Lisa Niswander, MD, PhD

I am a physician-scientist and pediatric oncologist with clinical and research interests in caring for children with acute leukemias. My research program is focused on the preclinical development of molecularly-targeted therapies and cellular immunotherapies to improve outcomes and minimize toxicities for children with high-risk leukemias.

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell immunotherapy targeting the CD19 cell surface antigen has demonstrated unprecedented efficacy in children with relapsed or refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Unfortunately, however, many patients will experience ALL relapse after initial response. The Niswander laboratory is particularly interested in improving the long-term efficacy of CAR T cell immunotherapy through the preclinical investigation of rational combinatorial therapeutic approaches with CAR T cells and small molecule inhibitors that target key biologic vulnerabilities of certain subtypes of high-risk leukemia.

I graduated with a BA from Middlebury College (Middlebury, VT) and completed MD and PhD degrees via the Medical Scientist Training Program at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry (Rochester, NY). I also participated as a research fellow in the Howard Hughes - National Institutes of Health Research Scholars Program at the National Cancer Institute (Bethesda, MD). I completed clinical and post-doctoral training at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (Philadelphia, PA) and am board certified in both pediatrics and pediatric hematology/oncology. As a native Buffalonian, I am thrilled to join the faculty at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center.