Monica L. Guzman, Ph.D.

Dr. Guzman is an Associate Professor of Pharmacology in Medicine, appointed in the Division of Hematology & Medical Oncology in the Department of Medicine. She was recruited to Weill Cornell Medical College in 2009 from the University of Rochester. As the first scientist to identify dysregulated gene networks in leukemia stem cells and capitalize on this dysregulation to develop therapies to destroy them, she is widely viewed as one of the world's foremost experts in therapeutic targeting of leukemia stem cells. Her postdoctoral training was completed in the laboratory of Dr. Craig T. Jordan, a recognized leader in therapeutic targeting of leukemia stem cells. Before joining Weill Cornell, Dr. Guzman was appointed as an Instructor of Medicine at the University of Rochester. She has authored or co-authored numerous papers, book chapters, and review articles in journals such as the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Blood, and the New England Journal of Medicine.

As an independent investigator, Dr. Guzman has received funding from the NIH, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, V Foundation, and other organizations. Her passion is to perform world class translational research through close interactions between research and clinic to accelerate the development of new and more effective leukemia treatments that ablate leukemia stem cells.



Education

B.S. Chemistry
University of Guanajuato, Mexico

Ph.D. Microbiology, Immunology, Molecular Genetics
University of Kentucky

Postdoctoral fellow (Dr. Craig Jordan)
University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry

Awards and Distinctions

NIH New Innovator Award Recipient (DP2) 2010

V Scholar (V Foundation)


Publications.

  • Felipe Rico J, Hassane DC, Guzman ML. Acute myelogenous leukemia stem cells: From Bench to Bedside. Cancer Lett. 2012 Jun 17. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 22713929.
  • Moulick K, Ahn JH, Zong H, Rodina A, Cerchietti L, Gomes DaGama EM, Caldas-Lopes E, Beebe K, Perna F, Hatzi K, Vu LP, Zhao X, Zatorska D, Taldone T, Smith-Jones P, Alpaugh M, Gross SS, Pillarsetty N, Ku T, Lewis JS, Larson SM, Levine R, Erdjument-Bromage H, Guzman ML, Nimer SD, Melnick A, Neckers L, Chiosis G. Affinity-based proteomics reveal cancer-specific networks coordinated by Hsp90. Nat Chem Biol. 2011 Sep 25;7(11):818-26. doi: 10.1038/nchembio.670. PubMed PMID: 21946277; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3265389.
  • Nasim S, Guzman ML, Jordan CT, Crooks PA. Discovery of 1,2,4-thiadiazolidine-3,5-dione analogs that exhibit unusual and selective rapid cell death kinetics against acute myelogenous leukemia cells in culture. Bioorg Med Chem Lett. 2011 Aug 15;21(16):4879-83. Epub 2011 Jun 22. PubMed PMID: 21757349.
  • Hassane DC, Sen S, Minhajuddin M, Rossi RM, Corbett CA, Balys M, Wei L, Crooks PA, Guzman ML, Jordan CT. Chemical genomic screening reveals synergism between parthenolide and inhibitors of the PI-3 kinase and mTOR pathways. Blood. 2010 Dec 23;116(26):5983-90. Epub 2010 Oct 1. PubMed PMID: 20889920.
  • Dai Y, Guzman ML, Chen S, Wang L, Yeung SK, Pei XY, Dent P, Jordan CT, Grant S. The NF (Nuclear factor)-κB inhibitor parthenolide interacts with histone deacetylase inhibitors to induce MKK7/JNK1-dependent apoptosis in human acute myeloid leukaemia cells. Br J Haematol. 2010 Oct;151(1):70-83. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2141.2010.08319.x. Epub 2010 Aug 2. PubMed PMID: 20701602; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC2950247.
  • Neelakantan S, Nasim S, Guzman ML, Jordan CT, Crooks PA. Aminoparthenolides as novel anti-leukemic agents: Discovery of the NF-kappaB inhibitor, DMAPT (LC-1). Bioorg Med Chem Lett. 2009 Aug 1;19(15):4346-9. Epub 2009 May 27. PubMed PMID: 19505822.
  • Korver W, Zhao X, Singh S, Pardoux C, Zhao J, Guzman ML, Sen S, Yonkovich S, Liu S, Zhan X, Tomasevic N, Zhou C, Gros D, Jordan CT, Gotlib J, Hsi ED, Abo A. Monoclonal antibodies against IREM-1: potential for targeted therapy of AML. Leukemia. 2009 Sep;23(9):1587-97. Epub 2009 May 14. PubMed PMID: 19440216.
  • Guzman ML, Jordan CT. Lessons learned from the study of JunB: new insights for normal and leukemia stem cell biology. Cancer Cell. 2009 Apr 7;15(4):252-4. PubMed PMID: 19345324.
  • Hassane DC, Guzman ML, Corbett C, Li X, Abboud R, Young F, Liesveld JL, Carroll M, Jordan CT. Discovery of agents that eradicate leukemia stem cells using an in silico screen of public gene expression data. Blood. 2008 Jun 15;111(12):5654-62. Epub 2008 Feb 27. PubMed PMID: 18305216; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC2424160.
  • Hewamana S, Alghazal S, Lin TT, Clement M, Jenkins C, Guzman ML, Jordan CT, Neelakantan S, Crooks PA, Burnett AK, Pratt G, Fegan C, Rowntree C, Brennan P, Pepper C. The NF-kappaB subunit Rel A is associated with in vitro survival and clinical disease progression in chronic lymphocytic leukemia and represents a promising therapeutic target. Blood. 2008 May 1;111(9):4681-9. Epub 2008 Jan 28. PubMed PMID: 18227347.
  • Guzman ML, Rossi RM, Neelakantan S, Li X, Corbett CA, Hassane DC, Becker MW, Bennett JM, Sullivan E, Lachowicz JL, Vaughan A, Sweeney CJ, Matthews W, Carroll M, Liesveld JL, Crooks PA, Jordan CT. An orally bioavailable parthenolide analog selectively eradicates acute myelogenous leukemia stem and progenitor cells. Blood. 2007 Dec 15;110(13):4427-35. Epub 2007 Sep 5. PubMed PMID: 17804695; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC2234793.
  • Guzman ML, Li X, Corbett CA, Rossi RM, Bushnell T, Liesveld JL, Hébert J, Young F, Jordan CT. Rapid and selective death of leukemia stem and progenitor cells induced by the compound 4-benzyl, 2-methyl, 1,2,4-thiadiazolidine, 3,5 dione (TDZD-8). Blood. 2007 Dec 15;110(13):4436-44. Epub 2007 Sep 4. PubMed PMID: 17785584; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC2234782.
  • Guzman ML, Jordan CT. Feverfew: weeding out the root of leukaemia. Expert Opin Biol Ther. 2005 Sep;5(9):1147-52. PubMed PMID: 16120045.
  • Guzman ML, Rossi RM, Karnischky L, Li X, Peterson DR, Howard DS, Jordan CT. The sesquiterpene lactone parthenolide induces apoptosis of human acute myelogenous leukemia stem and progenitor cells. Blood. 2005 Jun 1;105(11):4163-9. Epub 2005 Feb 1. PubMed PMID: 15687234; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC1895029.
  • Topisirovic I, Kentsis A, Perez JM, Guzman ML, Jordan CT, Borden KL. Eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E activity is modulated by HOXA9 at multiple levels. Mol Cell Biol. 2005 Feb;25(3):1100-12. PubMed PMID: 15657436; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC544005.
  • Jordan CT, Guzman ML. Mechanisms controlling pathogenesis and survival of leukemic stem cells. Oncogene. 2004 Sep 20;23(43):7178-87. Review. PubMed PMID: 15378078.
  • Guzman ML, Jordan CT. Considerations for targeting malignant stem cells in leukemia. Cancer Control. 2004 Mar-Apr;11(2):97-104. Review. PubMed PMID: 15024346.
  • Topisirovic I, Guzman ML, McConnell MJ, Licht JD, Culjkovic B, Neering SJ, Jordan CT, Borden KL. Aberrant eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E-dependent mRNA transport impedes hematopoietic differentiation and contributes to leukemogenesis. Mol Cell Biol. 2003 Dec;23(24):8992-9002. PubMed PMID: 14645512; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC309660.
  • Guzman ML, Swiderski CF, Howard DS, Grimes BA, Rossi RM, Szilvassy SJ, Jordan CT. Preferential induction of apoptosis for primary human leukemic stem cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2002 Dec 10;99(25):16220-5. Epub 2002 Nov 25. PubMed PMID: 12451177; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC138592.
  • Guzman ML, Neering SJ, Upchurch D, Grimes B, Howard DS, Rizzieri DA, Luger SM, Jordan CT. Nuclear factor-kappaB is constitutively activated in primitive human acute myelogenous leukemia cells. Blood. 2001 Oct 15;98(8):2301-7. PubMed PMID: 11588023.
  • Guzman ML, Upchurch D, Grimes B, Howard DS, Rizzieri DA, Luger SM, Phillips GL, Jordan CT. Expression of tumor-suppressor genes interferon regulatory factor 1 and death-associated protein kinase in primitive acute myelogenous leukemia cells. Blood. 2001 Apr 1;97(7):2177-9. PubMed PMID: 11264190.
  • Jordan CT, Upchurch D, Szilvassy SJ, Guzman ML, Howard DS, Pettigrew AL, Meyerrose T, Rossi R, Grimes B, Rizzieri DA, Luger SM, Phillips GL. The interleukin-3 receptor alpha chain is a unique marker for human acute myelogenous leukemia stem cells. Leukemia. 2000 Oct;14(10):1777-84. PubMed PMID: 11021753.