Divij Verma, Ph.D.

Toxic Environmental Exposures Shape Stem Cell Dysfunction and Drive Cancer Evolution

We study how environmental particulate matter (PM), burn-pit chemicals, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) induce DNA damage, proteostasis imbalance, and inflammatory stress in HSCs and the bone marrow microenvironment (BMM). Using murine and humanized models, we investigate how these pathways impair HSC self-renewal, accelerate stem-cell aging, and promote CH. Additionally, our work examines how chronic inflammatory signaling intersects with DNA-damage responses to drive maladaptive stem-cell programs.

Therapeutic Interception of Environmentally Driven Cancers

We aim to identify molecular vulnerabilities that can be targeted to reverse environmental and inflammatory stem-cell injury and evolution to malignant hematological cancers. Through collaborations with clinical teams, we connect mechanistic discoveries to patient cohorts, including World Trade Center–exposed firefighters and U.S. veterans, to translate our findings into human disease contexts.

Inflammation and Metabolic Stress in Prostate Cancer

Extending our stem-cell and inflammation research to solid tumors, we study how chronic inflammatory signaling and metabolic dysregulation foster therapy resistance and tumor progression in prostate cancer. We are investigating common inflammatory drivers shared between hematologic and prostate malignancies. Our goal is to define how targeting chronic inflammation could reprogram the tumor microenvironment, enhance differentiation, and sensitize prostate cancer cells to therapy.

1. Elevated clonal hematopoiesis in 9/11 first responders has distinct age-related patterns and relies on IL1RAP for clonal expansion..
   Verma D*, Zeig-Owens R, Goldfarb DG, Kravets L, Pradhan K, Rockwell B, Sahu S, Kelly S, Giricz O, Jasra S, Zou Y, Prophete C, Torres LS, Aluri S, Chakraborty S, Kumari R, Gordon-Mitchell S, Wang J, Silver AJ, South TM, Olmstead SD, Hall CB, Sidoli S, Bender R, Landgren O, Greenberger LM, Wickrema A, Madireddy A, Shastri A, Pietras EM, LaFave LM, Nolan A, Cohen MD, Savona MR, Steidl U*, Prezant DJ*, Verma A*.
   Cancer Discov. 2025 Oct 1. PMID: 41031953
   *CoCorresponding
2. Glutaminase inhibition in combination with azacytidine in myelodysplastic syndromes: a phase 1b/2 clinical trial and correlative analyses.
   DiNardo CD*, Verma D*, Baran N*, Bhagat TD, Skwarska A, Lodi A, Saxena K, Cai T, Su X, Guerra VA, Poigaialwar G, Kuruvilla VM, Konoplev S, Gordon-Mitchell S, Pradhan K, Aluri S, Hackman GL, Chaudhry S, Collins M, Sweeney SR, Busquets J, Rathore AS, Deng Q, Green MR, Grant S, Demo S, Choudhary GS, Sahu S, Agarwal B, Spodek M, Thiruthuvanathan V, Will B, Steidl U, Tippett GD, Burger J, Borthakur G, Jabbour E, Pemmaraju N, Kadia T, Kornblau S, Daver NG, Naqvi K, Short NJ, Garcia-Manero G, Tiziani S, Verma A, Konopleva M.
   Nat Cancer. 2024 Sep 19. PMID: 39300320
   *Co-First
3. Co-targeting metabolism and epigenetics in MDS with telaglenastat and azacytidine
   Verma D, Konopleva M.
   Nat Cancer. 2024 Sep 27. PMID: 39333781, Research briefing
4. Environmental Pollution Triggers Inflammation In Vivo and is Associated With Higher Risk MDS in an Urban Cohort
   Megha Verma*, Matthew P. Davidsohn*, Christopher Maximilian Arends*, Divij Verma*, Srabani Sahu, Kith Pradhan, Seyedeh Sharareh Dehghani, Hamsa Murli, Sakshi Jasra, Ritesh K. Aggarwal, Hui Zhang, Michael Wysota, Dean Hosgood, Amit Verma, Siddhartha Jaiswal, Yiyu Zou, Aditi Shastri
   American Journal of Hematology. 2025 Nov 11, PMID: 41215735
   *Co-First
5. Cigarette smoking is associated with worse prognosis in myelodysplastic syndromes and hematopoietic alterations in murine models
   Tanya Verma, Srabani Sahu, Kith Pradhan, Ritesh Aggarwala, Shanisha Gordon-Mitchell, Sakshi Jasra, Seyedeh Shareh Dehghani, Hui Zhang, Mason Spodek, loannis Mantzaris, Marina Konopleva, Mendel Goldfinger, Amit Verma*, Dean Hosgood, Divij Verma*, Aditi Shastri*, Yiyu Zou*
   Leukemia and Lymphoma, 2025 April 17, PMID: 40488778
   *Co-corresponding