Melody Becnel
Department of Lymphoma - Myeloma, Division of Cancer Medicine
Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Assistant Professor, Department of Lymphoma/Myeloma, Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 2011 | Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana, US, MD |
| 2007 | Nicholls State University, Thibodaux, Louisiana, US, BS in Biology/Chemistry |
Postgraduate Training
| 2019-2020 | Clinical Fellowship, Lymphoma/Myeloma, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas |
| 2016-2019 | Clinical Fellowship, Hematology-Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas |
| 2011-2014 | Clinical Residency, Internal Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana |
Licenses & Certifications
| 2023 | Oklahoma Medical License |
| 2023 | Arizona Medical License |
| 2023 | Tennessee Medical License |
| 2023 | Washington Medical License |
| 2023 | Alabama Medical License |
| 2019 | Medical Oncology |
| 2019 | Texas Medical License |
| 2014 | ABIM - Internal Medicine |
Experience & Service
Administrative Appointments/Responsibilities
Inpatient Medical Director, Department of Lymphoma/Myeloma, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, 2023 - Present
Intramural Institutional Committee Activities
Reviewer, Utilization Review Committee, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2024 - Present
Extramural Institutional Committee Activities
Member, Hematology-Oncology Wellness Committee, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2018 - 2019
Honors & Awards
| 2020 | The European Hematology Association (EHA) Travel Grant Recipient; 25th Annual Congress of the European Hematology Association |
| 2018 | The Janice Davis Singletary Fellowship for Lymphoma; MD Anderson Cancer Center Trainee Research Day Endowment Award |
| 2015 - 2016 | Highest Patient Satisfaction Score of the Ochsner Health System |
| 2014 - 2016 | Ochsner/University of Queensland Clinical School Teacher of the Year Award Nomination x2- Academic years |
| 2013 | Best overall clinical vignette poster; Southern Society of General Internal Medicine Regional meeting |
| 2011 | American Medical Women’s Association Glasgow-Rubin Achievement Citation (given to female seniors in top ten percent of graduating class) |
| 2011 | C. Thorpe Ray Internal Medicine Clerkship Award (awarded to the student with the highest overall score during internal medicine clerkship) |
| 2011 | Harry and Rose Caplovitz Medical Award (given to a senior medical student exhibiting outstanding interest in the diagnosis and management of general internal medicine) |
| 2007 | Summa Cum Laude, Nicholls State University |
| 2004 | Honors Program, Nicholls State University |
| 2003 - 2007 | President’s List, Nicholls State University |
| 2003 - 2007 | Scholars Scholarship, Nicholls State University |
| 2003 | A+ Leadership Scholarship, Nicholls State University |
Professional Memberships
Selected Presentations & Talks
National Presentations
- 2022. Retrospective, single-center, real-world experience of belantamab mafodotin in relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma. Conference. Retrospective, single-center, real-world experience of belantamab mafodotin in relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma. Los Angeles, CA, US.
- 2022. Retrospective, single-center, real-world experience of belantamab mafodotin in relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma. Conference. Retrospective, single-center, real-world experience of belantamab mafodotin in relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma. Chicago, IL, US.
International Presentations
- 2024. Retrospective Review of Two Cases of Localized Iatrogenic AnakinraType Amyloidosis at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Poster. International Myeloma Society. Rio de Janeiro, BR.
Formal Peers
- 2022. Diagnosis and Approach to Frontline Treatment in Newly Myeloma and Waldenstrom’s. Invited, US.
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Pasvolsky, O, Marcoux, C, Milton, D, Rafaeli, N, Tanner, MR, Bashir, Q, Srour, S, Saini, N, Lin, P, Ramdial, JL, Nieto, Y, Tang, G, Mohamedi, A, Deen, AF, Aljawai, YM, Lee, HC, Patel, K, Becnel, M, Kebriaei, P, Thomas, SK, Orlowski, R, Champlin, RE, Shpall, E, Qazilbash, MH. Outcomes of Multiple Myeloma Patients With Prior Solid Tumors Undergoing Autologous Transplantation. Transplantation and Cellular Therapy 31(8):565.e1-565.e9, 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 40383197.
- Saha S, Rehman L, Rehman A, Darbaniyan F, Weber DM, Becnel M, Gaballa MR, Thomas SK, Lee HC, Chang CC, Arora R, Menges M, Corallo S, Davila ML, Locke FL, Tanner MR, Neelapu SS, Shpall EJ, Flowers CR, Orlowski RZ, Jenq RR, Jain MD, Peterson C, Hansen DK, Saini NY, Patel KK. Longitudinal analysis of gut microbiome and metabolome correlates of response and toxicity with idecabtagene vicleucel. Blood Adv 9(14):3429-3440, 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 40198765.
- Shafat T, De-la-Rosa-Martinez D, Khawaja F, Jiang Y, Spallone A, Batista MV, Ariza-Heredia E, Vilar-Compte D, Ahmed S, Becnel M, Chemaly RF. Outcomes and Risk Factors for Influenza and Respiratory Syncytial Virus Lower Respiratory Tract Infections and Mortality in Patients With Lymphoma or Multiple Myeloma: A 7-Year Retrospective Cohort Study. Open Forum Infect Dis 12(4):ofaf127, 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 40177586.
- Pasvolsky O, Marcoux C, Wang Z, Milton DR, Pal B, Tanner MR, Bashir Q, Srour S, Saini N, Lin P, Ramdial J, Nieto Y, Tang G, Syed N, Aljawai Y, Lee HC, Patel KK, Becnel MR, Ye C, Kebriaei P, Thomas SK, Orlowski RZ, Champlin RE, Shpall EJ, Qazilbash MH. Outcomes of Standard-Risk Multiple Myeloma Patients Who Undergo Upfront Autologous Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation. Transplant Cell Ther 31(3):166.e1-166.e9, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 39746546.
- Pasvolsky, O, Marcoux, C, Milton, D, Pal, B, Tanner, MR, Bashir, Q, Srour, S, Lee, J, Saini, N, Lin, P, Ramdial, JL, Nieto, Y, Tang, G, Aljawai, YM, Kebriaei, P, Becnel, M, Lee, HC, Patel, K, Thomas, SK, Orlowski, R, Shpall, EJ, Champlin, RE, Qazilbash, MH. Optimal infused CD34+ cell dose in multiple myeloma patients undergoing upfront autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Blood cancer journal 14(1), 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 39482325.
- Pasvolsky, O, Marcoux, C, Milton, D, Pal, B, Tanner, MR, Bashir, Q, Srour, S, Lee, J, Saini, N, Lin, P, Ramdial, JL, Nieto, Y, Tang, G, Aljawai, YM, Kebriaei, P, Becnel, M, Lee, HC, Patel, K, Thomas, SK, Orlowski, R, Shpall, EJ, Champlin, RE, Qazilbash, MH. Optimal infused CD34+ cell dose in multiple myeloma patients undergoing upfront autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Blood cancer journal 14(1), 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 39482325.
- 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.
- Fang P, Pinnix CC, Wu SY, Lee HC, Patel KK, Saini N, Becnel MR, Kaufman G, Thomas SK, Orlowski RZ, Amini B, Lin P, Dabaja BS, Gunther JR. Management and Outcomes of Patients with Refractory Solitary Plasmacytoma after Treatment with Definitive Radiation Therapy. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 119(1):193-199, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 38070713.
- Dang M, Wang R, Lee HC, Patel KK, Becnel MR, Han G, Thomas SK, Hao D, Chu Y, Weber DM, Lin P, Lutter-Berka Z, Berrios Nolasco DA, Huang M, Bansal H, Song X, Zhang J, Futreal A, Moreno Rueda LY, Symer DE, Green MR, Rojas Hernandez CM, Kroll M, Afshar-Khargan V, Ndacayisaba LJ, Kuhn P, Neelapu SS, Orlowski RZ, Wang L, Manasanch EE. Single cell clonotypic and transcriptional evolution of multiple myeloma precursor disease. Cancer Cell 41(6):1032-1047.e4, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 37311413.
- Shank BR, Primeaux B, Yeung EK, Horowitz SB, Lee IY, Roccograndi L, Feng L, Kaufman GP, Lee HC, Manasanch EE, Patel KK, Orlowski RZ, Weber DM, Becnel MR, Thomas SK. Hyperfractionated Cyclophosphamide and Dexamethasone Alone or in Combination with Daratumumab and/or Carfilzomib for the Treatment of Relapsed or Refractory Multiple Myeloma: A Single-Center Retrospective Analysis. Clin Lymphoma Myeloma Leuk 23(4):279-290, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 36797154.
- Steiner RE, Banchs J, Koutroumpakis E, Becnel M, Gutierrez C, Strati P, Pinnix CC, Feng L, Rondon G, Claussen C, Palaskas N, Karimzad K, Ahmed S, Neelapu SS, Shpall E, Wang M, Vega F, Westin J, Nastoupil LJ, Deswal A. Cardiovascular events in patients treated with chimeric antigen receptor t-cell therapy for aggressive B-cell lymphoma. Haematologica 107(7):1555-1566, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 34758610.
- Mohan M, Becnel MR, Shah UA, Dong H, Gundarlapalli S, Peterson T, Orozco JS, Horowitz S, Chhabra S, Dhakal B, Thanendrarajan S, Radhakrishnan SV, Al Hadidi S, Tan C, Mailankody S, Hultcrantz M, Korde N, Hassoun H, Lesokhin AM, Thomas SK, Patel KK, Manasanch EE, Weber DM, Szabo A, Kaufman GP, Lee HC, Zangari M, van Rhee F, Usmani SZ, D'Souza A, Orlowski RZ, Schinke C. Clinical efficacy of sequencing CD38 targeting monoclonal antibodies in relapsed refractory multiple myeloma: A multi-institutional experience. Am J Hematol 97(7):E276-E280, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 35472167.
- Manasanch EE, Mulanovich V, Manzano JG, Gaeta MS, Becnel M, Kaufman GP, Lee HC, Amini B, Thomas SK, Iyer SP, Weber DM, Berkova Z, Flowers CR, Orlowski RZ, Patel KK. SARS-CoV-2 in multiple myeloma: initial observation and management. Leuk Lymphoma 61(11):2763-2766, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 33167721.
- Pestana RC, Becnel M, Rubin ML, Torman DK, Crespo J, Phan J, Hanna E, Bell D, Glisson BS, Johnson JM, Lee JJ, Ferrarotto R. Response rates and survival to systemic therapy after immune checkpoint inhibitor failure in recurrent/metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Oral Oncol 101:104523, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 31864957.
- Becnel MR, Nastoupil LJ, Samaniego F, Davis RE, You MJ, Green M, Hagemeister FB, Fanale MA, Fayad LE, Westin JR, Wang M, Oki Y, Forbes SG, Feng L, Neelapu SS, Fowler NH. Lenalidomide plus rituximab (R2 ) in previously untreated marginal zone lymphoma: subgroup analysis and long-term follow-up of an open-label phase 2 trial. Br J Haematol 185(5):874-882, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 30919940.
- Hill BT, Nastoupil L, Winter AM, Becnel MR, Cerhan JR, Habermann TM, Link BK, Maurer MJ, Fakhri B, Reddy P, Smith SD, Mukhija D, Jagadeesh D, Desai A, Alderuccio JP, Lossos IS, Mehra P, Portell CA, Goldman ML, Calzada O, Cohen JB, Hussain MJ, Ghosh N, Caimi P, Tiutan T, Martin P, Kodali A, Evens AM, Kahl BS. Maintenance rituximab or observation after frontline treatment with bendamustine-rituximab for follicular lymphoma. Br J Haematol 184(4):524-535, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 30575016.
- Becnel M, Flowers CR, Nastoupil LJ. Disparities in lymphoma on the basis of race, gender, HIV status, and sexual orientation. Ann Lymphoma 1, 2017. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 29608198.
- Becnel M, Manasanch EE. Myeloma patients: genes increase risk for osteonecrosis of the jaw. Leuk Lymphoma 58(10):2271-2272, 2017. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 28614996.
- Roberts E, Oncale M, Safah H, Schmieg J. THERAPY-RELATED T/MYELOID MIXED PHENOTYPE ACUTE LEUKEMIA IN A PATIENT TREATED WITH CHEMOTHERAPY FOR CUTANEOUS DIFFUSE LARGE B CELL LYMPHOMA. J La State Med Soc 168(1):16-20, 2016. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 26986862.
- Oncale M, Lewis B. Hepatocellular carcinoma with extension to the heart via the inferior vena cava. Proc (Bayl Univ Med Cent) 28(2):229-30, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 25829663.
- Becnel, M, Kimbrell, H, Barnhill, M. Antemortem diagnosis of likely giant cell carcinoma of the lung by pleural fluid cytology evaluation. Ochsner Journal 15(2):196-199, 2015. e-Pub 2015.
- Oncale M, Kimbrell HZ, Barnhill M. Antemortem Diagnosis of Likely Giant Cell Carcinoma of the Lung by Pleural Fluid Cytology Evaluation. Ochsner J 15(2):196-9, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 26130987.
- Oncale M, Boswell E, Hefler H. Sneaky Sarcoidosis or a Metastatic Masquerade? - A case of nodular sarcoidosis. J La State Med Soc 167(1):3-5, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 25978747.
Review Articles
- Becnel MR, Lee HC. The role of belantamab mafodotin for patients with relapsed and/or refractory multiple myeloma. Ther Adv Hematol 11:2040620720979813, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 33403093.
- Becnel M, Shpall EJ. Current and future status of stem cell expansion. Curr Opin Hematol 25(6):446-451, 2018. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 30239378.
- Becnel MR, Nastoupil LJ. Follicular Lymphoma: Past, Present, and Future. Curr Treat Options Oncol 19(7):32, 2018. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 29796824.
- Oncale MB, Maymani H, Nastoupil LJ. Harnessing the immune system through programmed death-1 blockade in the management of Hodgkin lymphoma. Blood Lymphat Cancer 7:1-7, 2017. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 31360081.
Abstracts
- Becnel MR. Retrospective, single-center, real-world experience of belantamab mafodotin in relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma, 2022. e-Pub 2022.
- Patel KK, Manasanch EE, Lee HC, Ye J, Thomas SK, Weber DM, Becnel MR, Gaballa MR, Bansal H, Neelapu SS, Haymaker CL, Dang M, Wang L, Lizee G, Orlowski RZ. Personalized Neoantigen Peptide Vaccine with or without Lenalidomide for Patients with Intermediate or High Risk Smoldering Multiple Myeloma (SMM) to Prevent Progression to Multiple Myeloma (MM). ASH.
- Lee H, Li J, Lin H, Murga AD, Rodriguez GM, Mohamed ME, Henderson J, Rodriguez S, Becnel MR, Weber DM, Iyer SP, Kaufman GP, Thomas SK, Manasanch EE, Patel KK, Noga SJ, Green MR, Orlowski RZ, Haymaker CL. Initial Clinical Results and Immune Correlates of a Phase 2 Study of Daratumumab, Bortezomib, Dexamethasone Followed By a Proteasome Inhibitor in-Class Transition (iCT) to Daratumumab, Ixazomib, Dexamethasone in Relapsed Refractory Multiple Myeloma. ASH.
- Dillard C, Hildebrandt M, Lee H, Kalariya N, Subramanian N, Pasvolsky O, Ferreri C, Gaballa M, Thomas S, Weber D, Becnel M, Kaufman G, Chen J, Hawkins M, Abreu M, Qazilbash M, Orlowski R, Patel K. Impact of Genetic Ancestry on Outcomes and Toxicity of Idecel in Patients with Relapsed/ Refractory Multiple Myeloma (RRMM). International Myeloma Society.
- Aljawai Y, Pasvolsky O, Patel K, Bashir Q, Sui D, Srour S, Tanner M, Popat U, Saini N, Hosing C, Ramdial J, Lee H, Kaufman G, Thomas S, Weber D, Becnel M, Tang G, Orlowski R, Patel D, Champlin R, Nieto Y, Shpall E, Qazilbash M. Daratumumab-Based Maintenance in Patients with Relapsed Multiple Myeloma after Salvage Autologous Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation. International Myeloma Society.
- Thomas S, Manasanch E, Korde N, Lee H, Jagannath S, Becnel M, Kaufman G, Patel K, Iyer S, Mailankody S, Weber D, Lutter‑Berka Z, Carpenter S, Nolasco DB, Hildebrandt M, Feng L, Amini B, Neelapu S, Orlowski R, Landgren O. Interim Results of a Phase 2 Trial of Isatuximab Lenalidomide for Patients with High-Risk Smoldering Multiple Myeloma. International Myeloma Society.
- Lu R, Chen J, Ow K, Hildebrandt M, Huen A, Cardoso R, Chambers M, Abreu M, Cuellar E, Ighovoyivwi E, Knight S, Santiago M, Savoie C, Varghese J, Zachariah A, Becnel M, Gaballa M, Orlowski R, Patel K, Pasvolsky O, Thomas S, Ye JC, Weber D, Lee H, Richards T. Evaluation of Clinical Outcomes and Toxicities in Multiple Myeloma Patients Receiving Commercial Talquetamab. International Myeloma Society.
- Cervoni‑Curet F, Lee H, Fayad L, Weeks B, Ighovoyivwi E, Becnel M. Retrospective review of two cases of localized Iatrogenic Anakinra-type amyloidosis at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. International Myeloma Society.
- Ye J, Tang G, Pasvolsky O, Becnel MR, Gaballa MR, Patel KK, Lee HC, Thomas SK, Weber DM, Lin P, Orlowski RZ. Unveiling Clinical Potential: Exploring Cytogenomic Aberrations through Optical Genomic Mapping in Multiple Myeloma. ASH.
- Lionel A, Seif S, Sun X, Feng L, Gensini L, Gabriel B, Lewis LS, Bansal H, Becnel MR, Gaballa MR, Lee HC, Pasvolsky O, Patel KK, Ye J, Patel KP, Weber DM, Orlowski RZ, Thomas SK. Prognostic Significance of TP53 Mutations in Lymphoplasmacytic Lymphoma. ASH.
- Cervoni Curet FN, Bassett RL, Pasvolsky O, Deen AF, Tanner MR, Bashir Q, Srour SA, Saini NY, Ramdial J, Nieto Y, Lee HC, Patel KK, Kebriaei P, Fingrut WB, Smallbone P, Becnel MR, Gaballa MR, Thomas SK, Ye J, Orlowski RZ, Champlin RE, Shpall EJ, Qazilbash MH. Impact of Ethnicity on Long Term Outcomes of High-Dose Chemotherapy and Upfront Autologous Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation in Patients with Multiple Myeloma. ASH.
- Dang M, Seif S, Acevedo-Calado MJ, Wang L, Gabriel B, Lewis LS, Gensini L, Bansal H, Becnel MR, Gaballa MR, Lee HC, Pasvolsky O, Patel KK, Weber DM, Ye J, Orlowski RZ, Thomas SK. Characterization of Waldenström Macroglobulinemia/Lymphoplasmacytic Lymphoma Using Single Cell Transcriptomic Analysis. ASH.
- Dang M, Lee HC, Bansal H, Acevedo-Calado MJ, Qin L, Tan W, Moreno Rueda LY, Berrios D, Pasvolsky O, Gaballa MR, Becnel MR, Ye J, Patel KK, Lin P, Thomas SK, Weber DM, Wang L, Orlowski RZ. Multi-Omic Single-Cell Characterization of Paired and Serial Samples in Responding and Non-Responding Patients Receiving BCMA Bispecific Antibody Therapy for Multiple Myeloma. ASH.
- Sami SS, Bashir Q, Saini NY, Aljawai YM, Hosing C, Popat U, Becnel MR, Kaufman GP, Thomas SK, Weber DM, Orlowski RZ, Champlin RE, Shpall EJ, Qazilbash MH, Srour SA. Impact of Age on Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation Outcomes for AL Amyloidosis. ASH.
- Deen AF, Bashir Q, Saini NY, Aljawai YM, Hosing C, Popat U, Becnel MR, Kaufman GP, Thomas SK, Weber DM, Orlowski RZ, Shpall EJ, Champlin RE, Qazilbash MH, Srour SA. Predictive Factors for Transplant Outcomes of Cardiac AL Amyloidosis. ASH.
- Dhakal B, Slade M, Narra R, Mohamed ME, Akhtar OS, Bansal H, Acevedo-Calado MJ, Pasvolsky O, Gaballa MR, Becnel MR, Weber DM, Patel KK, Thomas SK, Ye J, Kuhr F, Dong B, Powell S, Bui T, Mohan M, Pasquini MC, D'Souza A, Knysh H, Orlowski RZ, Albitar M, Lee HC. Clearance of Circulating Multiple Myeloma Cells to Assess Early Response to Bispecific Antibodies in Relapsed/Refractory Multiple Myeloma. ASH.
Letters to the Editor
- Chohan, KL, Gensini, L, Seif, S, Sun, X, Feng, L, Becnel, M, Gaballa, MM, Lee, HC, Pasvolsky, O, Patel, K, Ye, JC, Weber, DM, Orlowski, R, Thomas, SK. Long-term outcomes and treatment patterns in Waldenström macroglobulinemia patients who discontinue Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitor (BTKi) therapy. Blood cancer journal 15, 2025.
Patient Reviews
CV information above last modified March 19, 2026