We wish Mikkael Sekeres, MD, MS much luck as he transitions to a new position at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center as chief of the Division of Hematology. Dr. Sekeres has been a long-time advocate for cancer patients and clinical research in our center. His guidance, leadership and gift for writing will be missed.
Dr. Sekeres was a valued member of the Executive Committee, serving as Associate Director for Clinical Research since May 2020, and previously, Deputy Associate Director for Clinical Research from 2014-2020. Dr. Sekeres has been an oncologist at Cleveland Clinic since 2002 and simultaneously held an academic appointment at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. His research focuses on patients with Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and older adults with acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
He has held an impressive number of leadership roles locally, nationally and internationally. At the Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Institute, Dr. Sekeres was Director of the Leukemia Program and Vice Chair for Clinical Research. He Chairs the Medical Advisory Boards for the Aplastic Anemia and Myelodysplastic Syndromes International Foundation and the Dresner Foundation, and has served as Chair of the Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee of the FDA, Editor-in-Chief for the American Society of Hematology (ASH) Clinical News magazine, and as a Member of ASH’s Executive Committee. In addition to authoring over 400 scientific manuscripts, he writes a regular column for the New York Times and has written the book When Blood Breaks Down: Life Lessons from Leukemia (The MIT Press 2020).
Among his many accomplishments is a unique database of the natural history of patients with MDS, his appreciation of eligibility restrictions for clinical trials among hematologic malignancies, and his active participation in practice-changing clinical trials for elderly patients with AML and MDS.