Research Summary

CLINICAL INTERESTS:
Cardio-Oncology, Cardio-Immunology

RESEARCH INTERESTS:
I am a cardiologist and myocyte biologist. My clinical focus is cardio-oncology and cardio-immunology. My clinical interests overlap with my laboratory focus, where we are investigating the mechanistic underpinnings of cardiovascular sequelae of novel targeted and immune-based cancer therapies.

Since 2016, a major focus of my clinical and research program has been the interaction between the cardiovascular and immune systems. Our group initially described a novel clinical syndrome of fulminant myocarditis that arises from (ICI) immune checkpoint inhibitors (Johnson et al, NEJM, 2016). We further defined the clinical characteristics of ICI-associated myocarditis (Moslehi et al, Lancet, 2018) and showed that cardiovascular sequelae of ICI include pericarditis, vasculitis and arrhythmias (Salem et al, Lancet Oncology, 2018). My laboratory has generated mouse models that recapitulate these novel immune-based clinical syndromes which have provided insights into new diagnostic and treatment strategies for these complications (Bonaca et al, Circulation, 2019; Salem et al, NEJM, 2019; Wei et al, Cancer Discovery, 2021). My interest in this space has recently expanded to other inflammatory cardiomyopathies, including giant cell myocarditis, acute cellular rejection (ACR) following cardiac transplantation, and other forms of myocarditis. Our group is further investigating the how the immune system can be harnessed to treat heart disease.

Research Funding

  • May 1, 2021 - April 30, 2026 - Immunologic and Antigenic Drivers of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor-Associated Myocarditis , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01HL156021
  • May 1, 2021 - April 30, 2026 - Long-Term Cardiovascular Sequelae of Cancer Immunotherapies , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01HL155990
  • August 1, 2019 - May 31, 2024 - Novel mechanisms and predictors of VEGF receptor inhibitor-associated hypertension , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01HL141466
  • September 15, 2018 - August 31, 2019 - Novel mechanisms and predictors of VEGF receptor inhibitor-associated hypertension , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R56HL141466
  • September 30, 2009 - June 30, 2014 - A Functional Role for Prolyl Hydroxylases (PHDs) in Cardiomyopathy , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: K08HL097031

Education

  • Johns Hopkins University, BA, 1996, Biology
  • University of Connecticut School of Medicine, MD, 2001, Medicine

Honors & Awards

  • Inaugural Holder of the William Grossman Distinguished Professorship in Cardiology, UCSF, 2021
  • Elected Member, American Society of Clinical Investigation (ASCI), 2020
  • Alumni Achievement Award, Stanley J. Sarnoff Cardiovascular Research Foundation, 2016
  • Biomedical Science Impact Award, Vanderbilt University, 2016
  • Thomas Smith Award in Heart Failure Research, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 2009

Selected Publications

  1. Ma P, Liu J, Qin J, Lai L, Heo GS, Luehmann H, Sultan D, Bredemeyer A, Bajapa G, Feng G, Jimenez J, He R, Parks A, Amrute J, Villanueva A, Liu Y, Lin CY, Mack M, Amancherla K, Moslehi J, Lavine KJ. Expansion of Pathogenic Cardiac Macrophages in Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Myocarditis. Circulation. 2023 Sep 25.  View on PubMed
  2. Bonaca MP, Moslehi JJ, Ledermann JA, Michelon E, Wei C, Moran M, Monk BJ, Pujade-Lauraine E. Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction in Patients With Ovarian Cancer Treated With Avelumab, Pegylated Liposomal Doxorubicin, or Both. Oncologist. 2023 Sep 04.  View on PubMed
  3. Régnier P, Le Joncour A, Maciejewski-Duval A, Darrasse-Jèze G, Dolladille C, Meijers WC, Bastarache L, Fouret P, Bruneval P, Arbaretaz F, Sayetta C, Márquez A, Rosenzwajg M, Klatzmann D, Cacoub P, Moslehi JJ, Salem JE, Saadoun D. CTLA-4 Pathway Is Instrumental in Giant Cell Arteritis. Circ Res. 2023 08 04; 133(4):298-312.  View on PubMed
  4. Turker I, Nair S, Terry JG, Huang S, Carr JJ, Moslehi JJ, Gupta DK, Alexander MR, Johnson DB. Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors' Effects on Calcified Aortic Plaques in Melanoma Survivors: A Retrospective Cohort Study. JACC CardioOncol. 2023 Aug; 5(4):536-538.  View on PubMed
  5. Lehmann LH, Heckmann MB, Bailly G, Finke D, Procureur A, Power JR, Stein F, Bretagne M, Ederhy S, Fenioux C, Hamwy O, Funck-Brentano E, Romano E, Pieroni L, Münster JP, Allenbach Y, Anquetil C, Leonard-Louis S, Palaskas NL, Hayek SS, Katus HA, Giannitsis E, Frey N, Kaya Z, Moslehi J, Prifti E, Salem JE. Cardiomuscular Biomarkers in the Diagnosis and Prognostication of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Myocarditis. Circulation. 2023 08 08; 148(6):473-486.  View on PubMed
  6. Amancherla K, Schlendorf KH, Vlasschaert C, Lowery BD, Wells QS, See SB, Zorn E, Colombo PC, Reilly MP, Lindenfeld J, Uriel N, Freedman JE, Shah RV, Moslehi J, Bick AG, Clerkin K. Clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential and outcomes after heart transplantation: A multicenter study. Am J Transplant. 2023 08; 23(8):1256-1263.  View on PubMed
  7. Salem JE, Bretagne M, Abbar B, Leonard-Louis S, Ederhy S, Redheuil A, Boussouar S, Nguyen LS, Procureur A, Stein F, Fenioux C, Devos P, Gougis P, Dres M, Demoule A, Psimaras D, Lenglet T, Maisonobe T, De Chambrun MP, Hekimian G, Straus C, Gonzalez-Bermejo J, Klatzmann D, Rigolet A, Guillaume-Jugnot P, Champtiaux N, Benveniste O, Weiss N, Saheb S, Rouvier P, Plu I, Gandjbakhch E, Kerneis M, Hammoudi N, Zahr N, Llontop C, Morelot-Panzini C, Lehmann L, Qin J, Moslehi JJ, Rosenzwajg M, Similowski T, Allenbach Y. Abatacept/Ruxolitinib and Screening for Concomitant Respiratory Muscle Failure to Mitigate Fatality of Immune-Checkpoint Inhibitor Myocarditis. Cancer Discov. 2023 05 04; 13(5):1100-1115.  View on PubMed
  8. Chen YC, Jaffer M, Zhou L, Moslehi J, Forsyth PA, Fecher LA. A Brain, A Heart, and the Courage: Balancing Benefit and Toxicity of Immunotherapy in Melanoma. Am Soc Clin Oncol Educ Book. 2023 May; 43:e390594.  View on PubMed
  9. Ma P, Liu J, Qin J, Lai L, Heo GS, Luehmann H, Sultan D, Bredemeyer A, Bajapa G, Feng G, Jimenez J, Parks A, Amrute J, Villanueva A, Liu Y, Lin CY, Mack M, Amancherla K, Moslehi J, Lavine KJ. Expansion of Disease Specific Cardiac Macrophages in Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Myocarditis. bioRxiv. 2023 Apr 29.  View on PubMed
  10. Screever EM, Yousif LIE, Moslehi JJ, Salem JE, Voors AA, Silljé HHW, de Boer RA, Meijers WC. Circulating immune checkpoints predict heart failure outcomes. ESC Heart Fail. 2023 08; 10(4):2330-2337.  View on PubMed
  11. Loi S, Settleman J, Joyce JA, Pramesh CS, Bernards R, Fan J, Merchant JL, Moslehi J, Sellers WR. The next big questions in cancer research. Cell. 2023 04 13; 186(8):1523-1527.  View on PubMed
  12. Ammirati E, Moslehi JJ. Diagnosis and Treatment of Acute Myocarditis: A Review. JAMA. 2023 04 04; 329(13):1098-1113.  View on PubMed
  13. Naidoo J, Murphy C, Atkins MB, Brahmer JR, Champiat S, Feltquate D, Krug LM, Moslehi J, Pietanza MC, Riemer J, Robert C, Sharon E, Suarez-Almazor ME, Suresh K, Turner M, Weber J, Cappelli LC. Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) consensus definitions for immune checkpoint inhibitor-associated immune-related adverse events (irAEs) terminology. J Immunother Cancer. 2023 03; 11(3).  View on PubMed
  14. Moslehi J. Addressing cardiovascular complications of BTK inhibitors. Clin Adv Hematol Oncol. 2023 02; 21(2):94-96.  View on PubMed
  15. Chan H, Savoie MB, Munir A, Moslehi J, Anwar M, Laffan A, Rowen T, Salmon R, Varma M, Van Loon K. Multi-Disciplinary Management in Rectal Cancer Survivorship: A Clinical Practice Review. J Gastrointest Cancer. 2023 Jan 09.  View on PubMed
  16. Moslehi J, Salem JE. Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Myocarditis Treatment Strategies and Future Directions. JACC CardioOncol. 2022 Dec; 4(5):704-707.  View on PubMed
  17. Amancherla K, Qin J, Hulke ML, Pfeiffer RD, Agrawal V, Sheng Q, Xu Y, Schlendorf KH, Lindenfeld J, Shah RV, Freedman JE, Tucker NR, Moslehi J. Single-Nuclear RNA Sequencing of Endomyocardial Biopsies Identifies Persistence of Donor-Recipient Chimerism With Distinct Signatures in Severe Cardiac Allograft Vasculopathy. Circ Heart Fail. 2023 01; 16(1):e010119.  View on PubMed
  18. Axelrod ML, Meijers WC, Screever EM, Qin J, Carroll MG, Sun X, Tannous E, Zhang Y, Sugiura A, Taylor BC, Hanna A, Zhang S, Amancherla K, Tai W, Wright JJ, Wei SC, Opalenik SR, Toren AL, Rathmell JC, Ferrell PB, Phillips EJ, Mallal S, Johnson DB, Allison JP, Moslehi JJ, Balko JM. T cells specific for α-myosin drive immunotherapy-related myocarditis. Nature. 2022 11; 611(7937):818-826.  View on PubMed
  19. Spetz JKE, Florido MHC, Fraser CS, Qin X, Choiniere J, Yu SJ, Singh R, Friesen M, Rubin LL, Salem JE, Moslehi JJ, Sarosiek KA. Heightened apoptotic priming of vascular cells across tissues and life span predisposes them to cancer therapy-induced toxicities. Sci Adv. 2022 11 11; 8(45):eabn6579.  View on PubMed
  20. Zhang Y, Sun C, Li Y, Qin J, Amancherla K, Jing Y, Hu Q, Liang K, Zhang Z, Ye Y, Huang LA, Nguyen TK, Egranov SD, Zhao Z, Wu A, Xi Y, Yao J, Hung MC, Calin GA, Cheng J, Lim B, Lehmann LH, Salem JE, Johnson DB, Curran MA, Yu D, Han L, Darabi R, Yang L, Moslehi JJ, Lin C. Hormonal therapies up-regulate MANF and overcome female susceptibility to immune checkpoint inhibitor myocarditis. Sci Transl Med. 2022 11 02; 14(669):eabo1981.  View on PubMed

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