Joseph Cannova, M.D./Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Dr. Cannova completed an undergraduate degree in Biological Sciences with a minor in Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame and M.D. and Ph.D. degrees at Loyola University of Chicago Stritch School of Medicine. As a doctoral candidate in the laboratory of Dr. Jiwang Zhang, MD, PhD, he interrogated the role of Toll-like receptor (TLR) and interleukin-1 (IL-1) mediated signaling pathways in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) using mouse model cell lines and animal models deficient in key signaling mediators MYD88 and TICAM-1/TRIF. This work demonstrated multiple TLR and IL-1 signaling pathways were required for leukemia cell function. This work was partially funded by a grant from the Arthur J. Schmitt Foundation. He began the Physician Scientist Training Program (PSDP) at The University of Chicago in 2020. He completed residency in internal medicine in 2022 and began fellowship in hematology and oncology, with a continued focus on hematologic malignancies under the clinical mentorship of Dr. Toyosi Odenike, M.D. He joined the lab of Dr. Megan McNerney, M.D., Ph.D. to study fundamental mechanisms of disease in therapy-related myelodysplastic syndrome and AML. He is supported by the Clinical Pharmacology and Pharmacogenomics Program (T32 GM007091) through which he will obtain further training in clinical therapeutics in oncology.