Markus Müschen, MD-PhD is Director of the Center of Molecular and Cellular Oncology and the Arthur H. and Isabel Bunker Professor of Hematology and Immunobiology at Yale University. Dr. Müschen’s research leverages negative selection mechanisms of the immune system for the treatment of drug-resistant B-cell leukemia and lymphoma. In addition to protective antibodies, humans produce every day about 25 million “rogue” B-cells that express potentially harmful, autoantibodies that can cause autoimmune diseases, like rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. To prevent pervasive autoimmune disease, a powerful mechanism, termed “negative selection”, is in place to eliminate autoreactive B-cells. Dr. Müschen’s research group discovered that “negative selection” also removes malignant B-cells that would give rise to B-cell leukemia and lymphoma. His ongoing research leverages negative selection mechanisms as a new strategy for patients with B-cell malignancies.