Samir Parekh, MD is a physician-scientist at the Icahn School Of Medicine at Mount Sinai. He is a translational researcher in hematologic malignancies, having developed novel small molecules and individualized precision medicine approaches using systems biology approaches. He made  several seminal observations as a postdoc in Ari Melnick’s lab including: regulation of differentiation blockade by the BCL6 transcription factor and the first genome-wide methylation screen for mantle cell lymphoma, which identified novel therapeutic targets. His own lab has developed the first transgenic mouse model of SOX11-induced mantle cell lymphoma, a rare and incurable form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. This model has led to several insights into SOX11 induced B cell receptor signaling, and is being used by labs worldwide for biological research and drug development. Based on structural insights of SOX11-DNA binding, Dr. Parekh has collaborated with structural biology and chemistry labs to develop small molecule inhibitors with robust in vitro and in vivo activity against BTK and BCL2-refractory MCL.

He is currently the Director of Myeloma Translational Research at Sinai, with an NIH-funded lab focusing on epigenetic drug development and genomic approaches to individualize therapy in Precision Medicine trials. His lab has served as an international reference unit for studying the immune effects of novel cereblon modulators (Celmods) Iberdomide and Mezigdomide. His observations on the side effects of CART and bispecific therapy have led to prescription label changes and increased safety,  better patient selection and awareness of infectious complications of these powerful novel therapeutics. His lab has several highly cited publications on the variable nature of immune protection following COVID vaccination in immunocompromised myeloma patients as part of the NCI serological sciences network.