Kira Gritsman

Kira Gritsman, M.D., Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Departments of Oncology, Medicine, and Cell Biology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She serves as Co-Leader of the Stem Cell & Cancer Biology Program at the Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center and holds the Betty and Sheldon Feinberg Senior Faculty Scholar in Cancer Research title. Her research focuses on signaling pathways in hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), particularly their roles in normal blood development and leukemogenesis. She investigates how dysregulation of pathways like PI3K and RON kinase contributes to myeloid malignancies such as acute myeloid leukemia (AML), myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), and myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs).

Dr. Gritsman's work includes studying the functional roles of PI3K isoforms in HSC self-renewal and differentiation, mechanisms of resistance to PI3K inhibitors, and the interplay between inflammatory signaling and tumor microenvironment in cancer progression. Her lab has contributed to understanding how autophagy dysregulation in HSCs drives MDS and identified therapeutic targets like Crizotinib for MPNs. She is affiliated with the Cancer Dormancy and Tumor Microenvironment Institute, exploring strategies to eliminate minimal residual disease and prevent relapse.

Her educational background includes an MD and PhD from New York University School of Medicine, residency training at Columbia University Medical Center, and a fellowship at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. She is a member of professional organizations and holds clinical roles at Montefiore Medical Center.