Hematological Malignancies Initiative
Our Mission
The Hematologic Malignancies Initiative (HMI) at Columbia brings together clinicians and scientists to advance the understanding, prevention, and treatment of all blood cancers through integrated discovery, translational research, and patient-centered care. HMI builds a collaborative ecosystem designed to move research insights rapidly into clinical impact.
HMI investigators look at hematologic malignancies not as isolated diseases, but as interconnected disorders that share common biological mechanisms that can be identified and therapeutically targeted across diseases.
By integrating expertise across hematology, oncology, immunology, stem cell biology, genomics, systems biology, engineering, and artificial intelligence, HMI aims to accelerate progress across leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma, MDS, AML, CMML, CLL, and pediatric hematologic malignancies to better understand how blood cancers develop and progress, improve earlier detection, and develop more precise and durable therapies.
Our Strategic Priorities
- Advance earlier detection and disease prediction
- Prevent disease progression and therapy resistance
- Develop more precise and durable therapies
- Accelerate innovation in cell therapy, AI, and precision medicine
- Train the next generation of leaders in hematologic malignancy research and care
Our Approach
The Hematologic Malignancies Initiative is designed to build the scientific community, infrastructure, and partnerships needed to accelerate progress against blood cancers.
Building a Collaborative Hematology Ecosystem
HMI connects researchers and clinicians across traditionally distinct disease areas — including leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma, MDS, AML, CLL, and pediatric hematologic malignancies — to identify shared biological mechanisms, foster interdisciplinary collaboration, and accelerate discovery. Through working groups, interdisciplinary seminars, faculty meetings, tumor boards, scientific retreats, and an annual symposium, HMI creates opportunities for investigators to share ideas, build collaborations, and pursue new research directions.
[LINK TO EVENTS PAGE]
Supporting New Ideas and Scientific Discovery
HMI supports innovative, high-risk, high-reward research through pilot funding, collaborative research initiatives, and programs designed to seed new scientific partnerships and accelerate emerging discoveries.HMI is expanding the resources needed to accelerate discovery, including myeloid and lymphoid tissue banks, aging marrow repositories, coordinated biospecimen collection efforts, and the development of a comprehensive Pan-HEME Atlas that integrates multi-omic data across hematologic malignancies.
Accelerating Translation
HMI connects investigators with the resources needed to move discoveries from the laboratory toward clinical impact, including the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center's Shared Resources, Clinical Protocol and Data Management (CPDM) Office, Irving Cancer Drug Discovery Program, Columbia Initiative for Cell Engineering and Therapy, and the Edward P. Evans Center for Myelodysplastic Syndromes.
Training the Next Generation
A core component of HMI is developing future leaders in hematologic malignancy research and care through trainee workshops, interdisciplinary educational programs, mentorship opportunities, seminar series, and scientific symposia.
Building Partnerships Beyond Columbia
HMI collaborates with foundations, advocacy organizations, professional societies, and national research networks to advance research, expand patient resources, and accelerate progress across the field of hematologic malignancies.