Background
Mark J. Levis, M.D., Ph.D., professor of oncology, medicine and pharmacology in the Division of Hematologic Malignancies at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, co-directs the Hematologic Malignancies and Bone Marrow Transplantation Program and directs the Adult Leukemia Service at the Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center. In addition to his role within the Kimmel Cancer Center, he serves on the faculty for the Johns Hopkins Graduate Training Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, a Ph.D. program that prepares scientists to conduct laboratory research at the cellular and molecular level that is designed to have a direct impact on the understanding of human diseases.
Dr. Levis has expertise in acute and chronic myeloid leukemia, acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and myelodysplastic syndromes.
Dr. Levis received his medical degree at the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine, where he also earned his Ph.D. in Biochemistry. He completed a residency in internal medicine at Johns Hopkins, followed by fellowships in medical oncology.
Dr. Levis is a member of the American Society of Hematology, the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the European Hematology Association. He is an ad hoc member of the Oncology Drug Advisory Committee, as well as an ad hoc manuscript referee for peer-reviewed journals such as New England Journal of Medicine; Leukemia; Clinical Cancer Research; and The American Journal of Hematology.
Dr. Levis has earned numerous awards, such as the Daniel Nathans Research Award from Johns Hopkins University, the Osler Housestaff Teaching Award, the Director's Teaching Award in Clinical Science, and the Advanced Clinical Research Award from the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
Dr. Levis’ laboratory research focuses on the development of molecularly-targeted therapies for leukemia. He is actively involved in the pre-clinical and clinical development of small molecule inhibitors of protein kinases, including FLT3. The research involves studying the biochemical effects of these inhibitors on samples taken from leukemia patients, with the broad goal of identifying and validating novel molecular therapeutic targets in these hematopoietic malignancies. While Dr. Levis plays a key role in the pre-clinical development of these therapies, he is particularly interested in translating this research to the bedside of his patients by using correlative studies to incorporate these novel therapies into existing treatments. In addition to his work in both the clinic and the laboratory, Dr. Levis has also conducted talks, mentorship and teaching lectures, and published extensively in the top journals in his field, including Leukemia; Blood; and the New England Journal of Medicine.