Title(s):
Associate Professor of Oncology
Associate Professor of Medicine
Associate Professor of Medicine
Appointment Phone:
410-955-8964
Primary Location:
Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center
Expertise:
Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, Acute Myeloid Leukemia, Chronic Lymphoblastic Leukemia, Chronic Myeloid Leukemia, General Internal Medicine, Leukemia, Myelodysplastic Syndrome
Education and Experience
Training
- University of California San Francisco (San Francisco CA)/ (1994)
Residencies
- The Johns Hopkins Hospital (Baltimore MD)/ Medicine (1997)
Fellowships
- The Johns Hopkins Hospital (Baltimore MD)/ Senior Clinical Fellow / Oncology Center (2002)
- The Johns Hopkins Hospital (Baltimore MD)/ Medical Oncology (2001)
Locations
Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center
401 N. Broadway
Baltimore, MD 21231
Appointment Phone: 410-955-8964
Location Map
Department / Division
- Oncology
- Medicine
Centers/Institutes
Centers / Institutes
- Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center
Bio
Awards and Honors
Clinical Scholar of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society
Expertise
- Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
- Acute Myeloid Leukemia
- Chronic Lymphoblastic Leukemia
- Chronic Myeloid Leukemia
- General Internal Medicine
- Leukemia
- Myelodysplastic Syndrome
Research
Research and Publications
Dr. Levis laboratory research focuses on the development of molecularly targeted therapies for leukemia. Currently, he is actively involved in the pre-clinical and clinical development of small molecule inhibitors of protein kinase, including FLT3. The research involves studying the biochemical effects of these inhibitors on primary blast samples from leukemia patients.
Brown, P.; Levis, M.; McIntyre, E.; Griesemer, M.; Small, D. Combinations of the FLT3 inhibitor CEP-701 and chemotherapy synergistically kill infant and childhood MLL-rearranged ALL cells in a sequence-dependent manner. Leukemia. 2006 Aug;20(8):1368-1376.
Kim, K.T.; Levis, M.; Small, D. Constitutively activated FLT3 phosphorylates BAD partially through pim-1. Br J Haematol. 2006 Sep;134(5):500-509.
Knapper, S.; Burnett, A.K.; Littlewood, T.; Kell, W.J.; Agrawal, S.; Chopra, R.; Clark, R.; Levis, M.J.; Small, D. A phase 2 trial of the FLT3 inhibitor lestaurtinib (CEP701) as first-line treatment for older patients with acute myeloid leukemia not considered fit for intensive chemotherapy. Blood. 2006 Nov 15;108(10):3262-3270.
Levis, M.; Brown, P.; Smith, B.D.; Stine, A.; Pham, R.; Stone, R.; Deangelo, D.; Galinsky, I.; Giles, F.; Estey, E.; Kantarjian, H.; Cohen, P.; Wang, Y.; Roesel, J.; Karp, J.E.; Small, D. Plasma inhibitory activity (PIA): a pharmacodynamic assay reveals insights into the basis for cytotoxic response to FLT3 inhibitors. Blood. 2006 Nov 15;108(10):3477-3483.
Kajiguchi, T.; Chung, E.J.; Lee, S.; Stine, A.; Kiyoi, H.; Naoe, T.; Levis, M.J.; Neckers, L.; Trepel, J.B. FLT3 regulates beta-catenin tyrosine phosphorylation, nuclear localization, and transcriptional activity in acute myeloid leukemia cells. Leukemia. 2007 Dec;21(12):2476-2484.
Karp, J.E.; Ricklis, R.M.; Balakrishnan, K.; Briel, J.; Greer, J.; Gore, S.D.; Smith, B.D.; McDevitt, M.A.; Carraway, H.; Levis, M.J.; Gandhi, V. A phase 1 clinical-laboratory study of clofarabine followed by cyclophosphamide for adults with refractory acute leukemias. Blood. 2007 Sep 15;110(6):1762-1769.
Karp, J.E.; Smith, B.D.; Levis, M.J.; Gore, S.D.; Greer, J.; Hattenburg, C.; Briel, J.; Jones, R.J.; Wright, J.J.; Colevas, A.D. Sequential flavopiridol, cytosine arabinoside, and mitoxantrone: a phase II trial in adults with poor-risk acute myelogenous leukemia. Clin Cancer Res. 2007 Aug 1;13(15 Pt 1):4467-4473.
Kim, K.T.; Baird, K.; Davis, S.; Piloto, O.; Levis, M.; Li, L.; Chen, P.; Meltzer, P.; Small, D. Constitutive Fms-like tyrosine kinase 3 activation results in specific changes in gene expression in myeloid leukaemic cells. Br J Haematol. 2007 Sep;138(5):603-615.
Li, L.; Piloto, O.; Kim, K.T.; Ye, Z.; Nguyen, H.B.; Yu, X.; Levis, M.; Cheng, L.; Small, D. FLT3/ITD expression increases expansion, survival and entry into cell cycle of human haematopoietic stem/progenitor cells. Br J Haematol. 2007 Apr;137(1):64-75.
Piloto, O.; Wright, M.; Brown, P.; Kim, K.T.; Levis, M.; Small, D. Prolonged exposure to FLT3 inhibitors leads to resistance via activation of parallel signaling pathways. Blood. 2007 Feb 15;109(4):1643-1652.
Thornton, K.A.; Levis, M. Images in clinical medicine. FLT3 Mutation and acute myelogenous leukemia with leukostasis. N Engl J Med. 2007 Oct 18;357(16):1639.
Karp, J.E.; Smith, B.D.; Gojo, I.; Lancet, J.E.; Greer, J.; Klein, M.; Morris, L.; Levis, M.J.; Gore, S.D.; Wright, J.J.; Garrett-Mayer, E. Phase II trial of tipifarnib as maintenance therapy in first complete remission in adults with acute myelogenous leukemia and poor-risk features. Clin Cancer Res. 2008 May 15;14(10):3077-3082.
Pratz, K.; Levis, M. Incorporating FLT3 inhibitors into acute myeloid leukemia treatment regimens. Leuk Lymphoma. 2008 May;49(5):852-863.
Zeng, Z.; Shi, Y.X.; Samudio, I.J.; Wang, R.Y.; Ling, X.; Frolova, O.; Levis, M.; Rubin, J.B.; Negrin, R.R.; Estey, E.H.; Konoplev, S.; Andreeff, M.; Konopleva, M. Targeting the leukemia microenvironment by CXCR4 inhibition overcomes resistance to kinase inhibitors and chemotherapy in AML. Blood. 2008 Oct 27.
Karp, J.E.; Flatten, K.; Feldman, E.J.; Greer, J.M.; Loegering, D.A.; Ricklis, R.M.; Morris, L.E.; Ritchie, E.; Smith, B.D.; Ironside, V.; Talbott, T.; Roboz, G.; Le, S.B.; Meng, X.W.; Schneider, P.A.; Dai, N.T.; Adjei, A.A.; Gore, S.D.; Levis, M.J.; Wright, J.J.; Garrett-Mayer, E.; Kaufmann, S.H. Active oral regimen for elderly adults with newly diagnosed acute myelogenous leukemia: a preclinical and phase 1 trial of the farnesyltransferase inhibitor tipifarnib (R115777, Zarnestra) combined with etoposide. Blood. 2009 May 14;113(20):4841-4852.
Pratz, K.W.; Cortes, J.; Roboz, G.J.; Rao, N.; Arowojolu, O.; Stine, A.; Shiotsu, Y.; Shudo, A.; Akinaga, S.; Small, D.; Karp, J.E.; Levis, M. A pharmacodynamic study of the FLT3 inhibitor KW-2449 yields insight into the basis for clinical response. Blood. 2009 Apr 23;113(17):3938-3946.
Karp, J.E.; Blackford, A.; Smith, B.D.; Alino, K.; Seung, A.H.; Bolanos-Meade, J.; Greer, J.M.; Carraway, H.E.; Gore, S.D.; Jones, R.J.; Levis, M.J.; McDevitt, M.A.; Doyle, L.A.; Wright, J.J. Clinical activity of sequential flavopiridol, cytosine arabinoside, and mitoxantrone for adults with newly diagnosed, poor-risk acute myelogenous leukemia. Leuk Res. 2010 Jul;34(7):877-882.
Levis, M.J. Will newer tyrosine kinase inhibitors have an impact in AML Best Pract Res Clin Haematol. 2010 Dec;23(4):489-494.
Pratz, K.W.; Cho, E.; Levis, M.J.; Karp, J.E.; Gore, S.D.; McDevitt, M.; Stine, A.; Zhao, M.; Baker, S.D.; Carducci, M.A.; Wright, J.J.; Rudek, M.A.; Smith, B.D. A pharmacodynamic study of sorafenib in patients with relapsed and refractory acute leukemias. Leukemia. 2010 Aug;24(8):1437-1444.
Pratz, K.W.; Levis, M.J. Bench to bedside targeting of FLT3 in acute leukemia. Curr Drug Targets. 2010 Jul;11(7):781-789.
Pratz, K.W.; Sato, T.; Murphy, K.M.; Stine, A.; Rajkhowa, T.; Levis, M. FLT3 mutant allelic burden and clinical status are predictive of response to FLT3 inhibitors in AML. Blood. 2010 Dec 10;115(7):1425-1432.
Karp, J.E.; Smith, B.D.; Resar, L.S.; Greer, J.M.; Blackford, A.; Zhao, M.; Moton-Nelson, D.; Alino, K.; Levis, M.J.; Gore, S.D.; Joseph, B.; Carraway, H.; McDevitt, M.A.; Bagain, L.; Mackey, K.; Briel, J.; Doyle, L.A.; Wright, J.J.; Rudek, M.A. Phase I and pharmacokinetic study of bolus-infusion flavopiridol followed by cytosine arabinoside and mitoxantrone for acute leukemias. Blood. 2011 Jan 14;Epub 1/18/11.
Brown, P.; Levis, M.; McIntyre, E.; Griesemer, M.; Small, D. Combinations of the FLT3 inhibitor CEP-701 and chemotherapy synergistically kill infant and childhood MLL-rearranged ALL cells in a sequence-dependent manner. Leukemia. 2006 Aug;20(8):1368-1376.
Kim, K.T.; Levis, M.; Small, D. Constitutively activated FLT3 phosphorylates BAD partially through pim-1. Br J Haematol. 2006 Sep;134(5):500-509.
Knapper, S.; Burnett, A.K.; Littlewood, T.; Kell, W.J.; Agrawal, S.; Chopra, R.; Clark, R.; Levis, M.J.; Small, D. A phase 2 trial of the FLT3 inhibitor lestaurtinib (CEP701) as first-line treatment for older patients with acute myeloid leukemia not considered fit for intensive chemotherapy. Blood. 2006 Nov 15;108(10):3262-3270.
Levis, M.; Brown, P.; Smith, B.D.; Stine, A.; Pham, R.; Stone, R.; Deangelo, D.; Galinsky, I.; Giles, F.; Estey, E.; Kantarjian, H.; Cohen, P.; Wang, Y.; Roesel, J.; Karp, J.E.; Small, D. Plasma inhibitory activity (PIA): a pharmacodynamic assay reveals insights into the basis for cytotoxic response to FLT3 inhibitors. Blood. 2006 Nov 15;108(10):3477-3483.
Kajiguchi, T.; Chung, E.J.; Lee, S.; Stine, A.; Kiyoi, H.; Naoe, T.; Levis, M.J.; Neckers, L.; Trepel, J.B. FLT3 regulates beta-catenin tyrosine phosphorylation, nuclear localization, and transcriptional activity in acute myeloid leukemia cells. Leukemia. 2007 Dec;21(12):2476-2484.
Karp, J.E.; Ricklis, R.M.; Balakrishnan, K.; Briel, J.; Greer, J.; Gore, S.D.; Smith, B.D.; McDevitt, M.A.; Carraway, H.; Levis, M.J.; Gandhi, V. A phase 1 clinical-laboratory study of clofarabine followed by cyclophosphamide for adults with refractory acute leukemias. Blood. 2007 Sep 15;110(6):1762-1769.
Karp, J.E.; Smith, B.D.; Levis, M.J.; Gore, S.D.; Greer, J.; Hattenburg, C.; Briel, J.; Jones, R.J.; Wright, J.J.; Colevas, A.D. Sequential flavopiridol, cytosine arabinoside, and mitoxantrone: a phase II trial in adults with poor-risk acute myelogenous leukemia. Clin Cancer Res. 2007 Aug 1;13(15 Pt 1):4467-4473.
Kim, K.T.; Baird, K.; Davis, S.; Piloto, O.; Levis, M.; Li, L.; Chen, P.; Meltzer, P.; Small, D. Constitutive Fms-like tyrosine kinase 3 activation results in specific changes in gene expression in myeloid leukaemic cells. Br J Haematol. 2007 Sep;138(5):603-615.
Li, L.; Piloto, O.; Kim, K.T.; Ye, Z.; Nguyen, H.B.; Yu, X.; Levis, M.; Cheng, L.; Small, D. FLT3/ITD expression increases expansion, survival and entry into cell cycle of human haematopoietic stem/progenitor cells. Br J Haematol. 2007 Apr;137(1):64-75.
Piloto, O.; Wright, M.; Brown, P.; Kim, K.T.; Levis, M.; Small, D. Prolonged exposure to FLT3 inhibitors leads to resistance via activation of parallel signaling pathways. Blood. 2007 Feb 15;109(4):1643-1652.
Thornton, K.A.; Levis, M. Images in clinical medicine. FLT3 Mutation and acute myelogenous leukemia with leukostasis. N Engl J Med. 2007 Oct 18;357(16):1639.
Karp, J.E.; Smith, B.D.; Gojo, I.; Lancet, J.E.; Greer, J.; Klein, M.; Morris, L.; Levis, M.J.; Gore, S.D.; Wright, J.J.; Garrett-Mayer, E. Phase II trial of tipifarnib as maintenance therapy in first complete remission in adults with acute myelogenous leukemia and poor-risk features. Clin Cancer Res. 2008 May 15;14(10):3077-3082.
Pratz, K.; Levis, M. Incorporating FLT3 inhibitors into acute myeloid leukemia treatment regimens. Leuk Lymphoma. 2008 May;49(5):852-863.
Zeng, Z.; Shi, Y.X.; Samudio, I.J.; Wang, R.Y.; Ling, X.; Frolova, O.; Levis, M.; Rubin, J.B.; Negrin, R.R.; Estey, E.H.; Konoplev, S.; Andreeff, M.; Konopleva, M. Targeting the leukemia microenvironment by CXCR4 inhibition overcomes resistance to kinase inhibitors and chemotherapy in AML. Blood. 2008 Oct 27.
Karp, J.E.; Flatten, K.; Feldman, E.J.; Greer, J.M.; Loegering, D.A.; Ricklis, R.M.; Morris, L.E.; Ritchie, E.; Smith, B.D.; Ironside, V.; Talbott, T.; Roboz, G.; Le, S.B.; Meng, X.W.; Schneider, P.A.; Dai, N.T.; Adjei, A.A.; Gore, S.D.; Levis, M.J.; Wright, J.J.; Garrett-Mayer, E.; Kaufmann, S.H. Active oral regimen for elderly adults with newly diagnosed acute myelogenous leukemia: a preclinical and phase 1 trial of the farnesyltransferase inhibitor tipifarnib (R115777, Zarnestra) combined with etoposide. Blood. 2009 May 14;113(20):4841-4852.
Pratz, K.W.; Cortes, J.; Roboz, G.J.; Rao, N.; Arowojolu, O.; Stine, A.; Shiotsu, Y.; Shudo, A.; Akinaga, S.; Small, D.; Karp, J.E.; Levis, M. A pharmacodynamic study of the FLT3 inhibitor KW-2449 yields insight into the basis for clinical response. Blood. 2009 Apr 23;113(17):3938-3946.
Karp, J.E.; Blackford, A.; Smith, B.D.; Alino, K.; Seung, A.H.; Bolanos-Meade, J.; Greer, J.M.; Carraway, H.E.; Gore, S.D.; Jones, R.J.; Levis, M.J.; McDevitt, M.A.; Doyle, L.A.; Wright, J.J. Clinical activity of sequential flavopiridol, cytosine arabinoside, and mitoxantrone for adults with newly diagnosed, poor-risk acute myelogenous leukemia. Leuk Res. 2010 Jul;34(7):877-882.
Levis, M.J. Will newer tyrosine kinase inhibitors have an impact in AML Best Pract Res Clin Haematol. 2010 Dec;23(4):489-494.
Pratz, K.W.; Cho, E.; Levis, M.J.; Karp, J.E.; Gore, S.D.; McDevitt, M.; Stine, A.; Zhao, M.; Baker, S.D.; Carducci, M.A.; Wright, J.J.; Rudek, M.A.; Smith, B.D. A pharmacodynamic study of sorafenib in patients with relapsed and refractory acute leukemias. Leukemia. 2010 Aug;24(8):1437-1444.
Pratz, K.W.; Levis, M.J. Bench to bedside targeting of FLT3 in acute leukemia. Curr Drug Targets. 2010 Jul;11(7):781-789.
Pratz, K.W.; Sato, T.; Murphy, K.M.; Stine, A.; Rajkhowa, T.; Levis, M. FLT3 mutant allelic burden and clinical status are predictive of response to FLT3 inhibitors in AML. Blood. 2010 Dec 10;115(7):1425-1432.
Karp, J.E.; Smith, B.D.; Resar, L.S.; Greer, J.M.; Blackford, A.; Zhao, M.; Moton-Nelson, D.; Alino, K.; Levis, M.J.; Gore, S.D.; Joseph, B.; Carraway, H.; McDevitt, M.A.; Bagain, L.; Mackey, K.; Briel, J.; Doyle, L.A.; Wright, J.J.; Rudek, M.A. Phase I and pharmacokinetic study of bolus-infusion flavopiridol followed by cytosine arabinoside and mitoxantrone for acute leukemias. Blood. 2011 Jan 14;Epub 1/18/11.
Research Interests
- Kinase inhibitors
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Languages
- English
Clinical Trials
- FLT3 inhibitor
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