Meet Rodabe Amaria, M.D.
Rodabe N. Amaria, M.D.
Department of Melanoma Medical Oncology, Division of Cancer Medicine
About Dr. Amaria
Rodabe Amaria, M.D., joined the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center as an Assistant Professor in July 2013 in the department of Melanoma Medical Oncology. She is a clinician specialized in the care of patients with advanced stage melanoma. Dr. Amaria co-directs the biospecimen collection efforts in the melanoma clinic and has helped build an infrastructure conducive to obtaining serial blood samples and tumor biopsies in patients undergoing treatment to elucidate biomarkers of response and resistance. She is involved in the development of neoadjuvant protocols in melanoma which allows for longitudinal tumor collections to understand changes in the tumor microenvironment in response to a specific treatment. She has an interest in translational immunotherapy research with a focus on understanding mechanisms of resistance to immunomodulatory therapies. Since joining MD Anderson, Dr. Amaria has been involved with enhancing the adoptive cell therapy program using tumor infiltrating lymphocytes. The hope of the program is to better understand how T cell therapy can be applied to help more patients with melanoma and make ACT more widely accessible to patients.
Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Associate Professor, Department of Melanoma Medical Oncology, Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 2006 | University of Colorado, Denver, CO, USA, MD, Doctor of Medicine |
| 2000 | University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA, BA, Molecular Biology |
Postgraduate Training
| 2010-2013 | Clinical Fellowship, Hematology Oncology, University of Colorado, Aurora, CO |
| 2006-2009 | Clinical Residency, Internal Medicine, University of Colorado, Denver, CO |
Honors & Awards
| 2012 | Chief Fellow, Hematology/Oncology, University of Colorado at Denver |
| 2006 | Excellence in Internal Medicine Award, University of Colorado, Health Sciences Center |
| 2000 | Summa Cum Laude Degree Designation in Molecular Biology, University of Colorado at Boulder |
Professional Memberships
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Mitra D, Farr M, Nagarajan P, Ho J, Bishop AJ, Jhingran A, Farooqi AS, Frumovitz M, Amaria RN, McQuade JL, Jazaeri AA, Guadagnolo BA. Gynecologic tract melanoma in the contemporary therapeutic era: High rates of local and distant disease progression. Gynecol Oncol 167(3):483-489, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 36229264.
- Mitra D, Rao PK, Nagarajan P, Bishop AJ, Farooqi AS, Gershenwald JE, Wargo J, Keung EZ, Fisher SB, Amaria RN, Davies MA, Ross MI, Guadagnolo BA. Outcomes after sphincter-sparing local therapy for anorectal melanoma: 1989-2020. Pract Radiat Oncol 12(5):437-445, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 35278716.
- Johnson DH, Zobniw CM, Trinh VA, Ma J, Bassett RL, Abdel-Wahab N, Anderson J, Davis JE, Joseph J, Uemura M, Noman A, Abu-Sbeih H, Yee C, Amaria R, Patel S, Tawbi H, Glitza IC, Davies MA, Wong MK, Woodman S, Hwu WJ, Hwu P, Wang Y, Diab A. Correction to: Infliximab associated with faster symptom resolution compared with corticosteroids alone for the management of immune-related enterocolitis. J Immunother Cancer 7(1):107, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 30995944.
- Gerami P, Cook RW, Russell MC, Wilkinson J, Amaria RN, Gonzalez R, Lyle S, Jackson GL, Greisinger AJ, Johnson CE, Oelschlager KM, Stone JF, Maetzold DJ, Ferris LK, Wayne JD, Cooper C, Obregon R, Delman KA, Lawson D. Gene expression profiling for molecular staging of cutaneous melanoma in patients undergoing sentinel lymph node biopsy. J Am Acad Dermatol 72(5):780-5.e3, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 25748297.
- Siroy AE, Boland GM, Milton DR, Roszik J, Frankian S, Malke J, Haydu L, Prieto VG, Tetzlaff M, Ivan D, Wang WL, Torres-Cabala C, Curry J, Roy-Chowdhuri S, Broaddus R, Rashid A, Stewart J, Gershenwald JE, Amaria RN, Patel SP, Papadopoulos NE, Bedikian A, Hwu WJ, Hwu P, Diab A, Woodman SE, Aldape KD, Luthra R, Patel KP, Shaw KR, Mills GB, Mendelsohn J, Meric-Bernstam F, Kim KB, Routbort MJ, Lazar AJ, Davies MA. Beyond BRAF(V600): Clinical Mutation Panel Testing by Next-Generation Sequencing in Advanced Melanoma. J Invest Dermatol 135(2):508-15, 2015. e-Pub 2014. PMID: 25148578.
- Gerami P, Cook RW, Wilkinson J, Russell MC, Dhillon N, Amaria RN, Gonzalez R, Lyle S, Johnson CE, Oelschlager KM, Jackson GL, Greisinger AJ, Maetzold D, Delman KA, Lawson DH, Stone JF. Development of a prognostic genetic signature to predict the metastatic risk associated with cutaneous melanoma. Clin Cancer Res 21(1):175-83, 2015. PMID: 25564571.
- Jordan KR, Amaria RN, Ramirez O, Callihan EB, Gao D, Borakove M, Manthey E, Borges VF, McCarter MD. Myeloid-derived suppressor cells are associated with disease progression and decreased overall survival in advanced-stage melanoma patients. Cancer Immunol Immunother 62(11):1711-22, 2013. e-Pub 2013. PMID: 24072401.
- Amaria R, Schefter TE, Durham J, Pita De Oliveira LO, Kane M. Selective internal radiotherapy in metastatic esophageal adenocarcinoma. Gastrointest Cancer Res 4(5-6):191-3, 2011. PMID: 22295134.
- Amaria RN, Corboy JR, Finlayson CA, Robinson WA, Borges VF. Immunomodulatory therapy in multiple sclerosis and breast cancer risk: a case report and literature review. Clin Breast Cancer 8(5):449-52, 2008. PMID: 18952560.
- Hutton J, Wasmeier C, Amaria R, Bright N, Creemers J. Proprotein processing and pancreatic islet function. Adv Exp Med Biol 552:39-65, 2004. PMID: 15622958.
- Abdel-Halim SM, Gross DJ, Clark A, Poitout V, Amaria R, Ostenson CG, Hutton JC. Proinsulin processing in the diabetic Goto-Kakizaki rat. J Endocrinol 175(3):637-47, 2002. PMID: 12475375.
Invited Articles
- Medina T, Amaria RN, Jimeno A. Dabrafenib in the treatment of advanced melanoma. Drugs Today (Barc) 49(6):377-85, 2013. PMID: 23807941.
- Amaria RN, Bowles DW, Lewis KD, Jimeno A. Vismodegib in basal cell carcinoma. Drugs Today (Barc) 48(7):459-67, 2012. PMID: 22844657.
- Amaria RN, Lewis KD, Jimeno A. Vemurafenib: the road to personalized medicine in melanoma. Drugs Today (Barc) 48(2):109-18, 2012. PMID: 22384451.
- Scheier B, Amaria R, Lewis K, Gonzalez R. Novel therapies in melanoma. Immunotherapy 3(12):1461-9, 2011. PMID: 22091682.
- Scott A, Amaria R, Lewis K. Adjuvant peginterferon alfa-2b therapy in stage II melanoma. Expert Review of Dematology 6(6):567-575, 2011.
- Amaria RN, Lewis KD, Gonzalez R. Therapeutic options in cutaneous melanoma: latest developments. Ther Adv Med Oncol 3(5):245-51, 2011. PMID: 21957431.
Abstracts
- Lawson D, Russell M, Wilkinson J, Amaria RN, Gonzalez R, Gerami P, Lyle S, Jackson G, Greisinger A, Robbins J, Johnson C, Oelschlager K, Maetzold D, Cook R, Delman K. Gene expression profie of primary cutaneous melanomas accurately distinguishes between low and high risk of metastasis. Journal of Clinical Oncology 31(15 suppl), 2013.
- Jordan KR, Amaria RN, Callihan E, Borges VF, McCarter MD. Immunosuppression in human melanoma, 2012.
- Diamond JR, Amaria R, O'Donnell CI, Meltesen L, Swisshelm K, Malancon D, McGavran L, Singh M, Elias A, Borges VF. The incidence of low-level HER2 gene amplification and chromosome 17 polysomy in cases of newly diagnosed breast cancer and their association with clinical prognostic markers. J Clin Oncol 27 (suppl), 2009.
Book Chapters
- Amaria RN, Gonzalez R. Updated approach to the patient with metastatic melanoma. In: Emerging cancer therapeutics. Demos Publishing: New York, 583-602, 2012.
Grant & Contract Support
| Title: | Altering Adjuvant Therapy based on Pathologic Response to Neoadjuvant Dabrafenib and Trametinib (ALTER-PATH NeoDT) |
| Funding Source: | Novartis |
| Role: | Principal Investigator |