Leisha Ann Emens MD PhD

Professor of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center; Co-Leader, Hillman Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program; Director, Translational Immunotherapy for the Women's Cancer Research Center, Magee Women's Hospital

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600 N Wolfe StSuite 4628Baltimore, MD 21287
Phone+1 410-955-8964
Fax+1 412-623-1212

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Education & Training

Johns Hopkins UniversityFellowship, Hematology and Medical Oncology, 1998 - 2002
University of Texas Southwestern Medical CenterResidency, Internal Medicine, 1995 - 1998
Baylor College of MedicineClass of 1995

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Certifications & Licensure

CA State Medical License 2024 - 2026
MD State Medical License 1998 - 2026
PA State Medical License 2018 - 2026
TX State Medical License 1997 - 1999
American Board of Internal Medicine Medical Oncology

Awards, Honors, & Recognition

CMS Meaningful Use Stage 1 Certification EpicCare Ambulatory - Core EMR, Epic Systems Corporation, 2014, 2016-2017
CMS Meaningful Use Stage 2 Certification Beacon Oncology 2014 Certified Module, Epic Systems Corporation, 2014, 2016-2017
CMS Meaningful Use Stage 1 Certification EpicCare Ambulatory 2014 Certified EHR Suite, Epic Systems Corporation, 2014, 2016-2017

Clinical Trials

Vaccine Therapy With or Without Cyclophosphamide and Doxorubicin in Women With Stage IV Breast Cancer
COMPLETED
PHASE1
Trastuzumab, Cyclophosphamide, and an Allogeneic GM-CSF-secreting Breast Tumor Vaccine for the Treatment of HER-2/Neu-Overexpressing Metastatic Breast Cancer
COMPLETED
PHASE2
Cytokine Expression During Radiation for Breast Cancer Start of enrollment: 2009 Nov 13
COMPLETED
NA

Publications & Presentations

PubMed

8 citations
Nivolumab plus low-dose ipilimumab in hypermutated HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer: a phase II trial (NIMBUS).
Romualdo Barroso-Sousa, Jorge Gomez Tejeda Zanudo, Tianyu Li, Sangeetha M Reddy, Leisha A Emens
Nature Communications. 2025-05-13
5 citations
A SITC vision: adapting clinical trials to accelerate drug development in cancer immunotherapy.
Thomas U Marron, Jason J Luke, Brianna Hoffner, Jane Perlmutter, Connie Szczepanek
Journal for Immunotherapy of Cancer. 2025-03-22
1 citations
A clinical study of tremelimumab, alone or in combination with olaparib, for recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer.
Stéphanie Gaillard, Neha Verma, Maureen Berg, Jeanne Harrison, Peng Huang
Gynecologic Oncology. 2025-03-01

Journal Articles

Association of Cancer Immunotherapy with Acute Macular Neuroretinopathy and Diffuse Retinal Venulitis
Sharon Solomon, Christopher H Lieu, Ashvini Reddy, Leisha A Emens, S Lindsey Davis, Lingmin He, JAMA

Lectures

Atezolizumab and Nab-Paclitaxel in Advanced Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
International Society for Biological Therapy of Cancer (iSBTc)/ Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer, - 10/24/2012
Breast and Gynecologic Cancers. Integrating Immunotherapy Into Clinical Practice: Changes Over the Past Year (Part 1)
2018 ASCO Annual Meeting - Chicago, Illinois - 05/31/2018

Press Mentions

Ankyra Therapeutics Appoints Leisha a. Emens, M.D., Ph.D., as Senior Vice President, Translational ResearchDecember 7th, 2022
Crisis in Oncology Research Demands Urgent Action, Stakeholders SayNovember 4th, 2022
Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer Publishes Clinical Practice Guideline on Immunotherapy for the Treatment of Breast CancerAugust 18th, 2021