Leon Bernal-Mizrachi, MD

P4840949

Titles and Roles

Associate Professor, Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology
Emory University School of Medicine
Section Chief, Hematology and Medical Oncology
Grady Health System
Hematologist
Leukemia
Multiple Myeloma
Research Program
Discovery and Developmental Therapeutics

Biography

Leon Bernal-Mizrachi, MD, is Associate Professor in the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology at Emory University School of Medicine. Dr. Bernal serves as the Emory Section Chief of Hematology and Medical Oncology at Grady Health Systems. Board certified in medical oncology and internal medicine, he is a clinical member of the comprehensive care team treating leukemia patients at Grady.

Dr. Bernal-Mizrachi is a member of the Discovery and Developmental Therapeutics Research Program at Winship Cancer Institute.

Dr. Bernal-Mizrachi began his research career at the Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami with Dr. Yeon Ahn. During his fellowship at Washington University in St. Louis, MO, Dr. Bernal-Mizrachi continued on his search to define the role of inflammation and cancer. Under Dr. Lee Ratner's mentorship, he identified a novel prosurvival mechanism of each NF-kB pathway, an inflammatory signal. These findings ignited his interest in these signals and their role in B cell development and cancer development. To take advantage of new technologies and explore new avenues in these pathways, Dr. Bernal-Mizrachi trained at Cold Spring Harbor in integrative statistical analysis of genome-scale data. This knowledge set the foundation for the current work in his laboratory at Emory.

In Colombia, South America, he was Co-Director of the City's Diabetes Program as part of Cali's City Public Health Service in 1998-1999.

Education

Dr. Leon Bernal-Mizrachi earned his Medical Degree at Universidad del Valle School of Medicine in Cali, Colombia. He completed his residency at the University of Miami followed by a postdoctoral fellowship in Lee Ratner's laboratory at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis in the Division of Molecular Oncology.

Research

The Bernal-Mizrachi laboratory is specialized in studying cancers of the immune system such as lymphomas or myelomas. Based on the premise that the cancer of each patient has unique characteristics, Dr. Bernal-Mizrachi's lab is focused on creating new technologies that allow matching each patient’s unique cancer growth signals with specific therapies that can block their cancer signal growth effect. Their studies have provided new genetic indicators that could guide doctors to select the best combination of therapies. In this regard, Dr. Bernal-Mizrachi's team has focused on the NF-kB signals, an important signal for lymphoma/myeloma development. In these signals, they have discovered novel genetic alterations, biological functions, and biomarkers that can guide the selection of proper therapies and support the design of new therapies. Ultimately, Dr. Bernal-Mizrachi's passion is to improve the outcome and reduce the toxicity of the therapies used to treat lymphomas and myelomas.

  • Below is a listing of current federal grants for the above principal investigator.

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Publications

Under the supervision of Dr.Yeon Ahn, a medical doctor at the University of Miami, Dr. Bernal-Mizrachi published several first author papers and innumerable abstracts focusing on the development of endothelial microparticles as surrogates of vascular diseases and inflammation.

  • PublicationsPublication Date

Awards

Dr. Bernal-Mizrachi is a recipient of the following awards:

  • Travel Grant award, American Society of Clinical Oncology, 2004
  • Best Project/Presentation at the Eleventh Session of the Resident Scholarly Activity Program. University of Miami School of Medicine, Jackson Memorial Hospital, Florida, 2000
  • Tulane University Award: Best Year Medical Student of the 5th year of Medicine, 1996
  • "Santander Medal" to the 2nd-best Bachelor of the Year in Santa Librada High School
  • Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation

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