Penn Medicine Provider
Hematology, Medical Oncology
Catherine E. Lai, MD, MPH
she/her
4.9
(223)
Accepting new patients
Sees patients age 18 and up
Abramson Cancer Center Perelman 4th Floor West

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.

Education and training

  • Medical School: George Washington University
  • Residency: University of Illinois Medical Center
  • Fellowship: National Cancer Institute

What my patients think about me

Average Rating
4.9

223 reviews

Comments are submitted by patients and reflect their views and opinions. The comments are not endorsed by and do not necessarily reflect the views of Penn Medicine.

March 2025
5.0
5.0
dr. lai explains everything fully and you don't feel rushed.
March 2025
5.0
5.0
dr lai is very knowledgeable she listens to you and answers all your questions
March 2025
5.0
5.0
i love my doctor
March 2025
5.0
5.0
dr. lai is amazing! she is beyond thorough. she listened to my concerns and took the time and didn't rush my visit. she answered my questions and made me feel quite comfortable.

Insurance accepted

My Locations

Penn Medicine hospital privileges

  • Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania: Has privileges to treat patients in the hospital.
Dr. Lai is a Penn Medicine physician.

Qualifications and experience

My research

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: 2025


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: 2025


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) , Transplantation and Cellular Therapy: 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 , Transplantation and Cellular Therapy: 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 , Transplantation and Cellular Therapy: 2025


Rowe, M., Babushok, D., Carroll, M., Carulli, A., Frey, N., Gill, S., Hexner, E., Hirsh, R., Hossain, N., Lai, C., Loren, A., Luger, S., Maillard, I., McCurdy, S., Matthews, A., Martin, M.E., Paralkar, V.R., Perl, A., Porter, D., Pratz, K., Stadtmauer, E. and Bruno, X.J. Tumor Lysis Syndrome in Acute Myeloid Leukemia Patients Treated With a Venetoclax Based Regimen , Eur J Haematol: 2025


Jessica M. Stempel, Geoffrey L. Uy, Shira N. Dinner, Ivana Gojo, Daniel R Reed, Rupali Roy, Kenneth P Byrd, Swaroopa Yerrabothala, Catherine E. Lai, Kimberley Doucette, Anne Caldwell, Ondrej Blaha, Nikolai A. Podoltsev, Lourdes M Mendez, Jan Philipp Bewersdorf, Tariq Kewan, Ignacio Wistuba, Gheath Alatrash, Cara L Haymaker, Howard Streicher, Elad Sharon, Richard F. Little, Steven D. Gore, Jerald P. Radich, Brent L. Wood, Amer M. Zeidan, Rory M. Shallis Efficacy and Safety of Pembrolizumab Added to Azacitidine Plus Venetoclax for Patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia: Results from an Investigator-Initiated, Multi-Center, CTEP-Sponsored Randomized, Phase II Trial (BLAST AML-2) , Blood: 2024


Catherine Lai, David Statman Menin inhibitors could significantly change leukemia treatment , HemOnc Today; Virtual Interview: 2024


Mark Roschewski, Christopher Melani, Rahul Lakhotia, Tatyana Gavrilova, Jagan R. Muppidi, James D. Phelan, Michail S. Lionakis, Kieron Dunleavy, Lode J. Swinnen, Matthias Holdhoff, Catherine E. Lai, Sami Ibrahimi, Michael Glantz, Jan Drappatz, John A. Butman, Stefania Pittaluga, Kim Johnson, Candis Morrison, Nick Micheletti, John D. Heiss, William D. Figg, Elaine S. Jaffe, S. Percy Ivy, Richard F. Little, Louis M. Staudt, Wyndham H. Wilson Phase 1 Study of Escalating Doses of Ibrutinib in Teddi-R with Isavuconazole for Relapsed and Refractory Primary DLBCL of the CNS , Blood: 2024


Jayakumar Vadakekolathu, Sarah Skuli, David J Boocock, Clare Coveney, Eruchi G Ikpo, Bofei Wang, Elena M Fenu, Hussein A. Abbas, MD, Catherine E. Lai, Martin P Carroll, Sergio Rutella Multi-Omic Analyses of TP53-Mutated Acute Myeloid Leukemia Identify Prognostic Metabolic Signatures , Blood: 2024