The Institute for Myeloma & Bone Cancer Research has brought together a highly qualified group of internationally recognized scientists in our mission to develop new and cutting-edge therapies for those who suffer from myeloma and bone cancer.
James R. Berenson, MD, Chief Executive Officer & President, Medical & Scientific Director
Dr. Berenson is the founder of the Institute for Myeloma & Bone Cancer Research (IMBCR) and has specialized in research related to myeloma and metastatic bone disease both in the basic and clinical areas for more than 20 years. He has been involved in many of the major breakthroughs that have brought new treatments for patients with these diseases resulting in both an improvement in the length and quality of their lives.
He serves as a member of the National Institutes of Health - Center for Scientific Review, Clinical Oncology Study Section. He is a member of the Scientific Boards of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation and the International Myeloma Foundation. He serves on both the Foundation and the Scientific Boards of the Leukemia, Lymphoma and Myeloma Society. He also works with many other groups known for their work in multiple myeloma and bone metastases.
After receiving a Bachelor of Science with Distinction from Stanford University, he earned his Doctorate in Medicine from the University of California at San Diego.
Dr. Berenson completed his internship and residency in internal medicine at the University of Utah Medical Center and fellowships in hematology/oncology at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). He is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in both internal medicine and medical oncology. He has been affiliated most recently with Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and served as the Director of the Multiple Myeloma & Bone Metastasis Programs in the Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology. Dr. Berenson has performed research as a member of the Departments of Medicine and Biological Chemistry at the UCLA School of Medicine and has served as Chief of Medical Oncology and Cancer Research as well as Director of Research at the Greater Los Angeles Veterans Administration Healthcare Systems. Dr. Berenson has authored and co-authored numerous books, articles, and abstracts in journals including Blood, Cancer, Cancer Research, Journal of Clinical Investigation, Journal of Clinical Oncology, New England Journal of Medicine, and Science.
In addition to his research interests in myeloma and metastatic bone disease, he also studies antibodies, T-cell receptors, cytokines, cancer genes, viruses and blood vessel development. Dr. Berenson has also conducted numerous clinical trials related to the treatment of multiple myeloma and metastatic bone disease. Because he is internationally known for his expertise and accomplishments in these areas, he has also been asked to give numerous lectures and organize many meetings both nationally and internationally.
Dr. Berenson has a private practice which specializes in the treatment of patients with myeloma and metastatic bone disease. He is also President and Chief Executive Officer of Oncotherapeutics, Inc., a corporation that conducts clinical trials related to myeloma and metastatic bone disease as well as other cancers throughout the United States.
Dr. Berenson was born and raised in Portland, Oregon. He is married to Debra and they have two children, Shira and Ariana.
Dr. Berenson's many innovations and successes have included:
- A Leader in developing techniques that will rid cancer in stem cells for myeloma patients
- Discovery of new genes in myeloma bone marrow that will be potential new targets for innovative treatments
- Development of a new way to sensitively and accurately measure malignant cells which has provided significant improvements in determining the effects of new drugs as well as treatments for tumors
- Discovery of new treatments for myeloma patients that effectively give a much better quality of life for patients through the significant reduction of toxicity
- Revolutionized in vivo models making them highly effective to serve as quick ways to optimize drug dosing and treatment techniques for myeloma and bone cancer patients
- Identified a new herpes virus that is a promising modality to attack myeloma
- Revolutionized research techniques at a genetic level rather than using the traditional protein approach
Haiming Chen, MD, PhD, Director of Research Laboratory |
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Dr. Chen became a hematologist in China and passed the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) in 2002. He currently serves as a reviewer for the Philip Morris External Research Program and is a member of the American Society of Hematology.
Dr Chen received his doctoral degree from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, School of Medicine, Biochemistry Institute, Chinese Academy of Science, and University of Southern California. He completed his postdoctoral training at the University of British Columbia and served as an Assistant Professor at the University of Southern California from 1994 to 2001. Dr. Chen received a NIH training grant (1994-1996) for genetic development biology.
In his research, he has discovered that myeloma tumors produce a protein, pleiotrophin, that assists tumor growth by a completely novel mechanism in which a type of white cell called a monocyte turns into a new blood vessel. This discovery has opened exciting new avenues in the development of treatment for myeloma patients and the paper has been published in the prestigious Blood (Chen H. et al. 1; 110: 287-95, 2007).
Dr. Chen has also developed innovative siRNA technology that has led to new advances in controlling the growth of myeloma tumors in the bone as well as stemming the loss of bone density. The paper, “Interference with nuclear factor kappa B and c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase signaling by TRAF6C small interfering RNA inhibits myeloma cell proliferation and enhances apoptosis” has been published in Oncogene (Chen H. et al. 25; 6520-7, 2006) He continues to design new uses for this technology to target anti-myeloma therapies to specific genes.
Furthermore, Dr. Chen led the discovery of a novel platelet binding protein that allowed advancements in research for new therapies for multiple myeloma and lymphoma.
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Dr. Zhi-Wei, (Willie”),Li
Principal Scientist for “The Cure Myeloma Project” |
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| Dr. Zhi-Wei Li, received his Ph.D. in Molecular Biology at the University of Zurich, Switzerland and was a post doctorate fellow at the University of California, San Diego with funding from the Cancer Research Institute. He holds a M.S. degree in Molecular Biology from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, China. He most recently was an Assistant Professor of Research at the Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, affiliated with the University of South Florida.
Dr. Li has published extensively and has received numerous awards, including research grants from the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, The American Cancer Society and the Department of Interdisciplinary Oncology at the Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute. He is an Active Member with the American Association for Cancer Research and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He joins the Institute of Myeloma and Bone Cancer Research as Principal Scientist on “The Cure Myeloma Project” |
Eric Sanchez, Associate Director of Animal Research |
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B.A., integrative biology,
University of California Berkeley
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Eric previously worked at the
UCLA Spine Institute working with animals on experiments investigating ways to heal spinal cord injuries
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Eric is currently working on preclinical models of bone disease including multiple myeloma, prostate and breast cancer to evaluate cutting edge anti-cancer therapies.
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Shoulin Wang, Research Associate II |
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Ms. Wang isolates patient samples including bone marrow, blood serum and
plasma cells, and supervises the lab's cell lines.
She also assists in characterizing patient samples by cell staining and
serum analysis. |
Mingjie Li, Research Associate |
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Mingjie is a former laboratory assistant in the Pathology Department at UCLA. Currently he works with DNA, RNA purification, RT-PCR, immuno-histology and cell culture, cell and protein purification, Western blot, flow cytometer, MTT assay, and patient’s sample processing. |
Jeffrey Steinberg, Research Associate |
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B.S., Biopsychology,
University of California at Santa Barbara
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His studies included numerous anatomy and physiology courses, along with extensive lab experience involving animal models
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Jeff does in vitro work examining multiple cancer drugs and their interactions with myeloma cells.
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