Adrian Wiestner, M.D., Ph.D.

Senior Investigator

Lymphoid Malignancies

NHLBI

10 Center Dr
Bethesda, MD 20892
United States

301-594-6855

wiestnera@mail.nih.gov

Research Topics

I lead the lymphoid malignancies section of the Hematology Branch, supported by the intramural research program of the NHLBI, NIH. As senior investigator on clinical trials and principal investigator of the laboratory program, I combine clinical and laboratory investigation that aim to improve treatment for patients with B-cell malignancies, in particular Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL). I am pursuing three major goals: First, identify pathogenic mechanisms to assist the development of targeted therapy. Second, evaluate novel agents and treatment concepts in clinical trials and investigate resistance mechanisms through pharmacodynamic and genetic studies in patients enrolled on our clinical trials. Third, study the impact of treatment on immune function, response to vaccines, the interplay between the immune system and the progression of CLL, and how we can harness immune mechanisms to improve treatment.

Biography

Dr. Adrian Wiestner leads the Laboratory of Lymphoid Malignancies, Hematology Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, NIH. Dr. Wiestner earned his M.D. from the University of Basel Medical School in Switzerland in 1992, and a Ph.D. in genetics in 1998. He joined the NIH with the NHLBI Hematology Fellowship Program in 2000. In September 2004, Dr. Wiestner was appointed as a Tenure Track Investigator with the NHLBI Hematology Branch and was promoted to Senior Investigator in December 2013. As senior investigator on clinical trials and principal investigator of the laboratory program, he combines clinical and laboratory investigation that aim to improve treatment for patients with B-cell malignancies, in particular Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL). He is pursuing three major goals: First, identify pathogenic mechanisms to assist the development of targeted therapy. Second, evaluate novel agents and treatment concepts in clinical trials. Third, investigate resistance mechanisms through pharmacodynamic and genetic studies in patients enrolled on our clinical trials.

Selected Publications

  1. Sun C, Chen YC, Martinez Zurita A, Baptista MJ, Pittaluga S, Liu D, Rosebrock D, Gohil SH, Saba NS, Davies-Hill T, Herman SEM, Getz G, Pirooznia M, Wu CJ, Wiestner A. The immune microenvironment shapes transcriptional and genetic heterogeneity in chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Blood Adv. 2023;7(1):145-158.
  2. Ahn IE, Tian X, Wiestner A. Ibrutinib for Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia with TP53 Alterations. N Engl J Med. 2020;383(5):498-500.
  3. Sun C, Nierman P, Kendall EK, Cheung J, Gulrajani M, Herman SEM, Pleyer C, Ahn IE, Stetler-Stevenson M, Yuan CM, Maric I, Gaglione EM, Harris HM, Pittaluga S, Wang MH, Patel P, Farooqui MZH, Izumi R, Hamdy A, Covey T, Wiestner A. Clinical and biological implications of target occupancy in CLL treated with the BTK inhibitor acalabrutinib. Blood. 2020;136(1):93-105.
  4. Mhibik M, Gaglione EM, Eik D, Kendall EK, Blackburn A, Keyvanfar K, Baptista MJ, Ahn IE, Sun C, Qi J, Rader C, Wiestner A. BTK inhibitors, irrespective of ITK inhibition, increase efficacy of a CD19/CD3-bispecific antibody in CLL. Blood. 2021;138(19):1843-1854.
  5. Pleyer C, Ali MA, Cohen JI, Tian X, Soto S, Ahn IE, Gaglione EM, Nierman P, Marti GE, Hesdorffer C, Lotter J, Superata J, Wiestner A, Sun C. Effect of Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitor on efficacy of adjuvanted recombinant hepatitis B and zoster vaccines. Blood. 2021;137(2):185-189.

Related Scientific Focus Areas

This page was last updated on Monday, September 16, 2024