Hamid Bassiri, MD, PhD

faculty photo
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics (Infectious Diseases) at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Consulting Physician, NIH Undiagnosed Diseases Network (UDN), Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania
Co-Director, Dysregulated Immunity Frontiers Program, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Program Director, Pediatric Infectious Diseases Fellowship Program, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Department: Pediatrics
Graduate Group Affiliations

Contact information
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
3501 Civic Center Blvd.
Colket Translational Research Bldg, Room 3014
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Office: 267-425-2133
Fax: 215-590-3770
Lab: 267-426-7626
Education:
BA (Biology)
University of Pennsylvania, 1991.
PhD (Immunology)
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, 2002.
MD (Medicine)
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, 2004.
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Description of Research Expertise

RESEARCH INTERESTS:
Our lab investigates two lines of research. The first involves investigating the mechanisms of tumor immune surveillance and ways to harness the activity of innate lymphocytes for cellular cancer immunotherapy. There are currently 3 ongoing projects relevant to this line of investigation: 1) Investigating how to trigger endogenous natural killer T and natural killer cell anti-tumor responses for cellular immunotherapy; 2) Delineating the immunometabolic features of Natural killer T cells; 3) Delineating the neuroblastoma immune microenvironment and how to modulate this for therapeutic purposes. The second line of research involves increasing our understanding of the immune pathogenesis of pediatric hyper-inflammatory syndromes, including those resulting from genetic lesions, as well as those induced by infections (e.g. COVID-19) or cancer immunotherapy (e.g. CAR-T cell therapy).

KEYWORDS:
Natural killer T cells
Tumor microenvironment
Immunometabolism
Cellular immunotherapy
Neuroblastoma
Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis
SARS-CoV-2
COVID-19
Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C)
Cytokine release syndrome

Description of Clinical Expertise

Pediatric infectious diseases
Care of immunocompromised patients
Care of children with dysregulated immunity
Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH)
Severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)
Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C)

Selected Publications

McNerney KO, Karageorgos S, Ferry GM, Wolpaw AJ, Burudpakdee C, Khurana P, Toland CN, Vemu R, Vu A, Hogarty MD, Bassiri H: TH-MYCN tumors, but not tumor-derived cell lines, are adrenergic lineage, GD2+, and responsive to Anti-GD2 antibody therapy. Oncoimmunology 11(1): doi.org/10.1080/2162402X.2022.2075204, May 2022 Notes: ecollection.

Harabuchi S, Khan O, Bassiri H, Yoshida T, Okada Y, Takizawa M, Ikeda O, Harabuchi Y, Kambayashi T: Manipulation of diacylglycerol and ERK-mediated signaling differentially controls CD8+ T cell responses during chronic viral infection Frontiers in Immunology 13: doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2022.1032113, Nov 2022 Notes: ecollection.

Diorio C, Shraim R, Myers R, Behrens EM, Canna S, Bassiri H, Aplenc R, Burudpakdee C, Chen F, DiNofia AM, Gill S, Gonzalez V, Lambert M, Barz Leahy A, Levine BL, Lindell RB, Maude SL, Melenhorst JJ, Newman H, Perazzelli J, Seif A, Lacey SF, June CH, Barrett DM, Grupp SA, Teachey DT : Comprehensive serum proteome profiling of cytokine release syndrome and immune effector cell associated neurotoxicity syndrome in patients receiving CART19. Clinical Cancer Research 28(17): 3804-3813, Jun 2022.

Henderson LA, Canna SW, Friedman KG, Gorelik M, Lapidus SK, Bassiri H, Behrens EM, Ferris A, Kernan KF, Schulert GS, Seo P, Son MB, Tremoulet AH, Yeung RSM, Mudano AS, Turner AS, Karp DR, Mehta J: American College of Rheumatology clinical guidance for pediatric patients with Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) associated with SARS-CoV-2 and hyperinflammation in COVID-19 [Version 3] Arthritis and Rheumatology 74(4): e1-e20, Apr 2022 Notes: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/art.42062

Moghimi B, Muthugounder S, Jambon S, Tibbetts R, Hung L, Bassiri H, Hogarty MD, Barrett DM, Shimada H, Asgharzadeh S.: Efficacy and specificity of GD2-B7H3 SynNotch CAR-T in metastatic neuroblastoma. Nature Communications 12(511): 511, Jan 2021 Notes: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-20785-x.

Diorio C, Shraim R, Vella LA, Giles JR, Baxter AE, Oldridge DA, Canna SW, Henrickson SE, McNerney KO, Balamuth F, Burudpakdee C, Lee J, Leng T, Farrel A, Lambert MP, Sullivan KE, Wherry EJ, Teachey DT, Bassiri H, Behrens EM: Proteomic profiling of MIS-C patients reveals heterogeneity relating to interferon gamma dysregulation and vascular endothelial dysfunction Nature Communications 12(5): 7222, Dec 2021 Notes: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-27544-6.

Khurana P, Burudpakdee C, Grupp SA, Beier UH, Barrett DM, Bassiri H: Distinct bioenergetic features of human invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells enable retained functions in nutrient-deprived states Frontiers in Immunology 2(1): 700374, Aug 2021 Notes: https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2021.700374.

Chang JC, Matsubara D, Morgan R, Diorio C, Nadaraj S, Teachey DT, Bassiri H, Behrens EM, Banerjee A: Skewed cytokine responses rather than the magnitude of the cytokine storm may be responsible for cardiac dysfunction in multi-system inflammatory syndrome in children. Journal of the American Heart Association 10(16): e021428, Aug 2021 Notes: https://doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.121.021428

Vella LA, Giles JR, Baxter AE, Oldridge DA, Diorio C, Alanio C, Pampena MB, Wu JE, Chen Z, Huang YJ, Anderson EM, Gouma S, McNerney KO, Chase J, Burudpakdee C, Lee JH, Apostolidis SA, Huang AC, Mathew D, Kuthuru O, Goodwin EC, Weirick ME, Bolton MJ, Arevalo CP, Ramos A, Jasen C, Giannini HM, D’Andrea K, The UPenn COVID Processing Unit, Meyer NJ, Behrens EM, Bassiri H, Hensley SE, Henrickson SE, Teachey DT, Betts MR, Wherry EJ.: Deep immune profiling of MIS-C demonstrates marked but transient immune activation compared to adult and pediatric COVID-19 Science Immunology 6(57): eabf7570, Mar 2021 Notes: DOI: 10.1126/sciimmunol.abf7570.

Diorio C, Henrickson SE, Vella LA, McNerney K, Chase J, Burudpakdee C, Lee JH, Jasen C, Balamuth F, Barrett DM, Banwell BL, Bernt KM, Blatz A, Chiotos K, Fisher BT, Gerber JS, Gollomp K, Gray C, Grupp SA, Harris RM, Kilbaugh T, Odom John AR, Lambert M, Liebling EJ, Paessler M, Petrosa W, Phillips C, Romberg ND, Seif A, Sesok-Pizzini DA, Sullivan KE, Vardaro J, Behrens EM, Teachey DT, Bassiri H : MIS-C and COVID-19 are distinct pathophysiologic presentations of SARS-CoV-2. Journal of Clinical Investigation 130(11): 5967-5975, Jul 2020.

Diorio C, Anderson EM, McNerney K, Goodwin EC, Chase JC, Bolton MJ, Arevalo C, Welrick M, Gouma S, Vella L, Henrickson S, Chiotos K, Fitzgerald J, Kilbaugh T, John ARO, Blatz A, Lambert MP, Sullivan KE, Tartaglione M, Zambrano D, Martin M, Lee JH, Young P, Friedman DF, Sesok-Pizzini D, Hensley S, Behrens EM, Bassiri H, Teachey DT.: Convalescent plasma for pediatric patients with COVID-19 associated acute respiratory distress syndrome. Pediatric Blood and Cancer 67(11): e28693, Nov 2020 Notes: doi: 10.1002/pbc.28693.

Henderson LA, Canna SW, Friedman KG, Gorelik M, Lapidus SK, Bassiri H, Behrens EM, Ferris A, Kernan KF, Schulert GS, Seo P, Son MB, Tremoulet AH, Yeung RSM, Mudano AS, Turner AS, Karp DR, Mehta J: American College of Rheumatology clinical guidance for pediatric patients with Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) associated with SARS-CoV-2 and hyperinflammation in COVID-19 [Version 1] Arthritis and Rheumatology 72(11): 1791-1805, Nov 2020 Notes: doi.org/10.1002/art.41454 (July).

Corwin DJ, Sartori LF, Chiotos K, John ARO, Cohn K, Bassiri H, Behrens EM, Teachey DT, Henrickson SE, Diorio CJ, Zorc JJ, Balamuth F: Distinguishing multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) from Kawasaki Disease and benign inflammatory illnesses in the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic Pediatric Emergency Medicine 36(11): 554-558, Nov 2020 Notes: doi: 10.1097/PEC.0000000000002248.

Dulek DE, Fuhlbrigge RC, Tribble AC, Connelly JA, Loi MM, El Chebib H, Chandrakasan S, Otto WR, Diorio C, Keim G, Walkovich K,Jaggi P, Girotto JE, Yarbrough A, Behrens EM, Cron RQ, Bassiri H : Multi-disciplinary guidance regarding the use of immunomodulatory therapies for acute COVID-19 in pediatric patients Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society 9(6): 716-737, Aug 2020 Notes: doi.org/10.1093/jpids/piaa098.

Henderson LA, Canna SW, Friedman KG, Gorelik M, Lapidus SK, Bassiri H, Behrens EM, Ferris A, Kernan KF, Schulert GS, Seo P, Son MB, Tremoulet AH, Yeung RSM, Mudano AS, Turner AS, Karp DR, Mehta J: American College of Rheumatology clinical guidance for pediatric patients with Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) associated with SARS-CoV-2 and hyperinflammation in COVID-19 [Version 2] Arthritis and Rheumatology 73(4): e13-e29, Dec 2020 Notes: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/art.41616

Diorio C, McNerney KO, Lambert M, Paessler M, Anderson EM, Henrickson SE, Chase J, Liebling EJ, Burudpakdee C, Lee JH, Balamuth F, Blatz AM, Chiotos K, Fitzgerald JC, Giglia TM, Gollomp K, John ARO, Jasen C, Leng T, Petrosa W, Vella LA, Witmer C, Sullivan KE, Laskin BL, Hensley SE, Bassiri H*, Behrens EM, Teachey DT (*Corresponding author): Evidence of thrombotic microangiopathy in children with SARS-CoV-2 across the spectrum of clinical presentations. Blood Advances 4(23): 6051-6063, Dec 2020 Notes: https://doi.org/10.1182/bloodadvances.2020003471.

Anderson EM, Diorio C, Goodwin EC, McNerney KO, Weirick ME, Gouma S, Bolton MJ, Arevalo CP, Chase J, Hicks P, Manzoni T, Baxter AE, Andrea KP, Burudpakdee C, Lee JH, Vella LA, Henrickson SE, Harris RM, Wherry EJ, Bates P, Bassiri H, Behrens EM, Teachey DT, Hensley SE : SARS-CoV-2 antibody responses in children with MIS-C and mild and severe COVID-19. Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society 22(11): 1452-1464, Dec 2020.

McNerney KO, Karageorgos SA, Hogarty MD, Bassiri H : Enhancing neuroblastoma immunotherapies by engaging iNKT and NK cells. Frontiers in Immunology 11(1): 873, May 2020.

Freund-Brown J, Choa R, Singh BK, Robertson TF, Ferry GM, Viver E, Bassiri H, Burkhardt JK, Kambayashi T: Cutting Edge: Murine NK cells degranulate and retain cytotoxic function without store-operated calcium entry. Journal of Immunology Page: doi: 10.4049, Aug 2017 Notes: online pub.

Diorio C, Shaw PA, Pequignot E, Orlenko A, Chen F, Aplenc R, Barrett DM, Bassiri H, Behrens EB, Dinofia AM, Gonzalez V, Koterba N, Levine BL, Maude SL, Meyer NJ, Moore JH, Paessler MP, Porter DL, Bush JL, Siegel DL, Davis MM, Zhang D, June CH, Grupp SA, Melnhorst JJ, Lacey SF, Weiss SL, Teachey DT : Diagnostic biomarkers to differentiate sepsis from cytokine release syndrome in critically ill children. Blood Advances 4(20): 5174-83, Oct 2020 Notes: 10.1182/bloodadvances.2020002592.

Chiotos K, Bassiri H, Behrens EM, Blatz AM, Chang J, Diorio C, Fitzgerald JC, Topjian A, John ARO: Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children during the COVID-19 pandemic: a case series. Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society 9(3): 393-8, Jul 2020.

Karageorgos SA and Bassiri H: Genetics of primary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis. Cytokine Storm Syndromes. Cron R and Behrens EM (eds.). Springer, Sep 2019 Notes: ISBN 978-3-030-22094-5.

Bassiri H, Benavides AD, Haber M, Gilmour SK, Norris MD, Hogarty MD.: Translational development of DFMO for the treatment of neuroblastoma. Translational Pediatrics 4(3): 226-238, Jul 2015.

Guan P, Bassiri H, Patel NP, Nichols KE, Das R.: Invariant natural killer T cells in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: killer choice for natural suppression. Bone Marrow Transplantation 51(5): 629-637, Feb 2016.

Altman JB, Benavides AD, Das R, Bassiri H.: Antitumor responses of invariant natural killer T cells. Journal of Immunology Research Page: doi: 10.1155/2015/652875, Oct 2015 Notes: epub only.

Das R, Bassiri H, Guan P, Wiener S, Banerjee PP, Zhong M-C, Veillette A, Orange JS, Nichols KE.: The adaptor molecule SAP plays essential roles during invariant NKT cell cytotoxicity and lytic synapse formation. Blood 121(17): 3386-3395, Apr 2013.

Bassiri H, Das R, Guan P, Barrett DM, Brennan PJ, Banerjee PP, Wiener SJ, Orange JS, Brenner MB, Grupp SA, Nichols KE.: iNKT cell cytotoxic responses control T-lymphoma growth in vitro and in vivo. Cancer Immunology Research 2(1): 59-69, Jan 2014.

Bassiri H, Das R, Nichols KE.: Invariant NKT cells: Killers and conspirators against cancer. OncoImmunology 2(12): e27440, Dec 2013.

May RM, Okumura M, Hsu C-J, Bassiri H, Yang E, Rak G, Mace EM, Philip NH, Zhang W, Baumgart T, Orange JS, Nichols KE, Kambayashi T.: Murine natural killer immunoreceptors use distinct proximal signaling complexes to direct cell function. Blood 121(16): 3135-3146, Apr 2013.

Cen O, Ueda A, Guzman L, Jain J, Bassiri H, Nichols KE, Stein PL.: The adaptor molecule signaling lymphocytic activation molecule-associated protein (SAP) regulates IFN-gamma and IL-4 production in V alpha 14 transgenic NKT cells via effects on GATA-3 and T-bet expression. Journal of Immunology 182(3): 1370-8, Feb 2009.

Bassiri H, Janice YWC, Rothman J, Koretzky GA, Nichols KE.: X-linked lymphoproliferative disease (XLP): a model of impaired anti-viral, anti-tumor and humoral immune responses. Immunologic Research 42(1-3): 145-59, Oct 2008.

Nunez-Cruz S, Yeo WCJ, Rothman J, Ojha P, Bassiri H, Juntilla M, Davidson D, Veillette A, Koretzky GA, Nichols KE.: Differential requirement for the SAP-Fyn interaction during NK T cell development and function. Journal of Immunology 181(4): 2311-20, Aug 2008.

Bassiri H, Carding SR.: A requirement for IL-2/IL-2 receptor signaling in intrathymic negative selection. Journal of Immunology 166(10): 5945-54, May 2001.

Reya T, Bassiri H, Biancaniello R, Carding SR.: Thymic stromal-cell abnormalities and dysregulated T-cell development in IL-2-deficient mice. Developmental Immunology 5(4): 287-302, Aug 1998 Notes: Shared first authorship.

Contractor NV, Bassiri H, Reya T, Park AY, Baumgart DC, Wasik MA, Emerson SG, Carding SR.: Lymphoid hyperplasia, autoimmunity, and compromised intestinal intraepithelial lymphocyte development in colitis-free gnotobiotic IL-2-deficient mice. Journal of Immunology 160(1): 385-94, Jan 1998 Notes: Shared first authorship.

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Last updated: 11/03/2023
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