Researcher Spotlight: Graham Wehmeyer, MD

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Kanti R. Rai, MD Clinical Scholar

Doxorubicin is a commonly used chemotherapy regimen that can be very effective against different types of lymphoma. However, doxorubicin can also cause damage to the heart, which can increase the risk of heart failure later in life. Dr. Wehmeyer’s research aims to determine whether sotagliflozin, a medication that is used to treat heart failure and diabetes, can reduce or prevent heart injury in patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma being treated with doxorubicin. “If successful, this approach could provide a new way to help patients receive effective cancer treatment while lowering the risk of serious long-term heart complications,” he says.

Dr. Wehmeyer’s interest in lymphoma research began during his time in medical school and residency at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, where he saw firsthand the transformative nature of novel therapies that have emerged in the clinic. “As lymphoma therapies become increasingly effective, I have become especially interested in how we can reduce treatment-related toxicities and improve long-term survivorship,” he says. “That is what makes this project so exciting to me. Identifying strategies to reduce doxorubicin-related cardiac complications has the potential to meaningfully improve patients’ health not only during treatment but for many years after they complete lymphoma therapy.”