PROJECT
SUPERVISORS
Project Supervisor
Ciprian Tomuleasa
Background
I am a physician scientist specializing in basic and translational research in oncology and hematology. I obtained my medical degree from Iuliu Haţieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Cluj-Napoca (UMF Cluj) and completed my residency in clinical hematology at the Ion Chiricuță Oncology Institute. I also earned my PhD in cancer immunology at UMF Cluj, complementing my research training with international experience in the United States, first in the Department of Internal Medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (Baltimore, MD), and later in the Department of Cellular Therapy and Stem Cell Transplantation at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (Houston, TX).
I currently work as a hematologist, lecturer, and translational research scientist at UMF Cluj and the Ion Chiricuță Oncology Institute. In addition, I serve as General Secretary for both the Hematology and Cellular Therapies Committees under the Romanian Ministry of Health. For the past ten years, I have also organized the annual conference Insights in Hematology, which brings leading international experts in hematology and stem cell transplantation to Romania and is now recognized as one of the most important hematology meetings in Eastern Europe.
Research
The Department of Translational Medicine and Rare Diseases, which I lead at the Medfuture Research Center of Iuliu Haţieganu University, focuses on developing fundamental and translational research protocols in hemato-oncology, including immunotherapy, stem cell transplantation, therapy resistance, and minimal residual disease (MRD) detection.
Our lab develops genetically engineered T-cell therapies (CAR-T–like approaches), which we test in vitro and in vivo to explore their potential as alternatives to conventional chemotherapy. We are also advancing multi-omic patient profiling and AI-assisted biomarker discovery through international collaborations, aiming to accelerate progress in personalized hematology. By translating laboratory discoveries into the clinical workflow, which remains one of the main challenges in biomedical research, we aim to directly improve patient outcomes while strengthening regional healthcare infrastructure.
Publications
Tomuleasa C, Tigu A‑B, Munteanu R, Moldovan C‑S, Kegyes D, Onaciu A, Gulei D, Ghiaur G, Einsele H, Croce C M (2024). Therapeutic advances of targeting receptor tyrosine kinases in cancer. Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy, 9(1):201.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41392-024-01899-w
Kegyes D, Constantinescu C, Vrancken L, Rasche L, Gregoire C, Tigu B, Gulei D, Dima D, Tanase A, Einsele H, Ciurea S, Tomuleasa C, Caers J (2022). Patient selection for CAR‑T or BiTE therapy in multiple myeloma: Which treatment for each patient? Journal of Hematology & Oncology, 15:78.
https://doi.org/10.1186/s13045-022-01296-2
Gulei D, Drula R, Ghiaur G, Buzoianu AD, Kravtsova‑Ivantsiv Y, Tomuleasa C, Ciechanover A (2023). The Tumor Suppressor Functions of Ubiquitin Ligase KPC1: From Cell-Cycle Control to NF-κB Regulator. Cancer Research, 83(11):1762-1767.
https://doi.org/10.1158/0008-5472.can-22-3739
Constantinescu C, Pasca S, Tat T, Teodorescu P, Vlad C, Iluta S, Dima D, Tomescu D, Scarlatescu E, Tanase A, Sigurjonsson O E, Colita A, Einsele H, Tomuleasa C (2020). Continuous renal replacement therapy in cytokine release syndrome following immunotherapy or cellular therapies? Journal for Immunotherapy of Cancer, 8(1): e000742.
https://doi.org/10.1136/jitc-2020-000742
Kegyes D, Bancos A, Tigu AB, et al., Tomuleasa C, Ciechanover A (2025). Targeting degradation of IKZF1 and IKZF3 through modulation of the E3 ligase substrates in the context of cellular therapies for multiple myeloma. Biomarker Research. 13:105
https://doi.org/10.1186/s40364-025-00825-8