Molecular Pharmacology Program

The Alex Kentsis Lab

Alex Kentsis, MD, PhD

Director of the Tow Center for Developmental Oncology

We study the biology of cancers that affect children and young adults ranging from embryonal tumors in infants, leukemias and brain tumors in children, and sarcomas in young adults. Scientists in our group use inter-disciplinary experimental tools as they work to understand the fundamental causes of cancer and to develop definitive therapies for their control.

With colleagues, we wrote Developmental Oncology: Principles and Therapy of Cancers of Children and Young Adults, a book that redefines them as diseases rooted in specific developmental cell states and early‑life mutational processes, spurring the development of rational and precise clinical therapies targeting this distinct biology.

Detailed information about our research is available at https://alexkentsis.net.

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Featured News

Epigenetic Combination Therapy Could Overcome Treatment Resistance in Epithelioid Sarcomas and Rhabdoid Tumors

Learn about a possible new treatment approach for soft tissue sarcomas.

In the Lab

Research Shows How Common Feature of Blood Cancers Can Be Targeted

Research points to the role of a protein called MYB, which has long been known to play a role in cancer.

In the Lab

Cancer biologist and pediatric oncologist Alex Kentsis

Analyzing Urine Can Guide the Treatment of Childhood Kidney Tumors

A protein detected in the urine of children with Wilms’ tumor led to the development of a test to improve diagnosis and treatment.

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Publications Highlights

Kazansky Y, Cameron D, Demarest P, Zaffaroni N, Arrighetti N, Zuco V, Kuwahara Y, Qu R, de Stanchina E, Dela Cruz F, Kung A, Gounder M, Kentsis A. Overcoming clinical resistance to EZH2 inhibition using rational epigenetic combination therapy. Cancer Discovery, 2024.

Yamada M, Keller R, Cameron D, Suzuki H, Sanghrajka R, Vaynshteyn J, Gerwin J, Maura F, Hooper W, Shah M, Robine N, Demarest P, Bayin SN, Jubierre L, Reed C, Taylor MD, Joyner AL, Raju PG, Kentsis A. Childhood cancer mutagenesis caused by transposase-derived PGBD5. Science Advances, 2024.

Takao S, Forbes L, Uni M, Cheng S, Pineda JMB, Tarumoto Y, Cifani P, Minuesa G, Chen C, Kharas MG, Bradley RK, Vakoc CR, Koche RP, Kentsis A. Convergent organization of aberrant MYB complex controls oncogenic gene expression in acute myeloid leukemia. eLife, 2021

Ramaswamy K, Forbes L, Minuesa G, Gindin T, Brown F, Kharas MG, Krivtsov AV, Armstrong SA, Still E, de Stanchina E, Knoechel B, Koche R, Kentsis A. Peptidomimetic blockade of MYB in acute myeloid leukemia. Nature Communications, 2018

Henssen A, Reed C, Jiang E, Garcia HD, von Stebut J, MacArthur I, Hundsdoerfer P, Kim JH, de Stanchina E, Kuwahara Y, Hosoi H, Ganem NJ, Dela Cruz F, Kung AL, Schulte JH, Petrini JH, Kentsis A. Therapeutic targeting of PGBD5-induced DNA repair dependency in pediatric solid tumors. Science TM, 2017

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People

Alex Kentsis, MD, PhD

Director of the Tow Center for Developmental Oncology

Cancer biologist and pediatric oncologist Alex Kentsis leads research in the functional proteomics and molecular pharmacology of refractory childhood cancers.
MD, Mount Sinai School of Medicine
PhD, New York University

[email protected]: Email Address
1-646-888-2593: Office Phone
View physician profile: Physician profile

Members

Gabriella Casalena
Scientific Research Manager

Katarzyna Kulej
Scientific Research Lead

HANNAH — Hannah Major-Monfried
Research Fellow

Stephanie Tingue
Administrative Assistant

Lab Affiliations

Achievements

Louise and Allston Boyer Award for Clinical Research
Terry Ann Krulwich Physician-Scientist Alumni Award
Pershing Square Sohn Prize
Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Scholar Award
Josie Robertson Investigator (2013-2018)

St. Baldrick’s Robert J. Arceci Innovation Award
Elected Member of American Society for Clinical Investigation
Society for Pediatric Research Young Investigator Award
Rita Allen Foundation Scholar Award
Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation Clinical Investigator Award
American Society of Hematology Scholar Award
Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award for Medical Scientists
Pediatric Hematology-Oncology Fellowship, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Residency in Pediatrics, Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School
MD, PhD, Mount Sinai School of Medicine and New York University
AB, SM, University of Chicago

Open Positions

To learn more about available postdoctoral opportunities, please visit our Career Center

To learn more about compensation and benefits for postdoctoral researchers at MSK, please visit Resources for Postdocs

Career Opportunities

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Disclosures

Doctors and faculty members often work with pharmaceutical, device, biotechnology, and life sciences companies, and other organizations outside of MSK, to find safe and effective cancer treatments, to improve patient care, and to educate the health care community.

MSK requires doctors and faculty members to report (“disclose”) the relationships and financial interests they have with external entities. As a commitment to transparency with our community, we make that information available to the public.

Alex Kentsis discloses the following relationships and financial interests:

Blueprint Medicines
Professional Services and Activities
Day One Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.
Professional Services and Activities
Novartis
Professional Services and Activities

Rgenta Therapeutics Inc.
Equity; Professional Services and Activities
Syndax
Professional Services and Activities
U.S. Department of Justice
Professional Services and Activities

The information published here is a complement to other publicly reported data and is for a specific annual disclosure period. There may be differences between information on this and other public sites as a result of different reporting periods and/or the various ways relationships and financial interests are categorized by organizations that publish such data.

This page and data include information for a specific MSK annual disclosure period (January 1, 2023 through disclosure submission in spring 2024). This data reflects interests that may or may not still exist. This data is updated annually.

Learn more about MSK’s COI policies here. For questions regarding MSK’s COI-related policies and procedures, email MSK’s Compliance Office at [email protected].

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