Assistant Professor, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology/BMT
Associate Program Director of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Fellowship
Research Interests
I perform in-laboratory testing of new drugs that have been developed for acute myeloid leukemia (AML). These drugs are being tested in clinical trials in adults, and may be useful for children with AML as well. I'm also trying to develop more sensitive methods to detect molecular disease when it is not otherwise detectable after therapy, so we can more accurately know how much therapy is needed for individual patients.
Teaching
Assistant Professor
(2019)
School of Medicine,
Pediatrics
Publications
Winzent-Oonk S, Staley A, Alami V, Bradley J, Harvey S, Pounds A, Kuldanek S, Pacenta H, Winters AC, McKinney C. Risk of transfusion-related iron overload varies based on oncologic diagnosis and associated treatment: Retrospective analysis from a single pediatric cancer center. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2024 Aug 8;:e31254. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 39118250
Minhajuddin M, Winters A, Ye H, Pei S, Stevens B, Gillen A, Engel K, Gipson S, Ransom M, Amaya M, Inguva A, Gasparetto M, Althoff MJ, Miller R, Shelton I, Tolison H, Krug A, Culp-Hill R, D'Alessandro A, Sherbenou DW, Pollyea DA, Smith C, Jordan CT. Lysosomal acid lipase A modulates leukemia stem cell response to venetoclax/tyrosine kinase inhibitor combination therapy in blast phase chronic myeloid leukemia. Haematologica. 2024 Jun 27. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 38934082
Sheth AI, Althoff MJ, Tolison H, Engel K, Amaya ML, Krug AE, Young TN, Minhajuddin M, Pei S, Patel SB, Winters A, Miller R, Shelton IT, St-Germain J, Ling T, Jones CL, Raught B, Gillen AE, Ransom M, Staggs S, Smith CA, Pollyea DA, Stevens BM, Jordan CT. Targeting Acute Myeloid Leukemia Stem Cells through Perturbation of Mitochondrial Calcium. Cancer Discov. 2024 Oct 4;14(10):1922-1939. PubMed PMID: 38787341
Winters AC, Minhajuddin M, Stevens BM, Major A, Bosma G, Abbott D, Miltgen N, Yuan J, Treece AL, Siegele BJ, Ewalt MD, Gutman JA, Jordan CT, Pollyea DA. Multi-gene measurable residual disease assessed by digital polymerase chain reaction has clinical and biological utility in acute myeloid leukemia patients receiving venetoclax/azacitidine. Haematologica. 2024 Jun 1;109(6):1766-1778. PubMed PMID: 38105738
Winters AC, Pollyea DA. Molecular measurable residual disease: staring at red herrings. Haematologica. 2024 Feb 1;109(2):371-373. PubMed PMID: 37584293
Winters AC, Pollyea DA. Molecular measurable residual disease: staring at red herrings. Haematologica. 2023 Aug 17. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 37584293
Pei S, Shelton IT, Gillen AE, Stevens BM, Gasparetto M, Wang Y, Liu L, Liu J, Brunetti TM, Engel K, Staggs S, Showers W, Sheth AI, Amaya ML, Minhajuddin M, Winters A, Patel SB, Tolison H, Krug AE, Young TN, Schowinsky J, McMahon CM, Smith CA, Pollyea DA, Jordan CT. A Novel Type of Monocytic Leukemia Stem Cell Revealed by the Clinical Use of Venetoclax-Based Therapy. Cancer Discov. 2023 Sep 6;13(9):2032-2049. PubMed PMID: 37358260
Gutman JA, Winters A, Kent A, Amaya M, McMahon C, Smith C, Jordan CT, Stevens B, Minhajuddin M, Pei S, Schowinsky J, Tobin J, O'Brien K, Falco A, Taylor E, Brecl C, Zhou K, Ho P, Sohalski C, Dell-Martin J, Ondracek O, Abbott D, Pollyea DA. Higher-dose venetoclax with measurable residual disease-guided azacitidine discontinuation in newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia. Haematologica. 2023 Oct 1;108(10):2616-2625. PubMed PMID: 37051756
Fraley CE, Neiman JS, Feddersen CR, James C, Jones TG, Mikkelsen M, Nuss R, Schlenz AM, Winters AC, Green AL, Compas BE. Identifying patterns of neurocognitive dysfunction through direct comparison of children with leukemia, central nervous system tumors, and sickle cell disease. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2023 Jun;70(6):e30299. PubMed PMID: 37036272
Murphy LA, Miller K, Winters AC, Franklin ARK, Verneris MR, Keating AK. Time to transplantation and pediatric acute myeloid leukemia outcomes. Bone Marrow Transplant. 2023 Mar;58(3):343-345. PubMed PMID: 36496523
Murphy LA, Marians RC, Miller K, Brenton MD, Mallo RLV, Kohler ME, Fry TJ, Winters AC. Digital polymerase chain reaction strategies for accurate and precise detection of vector copy number in chimeric antigen receptor T-cell products. Cytotherapy. 2023 Jan;25(1):94-102. PubMed PMID: 36253252
Murphy LA, Winters AC. Emerging and Future Targeted Therapies for Pediatric Acute Myeloid Leukemia: Targeting the Leukemia Stem Cells. Biomedicines. 2023 Dec 7;11(12). PubMed PMID: 38137469
Winters AC, Bosma G, Abbott D, Minhajuddin M, Jordan C, Pollyea DA, Gutman JA. Outcomes Are Similar After Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant for Newly Diagnosed Acute Myeloid Leukemia Patients who Received Venetoclax Azacitidine Versus Intensive Chemotherapy. Transplant Cell Ther. 2022 Oct;28(10):694.e1-694.e9. PubMed PMID: 35902048
Siegele BJ, Stemmer-Rachamimov AO, Lilljebjorn H, Fioretos T, Winters AC, Dal Cin P, Treece A, Gaskell A, Nardi V. N-terminus DUX4-immunohistochemistry is a reliable methodology for the diagnosis of DUX4-fused B-lymphoblastic leukemia/lymphoma (N-terminus DUX4 IHC for DUX4-fused B-ALL). Genes Chromosomes Cancer. 2022 Aug;61(8):449-458. PubMed PMID: 35218117
Underdown MJ, Miles RR, Gross TG, Winters AC. Importance of clinical correlation in the diagnosis of pediatric B-cell lymphomas. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2022 Mar;69(3):e29527. PubMed PMID: 34962700
Pollyea DA, Winters A, McMahon C, Schwartz M, Jordan CT, Rabinovitch R, Abbott D, Smith CA, Gutman JA. Venetoclax and azacitidine followed by allogeneic transplant results in excellent outcomes and may improve outcomes versus maintenance therapy among newly diagnosed AML patients older than 60. Bone Marrow Transplant. 2022 Feb;57(2):160-166. PubMed PMID: 34645926
Amaya ML, Inguva A, Pei S, Jones C, Krug A, Ye H, Minhajuddin M, Winters A, Furtek SL, Gamboni F, Stevens B, D'Alessandro A, Pollyea DA, Reigan P, Jordan CT. The STAT3-MYC axis promotes survival of leukemia stem cells by regulating SLC1A5 and oxidative phosphorylation. Blood. 2022 Jan 27;139(4):584-596. PubMed PMID: 34525179
Murphy LA, Marians RC, Miller K, Brenton MD, Mallo RLV, Kohler ME, Fry TJ, Winters AC. Digital polymerase chain reaction strategies for accurate and precise detection of vector copy number in chimeric antigen receptor T-cell products. Cytotherapy. 2022 Oct 14. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 36253252
Abbott D, Cherry E, Amaya M, McMahon C, Schwartz M, Winters A, Schowinsky J, Jordan CT, Smith C, Gutman JA, Pollyea DA. The propriety of upgrading responses to venetoclax? ?azacitidine in newly diagnosed patients with acute myeloid leukemia. Leuk Lymphoma. 2021 Jun;62(6):1466-1473. PubMed PMID: 33375853
Cherry E, Abbott D, Amaya M, McMahon C, Schwartz M, Rosser J, Sato A, Schowinsky JT, Inguva A, Minhajuddin M, Pei S, Stevens BM, Winters AC, Jordan CT, Smith C, Gutman JA, Pollyea DA. Venetoclax and Azacitidine Compared to Induction Chemotherapy for Newly Diagnosed Patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. Blood Adv. 2021 Oct 5. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 34610123
Cherry EM, Abbott D, Amaya M, McMahon C, Schwartz M, Rosser J, Sato A, Schowinsky J, Inguva A, Minhajuddin M, Pei S, Stevens B, Winters A, Jordan CT, Smith C, Gutman JA, Pollyea DA. Venetoclax and azacitidine compared with induction chemotherapy for newly diagnosed patients with acute myeloid leukemia. Blood Adv. 2021 Dec 28;5(24):5565-5573. PubMed PMID: 34610123
Jones CL, Stevens BM, Pollyea DA, Culp-Hill R, Reisz JA, Nemkov T, Gehrke S, Gamboni F, Krug A, Winters A, Pei S, Gustafson A, Ye H, Inguva A, Amaya M, Minhajuddin M, Abbott D, Becker MW, DeGregori J, Smith CA, D'Alessandro A, Jordan CT. Nicotinamide Metabolism Mediates Resistance to Venetoclax in Relapsed Acute Myeloid Leukemia Stem Cells. Cell Stem Cell. 2020 Aug 14. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 32822582
Winters AC, Maloney KW, Treece AL, Gore L, Franklin AK. Single-center pediatric experience with venetoclax and azacitidine as treatment for myelodysplastic syndrome and acute myeloid leukemia. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2020 Jul 31;:e28398. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 32735397
Pei S, Pollyea DA, Gustafson A, Stevens BM, Minhajuddin M, Fu R, Riemondy KA, Gillen AE, Sheridan RM, Kim J, Costello JC, Amaya ML, Inguva A, Winters A, Ye H, Krug A, Jones CL, Adane B, Khan N, Ponder J, Schowinsky J, Abbott D, Hammes A, Myers JR, Ashton JM, Nemkov T, D'Alessandro A, Gutman JA, Ramsey HE, Savona MR, Smith CA, Jordan CT. Monocytic Subclones Confer Resistance to Venetoclax-Based Therapy in Patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. Cancer Discov. 2020 Apr;10(4):536-551. PubMed PMID: 31974170
Stevens B, Winters A, Gutman JA, Fullerton A, Hemenway G, Schatz D, Miltgen N, Wei Q, Abbasi T, Vali S, Singh NK, Drusbosky L, Cogle CR, Hammes A, Abbott D, Jordan CT, Smith C, Pollyea DA. Sequential azacitidine and lenalidomide for patients with relapsed and refractory acute myeloid leukemia: Clinical results and predictive modeling using computational analysis. Leuk Res. 2019 Jun;81:43-49. PubMed PMID: 31009835
Stevens BM, Zhang W, Pollyea DA, Winters A, Gutman J, Smith C, Budde E, Forman SJ, Jordan CT, Purev E. CD123 CAR T cells for the treatment of myelodysplastic syndrome. Exp Hematol. 2019 Jun;74:52-63.e3. PubMed PMID: 31136781
Pollyea DA, Stevens BM, Jones CL, Winters A, Pei S, Minhajuddin M, D'Alessandro A, Culp-Hill R, Riemondy KA, Gillen AE, Hesselberth JR, Abbott D, Schatz D, Gutman JA, Purev E, Smith C, Jordan CT. Venetoclax with azacitidine disrupts energy metabolism and targets leukemia stem cells in patients with acute myeloid leukemia. Nat Med. 2018 Dec;24(12):1859-1866. PubMed PMID: 30420752
Amaya M, Inguva A, …, Winters A, …, Jordan C. The STAT3-MYC axis promotes survival of leukemia stem cells by regulating SLC1A5 and oxidative phosphorylation. Blood (2021) [accepted].
Gutman J, Pollyea D, …, Winters A, …, Abbott D. Venetoclax and azacitidine followed by allogeneic transplant results in excellent outcomes and may improve outcomes versus maintenance therapy among newly diagnosed AML patients older than 60. Bone Marrow Transplantation (2021) [accepted].
Stevens BM, Jones CL, Pollyea DA, Culp-Hill R, D’Alessandro A, Winters A, Krug A, Abbott D, Goosman M, Pei S, Ye H, Gillen AE, Becker MW, Savona MR, Smith C, Jordan CT. Fatty acid metabolism underlies venetoclax resistance in acute myeloid leukemia stem cells. Nature Cancer (2020) [accepted].
American Board of Pediatrics, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Board Certification
(2019)
American Board of Pediatrics, General Pediatrics, Board Certification
(2014)
Conditions & Treatments
Cancers
Cancers - Aplastic Anemia
Cancers - Chemotherapy
Cancers - Leukemia (Childhood)
Cancers - Myelodysplastic Syndrome
Cancers - Lymphoma
Cancers - Pediatric Cancer
Clinical Interests
My clinical focus is in the treatment of children with cancer, in particular leukemias and conditions that may lead to leukemias such as inherited bone marrow failure syndromes or myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS).
Care Philosophy
I believe in providing the most evidence-based and compassionate care possible to my patients and their families. A diagnosis of cancer is one of the worst experiences of a family's life, and making it easier or more manageable to the child and his/her family in some small way is as important to me as providing physical healing. I and my colleagues also strive to treat patients with the most up-to-date in cancer therapies available.
Personal Interests
In addition to clinical care of patients, which is most important to me, I am interested in research that brings newer and better drugs into the care of children with cancer. I am also passionate about medical education.
General Information
Medical Schools:
MD, Tulane University School of Medicine
(2011)
Graduate Schools:
PhD, Tulane University School of Medicine
(2011)
Undergraduate Schools:
BS, University of Southern Mississippi (MS)
(2004)
Internships:
Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center Program
(2012)
Residency Programs:
Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center Program, Pediatrics (2014)
Fellowships:
University of Colorado (Children's Hospital Colorado) Program, Pediatric Hematology / Oncology
(2017)