Research Summary

Nahal Rose Lalefar, MD, is an associate professor of pediatrics who specializes in pediatric hematology/oncology with a focus on stem cell transplantation. She runs the bone marrow transplant long term follow up program at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland. She also runs a hematology clinic at UCSF-Fresno.

Education

  • 06/2001 - B.A., University of California Berkeley
  • 06/2003 - Biotechnology Certificate, California State University at Hayward
  • 06/2008 - M.D., University of California Davis School of Medicine
  • 06/2001 - Resident in Pediatrics, UCSF-Fresno/Children's Hospital Central California
  • 06/2015 - Fellow in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland

Honors & Awards

  • 2005 Leadership Council Scholarship, UC Davis
  • 2008 Allan T. Nunn Scholarship, UC Davis
  • 2011 Highest Continuity Rate Award, UCSF Fresno
  • 2011 Excellence in Clinical Research - Health Maintenance and Prevention, UCSF Fresno
  • 2013 American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (ASBMT) Travel Grant  

Selected Publications

  1. Dvorak CC, Cho S, Salinas Cisneros G, Higham CS, Chu J, Winestone LE, Temple WC, Kharbanda S, Shimano KA, Avagyan S, Pauerstein PT, Huang JN, Cheng G, Lalefar N, Aguayo-Hiraldo P, Keizer RJ, Pulsipher MA, Long-Boyle JR. High Melphalan Exposure Increases the Risk of Graft-Versus-Host Disease in Pediatric Patients Undergoing Alpha-Beta T-Cell Depleted Haploidentical Transplantation. Transplant Cell Ther. 2025 Apr 02.  View on PubMed
  2. Pearce EM, Evans E, Mayday MY, Reyes G, Simon MR, Blum J, Kim H, Mu J, Shaw PJ, Rowan CM, Auletta JJ, Martin PL, Hurley C, Kreml EM, Qayed M, Abdel-Azim H, Keating AK, Cuvelier GDE, Hume JR, Killinger JS, Godder K, Hanna R, Duncan CN, Quigg TC, Castillo P, Lalefar NR, Fitzgerald JC, Mahadeo KM, Satwani P, Moore TB, Hanisch B, Abdel-Mageed A, Davis DB, Hudspeth MP, Yanik GA, Pulsipher MA, Dvorak CCJL, Zinter MS. Integrating Pulmonary and Systemic Transcriptomic Profiles to Characterize Lung Injury after Pediatric Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant. medRxiv. 2025 Apr 01.  View on PubMed
  3. Dvorak CC, Long-Boyle JR, Holbrook-Brown L, Abdel-Azim H, Bertaina A, Vatsayan A, Talano JA, Bunin N, Anderson E, Flower A, Lalefar N, Higham CS, Kapoor N, Klein O, Odinakachukwu MC, Cho S, Jacobsohn DA, Collier W, Pulsipher MA. Effect of rabbit ATG PK on outcomes after TCR-αβ/CD19-depleted pediatric haploidentical HCT for hematologic malignancy. Blood Adv. 2024 Dec 10; 8(23):6003-6014.  View on PubMed
  4. Zinter MS, Dvorak CC, Mayday MY, Reyes G, Simon MR, Pearce EM, Kim H, Shaw PJ, Rowan CM, Auletta JJ, Martin PL, Godder K, Duncan CN, Lalefar NR, Kreml EM, Hume JR, Abdel-Azim H, Hurley C, Cuvelier GDE, Keating AK, Qayed M, Killinger JS, Fitzgerald JC, Hanna R, Mahadeo KM, Quigg TC, Satwani P, Castillo P, Gertz SJ, Moore TB, Hanisch B, Abdel-Mageed A, Phelan R, Davis DB, Hudspeth MP, Yanik GA, Pulsipher MA, Sulaiman I, Segal LN, Versluys BA, Lindemans CA, Boelens JJ, DeRisi JL, Pediatric Transplantation and Cell Therapy Consortium. Pathobiological signatures of dysbiotic lung injury in pediatric patients undergoing stem cell transplantation. Nat Med. 2024 Jul; 30(7):1982-1993.  View on PubMed
  5. Takahashi T, Watkins B, Bratrude B, Neuberg D, Hebert K, Betz K, Yu A, Choi SW, Davis J, Duncan C, Giller R, Grimley M, Harris AC, Jacobsohn D, Lalefar N, Farhadfar N, Pulsipher MA, Shenoy S, Petrovic A, Schultz KR, Yanik GA, Blazar BR, Horan JT, Langston A, Kean LS, Qayed M. The Adverse Event Landscape of Stem Cell Transplant: Evidence for AGVHD Driving Early Transplant Associated Toxicities. Transplant Cell Ther. 2025 Feb; 31(2):109.e1-109.e13.  View on PubMed
  6. Gorfinkel L, Raghunandan S, Watkins B, Hebert K, Neuberg DS, Bratrude B, Betz K, Yu A, Choi SW, Davis J, Duncan C, Giller R, Grimley M, Harris AC, Jacobsohn D, Lalefar N, Farhadfar N, Pulsipher MA, Shenoy S, Petrovic A, Schultz KR, Yanik GA, Blazar BR, Horan JT, Langston A, Kean LS, Qayed M. Overlap chronic GVHD is associated with adverse survival outcomes compared to classic chronic GVHD. Bone Marrow Transplant. 2024 May; 59(5):680-687.  View on PubMed
  7. Rotz SJ, Hamilton BK, Wei W, Ahmed I, Winston SA, Ballard S, Bernard RJ, Carpenter P, Farhadfar N, Ferraro C, Friend BD, Gloude NJ, Hayashi RJ, Hoyle K, Jenssen K, Koo J, Lee CJ, Mariano L, Nawabit R, Ngwube A, Lalefar N, Phelan R, Perkins L, Rao A, Rayes A, Sandheinrich T, Stafford L, Tomlinson K, Whiteside S, Wiedl C, Myers K. Fertility Potential and Gonadal Function in Survivors of Reduced-Intensity Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation. Transplant Cell Ther. 2024 May; 30(5):534.e1-534.e13.  View on PubMed
  8. Zinter MS, Dvorak CC, Mayday MY, Reyes G, Simon MR, Pearce EM, Kim H, Shaw PJ, Rowan CM, Auletta JJ, Martin PL, Godder K, Duncan CN, Lalefar NR, Kreml EM, Hume JR, Abdel-Azim H, Hurley C, Cuvelier GDE, Keating AK, Qayed M, Killinger JS, Fitzgerald JC, Hanna R, Mahadeo KM, Quigg TC, Satwani P, Castillo P, Gertz SJ, Moore TB, Hanisch B, Abdel-Mageed A, Phelan R, Davis DB, Hudspeth MP, Yanik GA, Pulsipher MA, Sulaiman I, Segal LN, Versluys BA, Lindemans CA, Boelens JJ, DeRisi JL, Pediatric Transplantation and Cell Therapy Consortium. Pulmonary microbiome and transcriptome signatures reveal distinct pathobiologic states associated with mortality in two cohorts of pediatric stem cell transplant patients. medRxiv. 2023 Nov 29.  View on PubMed
  9. Takahashi T, Al-Kofahi M, Jaber M, Bratrude B, Betz K, Suessmuth Y, Yu A, Neuberg DS, Choi SW, Davis J, Duncan C, Giller R, Grimley M, Harris AC, Jacobsohn D, Lalefar N, Farhadfar N, Pulsipher MA, Shenoy S, Petrovic A, Schultz KR, Yanik GA, Blazar BR, Horan JT, Watkins B, Langston A, Qayed M, Kean LS. Higher abatacept exposure after transplant decreases acute GVHD risk without increasing adverse events. Blood. 2023 08 24; 142(8):700-710.  View on PubMed
  10. Knight TE, Ahn KW, Hebert KM, Atshan R, Wall DA, Chiengthong K, Rotz SJ, Fraint E, Rangarajan HG, Auletta JJ, Sharma A, Kitko CL, Hashem H, Williams KM, Wirk B, Dvorak CC, Myers KC, Pulsipher MA, Warwick AB, Lalefar NR, Schultz KR, Qayed M, Broglie L, Eapen M, Yanik GA. Effect of Autograft CD34+ Dose on Outcome in Pediatric Patients Undergoing Autologous Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant for Central Nervous System Tumors. Transplant Cell Ther. 2023 06; 29(6):380.e1-380.e9.  View on PubMed
  11. Pulsipher MA, Ahn KW, Bunin NJ, Lalefar N, Anderson E, Flower A, Cairo MS, Talano JA, Chaudhury S, Kitko CL, Duke JL, Monos D, Leung W, Dvorak CC, Abdel-Azim H. KIR-favorable TCR-αβ/CD19-depleted haploidentical HCT in children with ALL/AML/MDS: primary analysis of the PTCTC ONC1401 trial. Blood. 2022 12 15; 140(24):2556-2572.  View on PubMed
  12. Brooks JT, Solans BP, Lu Y, Kharbanda S, Dvorak CC, Lalefar N, Long S, Gupta AO, Horn B, Lamba JK, Huang L, Apsel-Winger B, Keizer RJ, Savic R, Long-Boyle J. Prospective Validation and Refinement of a Population Pharmacokinetic Model of Fludarabine in Children and Young Adults Undergoing Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation. Pharmaceutics. 2022 Nov 15; 14(11).  View on PubMed
  13. Qayed M, Watkins B, Gillespie S, Bratrude B, Betz K, Choi SW, Davis J, Duncan C, Giller R, Grimley M, Harris AC, Jacobsohn D, Lalefar N, Norkin M, Farhadfar N, Pulsipher MA, Shenoy S, Petrovic A, Schultz KR, Yanik GA, Waller EK, Langston A, Kean LS, Horan JT. Abatacept for GVHD prophylaxis can reduce racial disparities by abrogating the impact of mismatching in unrelated donor stem cell transplantation. Blood Adv. 2022 02 08; 6(3):746-749.  View on PubMed
  14. Dandoy CE, Davies SM, Woo Ahn K, He Y, Kolb AE, Levine J, Bo-Subait S, Abdel-Azim H, Bhatt N, Chewning J, Gadalla S, Gloude N, Hayashi R, Lalefar NR, Law J, MacMillan M, O'Brien T, Prestidge T, Sharma A, Shaw P, Winestone L, Eapen M. Comparison of total body irradiation versus non-total body irradiation containing regimens for de novo acute myeloid leukemia in children. Haematologica. 2021 07 01; 106(7):1839-1845.  View on PubMed
  15. Watkins B, Qayed M, McCracken C, Bratrude B, Betz K, Suessmuth Y, Yu A, Sinclair S, Furlan S, Bosinger S, Tkachev V, Rhodes J, Tumlin AG, Narayan A, Cribbin K, Gillespie S, Gooley TA, Pasquini MC, Hebert K, Kapoor U, Rogatko A, Tighiouart M, Kim S, Bresee C, Choi SW, Davis J, Duncan C, Giller R, Grimley M, Harris AC, Jacobsohn D, Lalefar N, Norkin M, Farhadfar N, Pulsipher MA, Shenoy S, Petrovic A, Schultz KR, Yanik GA, Waller EK, Levine JE, Ferrara JL, Blazar BR, Langston A, Horan JT, Kean LS. Phase II Trial of Costimulation Blockade With Abatacept for Prevention of Acute GVHD. J Clin Oncol. 2021 06 10; 39(17):1865-1877.  View on PubMed
  16. Dandoy CE, Rotz S, Alonso PB, Klunk A, Desmond C, Huber J, Ingraham H, Higham C, Dvorak CC, Duncan C, Schoettler M, Lehmann L, Cancio M, Killinger J, Davila B, Phelan R, Mahadeo KM, Khazal S, Lalefar N, Vissa M, Myers K, Wallace G, Nelson A, Khandelwal P, Bhatla D, Gloude N, Anderson E, Huo J, Roehrs P, Auletta JJ, Chima R, Lane A, Davies SM, Jodele S. A pragmatic multi-institutional approach to understanding transplant-associated thrombotic microangiopathy after stem cell transplant. Blood Adv. 2021 01 12; 5(1):1-11.  View on PubMed
  17. Lalefar NR, Witkowski A, Simonsen JB, Ryan RO. Wnt3a nanodisks promote ex vivo expansion of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells. J Nanobiotechnology. 2016 Aug 23; 14(1):66.  View on PubMed

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