Researcher Spotlight: Efrat Luttwak, MD, MPH

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Condon Family Scholar

Transformed follicular lymphoma (FL) is an aggressive type of lymphoma for which there remains no clearly established standard approach to treatment. Dr. Luttwak’s research aims to develop more biologically informed strategies for the treatment of transformed FL by combining newer immune-based therapies—such as bispecific antibodies—with targeted therapies that block key lymphoma survival
pathways. In parallel, her work also seeks to better understand why some patients respond to these therapies while others relapse or develop resistance. “Ultimately, I hope this work will contribute to more personalized treatment approaches and improve outcomes for patients with high-risk lymphoma,” she says.

Dr. Luttwak earned her medical degree and a Master of Public Health from Hebrew University in Israel. She completed a fellowship in hematology/oncology at Tel Aviv University Sourasky Medical Center and a lymphoma fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where she now serves as an assistant attending in the Lymphoma Service. “I was initially drawn to lymphoma because it sits at the intersection of clinical medicine, immunology, pathology, and translational science,” she says. “This project specifically grew from caring for patients in clinic and recognizing how urgently we need better biologically driven therapies and more individualized approaches.”

Dr. Luttwak’s greatest inspiration comes from the resilience, optimism, and trust of her patients, who consistently remind her why this work is so important. “I am equally inspired by the collaborative nature of lymphoma research,” she adds. “Advances in this field often happen because clinicians, scientists, pathologists, statisticians, and patients work together toward a common goal. Being part of that collective effort is incredibly motivating.”