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Marco Ruella, MD
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Associate Professor of Medicine (Hematology-Oncology)
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Department: Medicine
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Graduate Group Affiliations
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- Bioengineering 6b
- Cell and Molecular Biology 6a
- Pharmacology e
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Contact information
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South Tower 8-112
2d Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine
3a 3400 Civic Center Blvd
Philadelphia, PA 191004
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2d Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine
3a 3400 Civic Center Blvd
Philadelphia, PA 191004
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Office: 215-746-4880
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32 Lab: 215-573-8538
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32 Fax: 215-573-3638
32 Lab: 215-573-8538
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Email:
mruella@upenn.edu
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mruella@upenn.edu
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Publications
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Links
e5 Search PubMed for articles
5d Academia.edu
5f LinkedIn
69 Research Gate
5f Ruella Lab Website
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8c Institute for Immunology and Immune Health (I3H)
79 Google Scholar
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e5 Search PubMed for articles
5d Academia.edu
5f LinkedIn
69 Research Gate
5f Ruella Lab Website
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8c Institute for Immunology and Immune Health (I3H)
79 Google Scholar
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Education:
21 7 MD 1b (Medical Degree) c
35 University of Torino, Italy , 2007.
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Permanent link21 7 MD 1b (Medical Degree) c
35 University of Torino, Italy , 2007.
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257 Dr. Ruella obtained his medical degree with high honors and completed his specialization in clinical hematology at the University of Torino, Italy. He was an attending physician at the Hematology and Cell Therapy Division of the Mauriziano Hospital and was an Instructor at the Biotechnology School at the University of Torino. From late 2012, he was a Post-doctoral Fellow and then an Instructor at the University of Pennsylvania in the Center for Cellular Immunotherapies (Drs. Kalos, Gill, and June). From 2017 to 2018 he served as Associate Director of Dr. Carl H. June’s laboratory.
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665 In 2018, Dr. Ruella was appointed Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology/Oncology and the Center for Cellular Immunotherapies and Scientific Director of the Lymphoma Program at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and in 2025 he obtained his tenure as Associate Professor. In 2018, Dr. Ruella was appointed Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology/Oncology and the Center for Cellular Immunotherapies, and also became the Scientific Director of the Lymphoma Program at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Throughout his career, he has been honored with numerous awards, including the inaugural SITC EMD Serono Cancer Immunotherapy Clinical Fellowship (2014), the AACR-Bristol Myers Squibb Oncology Fellowship in Clinical Cancer Research (2015), the ASH Scholar Award (2016), an NIH K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award (2017), the ISNAFF “Paola Campese” Award for Leukemia Research (2017), the Cancer Support Community Award (2018), the ASH Joanne Levy, MD, Memorial Award for Outstanding Achievement (2018), the Gilead Sciences Research Scholar in Hematology/Oncology and the Gabrielle’s Angel Foundation Award (2020), the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Translational Research Program grant (2021), the Alan Steinberg Award (2022), two NIH R01 Research Project Grant (2025, 2025)and R37 MERIT Award (2022), an NIH P01 Research Program Project Grant (2023), membership in the American Society for Clinical Investigation (2023), and the Penn Inventor of the Year (2024). Since 2025 he is Adjunct Professor at his Alma Mater, the University of Turin in Italy.
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15b Dr. Ruella serves as the Senior Editor for Molecular Cancer Therapeutics (AACR) and Associate Editor for the Journal of Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC). Additionally, he is the inaugural Chair of the SITC Cellular Therapy Committee and the immediate past-Chair of the ASH Scientific Committee on Transplantation Biology and Cellular Therapy
11f Dr. Ruella treats patients with hematological cancers at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, focusing on novel immunotherapies. This clinical engagement allows him to connect with patients, gain insight into unmet needs in the clinic, and teach residents and fellows.
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203 Dr. Ruella serves as a consultant for several companies and sits on the advisory boards of multiple biotech and pharmaceutical firms specializing in cancer immunotherapy. In 2021, he founded viTToria Biotherapeutics, a startup developing next-generation CAR T-cell immunotherapies for cancer and autoimmune diseases. The company's first product, VIPER-001, a CD5-deleted anti-CD5 CAR T-cell therapy, is undergoing evaluation in a first-in-human clinical trial for patients with T-cell lymphoma (NCT06420089).
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Description of Research Expertise
1ea Marco Ruella, MD is a Physician-Scientist and Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine. Dr. Ruella treats patients affected by hematological cancers and specializes in immunotherapy approaches. His laboratory focuses on the mechanisms of relapse after chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR T) immunotherapies to rationally design innovative combined immunotherapies for relapsing/refractory leukemia and lymphoma.8
257 Dr. Ruella obtained his medical degree with high honors and completed his specialization in clinical hematology at the University of Torino, Italy. He was an attending physician at the Hematology and Cell Therapy Division of the Mauriziano Hospital and was an Instructor at the Biotechnology School at the University of Torino. From late 2012, he was a Post-doctoral Fellow and then an Instructor at the University of Pennsylvania in the Center for Cellular Immunotherapies (Drs. Kalos, Gill, and June). From 2017 to 2018 he served as Associate Director of Dr. Carl H. June’s laboratory.
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665 In 2018, Dr. Ruella was appointed Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology/Oncology and the Center for Cellular Immunotherapies and Scientific Director of the Lymphoma Program at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and in 2025 he obtained his tenure as Associate Professor. In 2018, Dr. Ruella was appointed Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology/Oncology and the Center for Cellular Immunotherapies, and also became the Scientific Director of the Lymphoma Program at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Throughout his career, he has been honored with numerous awards, including the inaugural SITC EMD Serono Cancer Immunotherapy Clinical Fellowship (2014), the AACR-Bristol Myers Squibb Oncology Fellowship in Clinical Cancer Research (2015), the ASH Scholar Award (2016), an NIH K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award (2017), the ISNAFF “Paola Campese” Award for Leukemia Research (2017), the Cancer Support Community Award (2018), the ASH Joanne Levy, MD, Memorial Award for Outstanding Achievement (2018), the Gilead Sciences Research Scholar in Hematology/Oncology and the Gabrielle’s Angel Foundation Award (2020), the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Translational Research Program grant (2021), the Alan Steinberg Award (2022), two NIH R01 Research Project Grant (2025, 2025)and R37 MERIT Award (2022), an NIH P01 Research Program Project Grant (2023), membership in the American Society for Clinical Investigation (2023), and the Penn Inventor of the Year (2024). Since 2025 he is Adjunct Professor at his Alma Mater, the University of Turin in Italy.
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15b Dr. Ruella serves as the Senior Editor for Molecular Cancer Therapeutics (AACR) and Associate Editor for the Journal of Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC). Additionally, he is the inaugural Chair of the SITC Cellular Therapy Committee and the immediate past-Chair of the ASH Scientific Committee on Transplantation Biology and Cellular Therapy
11f Dr. Ruella treats patients with hematological cancers at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, focusing on novel immunotherapies. This clinical engagement allows him to connect with patients, gain insight into unmet needs in the clinic, and teach residents and fellows.
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203 Dr. Ruella serves as a consultant for several companies and sits on the advisory boards of multiple biotech and pharmaceutical firms specializing in cancer immunotherapy. In 2021, he founded viTToria Biotherapeutics, a startup developing next-generation CAR T-cell immunotherapies for cancer and autoimmune diseases. The company's first product, VIPER-001, a CD5-deleted anti-CD5 CAR T-cell therapy, is undergoing evaluation in a first-in-human clinical trial for patients with T-cell lymphoma (NCT06420089).
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1de Knoedler L, Herfeld K, Schaefer DA, Diatta F, Clune J, Evans B, Seu M, Kim BS, Alfertshofer M, Schaschinger T, Iske J, Knoedler S, Lellouch AG, Jeljeli M, Carturan A, Ruella M, Heiland M, Poeck H, Perl M, Pomahac B, Kauke-Navarro M.: CAR-T cell therapy and reconstructive oncologic surgery in peripheral solid tumors-A narrative review. Cell Rep Med 6(8), Aug 2025 Notes: doi: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2025.102240.
1bd Porazzi P, Pucillo M, Anant Padmanabhan A, Nason S, Zheng Z, Paruzzo L, Ho M, Michener P, Stella F, Imparato A, Susanibar-Adaniya S, Garfall A, Fraietta J, Ruella M.: Epigenetic reprogramming via EZH1/2 inhibition enhances T cell-mediated immunotherapies against multiple myeloma. In Proceedings of 67th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting(2160), December 2025.
26f Svoboda J, Schuster S, Porter D, Cook M, Nasta SD, Landsburg D, Barta S, Ruella M, Chong E, Carter J, Thomas C, Tomasulo E, Frey N, Connor M, Shea J, Cervini A, McConville J, Tongue C, Four M, Marshall A, Hwang WT, Leskowitz R, Gonzalez V, Christensen S, Plesa G, Siegel D, Jadlowsky J, Fraietta J, Levine B, Hexner E, June C.: IL18-armored CAR T cells in patients with CLL/SLL and Richter’s transformation after prior BTK inhibitor and venetoclax failure. In Proceedings of 67th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting(2394), December 2025.
19d Precision targeting of immune-mediated thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (iTTP) with chimeric auto-antigen receptor (CAAR) T cells.: Khadka R, Cohen I, Parvathaneni K, Lemoine J, Jung S, Bochi-Layec A, Zhao H, Hresko M, Siegel D, Ruella M, Bhoj V. In Proceedings of 67th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting(2341), December 2025.
37d Han Noll J, Ho M, Paruzzo L, Stella F, Devi P, Ndeupen S, Chen G, Cohen I, Ramierz-Fernandez A, Waxman A, Kapur S, Chen F, Xu R, Huff A, Jarocha D, Patel V, Bochi-Layec A, Ramasubramanian R, Liu S, Bouvier R, Souza V, Patel H, Li Z, Carturan A, Michener P, Hopkins C, Koucky O, Minehart J, Dimitri A, Nabar N, Hasanali Z, Ciccarelli B, Williams E, Bartoszek R, Lavorando M, Mohan S, Gonzalez V, Porazzi P, Bhoj V, Apostolidis S, Vogl D, Porter D, Scholler J, Diorio C, Doto A, Everett J, Bushman F, Nathanson K, Stadtmauer E, Susanibar-Adaniya S, Garfall A, Ruella M, Cohen A , Fraietta J.: Delayed neurotoxicity, enterocolitis, and BCMA-CART-associated immune-related adverse events (CirAE) are caused by CD4+ CAR T-cells. In Proceedings of 67th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting 2025(804), December 2025.
243 Cohen A, Susaniber-Adaniya S, Garfall A, Vogl D, Kapur S, Waxman A , Zubka D, Hwang WT, Diaczynsky C, Han Noll J, Ho M, Paruzzo L, Bing Y, Xu R, Thai E, Gonzalez V, Michener P, Ruella M, Fraietta J, Stadtmauer E.: Phase 2 study of cevostamab consolidation following BCMA CAR T cell therapy: preliminary safety, efficacy, and correlative data from the “STEM” (Sequential T Cell-Engagement for Myeloma) trial. In Proceedings of 67th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting 2025(699), December 2025.
253 Stella F, Schneider M, Paruzzo L, Han Noll J, Devi P, Babatunde V, Chong E, Ho M, Thomas C, Cook M, Hossain N, Carter J, Li Z, Tan M, Michener P, Guruprasad P, Patel V, Imparato A, Carturan A, Lemoine J, Souza V, Porazzi P, Fraietta J, Barta S, Nasta SD, Svoboda J, Schuster SJ, Maillard I, Landsburg D, Ruella M.: Naive CD4+ at apheresis and disease control at infusion are associated with improved efficacy in second-line CAR T-cells. In Proceedings of 67th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting(2755), Dec 2025.
202 Lemoine J, Cohen I, Croston G, Bochi-Layec A, Espie D, Ramasubramanian R, Porazzi P, Stella F, Bayat P, Jung S, Iatrou Anastasia, Agathangelidis A, Schuster S, Ghia P, Stamatopoulos K, Ruella M.: Precision targeting of the malignant clone in B-cell malignancies using chimeric antigen receptor T cells against the clonotypic IGHV3-23 B cell receptor. In Proceedings of 67th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting(2348), December 2025.
1df Cohen I, Khadka R, Lemoine L, Bochi-Layec A, Jung S, Kim KH, Zhao H, Hresko M, Siegel D, Ghia P, Stamatopoulos K, Schuster S, Bhoj V, Ruella M.: Precision targeting of autoantibody-producing IGHV1-69+ B cells in immune-mediated thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (iTTP) using chimeric antigen receptor T cells. In Proceedings of 67th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting 2025(426), December 2025.
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Selected Publications
1f2 Thomas C, Chung J, Landsburg D, Nasta SD, Svoboda J, Chong E, Schuster S, Carter J, Cook M, Tomasulo E, Elghway O, Lariviere M, Hubbeling H, Plastaras J, Villasenor-Park J, Myers C, Ruella M, Rook A, Kim E, Barta S.: Clinical features and outcomes of patients with non-erythrodermic mycosis fungoides with high blood tumor burden. In Proceedings of 67th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting 2025(560), December 20251de Knoedler L, Herfeld K, Schaefer DA, Diatta F, Clune J, Evans B, Seu M, Kim BS, Alfertshofer M, Schaschinger T, Iske J, Knoedler S, Lellouch AG, Jeljeli M, Carturan A, Ruella M, Heiland M, Poeck H, Perl M, Pomahac B, Kauke-Navarro M.: CAR-T cell therapy and reconstructive oncologic surgery in peripheral solid tumors-A narrative review. Cell Rep Med 6(8), Aug 2025 Notes: doi: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2025.102240.
1bd Porazzi P, Pucillo M, Anant Padmanabhan A, Nason S, Zheng Z, Paruzzo L, Ho M, Michener P, Stella F, Imparato A, Susanibar-Adaniya S, Garfall A, Fraietta J, Ruella M.: Epigenetic reprogramming via EZH1/2 inhibition enhances T cell-mediated immunotherapies against multiple myeloma. In Proceedings of 67th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting(2160), December 2025.
26f Svoboda J, Schuster S, Porter D, Cook M, Nasta SD, Landsburg D, Barta S, Ruella M, Chong E, Carter J, Thomas C, Tomasulo E, Frey N, Connor M, Shea J, Cervini A, McConville J, Tongue C, Four M, Marshall A, Hwang WT, Leskowitz R, Gonzalez V, Christensen S, Plesa G, Siegel D, Jadlowsky J, Fraietta J, Levine B, Hexner E, June C.: IL18-armored CAR T cells in patients with CLL/SLL and Richter’s transformation after prior BTK inhibitor and venetoclax failure. In Proceedings of 67th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting(2394), December 2025.
19d Precision targeting of immune-mediated thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (iTTP) with chimeric auto-antigen receptor (CAAR) T cells.: Khadka R, Cohen I, Parvathaneni K, Lemoine J, Jung S, Bochi-Layec A, Zhao H, Hresko M, Siegel D, Ruella M, Bhoj V. In Proceedings of 67th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting(2341), December 2025.
37d Han Noll J, Ho M, Paruzzo L, Stella F, Devi P, Ndeupen S, Chen G, Cohen I, Ramierz-Fernandez A, Waxman A, Kapur S, Chen F, Xu R, Huff A, Jarocha D, Patel V, Bochi-Layec A, Ramasubramanian R, Liu S, Bouvier R, Souza V, Patel H, Li Z, Carturan A, Michener P, Hopkins C, Koucky O, Minehart J, Dimitri A, Nabar N, Hasanali Z, Ciccarelli B, Williams E, Bartoszek R, Lavorando M, Mohan S, Gonzalez V, Porazzi P, Bhoj V, Apostolidis S, Vogl D, Porter D, Scholler J, Diorio C, Doto A, Everett J, Bushman F, Nathanson K, Stadtmauer E, Susanibar-Adaniya S, Garfall A, Ruella M, Cohen A , Fraietta J.: Delayed neurotoxicity, enterocolitis, and BCMA-CART-associated immune-related adverse events (CirAE) are caused by CD4+ CAR T-cells. In Proceedings of 67th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting 2025(804), December 2025.
243 Cohen A, Susaniber-Adaniya S, Garfall A, Vogl D, Kapur S, Waxman A , Zubka D, Hwang WT, Diaczynsky C, Han Noll J, Ho M, Paruzzo L, Bing Y, Xu R, Thai E, Gonzalez V, Michener P, Ruella M, Fraietta J, Stadtmauer E.: Phase 2 study of cevostamab consolidation following BCMA CAR T cell therapy: preliminary safety, efficacy, and correlative data from the “STEM” (Sequential T Cell-Engagement for Myeloma) trial. In Proceedings of 67th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting 2025(699), December 2025.
253 Stella F, Schneider M, Paruzzo L, Han Noll J, Devi P, Babatunde V, Chong E, Ho M, Thomas C, Cook M, Hossain N, Carter J, Li Z, Tan M, Michener P, Guruprasad P, Patel V, Imparato A, Carturan A, Lemoine J, Souza V, Porazzi P, Fraietta J, Barta S, Nasta SD, Svoboda J, Schuster SJ, Maillard I, Landsburg D, Ruella M.: Naive CD4+ at apheresis and disease control at infusion are associated with improved efficacy in second-line CAR T-cells. In Proceedings of 67th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting(2755), Dec 2025.
202 Lemoine J, Cohen I, Croston G, Bochi-Layec A, Espie D, Ramasubramanian R, Porazzi P, Stella F, Bayat P, Jung S, Iatrou Anastasia, Agathangelidis A, Schuster S, Ghia P, Stamatopoulos K, Ruella M.: Precision targeting of the malignant clone in B-cell malignancies using chimeric antigen receptor T cells against the clonotypic IGHV3-23 B cell receptor. In Proceedings of 67th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting(2348), December 2025.
1df Cohen I, Khadka R, Lemoine L, Bochi-Layec A, Jung S, Kim KH, Zhao H, Hresko M, Siegel D, Ghia P, Stamatopoulos K, Schuster S, Bhoj V, Ruella M.: Precision targeting of autoantibody-producing IGHV1-69+ B cells in immune-mediated thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (iTTP) using chimeric antigen receptor T cells. In Proceedings of 67th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting 2025(426), December 2025.
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