Newly Established Cancer Leadership Roles Bring Promise to the Future of Research and Care

Ulrich Steidl, M.D., Ph.D., has finalized his Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center (MECCC) senior leadership team, just six months after stepping into the role of MECCC Director and Vice President of Cancer Medicine at Montefiore Einstein.

“Today marks a new chapter as we elevate elite colleagues who have significant research accomplishments and leadership experience to principal posts at MECCC,” said Dr. Steidl. “They are recognized 'all-stars' in their fields, and together, working at one of the nation’s top cancer centers, we will move the needle in not just helping people survive advanced cancers but identifying the factors that drive certain cancers from occurring in the first place.”

“All-Stars” in Cancer Research & Familiar Faces to the Bronx Community

• Amit K. Verma, M.D., M.B.B.S., who was named Chair, Medical Oncology at Montefiore Einstein earlier this year, moved from Associate Director to Deputy Director of MECCC. Dr. Verma is a leader in the study and treatment of myeloid malignancies, such as myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML), and Dr. Verma was part of the team that first defined stem cell alterations in MDS and AML. He also led research that discovered the key role of several signaling pathways that are critical to the development of MDS. These findings directly resulted in an FDA-approved novel therapy for MDS. Most recently, Dr. Verma earned an “All-Star” Grant from the V Foundation for his ability to drive transformative projects that can significantly advance cancer research and treatment. He was also elected to the Association of American Physicians (AAP), an honor extended to physicians with outstanding credentials in basic or translational biomedical research.
• Julio A. Aguirre-Ghiso, Ph.D., is now Associate Director, Basic Science. Dr. Aguirre-Ghiso, who also serves as Director of MECCC’s Cancer Dormancy Institute, is an internationally recognized cancer biologist who recently earned the Metastasis Research Society’s highest honor for his substantial advancements in understanding cancer metastasis. He has helped lead a major shift in the cancer biology field by investigating how cancer cells hibernate undetected for long periods of time and what causes them to suddenly awaken to seed deadly, treatment-resistant metastases. He brings his deep scientific expertise in cancer biology and natural curiosity to help stimulate tomorrow’s medical breakthroughs.
• Marina Konopleva M.D., Ph.D., now Associate Director, Translational Science, is also Co-Director of the Blood Cancer Institute and Director of the Leukemia Program at Montefiore Einstein. She is internationally recognized for her transformational research on proteins that can help leukemia cells evade their natural death signals and how to target these same proteins to make cancer cells more vulnerable to treatment. Her discoveries and translational research have had clinical practice-changing impact in the treatment of myeloid leukemias and other cancers, and led to FDA approval of novel cell death-stimulating drugs. Dr. Konopleva is an elected member of the AAP and has been selected as the recipient of the highly prestigious 2026 Ernest Beutler Prize in Clinical Science by the American Society of Hematology. She will continue spearheading efforts to turn basic laboratory discoveries into clinical treatments that can advance the health of MECCC’s patients.

Today marks a new chapter as we elevate elite colleagues who have significant research accomplishments…Together, working at one of the nation’s top cancer centers, we will move the needle in not just helping people survive advanced cancers but identifying the factors that drive certain cancers from occurring in the first place.

Community Engagement at the Forefront

Dr. Steidl and his team have also developed a senior leadership position to strengthen research on associations between environmental exposures, health related social needs, and cancer health outcomes. H. Dean Hosgood, Ph.D., Co-Leader of MECCC’s Cancer Epidemiology Prevention & Control Program and now Associate Director for Population and Community Sciences, has been appointed to lead this effort. Dr. Hosgood is formally trained in environmental epidemiology, cancer epidemiology, and molecular epidemiology. He currently leads a global consortium to investigate how indoor air pollutants—caused from the burning of coal or wood for heating and cooking—are associated with lung cancer mortality and result in an increased risk for other cancers. His research on the interactions between genetics and environmental exposures have appeared in more than 250 peer-reviewed publications.

Rounding out the impressive list, Wenjun Guo, Ph.D., will now serve as Co-Leader of the Tumor Microenvironment & Metastasis program, alongside Maja H. Oktay, M.D., Ph.D., and Julio Aguirre-Ghiso, Ph.D. Aditi Shastri, M.D., has joined Steven Almo, Ph.D., and Evripidis Gavathiotis, Ph.D., as co-leader of MECCC’s Cancer Therapeutics Program, developing precision drugs and cellular therapies.

For more than 50 years, MECCC has been at the forefront of care and community engagement with novel research and transdisciplinary initiatives, including its Tumor Microenvironment and Metastasis, Stem Cell and Cancer Biology, Cancer Therapeutics, and Cancer Epidemiology, Prevention and Control programs. MECCC patients also benefit from services like its nationally lauded Bronx Oncology Living Daily program which supports patients and families impacted by cancer through peer navigators as well as wellness workshops like yoga, reiki, and creative arts.