Carol Ann Huff MD

Carol Ann Huff, M.D., is an Associate Professor of Oncology and Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Medical Director for the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center. After completing a Bachelor of Science in Zoology at Duke University in Durham, NC, Dr. Huff received her medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. She completed her internship and residency in Internal Medicine at Johns Hopkins and was an Assistant Chief of Service in the Department of Medicine before completing her fellowship training in the Department of Oncology at Johns Hopkins University.

Dr. Huff is a nationally-recognized expert in the treatment of multiple myeloma and amyloidosis and in the development of new biologically-based treatment strategies. She has sought to better understand the mechanisms for recurrence and the inability to cure these diseases. Through this research, the identification of a myeloma cancer stem cell has emerged, and efforts to target these cells through combination therapy in clinical trials are ongoing. In collaboration with Dr. William Matsui, Dr. Huff has identified a flow cytometric-based blood analysis for multiple myeloma patients that can be used to quantify the number of myeloma cancer stem cells and track how these cells respond to treatment. Their efforts have revealed that changes in the number of myeloma cancer stem cells can predict recurrence in myeloma patients before clinical evidence of recurrence is detectable. Using this blood analysis, as well as growth of these cells from bone marrow samples taken from patients with myeloma, they have begun studying therapeutic strategies to target these cells based on cell surface markers and enzymatic pathways that are important to the survival of mythema stem cells.