Kojo S.J. Elenitoba-Johnson, MD
Pathologist
My Role at MSKWe post reviews for MSK healthcare providers who have at least 30 patient experience surveys completed. If you do not see reviews for a provider, it may be because they do not yet have enough survey responses, or the provider may not be part of the group of healthcare providers included in the survey.
Only outpatient providers are included in the survey. Healthcare providers who only work in the hospital or in urgent care are not included in the survey. Pathologists or researchers who do not provide direct care to patients do not have reviews.
About Me
- Chair, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
- James Ewing Alumni Chair of Pathology
I was inspired to pursue a career as a pathologist during my lectures as a medical student when I learned how foundational accurate diagnosis is to the practice of medicine at all levels and, in particular, in oncology. I have practiced pathology for more than 30 years and have spent a significant part of my career practicing as a molecular pathologist with a concentration in hematopoietic neoplasms, particularly lymphoma.
In addition to serving as Chief of the Department of Pathology and Lab Medicine at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK), I am a member of its Diagnostic Molecular Pathology Service. Our service frequently utilizes next-generation sequencing and techniques that interrogate structural alterations that drive lymphomagenesis (the growth and development of lymphoma) and disease progression.
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As a pathologist, I am not directly patient-facing most of the time. However, on occasions when I’ve had the opportunity to meet with patients, they’ve been most interested in understanding the biology of their disease, as well as what the environmental or hereditary implications might be. I endeavor to address any questions unique to an individual patient, who may often come with concerns specific to their own circumstances. It is important to me that patients feel well-informed about their condition and secure in the knowledge that they are free to return with any questions that may emerge later.
My research is devoted to understanding the molecular events that underlie the pathogenesis (the origination and development) of lymphoma and identifying specific biomarkers and therapeutic targets specific to lymphoma subtypes.
Outside of my work at MSK, I enjoy reading history, listening to live music — particularly jazz concerts — going to the theater, and playing racquet sports.
A pathologist is a doctor who uses a microscope to make a diagnosis from cell and tissue samples. They analyze the samples to learn the cause and effects of a health condition.
My Specialties
- Hematopathology
- Diagnostic Molecular Pathology
Education
- MBBS, College of Medicine, University of Lagos and Lagos Teaching Hospital
Residencies
- Anatomic and Clinical Pathology, Brown University
Awards and Honors
- Elected Member, National Academy of Medicine (2023)
- James Ewing Alumni Chair, Department of Pathology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (2022)
- President, Association for Molecular Pathology (2017-2018)
- Inaugural Peter C. Nowell, MD, Chair, Founding Director, Center for Personalized Diagnostics, University of Pennsylvania (2015)
- Outstanding Investigator Award, American Society of Investigative Pathology (former Warner-Lambert/AMGEN, 2012)
- Elected Member, American Society for Clinical Investigation (2011)
- Ramzi Cotran Young Investigator US Canadian Academy of Pathology Award (2006)
Fellowships
- Hematopathology, Lab of Pathology, National Cancer Institute – National Institutes of Health
Board Certifications
- Combined Anatomic and Clinical Pathology
- Hematology and Molecular Genetic Pathology
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Search clinical trialsResearch and Publications
View Dr. Elenitoba-Johnson's Lab
Elenitoba-Johnson KS, Bohling SD, Wittwer CT, King TC. Multiplex PCR by multicolor fluorimetry and fluorescence melting curve analysis. Nat Med. 2001 Feb;7(2):249-53. doi: 10.1038/84708. PMID: 11175859.
Elenitoba-Johnson KS, Jenson SD, Abbott RT, Palais RA, Bohling SD, Lin Z, Tripp S, Shami PJ, Wang LY, Coupland RW, Buckstein R, Perez-Ordonez B, Perkins SL, Dube ID, Lim MS. Involvement of multiple signaling pathways in follicular lymphoma transformation: p38-mitogen-activated protein kinase as a target for therapy. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2003 Jun 10;100(12):7259-64. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1137463100. Epub 2003 May 19. PMID: 12756297; PMCID: PMC165863.
Elenitoba-Johnson KS, Crockett DK, Schumacher JA, Jenson SD, Coffin CM, Rockwood AL, Lim MS. Proteomic identification of oncogenic chromosomal translocation partners encoding chimeric anaplastic lymphoma kinase fusion proteins. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2006 May 9;103(19):7402-7. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0506514103. Epub 2006 May 1. PMID: 16651537; PMCID: PMC1464352.
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Lim MS, Carlson ML, Crockett DK, Fillmore GC, Abbott DR, Elenitoba-Johnson OF, Tripp SR, Rassidakis GZ, Medeiros LJ, Szankasi P, Elenitoba-Johnson KS. The proteomic signature of NPM/ALK reveals deregulation of multiple cellular pathways. Blood. 2009 Aug 20;114(8):1585-95. doi: 10.1182/blood-2009-02-204735. Epub 2009 Jun 16. PMID: 19531656.
Velusamy T, Kiel MJ, Sahasrabuddhe AA, Rolland D, Dixon CA, Bailey NG, Betz BL, Brown NA, Hristov AC, Wilcox RA, Miranda RN, Medeiros LJ, Jeon YK, Inamdar KV, Lim MS, Elenitoba-Johnson KS. A novel recurrent NPM1-TYK2 gene fusion in cutaneous CD30-positive lymphoproliferative disorders. Blood. 2014 Dec 11;124(25):3768-71. doi: 10.1182/blood-2014-07-588434. Epub 2014 Oct 27. PMID: 25349176.
Kiel MJ, Velusamy T, Betz BL, Zhao L, Weigelin HG, Chiang MY, Huebner-Chan DR, Bailey NG, Yang DT, Bhagat G, Miranda RN, Bahler DW, Medeiros LJ, Lim MS, Elenitoba-Johnson KS. Whole-genome sequencing identifies recurrent somatic NOTCH2 mutations in splenic marginal zone lymphoma. J Exp Med. 2012 Aug 27;209(9):1553-65. doi: 10.1084/jem.20120910. Epub 2012 Aug 13. PMID: 22891276; PMCID: PMC3428949.
Velusamy T, Palanisamy N, Kalyana-Sundaram S, Sahasrabuddhe AA, Maher CA, Robinson DR, Bahler DW, Cornell TT, Wilson TE, Lim MS, Chinnaiyan AM, Elenitoba-Johnson KS. Recurrent reciprocal RNA chimera involving YPEL5 and PPP1CB in chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2013 Feb 19;110(8):3035-40. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1214326110. Epub 2013 Feb 4. PMID: 23382248; PMCID: PMC3581970.
Kiel MJ, Velusamy T, Rolland D, Sahasrabuddhe AA, Chung F, Bailey NG, Schrader A, Li B, Li JZ, Ozel AB, Betz BL, Miranda RN, Medeiros LJ, Zhao L, Herling M, Lim MS, Elenitoba-Johnson KS. Integrated genomic sequencing reveals mutational landscape of T-cell prolymphocytic leukemia. Blood. 2014 Aug 28;124(9):1460-72. doi: 10.1182/blood-2014-03-559542. Epub 2014 May 13. PMID: 24825865; PMCID: PMC4148768.
Nie Z, Du MQ, McAllister-Lucas LM, Lucas PC, Bailey NG, Hogaboam CM, Lim MS, Elenitoba-Johnson KS. Conversion of the LIMA1 tumour suppressor into an oncogenic LMO-like protein by API2-MALT1 in MALT lymphoma. Nat Commun. 2015 Jan 8;6:5908. doi: 10.1038/ncomms6908. PMID: 25569716.
Kiel MJ, Sahasrabuddhe AA, Rolland DCM, Velusamy T, Chung F, Schaller M, Bailey NG, Betz BL, Miranda RN, Porcu P, Byrd JC, Medeiros LJ, Kunkel SL, Bahler DW, Lim MS, Elenitoba-Johnson KSJ. Genomic analyses reveal recurrent mutations in epigenetic modifiers and the JAK-STAT pathway in Sézary syndrome. Nat Commun. 2015 Sep 29;6:8470. doi: 10.1038/ncomms9470. PMID: 26415585; PMCID: PMC4598843.
Sande CM, Wu R, Yang G, Sussman RT, Bigdeli A, Rushton C, Chitturi A, Patel J, Szankasi P, Morrissette JJD, Lim MS, Elenitoba-Johnson KSJ. Rapid and Automated Semiconductor-Based Next-Generation Sequencing for Simultaneous Detection of Somatic DNA and RNA Aberrations in Myeloid Neoplasms. J Mol Diagn. 2023 Feb;25(2):87-93. doi: 10.1016/j.jmoldx.2022.11.005. Epub 2022 Dec 8. PMID: 36503148.
Visit PubMed for a full listing of Dr. Elenitoba-Johnson’s journal articles. Pubmed is an online index of research papers and other articles from the US National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health.
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Disclosures
Doctors and faculty members often work with pharmaceutical, device, biotechnology, and life sciences companies, and other organizations outside of MSK, to find safe and effective cancer treatments, to improve patient care, and to educate the health care community.
MSK requires doctors and faculty members to report (“disclose”) the relationships and financial interests they have with external entities. As a commitment to transparency with our community, we make that information available to the public.
Kojo S.J. Elenitoba-Johnson discloses the following relationships and financial interests:
-
Genomenon, Inc.
Equity; Intellectual Property Rights
If you’re a patient at MSK and would like more information about your doctor’s external relationships, please talk with your doctor.
The information published here is a complement to other publicly reported data and is for a specific annual disclosure period. There may be differences between information on this and other public sites as a result of different reporting periods and/or the various ways relationships and financial interests are categorized by organizations that publish such data.
This page and data include information for a specific MSK annual disclosure period (January 1, 2023 through disclosure submission in spring 2024). This data reflects interests that may or may not still exist. This data is updated annually.
Learn more about MSK’s COI policies here. For questions regarding MSK’s COI-related policies and procedures, email MSK’s Compliance Office at [email protected].
