About the PI

Dr. Lentzsch is Professor of Medicine and the Director of the Multiple Myeloma and Amyloidosis Service at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Irvng Medical Center, New York. After receiving her degrees from Humboldt University/Charité Berlin, Germany, she completed her residency and fellowship at Humboldt University and a research fellowship, studying the mechanism of action of thalidomide and its derivatives in multiple myeloma, in the Jerome Lipper Multiple Myeloma Center under the mentorship of Dr Kenneth Anderson at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston. Dr. Lentzsch was recruited in August 2004 to the University of Pittsburgh and University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute and served as Clinical Director of the Multiple Myeloma Program at UPCI. Since March 2012, Dr. Lentzsch is the Director of the Multiple Myeloma and Amyloidosis Service at Columbia University Medical Center, College of Physicians and Surgeons. Her translational research focuses on the identification of novel targets for the treatment of MM, MM bone disease and amyloidosis. The investigation on the mechanism of activation of osteoclasts led to the identification of MMP13 as a critical inducer of osteolysis. Further her research on the understanding of the pathobiology underlying the mechanism of action of immunomodulatory derivatives of thalidomide (IMiDs) in multiple myeloma and their effects on hematopoietic stem cells helped to delineate the risk factors contributing to secondary primary malignancies associated with IMiD treatment. Her very innovative research in amyloidosis resulted in a series of translational clinical trials such as establishing new treatments for relapsed AL amyloidosis in a multicenter trial investigating bendamustine. Currently, in a FDA funded phase 1 trial we are investigating whether the monoclonal antibody 11-1F4, targeting directly amyloid fibrils, can break down amyloid and subsequently improve organ function in amyloid patients.

Her research is funded by multiple RO1s and awards from e.g. the Pennsylvania Department of Health, the German Cancer Foundation, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation and the International Myeloma Society. As a frequent lecturer, Dr. Lentzsch regularly presents at annual meetings of the American Society of Hematology and the American Society of Clinical Oncology, of which she is also a member. Dr. Lentzsch has published over 80 original articles, editorials, chapters, many as the lead or senior author, in such prestigious journals as Journal of Clinical Investigations, Blood, Cancer Research, and Leukemia.

Columbia University Irving Medical Center
Herbert Irving Pavilion, 161 Ft. Washington Ave
New York, NY 10032
United States
sl3440@columbia.edu