Associate Lab Director, Blood and Marrow Transplant and Cellular Therapeutics Clinical Laboratory
Director, Bone Marrow Collections
Attending Physician, Blood and Marrow Transplant and Cellular Therapy
Recognition & Awards
Young Physician-Scientist Award, American Society for Clinical Investigation
(2019)
Junior Faculty Scholar, American Society of Hematology
(2018)
Scholar, University of Colorado Department of Pediatrics K12
(2015)
Pediatric Scientist Development Program Fellow, The Association of Medical School Pediatric Department Chairs Inc. (AMSPDC)
(2013)
Research Interests
Dr. Lee-Sherick is a Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplant specialist at Children's Hospital Colorado. Dr. Lee Sherick's primary research focus is to harness the immune system to more effectively cure acute leukemia. The Lee Sherick lab explores the role that tolerogenic macrophages and dendritic cells play in immune evasion of leukemia and how this can be reversed. One such approach is by inhibiting efferocytosis by blocking phosphatidyl serine receptors (such as MerTK) on macrophages and dendritic cells, which results in an anti-tumor microenvironment and decreases immune evasion. The hope is that the knowledge gained from this research can be used to develop novel immunotherapeutic approaches to treat acute leukemias.
Teaching
Academic Clinical Mentor
(2018)
School of Medicine,
Pediatrics
Medical training of MD and MD/PhD students.
Publications
Alisa B. Lee-Sherick, Kristen Allison, Joselyn Cruz Cruz, Jane Koo, Michael Verneris. “Inhibiting efferocytosis in acute myeloid leukemia decreases checkpoint blockade through decreased CCL5/STAT6 signaling and increases activation through NF-kB.” [Accepted to the American Society of Hematology, December 2021]
Koo J, Hayashi M, Verneris MR, Lee-Sherick AB. Targeting Tumor-Associated Macrophages in the Pediatric Sarcoma Tumor Microenvironment. Front Oncol. 2020;10:581107. PubMed PMID: 33381449
Lee-Sherick AB, Jacobsen KM, Henry CJ, Huey MG, Parker RE, Page LS, Hill AA, Wang X, Frye SV, Earp HS, Jordan CT, DeRyckere D, Graham DK. MERTK inhibition alters the PD-1 axis and promotes anti-leukemia immunity. JCI Insight. 2020 Dec 3;5(23). PubMed PMID: 33268596
Koo J, Hayashi M, Verneris MR, Lee-Sherick AB. Targeting Tumor-Associated Macrophages in the Pediatric Sarcoma Tumor Microenvironment. Front Oncol. 2020;10:581107. PubMed PMID: 33381449
Branchford BR, Stalker TJ, Law L, Acevedo G, Sather S, Brzezinski C, Wilson KM, Minson K, Lee-Sherick AB, Davizon-Castillo P, Ng C, Zhang W, Neeves KB, Lentz SR, Wang X, Frye SV, Shelton Earp H 3rd, DeRyckere D, Brass LF, Graham DK, Di Paola JA. The small-molecule MERTK inhibitor UNC2025 decreases platelet activation and prevents thrombosis. J Thromb Haemost. 2018 Feb;16(2):352-363. PubMed PMID: 29045015
Lee-Sherick AB, Jacobsen KM, Henry CJ, Huey MG, Parker RE, Page LS, Hill AA, Wang X, Frye SV, Earp HS, Jordan CT, DeRyckere D, Graham DK. MERTK inhibition alters the PD-1 axis and promotes anti-leukemia immunity. JCI Insight. 2018 Nov 2;3(21). [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 30385715
Lee-Sherick AB, Jacobsen KM, Henry CJ, Huey MG, Parker RE, Page LS, Hill AA, Wang X, Frye SV, Earp HS, Jordan CT, DeRyckere D, Graham DK. MERTK inhibition alters the PD-1 axis and promotes anti-leukemia immunity. JCI Insight. 2018 Nov 2;3(21). PubMed PMID: 30385715
Branchford BR, Stalker TJ, Law L, Acevedo G, Sather S, Brzezinski C, Wilson KM, Minson K, Lee-Sherick AB, Davizon-Castillo P, Ng C, Zhang W, Neeves KB, Lentz SR, Wang X, Frye SV, Earp HS, DeRyckere D, Brass LF, Graham DK, Di Paola JA. The small molecule MERTK inhibitor UNC2025 decreases platelet activation and prevents thrombosis. J Thromb Haemost. 2017 Oct 17. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 29045015
DeRyckere D, Lee-Sherick AB, Huey MG, Hill AA, Tyner JW, Jacobsen KM, Page LS, Kirkpatrick GG, Eryildiz F, Montgomery SA, Zhang W, Wang X, Frye SV, Earp HS, Graham DK. UNC2025, a MERTK Small-Molecule Inhibitor, Is Therapeutically Effective Alone and in Combination with Methotrexate in Leukemia Models. Clin Cancer Res. 2017 Mar 15;23(6):1481-1492. PubMed PMID: 27649555
McCubbrey AL, Allison KC, Lee-Sherick AB, Jakubzick CV, Janssen WJ. Promoter Specificity and Efficacy in Conditional and Inducible Transgenic Targeting of Lung Macrophages. Front Immunol. 2017;8:1618. PubMed PMID: 29225599
DeRyckere D, Lee-Sherick AB, Huey MG, Hill AA, Tyner JW, Jacobsen KM, Page LS, Kirkpatrick GG, Eryildiz F, Montgomery SA, Zhang W, Wang X, Frye SV, Earp HS, Graham DK. UNC2025, a MERTK Small-Molecule Inhibitor, Is Therapeutically Effective Alone and in Combination with Methotrexate in Leukemia Models. Clin Cancer Res. 2017 Mar 15;23(6):1481-1492. PubMed PMID: 27649555
Sufit A, Lee-Sherick AB, DeRyckere D, Rupji M, Dwivedi B, Varella-Garcia M, Pierce AM, Kowalski J, Wang X, Frye SV, Earp HS, Keating AK, Graham DK. MERTK Inhibition Induces Polyploidy and Promotes Cell Death and Cellular Senescence in Glioblastoma Multiforme. PLoS One. 2016 Oct 26;11(10):e0165107. PubMed PMID: 27783662
DeRyckere D, Lee Sherick AB, Huey MG, Hill AA, Tyner JW, Jacobsen KM, Page LS, Kirkpatrick GD, Eryildiz F, Montgomery SA, Zhang W, Wang X, Frye SV, Earp HS, Graham DK. UNC2025, a MerTK small molecule inhibitor, is therapeutically effective alone and in combination with methotrexate in leukemia models. Clin Cancer Res. 2016 Sep 20. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 27649555
Minson KA, Smith CC, DeRyckere D, Libbrecht C, Lee-Sherick AB, Huey MG, Lasater EA, Kirkpatrick GD, Stashko MA, Zhang W, Jordan CT, Kireev D, Wang X, Frye SV, Earp HS, Shah NP, Graham DK. The MERTK/FLT3 inhibitor MRX-2843 overcomes resistance-conferring FLT3 mutations in acute myeloid leukemia. JCI Insight. 2016 Mar;1(3):e85630. PubMed PMID: 27158668
Sufit A, Lee-Sherick AB, DeRyckere D, Rupji M, Dwivedi B, Varella-Garcia M, Pierce AM, Kowalski J, Wang X, Frye SV, Earp HS, Keating AK, Graham DK. MERTK Inhibition Induces Polyploidy and Promotes Cell Death and Cellular Senescence in Glioblastoma Multiforme. PLoS One. 2016;11(10):e0165107. PubMed PMID: 27783662
Lee-Sherick AB, Zhang W, Menachof KK, Hill AA, Rinella S, Kirkpatrick G, Page LS, Stashko MA, Jordan CT, Wei Q, Liu J, Zhang D, DeRyckere D, Wang X, Frye S, Earp HS, Graham DK. Efficacy of a Mer and Flt3 tyrosine kinase small molecule inhibitor, UNC1666, in acute myeloid leukemia. Oncotarget. 2015 Mar 30;6(9):6722-36. PubMed PMID: 25762638
Noetzli L, Lo RW, Lee-Sherick AB, Callaghan M, Noris P, Savoia A, Rajpurkar M, Jones K, Gowan K, Balduini CL, Pecci A, Gnan C, De Rocco D, Doubek M, Li L, Lu L, Leung R, Landolt-Marticorena C, Hunger S, Heller P, Gutierrez-Hartmann A, Xiayuan L, Pluthero FG, Rowley JW, Weyrich AS, Kahr WH, Porter CC, Di Paola J. Germline mutations in ETV6 are associated with thrombocytopenia, red cell macrocytosis and predisposition to lymphoblastic leukemia. Nat Genet. 2015 May;47(5):535-8. PubMed PMID: 25807284
Christoph S, Lee-Sherick AB, Sather S, DeRyckere D, Graham DK. Pre-clinical evaluation of tyrosine kinase inhibitors for treatment of acute leukemia. J Vis Exp. 2013 Sep 18;(79):e50720. PubMed PMID: 24084362
Kristen C. Allison, Lauren S. Page, Xiaodong Wang, H. Shelton Earp, Stephen V. Frye, Ross M. Kedl, Craig T. Jordan, Douglas K. Graham, Michael R. Verneris, Alisa B. Lee-Sherick. Immune-mediated clearance of acute myeloid leukemia through inhibition of efferocytosis [Under Review at Blood]
Clinical Interests
My clinical interest is in stem cell transplantation & cellular therapy for relapsed or refractory pediatric cancers.
Care Philosophy
It is amazing to look back 30-40 years and see how much progress we have made in the clinical care of pediatric patients with cancer. My goal, both clinically and through my research, is to continue to improve survival rates and figure out how to minimize toxicities of our cancer fighting therapies. I believe that this progress includes both the use of new/novel treatment options, as well as collaborating with families to determine the best care plan for their children.
Personal Interests
In my spare time, I enjoy hanging out with my kids, yoga, snowboarding, listening to music, running, learning about different cultures and watching action movies.
Volunteer Activities
I enjoy sharing my research with people! As a kid, I knew I wanted to be a doctor, but wasn't sure what the role was for research in medicine. In medical school I realized that research is about finding creative and thoughtful ways to solve my patients' medical problems. The majority of my volunteering is centered around sharing how exciting the immune system is and how it can be harnessed to fight cancer.
Public Speaking Yes
Suppressive tumor associated macrophages & tumor infiltrating myeloid derived cells, Women in medicine/science, Hematopoietic stem cell transplant & cellular therapy
General Information
Medical Schools:
MD, University of Minnesota Medical School
(2006)
Undergraduate Schools:
BA, University of Minnesota–Twin Cities (MN)
(1999)
Internships:
Children's Hospital of Orange County Program
(2007)
Residency Programs:
Oregon Health & Science University, Pediatrics (2009)
Fellowships:
University of Colorado (Children's Hospital Colorado) Program, Pediatric Hematology / Oncology
(2012)