Haiming Chen MD, PhD
Director of Research Laboratory
Dr. Chen became a hematologist in China and passed the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) in U.S. He is a Member of American Society of Hematology (ASH), a Member of American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy (ASGCT), and a Member of American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC). He currently serves as a reviewer for the British Journal of Haematology, European Journal of Haematology, Journal of Cancer.
Dr Chen received his doctoral degree from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, School of Medicine, and University of Southern California. He completed his postdoctoral training at the University of British Columbia and served as an Assistant Professor at the University of Southern California from 1994 to 2001 as well as received a NIH training grant for genetic development biology. He successively accepted MRF, MMRF, and Kramer Grant Award for Cancer Research.
In his research, he has developed innovative siRNA technology that has led to new advances in controlling the growth of myeloma tumors in the bone as well as stemming the loss of bone density. The paper has been published in Oncogene (Chen H. et al. Oncogene 25; 6520-7, 2006; Chen H, Li et al Molecular Cancer Res. 2017:15:598-60.) Dr. Chen has also discovered that myeloma tumors produce a protein, pleiotrophin, that assists tumor growth by a completely novel mechanism in which a type of white cell called a monocyte turns into a new blood vessel. This discovery has opened exciting new avenues in the development of treatment for myeloma patients and the paper has been published in the prestigious Blood (Chen H. et al. Blood 1; 2007; 110: 287-95,) another Blood paper with front cover (Chen H. et al. Blood. 2009; 113:1992-2002).
Furthermore, Dr. Berenson and Dr. Chen led the discovery of the clinical significance of BCMA as a biomarker and therapeutic target that allowed advancements in research for new therapies for multiple myeloma and B-cell malignancy. Papers have been published in scientific Journals (Sanchez E et al Clin Cancer Res, 2016:22(13):3383-97; Ghermezi M, et al Haematologica. 2017:102(4):785-795; Chen H. et al Leukemia Res. 2019:81:62-66). Dr. Chen and his group first reported JAK1/2 inhibitor, ruxolitinib suppresses M2 macrophage polarization and overcomes resistance of multiple myeloma myeloma (Chen H, et al. 2020: Brit J Haematol. 188(2):283-294).He currently also demonstrated ruxolitinib reverses checkpoint inhibition by reducing PD-L1 expression and increasing anti-tumor effects of T-cells in multiple myeloma (Chen H, et al. 2020: Brit J Haematol. doi: 10.1111/bjh.17282. Online ahead of print)