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University of Illinois Cancer Center member Nadim Mahmud, MD, PhD, MBA, is the corresponding author on a publication in the journal Cytotherapy, the official journal of the International Society for Cell and Gene Therapy (ISCT).

Nadim Mahmud, MD, PhD, MBA

Mahmud is a Professor in the Division of Hematology and Oncology at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at UIC and a member of the Cancer Center’s Translational Oncology Research Program. He also serves as Director of the Clinical Stem Cell Laboratory, a core component of the Blood and Marrow Transplant Program at UI Health. His research focuses on stem cell expansion, hematopoiesis, stem cell transplantation, cell-based therapy and leukemia.

The study, “Beyond Body Weight: Investigating the Impact of Body Surface Area on Graft CD34+ Cell Dosing: A Single-Center Experience,” highlights the need for more tailored CD34+ cell dosing strategies for specific subgroups of multiple myeloma patients undergoing autologous stem cell transplants (SCT), which may ultimately prove beneficial.

The results show that male multiple myeloma patients with a high body surface area (BSA) experienced a four-day delay in platelet engraftment after autologous SCT. This delay emphasizes the need for optimized dosing strategies to enhance post-transplant recovery, particularly in patients with elevated BSA. Shortening the time to hematopoietic engraftment after SCT may significantly reduce hospital stays and lower the risk of infections, bleeding and transfusion-related complications.

Other Cancer Center members on the publication include Karen Sweiss, PharmD, Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice; Chukwuemeka Uzoka, MD, Assistant Professor in the Division of Hematology and Oncology; Matias Sanchez, MD, Assistant Professor in the Division of Hematology and Oncology; Zhengjia Chen, PhD, Director of the Biostatistics Shared Resource Core of the Cancer Center and Professor in the UIC School of Public Health Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics; Damiano Rondelli, MD, Chief of the Division of Hematology and Oncology, Michael Reese Professor of Hematology and Director of Blood and Marrow Transplant.

Other contributors from UIC include Seungwon An, PhD; Youngmin Park, MS; Celeste Mora, BS; Elisa Zucchetti, MD; Sally A. Campbell-Lee, MD; and Weiwei Ma, MS.

Read the complete publication here.