Rate My Professor Askan Emad

Ashkan Emadi, MD, PhD, serves as the Alexander Bland Osborn Endowed Chair and Distinguished Professor of Medical Oncology in the Department of Medical Oncology at West Virginia University School of Medicine. He is the inaugural Chair of the Department of Medical Oncology, Physician-in-Chief for Medical Oncology, and Associate Center Director for Translational Research at the WVU Cancer Institute. Emadi earned his MD from Tehran University of Medical Sciences in 1996 and PhD in Chemistry from Illinois Institute of Technology in 2004. He completed his residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Cincinnati and fellowship in Hematology and Medical Oncology at Johns Hopkins University Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, becoming board-certified in both fields by the American Board of Internal Medicine. Previously at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, he held faculty positions where he received the Faculty Teacher of the Year Award in 2013, 2015, and 2017, as well as the Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award in 2015 and Preceptor Recognition Award in 2018.

Emadi's research specializes in amino acid metabolism, particularly glutamine dependency in hematologic cancers such as acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), and solid tumors including pancreatic adenocarcinoma, mesothelioma, and brain tumors like IDH-mutant astrocytoma and glioblastoma. His laboratory investigates mitochondrial respiration, cellular redox states, DNA alkylation, NQO1 inhibition with dimeric naphthoquinones, and asparaginase combination therapies for glutamine depletion. He leads clinical trials targeting these pathways, including NCT02283190, NCT02835729, NCT04666649, and NCT04953780. Emadi has authored or co-authored nearly 200 articles in journals such as New England Journal of Medicine, Blood, Leukemia, and American Journal of Hematology, along with book chapters. Key publications include "Regiospecific synthesis of oligomeric naphthoquinones" (Organic Letters, 2002), "Antineoplastic activity of dimeric naphthoquinones against AML" (Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry, 2011), and studies on asparaginase for AML in Cancer Chemotherapy and Pharmacology (2018) and Leukemia (2021). He has edited books including Acute Leukemia: An Illustrated Guide to Diagnosis and Treatment (2017) and Cancer Pharmacology: An Illustrated Manual of Anticancer Drugs (2019; 2nd ed., 2023), and contributed to The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy (Leukemias, 20th ed., 2018). Earlier awards include the American Society of Hematology Research Training Award for Fellows (2010, $50,000), Excellence in Translational Research Award (Johns Hopkins, 2009), and Martin and Mary Kilpatrick Award (2003). As a physician-scientist, Emadi directs the Emadi Cancer Laboratory, mentors trainees across career stages, and advances cancer care through drug discovery from synthesis to regulatory approval, with a focus on underserved populations.