Faculty

Mateo Mejia Saldarriaga

MD
Assistant Professor
Weill Cornell Medicine

Dr. Mateo Mejia is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology at Weill Cornell Medicine and an Assistant Attending Physician at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.

Dr. Mejia received his medical degree (M.D.) from the Universidad CES in his hometown of Medellin, Colombia, after which he completed an internal medicine residency at the Jacobi Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, NY, where he also served as a Chief Resident. He completed his Hematology and Oncology fellowship at Weill Cornell Medicine/NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and joined the Hematology and Medical Oncology Division after completing his fellowship training in 2023.

Dr. Mejia’s research has focused on the genomic drivers of aggressive forms of myeloma, for which he received the 2022 Conquer Cancer – American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Young Investigator Award, a prestigious honor only given to 100 of people each year. Additionally, Dr. Mejia was the recipient ofthe 2022 Charles, Lillian and Betty Neuwirth Foundation Fellowship in Oncology award for his project “Genomic Landscape of Multiple Myeloma with Extramedullary Disease”. Dr. Mejia’s research interest also encompasses the use biomarkers to assess response after CAR-T and other immunotherapy and as additional interventions to enhance these treatment modalities.

2026 Sessions

High-Risk Smoldering Myeloma: Single-Agent Therapy or Curative Intent?

The management of high-risk smoldering multiple myeloma (SMM) is undergoing a paradigm shift from observation to early therapeutic intervention. This session will examine the evolving evidence supporting treatment initiation in high-risk SMM, highlighting the emergence of single-agent daratumumab as a lower-toxicity strategy to delay progression and preserve quality of life. In parallel, the rationale and clinical data supporting curative-intent approaches using intensive quadruplet regimens, MRD-driven treatment strategies, and novel immune-based therapies will be reviewed. Recent findings from pivotal clinical trials and major hematology meetings will be discussed, including advances in CAR-T cell and bispecific antibody therapy. Attendees will gain practical insights into patient selection, risk-adapted treatment decisions, and the ongoing debate between disease control and potential cure.

Speaker

Thursday, October 15 8:05–8:20 AM
Room Broadway South
Faculty

Mateo Mejia Saldarriaga

MD
Assistant Professor
Weill Cornell Medicine

Dr. Mateo Mejia is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology at Weill Cornell Medicine and an Assistant Attending Physician at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.

Dr. Mejia received his medical degree (M.D.) from the Universidad CES in his hometown of Medellin, Colombia, after which he completed an internal medicine residency at the Jacobi Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, NY, where he also served as a Chief Resident. He completed his Hematology and Oncology fellowship at Weill Cornell Medicine/NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and joined the Hematology and Medical Oncology Division after completing his fellowship training in 2023.

Dr. Mejia’s research has focused on the genomic drivers of aggressive forms of myeloma, for which he received the 2022 Conquer Cancer – American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Young Investigator Award, a prestigious honor only given to 100 of people each year. Additionally, Dr. Mejia was the recipient ofthe 2022 Charles, Lillian and Betty Neuwirth Foundation Fellowship in Oncology award for his project “Genomic Landscape of Multiple Myeloma with Extramedullary Disease”. Dr. Mejia’s research interest also encompasses the use biomarkers to assess response after CAR-T and other immunotherapy and as additional interventions to enhance these treatment modalities.

Q&A

Moderator

Panelist

Thursday, October 15 8:20–8:35 AM
Room Broadway South
Faculty

Victor Jimenez Zepeda

MD
Associate Professor
Weill Cornell Medicine

Dr. Victor Jimenez-Zepeda currently holds an academic position as Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology at Weill Cornell Medicine (WCM) and an Assistant Attending Physician at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital (NYP). In addition, he is the Associate Director of the Weill Cornell Myeloma Center. Dr. Jimenez-Zepeda completed medical school at the University of Guadalajara in Mexico and took Internal Medicine and Hematology training at the National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition in Mexico City. Dr. Jimenez-Zepeda obtained additional specialized training in myeloma research and patient care at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, the Hospital Clinic in Barcelona, Spain and at the Mayo Clinic Arizona (Scottsdale, Arizona). Further, Dr. Jimenez-Zepeda completed clinical and research fellowships in multiple myeloma and AL amyloidosis at the Princess Margaret Cancer Center (PMCC) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and later was appointed as a Junior Staff Hematologist in the Department of Medical Oncology and Hematology at PMCC from 2012-2013. In November of 2013, Dr. Jimenez-Zepeda joined the team at the Tom Baker Cancer Center in Calgary, Alberta, Canada where he was instrumental in building the Amyloidosis Program of Calgary (APC) and the Canadian Amyloidosis Society (CAS). Dr. Jimenez-Zepeda has more than 300 abstracts and journal publications to his credit with more than 120 peer-reviewed manuscripts in PubMed. He has served as a reviewer for the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), Journal of Clinical Oncology (JCO), Blood, American Journal of Clinical Oncology, British Journal of Hematology, Amyloid Journal, among others.

Faculty

Francesco Maura

MD
Assistant Attending
Memorial Sloan Kettering

I am an Assistant Member at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where I run an independent research laboratory using computational/bioinformatic tools to analyze genomic and transcriptomic datasets from patients with plasma cell malignancies. Our goal is to leverage these techniques to identify signatures predictive of clinical outcomes in patients, understand mechanisms of resistance to therapies, and identify new drug targets. Over the past years, my team has been deeply involved in modeling and integrating clinical and genomic data to track cancer genome evolution and reconstruct the chronology of early and late driver events in hematological malignancies, including multiple myeloma, lymphomas, and therapy-related myeloid neoplasms. Despite major advances in treatment, a significant fraction of patients still experience disease progression and ultimately die. To understand why these patients do not benefit from recent therapeutic innovations—and to develop preventive strategies and personalized interventions—we have established a collaborative, multi-institutional network focused on leveraging multi-omics across diverse clinical contexts. My mission is to execute research that informs and moves clinical practices in oncology forward.

Faculty

Mateo Mejia Saldarriaga

MD
Assistant Professor
Weill Cornell Medicine

Dr. Mateo Mejia is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology at Weill Cornell Medicine and an Assistant Attending Physician at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.

Dr. Mejia received his medical degree (M.D.) from the Universidad CES in his hometown of Medellin, Colombia, after which he completed an internal medicine residency at the Jacobi Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, NY, where he also served as a Chief Resident. He completed his Hematology and Oncology fellowship at Weill Cornell Medicine/NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and joined the Hematology and Medical Oncology Division after completing his fellowship training in 2023.

Dr. Mejia’s research has focused on the genomic drivers of aggressive forms of myeloma, for which he received the 2022 Conquer Cancer – American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Young Investigator Award, a prestigious honor only given to 100 of people each year. Additionally, Dr. Mejia was the recipient ofthe 2022 Charles, Lillian and Betty Neuwirth Foundation Fellowship in Oncology award for his project “Genomic Landscape of Multiple Myeloma with Extramedullary Disease”. Dr. Mejia’s research interest also encompasses the use biomarkers to assess response after CAR-T and other immunotherapy and as additional interventions to enhance these treatment modalities.

Integrating CAR T Cells and Bispecifics: From Treatment Selection to Safety Management

Speaker

Thursday, October 15 3:05–3:25 PM
Room Broadway South
Faculty

Mateo Mejia Saldarriaga

MD
Assistant Professor
Weill Cornell Medicine

Dr. Mateo Mejia is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology at Weill Cornell Medicine and an Assistant Attending Physician at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.

Dr. Mejia received his medical degree (M.D.) from the Universidad CES in his hometown of Medellin, Colombia, after which he completed an internal medicine residency at the Jacobi Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, NY, where he also served as a Chief Resident. He completed his Hematology and Oncology fellowship at Weill Cornell Medicine/NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and joined the Hematology and Medical Oncology Division after completing his fellowship training in 2023.

Dr. Mejia’s research has focused on the genomic drivers of aggressive forms of myeloma, for which he received the 2022 Conquer Cancer – American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Young Investigator Award, a prestigious honor only given to 100 of people each year. Additionally, Dr. Mejia was the recipient ofthe 2022 Charles, Lillian and Betty Neuwirth Foundation Fellowship in Oncology award for his project “Genomic Landscape of Multiple Myeloma with Extramedullary Disease”. Dr. Mejia’s research interest also encompasses the use biomarkers to assess response after CAR-T and other immunotherapy and as additional interventions to enhance these treatment modalities.

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