Research Summary

Instructor in Pediatric Oncology with clinical and research focus in childhood leukemia and the development of novel engineered cell therapies using natural killer cells as an effector platform.

Education

PhD, 08/2024 - Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Fellowship, 06/2022 - Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Johns Hopkins University/ National Institute of Health
Residency, 06/2019 - General Pediatrics, New York Presbyterian / Columbia University Medical Center / Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital
MD, 05/2016 - Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
MSc, 08/2012 - Global Health, University of California, San Francisco
BA, 05/2010 - Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley

Honors & Awards

  • Third Year Fellowship Award, St. Baldrick's Foundation, 2024
  • Fellowship Award, St. Baldrick's Foundation, 2022

Selected Publications

  1. Rahnama R, Kizerwetter M, Yang H, Christodoulou I, Guaraca C, Holl NJ, Choe J, Vorri SC, Zinsky M, Jones DG, Garcia Espinoza N, Kuo YH, Zahurak M, Varadhan R, Spangler JB, Bonifant CL. Single-chain variable fragment affinity tuning can optimize anti-AML CAR-NK cell functionality. J Immunother Cancer. 2025 Feb 06; 13(2).  View on PubMed
  2. Murphy J, Sundby RT, Resch EE, Rahnama R, Lemberg KM, Maalouf A, Suru A, Fixler J, Ladle BH, Rhee DS, Levin AS, Pallavajjala A, Gocke C, Ladra MM, Groves ML, Acharya S, Gross JM, Llosa NJ, Pratilas CA. Brain Metastasis in Pediatric Patients with Osteosarcoma. Curr Oncol. 2024 Nov 09; 31(11):7014-7022.  View on PubMed
  3. Vorri SC, Holl NJ, Leeming M, Apostolova P, Marple A, Ravich JW, Canbaz A, Rahnama R, Choe J, Modi A, Fearnow AD, Walsh STR, Pearce EL, Varadhan R, Bonifant CL. Activation of Cell-Intrinsic Signaling in CAR-T Cells via a Chimeric IL7R Domain. Cancer Res Commun. 2024 09 01; 4(9):2359-2373.  View on PubMed
  4. Rahnama R, Bonifant CL. Engineering builds multipotency for iPSC-NKs. Blood. 2022 12 08; 140(23):2414-2416.  View on PubMed
  5. Rahnama R, Christodoulou I, Bonifant CL. Gene-Based Natural Killer Cell Therapies for the Treatment of Pediatric Hematologic Malignancies. Hematol Oncol Clin North Am. 2022 08; 36(4):745-768.  View on PubMed
  6. Christodoulou I, Rahnama R, Ravich JW, Seo J, Zolov SN, Marple AN, Markovitz DM, Bonifant CL. Glycoprotein Targeted CAR-NK Cells for the Treatment of SARS-CoV-2 Infection. Front Immunol. 2021; 12:763460.  View on PubMed
  7. Christodoulou I, Ho WJ, Marple A, Ravich JW, Tam A, Rahnama R, Fearnow A, Rietberg C, Yanik S, Solomou EE, Varadhan R, Koldobskiy MA, Bonifant CL. Engineering CAR-NK cells to secrete IL-15 sustains their anti-AML functionality but is associated with systemic toxicities. J Immunother Cancer. 2021 12; 9(12).  View on PubMed
  8. Rahnama R, Mohraz M, Mirzazadeh A, Rutherford G, McFarland W, Akbari G, Malekinejad M. Access to harm reduction programs among persons who inject drugs: findings from a respondent-driven sampling survey in Tehran, Iran. Int J Drug Policy. 2014 Jul; 25(4):717-23.  View on PubMed
  9. Wang M, Rahnama R, Cheng T, Grotkopp E, Jacobs L, Limburg S, Kim HT, Kuo AC. Trophic stimulation of articular chondrocytes by late-passage mesenchymal stem cells in coculture. J Orthop Res. 2013 Dec; 31(12):1936-42.  View on PubMed
  10. Rahnama R, Wang M, Dang AC, Kim HT, Kuo AC. Cytotoxicity of local anesthetics on human mesenchymal stem cells. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2013 Jan 16; 95(2):132-7.  View on PubMed
  11. Cheng T, Maddox NC, Wong AW, Rahnama R, Kuo AC. Comparison of gene expression patterns in articular cartilage and dedifferentiated articular chondrocytes. J Orthop Res. 2012 Feb; 30(2):234-45.  View on PubMed

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