Brian Ball, M.D.

800-826-4673
Brian Ball, M.D.
Hematologist-Oncologist
Clinical Expertise
Acute Myeloid Leukemia
Myelodysplastic Syndromes
Leukemia
Research Area
Hematology and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation
Leukemia
Appointments
Assistant Professor, Division of Leukemia, Department of Hematology & Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation
Clinical Teams
Acute Myeloid Leukemia
Leukemia
Myelodysplastic Syndrome
Hematology & Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation
It is an exciting time to be at City of Hope as it stands at the forefront of cancer discovery.
Brian Ball, M.D., specializes in acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndromes, and is driven to improve the lives of patients with myeloid malignancies. It’s been his focus ever since his undergrad days in Boston when, as a lab assistant at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, “I observed oncologists in clinic and was inspired by their competence, empathy and commitment ... I also witnessed the limitations of current leukemia therapies, which motivated my interest in understanding the genetic basis of cancer.”
 
Dr. Ball received his medical degree at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, then continued his training at Yale-New Haven Hospital and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. At Yale, he co-directed the school’s Refugee Health Clinic. He’s earned numerous honors and awards, including being selected as chief fellow at Memorial Sloan Kettering and Yale’s coveted Global Health Scholar program enabling him to study in South Africa.
 
Dr. Ball has a keen interest in researching the molecular mechanisms mediating resistance to current leukemia treatments. One of his proposals for overcoming resistance to apoptosis therapies earned him the American Society of Clinical Oncology Young Investigator Award at Memorial Sloan Kettering. He expects to advance and grow his research at City of Hope, a place he lauds as “a leading institution in the field of leukemia and bone marrow transplant.”

Location

Education & Experience

Degrees

  • 2010-2014, M.D., Doctor of Medicine, cum laude, Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington, DC

  • 2009-2010, M.D., Physiology and Biophysics, Georgetown University, Washington, DC

  • 2002-2006, B.S., Biology, Minor in German Studies, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA

Fellowship

  • 2017-2020, Hematology-Oncology Fellowship, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY

Residency

  • 2014-2017, Internal Medicine Residency, Yale-New Haven Hospital, New Haven, CT

Internship

  • 2011, Research Internship, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Hematology and Oncology Department, Boston, MA

Professional Experience

  • 2020-present, Assistant Professor, Division of Leukemia, Department of Hematology & Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation, City of Hope, Duarte, CA

  • 2015-2017, Myelodysplastic Syndromes Research, Hematology and Oncology Department, Yale University, New Haven, CT

  • 2013-2014, Gastrointestinal Malignancies Research, Hematology and Oncology Department, Georgetown University, Washington, DC

  • 2006-2009, Research Technician, Hematology and Oncology Department, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA

Awards & Memberships

Awards

  • 2020, Mortimer J. Lacher Fellowship Funding from the Lymphoma Foundation

  • 2019-2020, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Chief Fellow

  • 2019, American Society of Hematology Abstract Achievement Award for the ASH Annual Meeting

  • 2016, American Society of Hematology Abstract Achievement Award for the ASH Annual Meeting

  • 2017, Yale/Stanford Global Health Scholar Recipient

  • 2014, Alpha Omega Alpha

  • 2014, The Jesuit Leadership and Service Award

  • 2014, Michael J. Caruso, MD Memorial Award

  • 2013, Read Poster Recipient, Awarded to members of Georgetown exemplifying “Cura Personalis”

Memberships

  • Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Certificate Program in Clinical Investigation

Publications

  • Saliba, A. N., Kaufmann, S. H., Stein, E. M., Patel, P. A., Baer, M. R., Stock, W., Deininger, M., Blum, W., Schiller, G. J., Olin, R. L., Litzow, M. R., Lin, T. L., Ball, B. J., Boyiadzis, M. M., Traer, E., Odenike, O., Arellano, M. L., Walker, A., Duong, V. H., Kovacsovics, T., … Foran, J. M. (2023). Pevonedistat with azacitidine in older patients with TP53-mutated AML: a phase 2 study with laboratory correlates. Blood advances, 7(11), 2360–2363. https://doi.org/10.1182/bloodadvances.2022008625
  • La Rosa, C., Aldoss, I., Park, Y., Yang, D., Zhou, Q., Gendzekhadze, K., Kaltcheva, T., Rida, W., Dempsey, S., Arslan, S., Artz, A., Ball, B., Nikolaenko, L., Pullarkat, V. A., Nakamura, R., & Diamond, D. J. (2023). Hematopoietic stem cell donor vaccination with cytomegalovirus triplex augments frequencies of functional and durable cytomegalovirus-specific T cells in the recipient: A novel strategy to limit antiviral prophylaxis. American journal of hematology, 98(4), 588–597. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajh.26824
  • Bewersdorf, J. P., Shallis, R. M., Derkach, A., Goldberg, A. D., Stein, A., Stein, E. M., Marcucci, G., Zeidan, A. M., Shimony, S., DeAngelo, D. J., Stone, R. M., Aldoss, I., Ball, B. J., & Stahl, M. (2023). Venetoclax-based salvage therapy in patients with relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia previously treated with FLT3 or IDH1/2 inhibitors. Leukemia & lymphoma, 64(1), 188–196. https://doi.org/10.1080/10428194.2022.2136952
  • Ball, B. J., Arslan, S., Koller, P., Ngo, D., Afkhami, M., Salhotra, A., Al-Malki, M., Aribi, A., Ali, H., Sandhu, K., Otoukesh, S., Amanam, I., Pourhassan, H., Artz, A., Curtin, P., Stein, A., Nakamura, R., Marcucci, G., Smith, E., Pullarkat, V., … Aldoss, I. (2022). Clinical experience with venetoclax and hypomethylating agents (HMA) in patients with newly diagnosed and relapsed or refractory KMT2A-Rearranged acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Leukemia & lymphoma, 63(13), 3232–3236. https://doi.org/10.1080/10428194.2022.2116934
  • Bewersdorf, J. P., Shallis, R. M., Derkach, A., Goldberg, A. D., Stein, A., Stein, E. M., Marcucci, G., Zeidan, A. M., Shimony, S., DeAngelo, D. J., Stone, R. M., Aldoss, I., Ball, B. J., & Stahl, M. (2022). Efficacy of FLT3 and IDH1/2 inhibitors in patients with acute myeloid leukemia previously treated with venetoclax. Leukemia research, 122, 106942. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leukres.2022.106942
  • Huang, F., Sun, J., Chen, W., Zhang, L., He, X., Dong, H., Wu, Y., Wang, H., Li, Z., Ball, B., Khaled, S., Marcucci, G., & Li, L. (2022). TET2 deficiency promotes MDS-associated leukemogenesis. Blood cancer journal, 12(10), 141. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41408-022-00739-w
  • Blackmon, A., Aldoss, I., & Ball, B. J. (2022). FLT3 Inhibitors as Maintenance Therapy after Allogeneic Stem-Cell Transplantation. Blood and lymphatic cancer : targets and therapy, 12, 137–147. https://doi.org/10.2147/BLCTT.S281252
  • Ball, B. J., Koller, P. B., & Pullarkat, V. (2022). Venetoclax in combination with nucleoside analogs in acute myelogenous leukemia. Current opinion in oncology, 34(5), 531–539. https://doi.org/10.1097/CCO.0000000000000868
  • Ball B, Borthakur G, Stein A, Chan K, Thai D, Stein E. Safety and efficacy of casein kinase 1α and cyclin dependent kinase 7/9 inhibition in patients with relapsed or refractory AML: A first-in-human study of BTX-A51. JCO. 2022 June; 40(16_suppl):7030-7030.
  • Salhotra, A., Tsai, N. C., Zhang, J., Ngo, D., Aribi, A., Sandhu, K., Ball, B., Al-Malki, M., Ali, H., Koller, P., Artz, A., Forman, S., Nakamura, R., Stein, A., Marcucci, G., Aldoss, I., & Pullarkat, V. (2022). Venetoclax and hypomethylating agents yield high response rates and favourable transplant outcomes in patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukaemia. British journal of haematology, 196(6), e71–e74. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjh.17996

Ratings & Reviews

Ratings and reviews below are gathered from the Press Ganey Clinician and Group Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CG CAHPS) survey. CG CAHPS is a standardized survey that is used to measure a patient's experience in the physician office setting. Ratings are an average of all responses to questions about a provider's care, with five stars being the highest.
Ratings
4.8
Recommend this provider office
4.8
Provider listen carefully to you
4.8
Know important info medical history
4.8
Show respect for what you say
4.8
Spend enough time with you
4.8
Rate provider 0-10
4.7
Provider explain in way you understand
Reviews
05/13/24
Dr Ball is second to none as far as patient concern, knowledge and decision making. In short he and the entire healthcare team saved my life and I'm forever grateful! - Verified patient
05/13/24
Second to none healthcare - Verified patient
05/08/24
Awesome Care! - Verified patient
05/08/24
User Friendly! - Verified patient
05/08/24
Great Experience! - Verified patient