Expert for Media Profile
Cancer
Ulrich G. Steidl, M.D., Ph.D.
- Professor, Department of Cell Biology
- Professor, Department of Oncology
- Professor, Department of Medicine
- Chair, Department of Cell Biology
- Edward P. Evans Endowed Professor for Myelodysplastic Syndromes
- Co-Director, Blood Cancer Institute
- Interim Director, The Ruth L. and David S. Gottesman Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Research
- Deputy Director, and Associate Director for Basic Science, Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center
Areas of Expertise
Expert Summary
Dr. Steidl studies the molecular and cellular mechanisms that lead to two related blood diseases, myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML). His NIH-funded basic and translational research seeks to define the characteristics of pre-leukemic stem cells (pre-LSC), understand their progression to leukemic stems cells, and develop drug strategies to target the process. Dr. Steidl is co-director of the Albert Einstein Cancer Center's Blood Cancer Institute.
He was among the first researchers to demonstrate that MDS, a common precursor of AML, arises from defective blood-forming stem cells. As a result of his work, several experimental drugs targeting abnormal stem cells in patients with MDS and AML are in clinical trials.
In 2021, Dr. Steidl received a prestigious Outstanding Investigator Award from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and a seven-year, $7 million grant for his research. He is author of more than 150 research papers, and has published studies in Nature, Nature Medicine, Cancer Cell, Nature Immunology, Nature Chemical Biology, Science Translational Medicine, and many others.