Shaji K. Kumar, MD

Shaji K. Kumar, MD, is a consultant in the Division of Hematology and Mark and Judy Mullins Professor of Hematological Malignancies at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. He is also chair of the Myeloma, Amyloidosis, Dysproteinemia Group; research chair of the Division of Hematology, and associate chair for research in the Department of Medicine, also at Mayo Clinic.  

Dr Kumar received his medical degree from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi. His postdoctoral training included a residency in internal medicine at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, followed by an internal medicine residency and a hematology/oncology fellowship at Mayo Clinic in Rochester. Dr Kumar then served as a Mayo Foundation Scholar at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, MA.  

He is the principal investigator of several phase 1, 2, and 3 clinical trials. His research focuses on the development of novel drugs and drug combinations for the treatment of multiple myeloma. He also focuses on the mechanisms of disease progression from precursor conditions and the risk stratification of plasma cell disorders. His laboratory focuses on understanding the role of the bone marrow microenvironment in the development and progression of multiple myeloma.  

Dr Kumar serves as chair of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Multiple Myeloma Guidelines Panel. He is president-elect of the International Society of Amyloidosis and vice president of the International Myeloma Society. He is also the current editor in chief of The Hematologist, the American Society of Hematology’s official member newsletter.