Sabarish Ram Ayyappan, M.D.

Sabarish Ram Ayyappan, MD, joined City of Hope Atlanta in May 2023 as Medical Director of Hematologic Malignancies, leading the hematologic malignancies program after coming to City of Hope to help establish the bone marrow transplant program at our Atlanta hospital.

“I was ready for the next step in my career, and the compassionate, patient-centered care model at City of Hope really resonated with me,” says Dr. Ayyappan. “I’m so excited to be a part of building and leading the hematologic malignancies program.”

Dr. Ayyappan earned his medical degree from Madras Medical College in Chennai, India, then completed an internal medicine residency at the Unity hospital in Rochester, New York. After his residency, Dr. Ayyappan served as Chief Fellow for his Hematology and Oncology fellowship at Case Western University in Cleveland, Ohio.

Nearly two decades later, Dr. Ayyappan amassed of experience and accolades, having won numerous awards for his research studies, including the 2021 Developmental Research Program Award from the Lymphoma Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) and the 2013 and 2016 American Society of Hematology Abstract Achievement Awards.

This interest in research was important in leading Dr. Ayyappan to the field of oncology. He’s long had a passion for science and knew he wanted to become a doctor from a young age. He chose to specialize in oncology, in particular, since it allowed him to work as both a clinician and researcher.

“While oncology does include the largest research component,” Dr. Ayyappan says, “I was most compelled to work in this area because of the opportunities to communicate and build relationships with patients over the course of their cancer journeys.”

In addition to his own research, Dr. Ayyappan has served as a reviewer for a number of medical publications, such as the American Journal of Hematology and the Journal of Hematology and Oncology. He’s also a member of the American Society of Hematology, American Society of Clinical Oncology, American Medical Association, Society of Hospital Medicine and the American College of Physicians.

Prior to joining City of Hope, Dr. Ayyappan served as an Assistant Professor at the University of Iowa, working in the Departments of Internal Medicine, Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplantation.

Outside of his work in hematology, Dr. Ayyappan is an avid soccer fan and loves staying active. He particularly enjoys spending time outdoors with his wife and children.

Publications

• An international analysis evaluating frontline bendamustine with rituximab in extranodal marginal zone lymphoma. Alderuccio JP, Arcaini L, Watkins MP, Beaven AW, Shouse G, Epperla N, Spina M, Stefanovic A, Sandoval-Sus J, Torka P, Alpert AB, Olszewski AJ, Kim SH, Hess B, Gaballa S, Ayyappan S, Castillo JJ, Argnani L, Voorhees TJ, Saba R, Chowdhury SM, Vargas F, Reis IM, Kwon D, Alexander JS, Zhao W, Edwards D, Martin P, Cencini E, Kamdar M, Link BK, Logothetis CN, Herrera AF, Friedberg JW, Kahl BS, Luminari S, Zinzani PL, Lossos IS. Blood Adv. 2022 Apr 12;6(7):2035-2044.
• Dharmavaram G, CaoS, Sundaram S, Ayyappan S, Boughan K, Gallogly M, Malek E, Metheny L, Tomlinson B, Otegbeye F, Lazarus HM, Cooper B, Fu P, Delima M, Caimi PF. Aggressive lymphoma subtype is a risk factor for venous thrombosis. Development of lymphoma-specific venous thrombosis prediction models. PMID: 32311162
• Ayyappan S, Maddocks K. Novel and emerging therapies for B cell lymphoma. Journal of hematology and oncology 2019 Jul 25; 12(1):82. PMID: 31345247
• Epperla N, Shana’ah AY, Jones D, Christian BA, Ayyappan S, Maddocks K, Woyach JA. Resistance mechanism for ibrutinib in marginal zone lymphoma. Blood Advances 2019 Feb 26; 3(4): 500- 502. PMID: 30760464
• Adrianzen Herrera D, Ayyappan S, Jasra S, Kornblum N, Derman O, Shastri A, Mantzaris I, Verma A, Braunschweig I, Janakiram M. Characteristics and outcomes of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy in hematologic malignancies and stem cell transplant - a case series. Leuk Lymphoma. 2018 Jul 3:1-7. PMID: 29969336
• Krok-Schoen JL, Fisher JL, Stephens JA, Mims A, Ayyappan S, Woyach JA, Rosko AE. Incidence and survival of hematological cancers among adults ages ≥75 years. Cancer Med. 2018 Apr 13. PMID: 29654631
• Ayyappan S, William BM. Marginal Zone Lymphoma: Clinicopathologic Variations and Approaches to Therapy. Curr Oncol Rep. 2018 Mar 23;20(4):33. PMID: 29572581.
• Kosaraju V, Harwani A, Partovi S, Bhojwani N, Garg V, Ayyappan S, Kosmas C, Robbin M Br J Radiol. Imaging of musculoskeletal manifestations in sickle cell disease patients. Br J Radiol. 2017 May; Epub 2017 Mar 10. PMC5605094.
• Jou E, Gligich O, Chan AC, Mohan D, Felsen UR, Ayyappan S, Billett HH, Hui EP, Chan AT, Raghupathy R. Retrospective study of the prevalence and progression of monoclonal gammopathy in HIV positive versus HIV negative patients. Hematol Oncol. 2017 Mar; 35(1):64-68. Epub 2015 Jul 24. PMID: 26205037.
• Raghupathy R, Ayyappan S, Prabhakar D, Campagnaro EL, Mo FK, Li W, Hui EP, Chan AT, Lei KI. Retrospective study of the incidence and patterns of arterial and venous thrombosis in Chinese versus African American patients with multiple myeloma. Br J Haematol. 2017 Jan; 176(2):315-317. Epub 2016 Jan 26. PMID: 26814167.
• Jou E, Gligich O, Chan AC, Mohan D, Felsen UR, Ayyappan S, Billett HH, Hui EP, Chan AT, Raghupathy R. Viral co-infections and paraproteins in HIV: effect on development of hematological malignancies. Ann Hematol. 2016 Mar; 95(4):575-80. Epub 2016 Jan 9. PMC4944817. 
• Drawz P, Ayyappan S, Nouraie M, Saraf S, Gordeuk V, Hostetter T, Gladwin MT, Little J. Kidney disease among patients with sickle cell disease, hemoglobin SS and SC. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol. 2016 Feb 5; 11 (2): 207-15. Epub 2015 Dec 15. PMC4741034.
• Ayyappan S, Prabhakar D, Sharma N. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)- targeted therapies in esophagogastric cancer. Anticancer Res. 2013 Oct; 33 (10):4139- 55 PMID: 24122977.
• Ayyappan S, Janakiram M, Raghupathy R. Current and emerging therapies in primary myelofibrosis. Cardiovasc Hematol Disord Drug Targets. 2012 Sep; 12 (1):6-20. Review. PMID: 22746348. 
• Ayyappan S, Gonzalez C, Yarlagadda R, Zakharia Y, Woodlock TJ. Lung cancer in the very elderly: incidence, presentation, and diagnostic decision-making. A retrospective analysis at a teaching community hospital. J Community Hosp Intern Med Perspect. 2011 Oct 17; 1 PMC3714041.
• Lakshmanadoss U, Ayyappan S, Jain A, Konezny M, Rajamani K. The broken pen penalty. Diabetes Technol Ther. 2010 Mar; 12 (3): 241-3. PubMed PMID: 20151775.