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Marco L. Davila, MD, PhD


Specialty: Medical Oncology
Program: Blood and Marrow Transplant and Cellular Immunotherapy

Call 1-888-MOFFITT
(1-888-663-3488)

Call 1-888-MOFFITT
(1-888-663-3488)


Locations: Moffitt Cancer Center
Overview

Cancer Types Treated: Leukemia

Dr. Marco Davila is a medical oncologist in the Department of Blood and Marrow Transplantation.  His clinical focus is utilizing cell therapies to treat patients with hematologic malignancies.  He obtained his MD and PhD degrees at the Duke University School of Medicine and trained in medicine and medical oncology at NY Presbyterian Weill-Cornell and the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, respectively.  He is a clinical expert with significant experience with gene-engineered T cell therapies that are revolutionizing cancer therapy.  It is Dr. Davila’s goal to translate innovative laboratory development for the benefit of patients at the Moffitt Cancer Center.  Dr. Davila’s research has been acknowledged with grants and/or awards from the American Society of Hematology, Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, American Society of Clinical Oncology, and American Society for Clinical Investigation.  

Education & Training

Board Certification:

  • Medical Oncology
  • Internal Medicine

Fellowship:

  • Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center - Medical Oncology

Residency:

  • New York Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center - Medicine
  • Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center - Medical Oncology

Medical School:

  • Duke University - MD
Awards
Clinical Investigator AwardSponsor: Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation Start Year: 2015 End Year: 2020
TRiO AchieverSponsor: TASSSP Start Year: 2015 End Year: 2015
Young Physician-Scientist AwardSponsor: American Society for Clinical Investigation Start Year: 2014 End Year: 2014
Amos Medical Faculty ScholarSponsor: American Society of Hematology Start Year: 2012 End Year: 2016
TRiO AchieverSponsor: Texas Christian University Start Year: 2011 End Year: 2011
K08 Mentored Clinical Scientist Career Development AwardSponsor: National Cancer Institute Start Year: 2010 End Year: 2010
Young-Investigator AwardSponsor: American Society of Clinical Oncology Start Year: 2010 End Year: 2010
Mortimer J. Lacher FellowSponsor: Lymphoma Research Foundation Start Year: 2009 End Year: 2009
Bernard Amos Immunology Graduate Student Research AwardSponsor: Duke University Start Year: 2003 End Year: 2003
Participating Trials

CLINICAL TRIAL 17263
Phase I Trial of ex-vivo Expanded Donor Regulatory T Cells for Prevention of Acute Graft-Versus-Host Disease
Condition: Malignant Hematology
Intervention: FK506 (Tacrolimus); Rapamune (Sirolimus); Rapamycin (Sirolimus); Sirolimus; Tacrolimus
Open

CLINICAL TRIAL 18783
A Phase I/II GVHD Prevention Trial Combining Pacritinib With Sirolimus-Based Immune Suppression
Condition: Malignant Hematology
Intervention: Alkeran (Melphalan); FK506 (Tacrolimus); Melphalan; Pacritinib; Rapamune (Sirolimus); Rapamycin (Sirolimus); Sirolimus; Tacrolimus; busulfan; fludarabine (Fludarabine phosphate)
Open

CLINICAL TRIAL 19089
Optimizing Cord Blood and Haploidentical Aplastic Anemia Transplantation (CHAMP)
Condition: Malignant Hematology
Intervention: Thymoglobulin; cyclophosphamide; cytoxan (cyclophosphamide); fludarabine (Fludarabine phosphate)
Open

CLINICAL TRIAL 19203
Reduced Intensity Conditioning for Haploidentical Bone Marrow Transplantation in Patients with Symptomatic Sickle Cell Disease
Condition: Malignant Hematology
Intervention: Cellcept (Mycophenolate Mofetil); Hydroxyurea (Droxia); MESNA; Mycophenolate Mofetil; Radiotherapy; Rapamune (Sirolimus); Rapamycin (Sirolimus); Sirolimus; Thiotepa (Thioplex); Thymoglobulin; cyclophosphamide; cytoxan (cyclophosphamide); fludarabine (Fludarabine phosphate)
Open

CLINICAL TRIAL 19511
Immune Mechanisms of Resistance to CD19 CAR T cells in Lymphoma
Condition: Malignant Hematology
Intervention:
Open

CLINICAL TRIAL 19627
A Randomized Phase III Trial of Consolidation with Autologous Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation Followed by Maintenance Rituximab vs. Maintenance Rituximab Alone for Patients with Mantle Cell Lymphoma In Minimal Residual Disease-Negative First Complete Remission
Condition: Malignant Hematology
Intervention: Rituxan (rituximab); Rituxan Hycela; rituximab
Open

CLINICAL TRIAL 19305
CD40-L Blockade for Prevention of Acute Graft-Versus-Host Disease
Condition: Malignant Hematology
Intervention: BMS-986004; FK506 (Tacrolimus); Rapamune (Sirolimus); Rapamycin (Sirolimus); Sirolimus; Tacrolimus
Open

CLINICAL TRIAL 19800
A Phase 2, Randomized, Multicenter Study to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of KD025 in Subjects with Chronic Graft Versus Host Disease (cGVHD) After At Least 2 Prior Lines of Systemic Therapy (The ROCKstar Study)
Condition: Malignant Hematology
Intervention: KD025
Open

CLINICAL TRIAL 19962
A Phase 1 Study Evaluating the Safety and Efficacy of HPV16 E7 T Cell Receptor Engineered T Cells (KITE-439) in HLA-A*02:01+Subjects with Relapsed/Refractory HPV16+ Cancers
Condition: Head & Neck
Intervention: KITE-439; cyclophosphamide; cytoxan (cyclophosphamide); fludarabine (Fludarabine phosphate)
Open

CLINICAL TRIAL 19961
A Phase 1B/2 Study To Evaluate The Safety, Tolerability, Pharmacokinetics, Pharmacodynamics, And Clinical Activity Of Eq001 In Subjects With Newly Diagnosed Acute Graft Versus Host Disease
Condition: Malignant Hematology
Intervention: EQ001; Placebo
Open

CLINICAL TRIAL 19862
A Phase 1/1b Safety Study of PRGN-3006 Adoptive Cellular Therapy in Patients with Relapsed or Refractory CD33-Positive Acute Myeloid Leukemia and Higher Risk Myelodysplastic Syndrome
Condition: Malignant Hematology
Intervention: PRGN-3006 T Cell; cyclophosphamide; cytoxan (cyclophosphamide); fludarabine (Fludarabine phosphate)
Open

CLINICAL TRIAL 19877
A Randomized Phase 2 Study of CDX-1127 (Varlilumab) in Combination with Nivolumab in Patients with Relapsed or Refractory Aggressive B-Cell Lymphomas
Condition: Malignant Hematology
Intervention: BMS-936558 (Nivolumab); Nivolumab; Varlilumab
Open

If you believe you are eligible for one of these trials or studies, please call
813-745-6100 or toll-free 1-800-679-0775.

Publications

  • Sim AJ, Jain MD, Figura N, Chavez JC, Shah BD, Khimani F, Lazarayan A, Krivenko G, Davila ML, Liu HD, Falchook AD, Dahiya S, Rapoport AP, Kim SU, Locke FL, Robinson TJ. Radiation therapy as a bridging strategy for CAR T cell therapy with axicabtagene ciloleucel in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2019 Jun. Pubmedid: 31175906.
  • Sandoval-Sus JD, Brahim A, Khan A, Raphael B, Ansari-Lari A, Ruiz M. Brentuximab vedotin as frontline treatment for HIV-related extracavitary primary effusion lymphoma. Int J Hematol. 2019 Jan;109(5):622-626. Pubmedid: 30671911.
  • Sallman DA, Brayer J, Sagatys EM, Lonez C, Breman E, Agaugué S, Verma B, Gilham DE, Lehmann FF, Davila ML. NKG2D-based chimeric antigen receptor therapy induced remission in a relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia patient. Haematologica. 2018 Sep;103(9):e424-e426. Pubmedid: 29703727. Pmcid: PMC6119132.
  • Cornetta K, Duffy L, Feldman SA, Mackall CL, Davila ML, Curran KJ, Junghans RP, Tang JY, Kochenderfer JN, O'Cearbhaill R, Archer G, Kiem HP, Shah NN, Delbrook C, Kaplan R, Brentjens RJ, Rivière I, Sadelain M, Rosenberg SA. Screening Clinical Cell Products for Replication Competent Retrovirus: The National Gene Vector Biorepository Experience. Mol Ther Methods Clin Dev. 2018 Sep;10:371-378. Pubmedid: 30211249. Pmcid: PMC6134358.
  • Li G, Boucher JC, Kotani H, Park K, Zhang Y, Shrestha B, Wang X, Guan L, Beatty N, Abate-Daga D, Davila ML. 4-1BB enhancement of CAR T function requires NF-κB and TRAFs. JCI Insight. 2018 Sep;3(18). Pubmedid: 30232281. Pmcid: PMC6237232.
  • Christley S, Scarborough W, Salinas E, Rounds WH, Toby IT, Fonner JM, Levin MK, Kim M, Mock SA, Jordan C, Ostmeyer J, Buntzman A, Rubelt F, Davila ML, Monson NL, Scheuermann RH, Cowell LG. VDJServer: A Cloud-Based Analysis Portal and Data Commons for Immune Repertoire Sequences and Rearrangements. Front Immunol. 2018 May;9:976. Pubmedid: 29867956. Pmcid: PMC5953328.
  • Pidala J, Beato F, Kim J, Betts B, Jim H, Sagatys E, Levine JE, Ferrara JL, Ozbek U, Ayala E, Davila M, Fernandez HF, Field T, Kharfan-Dabaja MA, Khaira D, Khimani F, Locke FL, Mishra A, Nieder M, Nishihori T, Perez L, Riches M, Anasetti C. IL-12/IL-23p40 neutralization blocks Th1/Th17 response after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation. Haematologica. 2018 Mar;103(3):531-539. Pubmedid: 29242294. Pmcid: PMC5830373.
  • Brentjens R, Davila ML. CAR T cells, immunologic and cellular therapies in hematologic malignancies. Best Pract Res Clin Haematol. 2018 Jun;31(2):115-116. Pubmedid: 29909911.
  • Jain MD, Davila ML. Concise Review: Emerging Principles from the Clinical Application of Chimeric Antigen Receptor T Cell Therapies for B Cell Malignancies. Stem Cells. 2018 Jan;36(1):36-44. Pubmedid: 29024301.
  • Park JH, Rivière I, Gonen M, Wang X, Sénéchal B, Curran KJ, Sauter C, Wang Y, Santomasso B, Mead E, Roshal M, Maslak P, Davila M, Brentjens RJ, Sadelain M. Long-Term Follow-up of CD19 CAR Therapy in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. N Engl J Med. 2018 Feb;378(5):449-459. Pubmedid: 29385376.
  • Johnson MO, Wolf MM, Madden MZ, Andrejeva G, Sugiura A, Contreras DC, Maseda D, Liberti MV, Paz K, Kishton RJ, Johnson ME, de Cubas AA, Wu P, Li G, Zhang Y, Newcomb DC, Wells AD, Restifo NP, Rathmell WK, Locasale JW, Davila ML, Blazar BR, Rathmell JC. Distinct Regulation of Th17 and Th1 Cell Differentiation by Glutaminase-Dependent Metabolism. Cell. 2018 Dec;175(7):1780-1795.e19. Pubmedid: 30392958. Pmcid: PMC6361668.
  • Staedtke V, Bai RY, Kim K, Darvas M, Davila ML, Riggins GJ, Rothman PB, Papadopoulos N, Kinzler KW, Vogelstein B, Zhou S. Disruption of a self-amplifying catecholamine loop reduces cytokine release syndrome. Nature. 2018 Dec;564(7735):273-277. Pubmedid: 30542164. Pmcid: PMC6512810.
  • Davila ML. CAR T cells find strength in polyfunction. Blood. 2018 Aug;132(8):769-770. Pubmedid: 30139827.
  • Geyer MB, Manjunath SH, Evans AG, Park JH, Davila ML, Cutler CS, Wang X, Wang Y, Senechal B, Rivière I, Sadelain M, Liesveld JL, Brentjens RJ. Concurrent therapy of chronic lymphocytic leukemia and Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia utilizing CD19-targeted CAR T-cells. Leuk Lymphoma. 2018 07;59(7):1717-1721. Pubmedid: 29043880. Pmcid: PMC6037308.
  • Lonez C, Verma B, Hendlisz A, Aftimos P, Awada A, Van Den Neste E, Catala G, Machiels JH, Piette F, Brayer JB, Sallman DA, Kerre T, Odunsi K, Davila ML, Gilham DE, Lehmann FF. Study protocol for THINK: a multinational open-label phase I study to assess the safety and clinical activity of multiple administrations of NKR-2 in patients with different metastatic tumour types. BMJ Open. 2017 Nov;7(11):e017075. Pubmedid: 29133316. Pmcid: PMC5695348.
  • Betts BC, Pidala J, Kim J, Mishra A, Nishihori T, Perez L, Ochoa-Bayona JL, Khimani F, Walton K, Bookout R, Nieder M, Khaira DK, Davila M, Alsina M, Field T, Ayala E, Locke FL, Riches M, Kharfan-Dabaja M, Fernandez H, Anasetti C. IL-2 promotes early Treg reconstitution after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation. Haematologica. 2017 May;102(5):948-957. Pubmedid: 28104702. Pmcid: PMC5477614.
  • Sallman DA, Davila ML. Is Disease-Specific Immunotherapy a Potential Reality for MDS?. Clin Lymphoma Myeloma Leuk. 2017 Jul;17S:S26-S30. Pubmedid: 28760299.
  • Ghosh A, Smith M, James SE, Davila ML, Velardi E, Argyropoulos KV, Gunset G, Perna F, Kreines FM, Levy ER, Lieberman S, Jay HV, Tuckett AZ, Zakrzewski JL, Tan L, Young LF, Takvorian K, Dudakov JA, Jenq RR, Hanash AM, Motta AC, Murphy GF, Liu C, Schietinger A, Sadelain M, van den Brink MR. Donor CD19 CAR T cells exert potent graft-versus-lymphoma activity with diminished graft-versus-host activity. Nat Med. 2017 Feb;23(2):242-249. Pubmedid: 28067900. Pmcid: PMC5528161.
  • Li G, Park K, Davila ML. Gammaretroviral Production and T Cell Transduction to Genetically Retarget Primary T Cells Against Cancer. Methods Mol Biol. 2017 Dec;1514:111-118. Pubmedid: 27787796.
  • Locke FL, Davila ML. Regulatory challenges and considerations for the clinical application of CAR-T cell anti-cancer therapy. Expert Opin Biol Ther. 2017 06;17(6):659-661. Pubmedid: 28454503.
  • Davila ML, Brentjens RJ. CD19-Targeted CAR T cells as novel cancer immunotherapy for relapsed or refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Clin Adv Hematol Oncol. 2016 Oct;14(10):802-808. Pubmedid: 27930631. Pmcid: PMC5536094.
  • Abate-Daga D, Davila ML. CAR models: next-generation CAR modifications for enhanced T-cell function. Mol Ther Oncolytics. 2016 May;3:16014. Pubmedid: 27231717. Pmcid: PMC4871190.
  • Davila ML, Sadelain M. Biology and clinical application of CAR T cells for B cell malignancies. Int J Hematol. 2016 Jul;104(1):6-17. Pubmedid: 27262700. Pmcid: PMC5512169.
  • Oluwole OO, Davila ML. At The Bedside: Clinical review of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy for B cell malignancies. J Leukoc Biol. 2016 Dec;100(6):1265-1272. Pubmedid: 27354412.
  • Bouhassira DC, Thompson JJ, Davila ML. Using gene therapy to manipulate the immune system in the fight against B-cell leukemias. Expert Opin Biol Ther. 2015 Mar;15(3):403-416. Pubmedid: 25666545. Pmcid: PMC4586131.
  • Davila ML, Papapetrou EP. CARs Move To the Fast Lane. Mol Ther. 2014 Mar;22(3):477-478. Pubmedid: 28141992. Pmcid: PMC3944338.
  • Davila ML, Riviere I, Wang X, Bartido S, Park J, Curran K, Chung SS, Stefanski J, Borquez-Ojeda O, Olszewska M, Qu J, Wasielewska T, He Q, Fink M, Shinglot H, Youssif M, Satter M, Wang Y, Hosey J, Quintanilla H, Halton E, Bernal Y, Bouhassira DC, Arcila ME, Gonen M, Roboz GJ, Maslak P, Douer D, Frattini MG, Giralt S, Sadelain M, Brentjens R. Efficacy and toxicity management of 19-28z CAR T cell therapy in B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Sci Transl Med. 2014 Feb;6(224):224ra25. Pubmedid: 24553386. Pmcid: PMC4684949.
  • Davila ML, Bouhassira DC, Park JH, Curran KJ, Smith EL, Pegram HJ, Brentjens R. Chimeric antigen receptors for the adoptive T cell therapy of hematologic malignancies. Int J Hematol. 2014 Apr;99(4):361-371. Pubmedid: 24311149. Pmcid: PMC4684946.
  • Davila ML, Kloss CC, Gunset G, Sadelain M. CD19 CAR-targeted T cells induce long-term remission and B Cell Aplasia in an immunocompetent mouse model of B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. PLoS One. 2013 Oct;8(4):e61338. Pubmedid: 23585892. Pmcid: PMC3621858.
  • Davila ML, Hofstetter WL. Endoscopic management of Barrett's esophagus with high-grade dysplasia and early-stage esophageal adenocarcinoma. Thorac Surg Clin. 2013 Nov;23(4):479-489. Pubmedid: 24199698.
  • Brentjens RJ, Davila ML, Riviere I, Park J, Wang X, Cowell LG, Bartido S, Stefanski J, Taylor C, Olszewska M, Borquez-Ojeda O, Qu J, Wasielewska T, He Q, Bernal Y, Rijo IV, Hedvat C, Kobos R, Curran K, Steinherz P, Jurcic J, Rosenblat T, Maslak P, Frattini M, Sadelain M. CD19-targeted T cells rapidly induce molecular remissions in adults with chemotherapy-refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Sci Transl Med. 2013 Mar;5(177):177ra38. Pubmedid: 23515080. Pmcid: PMC3742551.
  • Davila ML, Brentjens R. Chimeric antigen receptor therapy for chronic lymphocytic leukemia: what are the challenges?. Hematol Oncol Clin North Am. 2013 Apr;27(2):341-353. Pubmedid: 23561477. Pmcid: PMC3615434.
  • Davila ML, Brentjens R, Wang X, Rivière I, Sadelain M. How do CARs work?: Early insights from recent clinical studies targeting CD19. Oncoimmunology. 2012 Dec;1(9):1577-1583. Pubmedid: 23264903. Pmcid: PMC3525612.
  • Brentjens RJ, Rivière I, Park JH, Davila ML, Wang X, Stefanski J, Taylor C, Yeh R, Bartido S, Borquez-Ojeda O, Olszewska M, Bernal Y, Pegram H, Przybylowski M, Hollyman D, Usachenko Y, Pirraglia D, Hosey J, Santos E, Halton E, Maslak P, Scheinberg D, Jurcic J, Heaney M, Heller G, Frattini M, Sadelain M. Safety and persistence of adoptively transferred autologous CD19-targeted T cells in patients with relapsed or chemotherapy refractory B-cell leukemias. Blood. 2011 Nov;118(18):4817-4828. Pubmedid: 21849486. Pmcid: PMC3208293.
  • Lieberman AE, Kuraoka M, Davila M, Kelsoe G, Cowell LG. Conserved cryptic recombination signals in Vkappa gene segments are cleaved in small pre-B cells. BMC Immunol. 2009 Jun;10:37. Pubmedid: 19555491. Pmcid: PMC2711918.
  • Davila M, Liu F, Cowell LG, Lieberman AE, Heikamp E, Patel A, Kelsoe G. Multiple, conserved cryptic recombination signals in VH gene segments: detection of cleavage products only in pro B cells. J Exp Med. 2007 Dec;204(13):3195-3208. Pubmedid: 18056287. Pmcid: PMC2150985.
  • Cowell LG, Davila M, Ramsden D, Kelsoe G. Computational tools for understanding sequence variability in recombination signals. Immunol Rev. 2004 Aug;200:57-69. Pubmedid: 15242396.
  • Cowell LG, Davila M, Kepler TB, Kelsoe G. Identification and utilization of arbitrary correlations in models of recombination signal sequences. Genome Biol. 2003 Jun;3(12):RESEARCH0072. Pubmedid: 12537561. Pmcid: PMC151174.
  • Cowell LG, Davila M, Yang K, Kepler TB, Kelsoe G. Prospective estimation of recombination signal efficiency and identification of functional cryptic signals in the genome by statistical modeling. J Exp Med. 2003 Jan;197(2):207-220. Pubmedid: 12538660. Pmcid: PMC2193808.
  • Davila ML, Sauter C, Brentjens R. CD19-Targeted T Cells for Hematologic Malignancies: Clinical Experience to Date. Cancer J. 21(6):470-474. Pubmedid: 26588678. Pmcid: PMC4656120.