C, Chang E, Ciurea S, Cross JB, Czako B, Deem A, Daver N, de Groot JF, Dong JW, Feng N, Gao G, Gay J, Do MG, Greer J, Giuliani V, Han J, Han L, Henry VK, Hirst J, Huang S, Jiang Y, Kang Z, Khor T, Konoplev S, Lin YH, Liu G, Lodi A, Lofton T, Ma H, Mahendra M, Matre P, Mullinax R, Peoples M, Petrocchi A, Rodriguez-Canale J, Serreli R, Shi T, Smith M, Tabe Y, Theroff J, Tiziani S, Xu Q, Zhang Q, Muller F, DePinho RA, Toniatti C, Draetta GF, Heffernan TP, Konopleva M, Jones P, Di Francesco ME, Marszalek JR. An inhibitor of oxidative phosphorylation exploits cancer vulnerability. Nat Med. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 29892070.
- Khan M, Siddiqi R, Konopleva M, Bhatti MM, Benton CB. Increased peripheral leukemia blasts leading to false-positive blood culture. Blood Cells Mol Dis 64:8-9. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 28285097.
- Bose P, Gandhi V, Konopleva M. Pathways and mechanisms of venetoclax resistance. Leuk Lymphoma:1-17. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 28140720.
- Baran N, Konopleva M. Molecular Pathways: Hypoxia-activated prodrugs in cancer therapy. Clin Cancer Res. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 28137923.
- Tabe Y, Yamamoto S, Saitoh K, Sekihara K, Monma N, Ikeo K, Mogushi K, Shikami M, Ruvolo VR, Ishizawa J, Hail N, Kazuno S, Igarashi M, Matsushita H, Yamanaka Y, Arai H, Nagaoka I, Miida T, Hayashizaki Y, Konopleva M, Andreeff M. Survival of acute monocytic leukemia cells is driven by fatty acid oxidation-mediated activation of AMPK in bone marrow adipocytes. Cancer Res. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 28108519.
- Han L, Jorgensen JL, Brooks C, Shi C, Zhang Q, Nogueras González GM, Cavazos A, Pan R, Mu H, Wang S, Zhou J, Alatrash G, Ciurea SO, Rettig M, DiPersio JF, Cortes JE, Huang X, Kantarjian H, Andreeff M, Ravandi-Kashani F, Konopleva M. Anti-leukemia efficacy and mechanisms of action of SL-101, a novel anti-CD123 antibody-conjugate, in acute myeloid leukemia. Clin Cancer Res. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 28096272.
- Konopleva M, Pollyea DA, Potluri J, Chyla B, Hogdal L, Busman T, McKeegan E, Salem AH, Zhu M, Ricker JL, Blum W, DiNardo CD, Kadia T, Dunbar M, Kirby R, Falotico N, Leverson J, Humerickhouse R, Mabry M, Stone R, Kantarjian H, Letai A. Efficacy and Biological Correlates of Response in a Phase II Study of Venetoclax Monotherapy in Patients with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia. Cancer Discov. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 27520294.
- Tamamyan GN, Kantarjian HM, Ning J, Jain P, Sasaki K, McClain KL, Allen CE, Pierce SA, Cortes JE, Ravandi F, Konopleva MY, Garcia-Manero G, Benton CB, Chihara D, Rytting ME, Wang S, Abdelall W, Konoplev SN, Daver NG. Malignancy-associated hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis in adults: Relation to hemophagocytosis, characteristics, and outcomes. Cancer. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 27244347.
- Daver N, Konopleva M. Sorafenib and novel multikinase inhibitors in AML. Lancet Oncol. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 26549588.
- Liu W, Hu S, Konopleva M, Khoury JD, Kalhor N, Tang G, Bueso-Ramos CE, Jorgensen JL, Lin P, Medeiros LJ, Lu X. De Novo MYC and BCL2 Double-hit B-Cell Precursor Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (BCP-ALL) in Pediatric and Young Adult Patients Associated With Poor Prognosis. Pediatr Hematol Oncol:1-13. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 26558423.
- DiNardo CD, Ravandi F, Agresta S, Konopleva M, Takahashi K, Kadia T, Routbort M, Patel KP, Brandt M, Pierce S, Garcia-Manero G, Cortes J, Kantarjian H. Characteristics, clinical outcome and prognostic significance of IDH mutations in AML. Am J Hematol. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 26016821.
Invited Articles
- Konopleva MY, Jordan CT. Leukemia Stem Cells and Microenvironment: Biology and Therapeutic Targeting. J Clin Oncol 29(5):591-9, 2011. e-Pub 2011. PMID: 21220598.
Grant & Contract Support
| Title: | SPORE in Leukemia Project 3: P53 Activation as Novel Therapeutic Strategy for Acute Myelogenous Leukemia" |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Co-Investigator |
| Title: | Hypoxia-selective Kinase Inhibitors for Leukemia Therapy |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Principal Investigator |
| Title: | Inhibiting Oxidative Phosphorylation: A Novel Strategy in Leukemia |
| Funding Source: | Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) |
| Role: | Principal Investigator |
| Title: | Defining and Treating Targetable Lesions in AYA Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia |
| Funding Source: | Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) |
| Role: | Principal Investigator |
| Title: | Center for Precision Medicine in Leukemia: Center for Genomics and Pediatric and Adult ALL |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Co-Investigator |
| Title: | Targeting apoptosis in ALL with venetoclax and cytotoxic chemotherapy |
| Funding Source: | Leukemia and Lymphoma Society |
| Role: | Principal Investigator |
| Title: | Therapeutic targeting of glutamine metabolism in MDS |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Principal Investigator |
| Title: | Acute Myeloid Leukemia in the Immunosuppresessed Microenvironment |
| Funding Source: | Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) |
| Role: | Co-Investigator |
| Title: | Targeting Minimal Residual Disease and Stem-like Cells in High-Risk AML |
| Funding Source: | MDACC Moonshot |
| Role: | Co-Investigator |
| Title: | Phase II study of BCL-2 inhibitor venetoclax and 10-day Decitabine in high-risk ALL |
| Funding Source: | Gateway |
| Role: | Principal Investigator |