Expert on myeloma, cancer vaccines to head hematology

Madhav V. Dhodapkar, M.D., an expert on multiple myeloma and monoclonal gammopathy of unknown significance (MGUS), the premalignant state from which myeloma often develops, has been named chief of the Section of Hematology in the Department of Internal Medicine. Dhodapkar comes to Yale from Rockefeller University, where he headed the Laboratory of Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy since 2001.

Dhodapkar studies the effects of tumors on the immune systems of patients with multiple myeloma, and how the immune system permits the transition from MGUS to myeloma. His laboratory explores the use of dendritic cell vaccines and immunomodulatory drugs to bolster the immune system against tumor formation. As professor of medicine at Yale, he intends to expand his clinical research.

Jack A. Elias, M.D., chair and Waldemar Von Zedtwitz Professor of Medicine, says that Dhodapkar “is a world-renowned expert on the immunobiology of cancers, MGUS and multiple myeloma. He will add vibrant and visionary leadership to the Section of Hematology, the Department of Internal Medicine and Yale Cancer Center.”

Dhodapkar received his medical degree in 1987 from All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, and completed his residency in internal medicine at St. Louis University Hospitals in Missouri.