- Acute leukemia
- Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML)
- Chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML)
- Essential thrombocytopenia (ET)
- Leukemia
- Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS)
- Myelofibrosis
- Polycythemia vera
Catherine E. Lai, MD, MPH
About me
- Physician Leader, Leukemia Clinical Research Unit
- Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine (Hematology-Oncology)
I am an Associate Professor and Physician Leader of the Leukemia Clinical Research Unit at University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine. Board-certified in hematology, oncology and internal medicine, I specialize in detecting, monitoring, and treating acute leukemias and myeloid malignancies in adults. Previously at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Medstar Georgetown University Hospital, I focused on clinical trials in acute leukemias.
My research focuses on novel therapeutics, designing and conducting clinical trials, and health outcomes for leukemia and myeloid malignancy patients.
My goal is to provide excellent care by communicating effectively and educating patients in a collaborative environment.
My education and training
- Medical School: George Washington University
- Residency: University of Illinois College of Medicine at Chicago
- Fellowship: National Cancer Institute
Spoken languages
Reviews
340 reviews
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- Amerihealth Caritas (Transplant patients only)
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Locations
Penn Medicine hospital privileges
- Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania: Has privileges to treat patients in the hospital.
Qualifications and experience
- Hematology, 2016
- Medical Oncology, 2015
- Internal Medicine, 2011
- Alliance Cancer in the Elderly Committee, National
- Alliance Older AML, National
- American Association for Cancer Research, National
- American Society of Clinical Oncology, International
- American Society of Hematology, International
- Bristol Myers-Squibb, Daiichi Sankyo, National
- ECOG-ACRIN Leukemia/Bone Marrow Transplant Committee, National
- Genentech-Abbvie AML Think Tank, National
- Hoosier Cancer Research Network (HCRN), National
- Jazz Pharma, Pifizer, Taiho, Servier, National
- Oncology Live, National
- TRANSFORM, Training Biomedical Research and Academic Faculty through Leadership Opportunities, Training, and Mentorship Program, National
- Penn Cellular Therapy and Transplant Program
- Penn Hematological Malignancies (Blood Cancer) Program
- Penn Leukemia Program
Treatments and conditions
Research
Publications
Catherine Lai "How has survival data influenced your use of Blinatumomab in first-line treatment for ALL, and in which patient populations do you see the greatest benefit?" , VuMedi: 2025
Skuli SJ, Bakayoko A, Kruidenier M, Manning B, Pammer P, Salimov A, Riley O, Brake-Sillá G, Dopkin D, Bowman M, Martinez-Gutierrez LN, Anderson CC, Reisz JA, Buono R, Paul M, Saland E, Liccardo F, DeVine A, Wong S, Xu JP, Nee E, Hausler R, Boettcher S, Sebti SM, Lai C, Maxwell KN, Sarry JE, Fruman DA, D'Alessandro A, Mesaros C, Keith B, Simon MC, Sung PJ, Wertheim G, Skuli N, Bowman RL, Matthews A, Carroll M. Chemoresistance of TP53 mutant acute myeloid leukemia requires the mevalonate byproduct, geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate, for induction of an adaptive stress response , Leukemia, 39(9): 2025,2087-2098.
Lai CE, Leahy TP, Turner AJ, Thomassen A, Wang L, Sheppard AD, Cortes J Effectiveness of olutasidenib versus ivosidenib in patients with mutated isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 acute myeloid leukemia who are relapsed or refractory to venetoclax: the 2102-HEM-101 trial versus a US electronic health record-based external control arm , Leuk Lymphoma, 66(10): 2025,1821-1832
Catherin Lai "Survival Outcomes and Patient Selection for Blinatumomab in 1L ALL Therapy" , Kaplan, virtual: 2025
Catherine Lai Charting the Course of ALL: From Diagnosis to Advances , Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, LLS Podcast series for Professionals "Treating Blood Cancers": 2025
Carraway HE, Brunner AM, Lai CE, Luskin MR, Park J, Perl AE, Stein EM, Wang ES, Zeidan AM, Zeidner JF, Komrokji R Advancing the Management of CH, MDS, and AML From the First Bridging the Gaps in Leukemia, Lymphoma, and Multiple Myeloma Conference , Clin Lymphoma Myeloma Leuk, 25(8): 2025,583-589.
Wang X, Gimotty PA, Matthews AH, Mamtani R, Luger SM, Hexner EO, Babushok DV, McCurdy SR, Frey NV, Bruno XJ, Gill S, Martin ME, Paralkar VR, Maillard I, Porter DL, Loren AW, Perl AE, Pratz KW, Getz KD, Lai C. Evolving racial/ethnic disparities in AML survival in the novel therapy era , Blood Adv, 9(3): 2025,533-544
Ashley D. Hadjis, Honghong Sun, Yangzhu Du, Rebecca T. Brown, Pashna Munshi, Saar I. Gill, Nasheed M. Hossain, Sarah Skuli, Noelle V. Frey, Elizabeth O Hexner, Ximena Jordan Bruno, Catherine E. Lai, Mary Ellen Martin, Selina M. Luger, David L Porter, Alison W. Loren, Shannon R. McCurdy Graft-Versus-Host Disease (GVHD) and Senescence-Associated Biomarkers Correlate with Frailty and Survival in Older Adults Undergoing Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation (HCT) , American Society for Transplantation and Cellular Therapy Annual Meeting, Honolulu, Hawaii.: 2025
Meghann Cody, Dr. Heather E. Stefanski, Jason Oakes, Sam Sharf, Ruth Bakken, Anna M. DeSalvo, John P. Miller, Steven M. Devine, Lucy A. Godley, Catherine E. Lai, Lacey Williams Implementation and Early Insights of NMDP's New Post-Transplant Genetic Findings Management Process , American Society for Transplantation and Cellular Therapy Annual Meeting, Honolulu, Hawaii. : 2025
Shannon R. McCurdy, Anthony D Sung, Rebecca T. Brown, Marni Kessler, Nelson J. Chao, Thuy T. Koll, Alfred Fisher, Ernaya Johnson, Meagan Lew, Lauren Bohannon, Sanghee Hong, Pashna Munshi, Saar I. Gill, Nasheed M. Hossain, Sarah Skuli, Noelle V. Frey, Elizabeth O Hexner, Ximena Jordan Bruno, Daria Babushock, Catherine E. Lai, Mary Ellen Martin, Selina M. Luger, David L Porter, Alison W. Loren, Vijaya Raj Bhatt, Phyllis Gimotty Machine Learning Models Demonstrate Gait Speed As the Best Predictor of Survival and Relapse-Free Survival in Older Adults Undergoing Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation , American Society for Transplantation and Cellular Therapy Annual Meeting, Honolulu, Hawaii.: 2025