D'Souza Laboratory
Dr. D'Souza's research program is dedicated to advancing our understanding of plasma cell disorders focusing on diseases like light chain (AL) amyloidosis and multiple myeloma, addressing the effect between clinical factors, and social health disparities on patient outcomes and health-related quality of life.
We aim to do this by investigating pathways for early diagnosis of AL amyloidosis and enhance diagnostic accuracy among historically underrepresented racial and ethnic groups.
We are actively investigating ways to improve overall treatment outcomes and foster greater utilization of therapies among patients from these underrepresented communities.
Our ongoing projects include:
- Early diagnosis of light chain amyloidosis
- ASCT utilization and racial disparities in multiple myeloma
- Impact of social determinants of health on light chain amyloidosis outcomes
Meet the Lab Director | Anita D鈥橲ouza, MD, MS
Dr. Anita D鈥橲ouza is Professor in the Division of Hematology/Oncology and a board-certified hematologist/oncologist at MCW where she specializes in plasma cell disorders, including MM and light chain amyloidosis.
She serves as Chair of the Plasma Cell Disorders disease-oriented team at the Froedtert & MCW Cancer Center.
Our research program is focused on improving outcomes for patients living with plasma cell disorders through an integrated approach that spans disease biology, therapeutic innovation, outcome research, and survivorship. Our work brings together translational science, clinical trials, real-world data, and patient-center outcomes research to address important questions across the disease continuum 鈥� from early disease and treatment resistance to long-term survivorship.
We welcome collaborations with investigators across disciplines who share an interest in advancing the science and care of plasma cell disorders.
We are also interested in trainees, students, and researchers who want to work at the intersection of disease biology, clinical medicine, data science, and survivorship research.
Current Areas of Research
Development of the AL-PROfile
Funding
CTSI/AHW Mentored Career Development Award (2016-2019), K23HL1414405 (2019-2023), PD/PI: D鈥橲ouza
Publications
Early Diagnosis of AL Amyloidosis
Funding
R01HL16639 (2023-current), PD/PI: D鈥橲ouza
Publications
Moving Forward with Multiple Myeloma
Funding
R01CA300310 (2025- current), MPI: Stolley/D鈥橲ouza/Sheehan
Publications
D'Souza Lab News
Join Our Lab
Team Members
Noel Estrada-Merly, MS
Program Manager
Collaborators
Rachel Cusatis, PhD
Associate Professor
Liliana E. Pezzin, PhD, JD
Professor and Interim Director, Division of Epidemiology & Social Sciences, Institute for Health & Humanity
Rodney Sparapani, PhD
Associate Professor, Data Science Institute - Division of Biostatistics
Melinda Stolley, PhD
Ann E. Heil Professor of Cancer Research, Associate Director of Population Sciences and Leader, Cancer Control Research Program, Cancer Center; Professor, Medicine (Hematology/Oncology)
Duo Yu, PhD
Assistant Professor, Data Science Institute - Division of Biostatistics
Mentees
Elizabeth Aughey, MD
Internal Medicine Resident
Irin Bhuiya
MCW-UWM Undergraduate Research Fellow
Ansel Fellman
蝌蚪窝 Student
Remy Lee, MD
Assistant Professor
Amoli Tadiparthi
蝌蚪窝 Student
Recent Publications
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(Estrada-Merly N, Pezzin LE, Sparapani R, D'Souza A.) JMIR Med Inform. 2026 Jun 22;14:e85803 PMID: 42330197 PMCID: PMC13286071 06/22/2026
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(Vega G, Morillo D, Riedhammer C, Smits F, Bag A, Julian K, Gomis NT, Gaisan CM, Bermudez MA, Shah MR, Mohyuddin GR, Dhakal B, Rasche L, Schinke C, D'Souza A, Szabo A, van de Donk NWCJ, Chakraborty R, Mohan M.) Hemasphere. 2026 Jun;10(6):e70396 PMID: 42261378 PMCID: PMC13242627 06/09/2026
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(Sperling AS, Derman BA, Nikiforow S, Alonso A, Ikegawa S, Orwitz N, Quinn DS, Pearson D, Bu D, Milanez-Almeida P, Mataraza J, Nadeem O, Liegel J, D'Souza A, Charles A, Credi M, Ritz J, Jakubowiak AJ, De Vita S, Munshi NC.) Sci Transl Med. 2026 May 27;18(851):eadx1799 PMID: 42202046 PMCID: PMC13427373 05/27/2026
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(Wood WA, Kumar SK, Semmel EA, James S, Schroeder MA, Chung DJ, Rosenberg A, Zonder J, Rubinstein S, D'Souza A, Martin T, Chari A, Vij R, Nooka AK, Anderson KC, Neuberg DS, Richard S, Torres K, Weiss BM, Pederson L, Derkach A, Geyer S, Usmani SZ.) Blood Adv. 2026 May 12;10(9):3094-3102 PMID: 41734388 PMCID: PMC13141511 02/24/2026
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(Aughey E, Estrada-Merly N, Akhtar OS, Dhakal B, Mohan M, Narra R, Pasquini MC, D'Souza A.) Br J Haematol. 2026 May;208(5):1836-1840 PMID: 41797476 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-105032145910 03/09/2026
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(Mellgard GS, Bazarbachi AH, Zanwar S, Hegenbart U, Bodanapu G, Bhutani D, Chen G, D'Souza A, Dispenzieri A, Gertz M, Kumar S, Lentzsch S, Milani P, Muchtar E, Palladini G, Trajanova D, Patwari A, Sanchorawala V, Mohty M, Wang S, Kastritis E, Theodorakakou F, Schönland S, Chakraborty R, Cowan AJ.) Am J Hematol. 2026 Apr;101(4):768-783 PMID: 41793153 03/07/2026
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(Shah UA, Cogrossi LL, Garcés JJ, Policastro A, Castro F, Derkach A, Fei T, DeWolf S, Grioni M, Sisti S, Blaslov J, Adintori PA, Hosszu KK, McAvoy D, Baichoo M, Cross JR, Paredes J, Anuraj A, Raj SS, Pohl C, Zordan P, Zinsmeyer V, Jesus Faustino Ramos RJ, Lorenzoni M, Gipson B, Maclachlan KH, Gradissimo A, Boiocchi L, Aleynick N, Marchigiani C, Pagani S, Salehi E, Koche RP, Chaligne R, Block T, Korde N, Tan CR, Hultcrantz M, Hassoun H, Shah GL, Scordo M, Lahoud OB, Chung DJ, Landau HJ, Peled JU, Clementi N, Chesi M, Bergsagel PL, Mailankody S, Pollak MN, D'Souza A, Landgren O, Chimonas S, Giralt SA, Usmani SZ, Iyengar NM, Lesokhin AM, van den Brink MRM, Bellone M.) Cancer Discov. 2026 Apr 01;16(4):697-720 PMID: 41342739 PMCID: PMC12811828 12/04/2025
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(Mohan M, Danziger N, Akhtar OS, Narra R, Pasquini MC, Radhakrishnan S, Dhakal B, D'Souza A, Lin D, Ho C, Kurzrock R.) Blood Adv. 2026 Feb 24;10(4):1400-1404 PMID: 41411484 PMCID: PMC12927052 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-105030120191 12/18/2025
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(Arsang-Jang S, Massat B, Pareek G, Han J, Thapa B, Patek V, Nader Z, Auer PL, Zimmerman MT, Urrutia R, Hari P, D'Souza A, Dhakal B, Janz S, Dong J.) HLA. 2026 Feb;107(2):e70589 PMID: 41685425 PMCID: PMC12902906 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-105029925738 02/13/2026
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(Bazarbachi AH, Zanwar S, Hegenbart U, Trajanova D, Bhutani D, Gertz MA, Dispenzieri A, Kumar S, D'Souza A, Patwari A, Cowan A, Chen G, Milani P, Palladini G, Sanchorawala V, Bodanapu G, Mohty M, Lentzsch S, Schönland SO, Muchtar E, Chakraborty R.) Hemasphere. 2025 Dec;9(12):e70276 PMID: 41473002 PMCID: PMC12745042 12/31/2025