Angela Rivers, MD, PhD

Angela Rivers, PhD, MD is a Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist. It is her career goal to work to improve the lives of both children and adults with sickle cell disease. She has been Principal Investigator for several high-profile studies and received extramural research funding from government agencies, pharmaceutical companies focused on sickle cell drug therapeutics, and the NIH/NHLBI (including K01, R03, and R01 grants). Dr. Rivers is currently the principal investigator of the Rivers Lab. Based in the Department of Pediatrics-Hematology, at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland, Rivers Lab is the first to publish the novel discovery that there is a higher presence of red blood cells (RBC) containing mitochondria in sickle cell disease (SCD) mice and human patients compared to normal controls.
Education
Fellowship, 2010 - Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, University of Florida
Resident, 2006 - Internal Medicine/Pediatrics, University of South Florida
MD, 2002 - Medicine, Stanford University
PhD, 1998 - Biomedical Science, Meharry Medical College
BA, 1993 - Liberal Arts, Simons Rock College of Bard

  1. Lavelle D, Ibanez V, Vaitkus K, Zhang X, Ramasamy J, Rivers AE, Saunthararajah Y, Molokie R. Combinatorial targeting of epigenome-modifying enzymes with small molecule drugs synergistically increases HbF. Blood advances 2023. PMID: 36884303


  2. Gallivan A, Alejandro M, Kanu A, Zekaryas N, Horneman H, Hong LK, Vinchinsky E, Lavelle D, Diamond AM, Molokie RE, Ramasamy J, Rivers A. Reticulocyte mitochondrial retention increases reactive oxygen species and oxygen consumption in mouse models of sickle cell disease and phlebotomy-induced anemia. Experimental hematology 2023. PMID: 36934777


  3. Zempsky WT, Yanaros M, Sayeem M, Boruchov D, Piccone CM, Manwani D, Strunk C, Tartaglione I, Colombatti R, Akatue S, Oteng B, Owda A, Bamfo R, Wilson S, Rivers A, Farooq F, Urbonya R, Boatemaa GD, Rao S, Inusa B, Antwi-Boasiako C, Segbefia C, Sey F, Andemariam B, Asare EV, Campbell AD. Pain Burden in the CASiRe International Cohort of Sickle Cell Patients: United States and Ghana. Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.) 2022. PMID: 35166851


  4. Campbell AD, Colombatti R, Andemariam B, Strunk C, Tartaglione I, Piccone CM, Manwani D, Asare EV, Boruchov D, Farooq F, Urbonya R, Boatemaa GD, Perrotta S, Sainati L, Rivers A, Rao S, Zempsky W, Sey F, Segbefia C, Inusa B, Antwi-Boasiako C. An Analysis of Racial and Ethnic Backgrounds Within the CASiRe International Cohort of Sickle Cell Disease Patients: Implications for Disease Phenotype and Clinical Research. 2020. PMID: 32418182


  5. Antwi-Boasiako C, Andemariam B, Colombatti R, Asare EV, Strunk C, Piccone CM, Manwani D, Boruchov D, Farooq F, Urbonya R, Wilson S, Boatemaa GD, Perrotta S, Sainati L, Rivers A, Rao S, Zempsky W, Ekem I, Sey F, Segbefia C, Inusa B, Tartaglione I, Campbell AD. A study of the geographic distribution and associated risk factors of leg ulcers within an international cohort of sickle cell disease patients: the CASiRe group analysis. 2020. PMID: 32377816


  6. Rivers A, Molokie R, Lavelle D. A new target for fetal hemoglobin reactivation. Haematologica 2019. PMID: 31787612


  7. Rivers A, Vaitkus K, Jagadeeswaran R, Ruiz MA, Ibanez V, Ciceri F, Cavalcanti F, Molokie RE, Saunthararajah Y, Engel JD, DeSimone J, Lavelle D. Oral administration of the LSD1 inhibitor ORY-3001 increases fetal hemoglobin in sickle cell mice and baboons. Experimental hematology 2018. PMID: 30125603


  8. Rivers A, Jagadeeswaran R, Lavelle D. Potential role of LSD1 inhibitors in the treatment of sickle cell disease: a review of preclinical animal model data. 2018. PMID: 30067082


  9. Jagadeeswaran R, Rivers A. Evolving treatment paradigms in sickle cell disease. Hematology. American Society of Hematology. Education Program 2017. PMID: 29222291


  10. Jagadeeswaran R, Vazquez BA, Thiruppathi M, Ganesh BB, Ibanez V, Cui S, Engel JD, Diamond AM, Molokie RE, DeSimone J, Lavelle D, Rivers A. Pharmacological inhibition of LSD1 and mTOR reduces mitochondrial retention and associated ROS levels in the red blood cells of sickle cell disease. 2017. PMID: 28238805


  11. Ibanez V, Vaitkus K, Rivers A, Molokie R, Cui S, Engel JD, DeSimone J, Lavelle D. Efficacy and safety of long-term RN-1 treatment to increase HbF in baboons. Blood 2016. PMID: 27908882


  12. Rivers A, Vaitkus K, Ibanez V, Ruiz MA, Jagadeeswaran R, Saunthararajah Y, Cui S, Engel JD, DeSimone J, Lavelle D. The LSD1 inhibitor RN-1 recapitulates the fetal pattern of hemoglobin synthesis in baboons (P. anubis). Haematologica 2016. PMID: 26858356


  13. Han J, Kemiki O, Hsu LL, Rivers AE. Adverse Reactions to Pneumococcal Vaccine in Pediatric and Adolescent Patients with Sickle Cell Disease. 2015. PMID: 26095207


  14. Cui S, Lim KC, Shi L, Lee M, Jearawiriyapaisarn N, Myers G, Campbell A, Harro D, Iwase S, Trievel RC, Rivers A, DeSimone J, Lavelle D, Saunthararajah Y, Engel JD. The LSD1 inhibitor RN-1 induces fetal hemoglobin synthesis and reduces disease pathology in sickle cell mice. Blood 2015. PMID: 26031919


  15. Rivers A, Vaitkus K, Ruiz MA, Ibanez V, Jagadeeswaran R, Kouznetsova T, DeSimone J, Lavelle D. RN-1, a potent and selective lysine-specific demethylase 1 inhibitor, increases γ-globin expression, F reticulocytes, and F cells in a sickle cell disease mouse model. 2015. PMID: 25931013


  16. Ruiz MA, Rivers A, Ibanez V, Vaitkus K, Mahmud N, DeSimone J, Lavelle D. Hydroxymethylcytosine and demethylation of the ?-globin gene promoter during erythroid differentiation. Epigenetics 2015. PMID: 25932923


  17. Pandya J, Ortiz L, Ling C, Rivers AE, Aslanidi G. Rationally designed capsid and transgene cassette of AAV6 vectors for dendritic cell-based cancer immunotherapy. 2013. PMID: 24217810


  18. Song L, Kauss MA, Kopin E, Chandra M, Ul-Hasan T, Miller E, Jayandharan GR, Rivers AE, Aslanidi GV, Ling C, Li B, Ma W, Li X, Andino LM, Zhong L, Tarantal AF, Yoder MC, Wong KK, Tan M, Chatterjee S, Srivastava A. Optimizing the transduction efficiency of capsid-modified AAV6 serotype vectors in primary human hematopoietic stem cells in vitro and in a xenograft mouse model in vivo. 2013. PMID: 23830234


  19. Choe SW, Terman DS, Rivers AE, Rivera J, Lottenberg R, Sorg BS. Drug-loaded sickle cells programmed ex vivo for delayed hemolysis target hypoxic tumor microvessels and augment tumor drug delivery. 2013. PMID: 23871960


  20. Aslanidi GV, Rivers AE, Ortiz L, Song L, Ling C, Govindasamy L, Van Vliet K, Tan M, Agbandje-McKenna M, Srivastava A. Optimization of the capsid of recombinant adeno-associated virus 2 (AAV2) vectors: the final threshold? 2013. PMID: 23527116


  21. Aslanidi GV, Rivers AE, Ortiz L, Govindasamy L, Ling C, Jayandharan GR, Zolotukhin S, Agbandje-McKenna M, Srivastava A. High-efficiency transduction of human monocyte-derived dendritic cells by capsid-modified recombinant AAV2 vectors. 2012. PMID: 22497875


  22. Jayandharan GR, Zhong L, Sack BK, Rivers AE, Li M, Li B, Herzog RW, Srivastava A. Optimized adeno-associated virus (AAV)-protein phosphatase-5 helper viruses for efficient liver transduction by single-stranded AAV vectors: therapeutic expression of factor IX at reduced vector doses. 2010. PMID: 19788390


  23. Rivers A, Slayton WB. Congenital cytopenias and bone marrow failure syndromes. 2009. PMID: 19167578


  24. Slayton WB, Patel M, Sola-Visner M, Harris N, Rivers A, Montgomery RR, Friedman KD. Type 2B von Willebrand disease associated with the release of platelet agglutinates from megakaryocytes in the bone marrow. 2008. PMID: 18776767


  25. Maina N, Zhong L, Li X, Zhao W, Han Z, Bischof D, Aslanidi G, Zolotukhin S, Weigel-Van Aken KA, Rivers AE, Slayton WB, Yoder MC, Srivastava A. Optimization of recombinant adeno-associated viral vectors for human beta-globin gene transfer and transgene expression. 2008. PMID: 18399730