Guillermo Garcia-Manero, M.D.
MDS & AML Moon Shot
About Dr. Garcia-Manero
Guillermo Garcia-Manero, M.D., is a physician-scientist specializing in state-of-the-art treatments for leukemia. His research focuses on myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML), and his goal is develop and validate new therapeutics to treat these deadly diseases. He leads teams of clinicians, medical fellows, nurses, physician assistants and researchers to conduct pre-clinical, translational, and clinical studies. The goal of these studies is to understand, treat, and eventually cure MDS, AML and other leukemias.
Affiliations and Related Links
Fighting Cancer: It's Personal
What motivates and excites you?
I'm motivated and excited by the tremendous progress I see in the
clinic as a direct result of research conducted through the Moon Shots
Program. Each success brings with it hope for the next patient. This
is a tremendous time for cancer research, and in particular
leukemia.
What's your Moon Shot focus?
The MDS & AML Moon Shot™ began as a research program dedicated to elucidating the causes of hypomethylating agent (HMA) resistance in these diseases. Since then, the Moon Shot™ has developed into three innovative flagships, each taking a novel approach to towards curing MDS and AML. These flagships focus on understanding the genetic mutations leading to disease, advancing stem cell transplants and preventing disease recurrence.
What do you hope to accomplish?
I hope to find novel treatments and cures for MDS and AML in order
to improve patient outcomes.
What makes the Moon Shots Program stand out?
The Moon Shots Program™ greatly accelerates the pace of our
scientific discoveries and allows us to leverage resources across the
platforms and the institution. This degree of cross-cutting
institutional collaboration and commitment is as extraordinary as the
results it has generated thus far. As a result of Moon Shot support,
new therapeutics are able to transition to the clinic in a far shorter
time and more patients are able to access important clinical
trials.
What makes your fight against cancer personal?
My patients inspire me. During their time at MD Anderson, they become like family to me.
It's an incredible privilege to be able to care for them when they
are faced with the terrifying diagnosis of leukemia.
What else do you want people to know about you and your work?
Every member of our exceptional team is highly motivated and
committed to the mission of the Moon Shot Program and to MD Anderson’s mission of making cancer
history. I could never ask for a better group of people to work
with.