Irene Ghobrial
Born
Egypt
Alma materWayne State University
Cairo University
Scientific career
FieldsScience
Medicine
Oncology
Myeloma
MGUS[1]
InstitutionsMayo Clinic
Dana–Farber Cancer Institute
Harvard Medical School
Websitewww.dfhcc.harvard.edu/insider/member-detail/member/irene-m-ghobrial-md/

Irene Ghobrial is an American-Egyptian physician who is a professor at the Dana–Farber Cancer Institute[2] and Harvard Medical School,[1][3] where her research investigates the progression of multiple myeloma. She is interested in why certain patients with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) and smoldering multiple myeloma develop B cell malignancies. She leads the Stand Up to Cancer multiple myeloma dream team.

Early life and education

Ghobrial was born in Egypt and studied medicine at Cairo University.[4] After graduating, she moved to Detroit, where she completed her specialist training at Wayne State University.[5][6] She has said that she experienced considerable challenges as an immigrant, but ultimately completed her internal training. In 2000, she moved to the Mayo Clinic, where she worked with Karen Hedin and Robert A. Kyle in hematology and oncology.[5]

Research and career

Ghobrial is an expert in multiple myeloma, cancer of the plasma cells. Myleoma is a rare condition that disproportionately impacts African Americans, often at a young age. Ghobrial studies how multiple myeloma use cell dissemination and cell metastasis, and looks to identify warning signs that will permit earlier treatment.[5][7] She believes that these treatments may begin as early as during smouldering myeloma,[8] a precancerous condition that occurs when the immune system is strong and the tumor burden is low.[9]

In 2011, Ghobrial was elected to the American Society for Clinical Investigation.[10] In 2018, she was awarded $10 million from Stand Up to Cancer to establish the Multiple Myeloma Dream Team, which looks to understand the precursors that indicate a risk of developing myeloma.[11] She leads the clinical trial PROMISE (Predicting Progression of Developing Myeloma in a High-Risk Screen Population), which built a cohort to identify individuals with a high likelihood of developing multiple myeloma.[12][13] Her research uses mass spectrometry to screen for monoclonal gammopathies (abnormal proteins found in the blood), and revealed that 13% of her patient cohort had MGUS.[14] Her research demonstrated that Black individuals were considerably more likely to have MGUS than previously expected.[14]

Ghobrial worked with chemists at Massachusetts Institute of Technology to design nanoparticle-based strategies for targeted cancer therapies, which promotes the accumulation of drugs at tumor sites and reduces toxic side effects.[15][16]

In 2022, Ghobrial was awarded the William Dameshek Prize.[17]

Selected publications

  • Irene M Ghobrial; Thomas E Witzig; Alex A Adjei (1 May 2005). "Targeting apoptosis pathways in cancer therapy". CA. 55 (3): 178–194. doi:10.3322/CANJCLIN.55.3.178. ISSN 0007-9235. PMID 15890640. Wikidata Q81742188.
  • Thomas E Witzig; Susan M Geyer; Irene Ghobrial; et al. (27 June 2005). "Phase II trial of single-agent temsirolimus (CCI-779) for relapsed mantle cell lymphoma". Journal of Clinical Oncology. 23 (23): 5347–5356. doi:10.1200/JCO.2005.13.466. ISSN 0732-183X. PMID 15983389. Wikidata Q33366976.
  • Aldo M. Roccaro; Antonio Sacco; Patricia Maiso; et al. (1 April 2013). "BM mesenchymal stromal cell-derived exosomes facilitate multiple myeloma progression". Journal of Clinical Investigation. 123 (4): 1542–1555. doi:10.1172/JCI66517. ISSN 0021-9738. PMC 3613927. PMID 23454749. Wikidata Q36733492.

Personal life

Ghobrial spends her spare time raising money for cancer charities. She has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro[18] and run a marathon[19] to raise money for leukaemia and lymphoma research.

References

  1. 1 2 Irene Ghobrial publications indexed by Google Scholar
  2. ↑ www.dfhcc.harvard.edu/insider/member-detail/member/irene-m-ghobrial-md/
  3. ↑ Irene Ghobrial publications from Europe PubMed Central
  4. ↑ Gatta, Frances (2023). "How my training helps me to address health disparities in multiple myeloma: Irene Ghobrial's research on early detection of this type of bone-marrow cancer aims to improve patient outcomes, especially among African Americans". Nature. doi:10.1038/d41586-023-01587-9. PMID 37165230.
  5. 1 2 3 "Irene Ghobrial, MD". aacr.org. American Association for Cancer Research. Retrieved 2023-05-15.
  6. ↑ "Director, Clinical Investigator Research Program – Dana-Farber". physicianresources.dana-farber.org. Retrieved 2023-05-15.
  7. ↑ Manier, Salomon; Salem, Karma Z.; Liu, David; Ghobrial, Irene M. (2016). "Future Directions in the Evaluation and Treatment of Precursor Plasma Cell Disorders". American Society of Clinical Oncology Educational Book. American Society of Clinical Oncology. Annual Meeting. 35: e400–406. doi:10.1200/EDBK_159010. ISSN 1548-8756. PMID 27249747.
  8. ↑ Figueiredo, PhD, Marta. "MMRF Joins Dana-Farber to Advance Research in Smoldering Myeloma". myelomaresearchnews.com. Retrieved 2023-05-15.
  9. ↑ "Dr. Ghobrial on Future Efforts to Prevent the Development of Multiple Myeloma". onclive.com. Retrieved 2023-05-15.
  10. ↑ "The American Society for Clinical Investigation". the-asci.org. Retrieved 2023-05-15.
  11. ↑ Chen, Angus (2022-04-21). "Multiple myeloma is usually detected late. Some researchers think a precursor could help catch it early". statnews.com. Retrieved 2023-05-15.
  12. ↑ Ghobrial, MD, Irene (2022-03-22). Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Stand Up To Cancer. "Predicting Progression of Developing Myeloma in a High-Risk Screened Population (PROMISE)". clinicaltrials.gov.
  13. ↑ "Smoldering Multiple Myeloma – A Unique New Approach – Dana-Farber". physicianresources.dana-farber.org. Retrieved 2023-05-15.
  14. 1 2 El-Khoury, Habib; Lee, David J; Alberge, Jean-Baptiste; Redd, Robert; Cea-Curry, Christian J; Perry, Jacqueline; Barr, Hadley; Murphy, Ciara; Sakrikar, Dhananjay; Barnidge, David; Bustoros, Mark; Leblebjian, Houry; Cowan, Anna; Davis, Maya I; Amstutz, Julia (2022). "Prevalence of monoclonal gammopathies and clinical outcomes in a high-risk US population screened by mass spectrometry: a multicentre cohort study". The Lancet Haematology. 9 (5): e340–e349. doi:10.1016/S2352-3026(22)00069-2. ISSN 2352-3026. PMC 9067621. PMID 35344689.
  15. ↑ Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "Using bottlebrush-shaped nanoparticles, researchers can identify and deliver synergistic combinations of cancer drugs". phys.org. Retrieved 2023-05-15.
  16. ↑ Detappe, Alexandre; Nguyen, Hung V.-T.; Jiang, Yivan; Agius, Michael P.; Wang, Wencong; Mathieu, Clelia; Su, Nang K.; Kristufek, Samantha L.; Lundberg, David J.; Bhagchandani, Sachin; Ghobrial, Irene M.; Ghoroghchian, P. Peter; Johnson, Jeremiah A. (2023). "Molecular bottlebrush prodrugs as mono- and triplex combination therapies for multiple myeloma". Nature Nanotechnology. 18 (2): 184–192. doi:10.1038/s41565-022-01310-1. ISSN 1748-3395. PMC 10032145. PMID 36702954.
  17. ↑ "Dana-Farber professor receives William Dameshek Prize for multiple myeloma research". healio.com. Retrieved 2023-05-15.
  18. ↑ Torcivia, Rosalina. "Senior Leader Interview – Dr. Irene Ghobrial". info.westorg.org. Retrieved 2023-05-15.
  19. ↑ GreifA (2016-06-20). "Cancer Researcher Runs Alaska Half Marathon to Raise Funds for Lifesaving Treatments". schoolandyouth.org. Retrieved 2023-05-15.
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