Birgit Knoechel
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Birgit Knoechel, MD, PhD

Languages spoken: English

Clinical Locations

Primary Location

Primary Children's Hospital

Bone Marrow Transplant
100 N Mario Capecchi Drive
Salt Lake City , UT 84113
801-662-4700
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  • Dr. Knoechel is a physician-scientist and Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Utah School of Medicine in the Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology. She is a member of the division of pediatric hematology/oncology at the University of Utah and Primary Children’s Hospital.

    Dr. Knoechel received her M.D. and Ph.D. degree from Albert-Ludwigs-University in Freiburg, Germany, completed her pediatric residency at UCSF and a fellowship in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology/Stem Cell Transplantation at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Boston Children’s Hospital, where she was chief fellow. She then joined the faculty as attending physician and independent investigator at Dana-Farber / Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorder Center and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School.

    Dr. Knoechel is board-certified in Pediatrics and Pediatric Hematology / Oncology. Her clinical expertise is in the treatment of children, adolescents, and young adults with hematologic malignancies such as leukemia and lymphoma, stem cell transplantation and immunotherapies.

    Dr. Knoechel is an independent investigator at Huntsman Cancer Institute, where her lab focuses on investigating epigenetic dependencies and their implications for cancer cell plasticity and the immune microenvironment in lymphoid malignancies with the goal to design the next generation of immunotherapies. She is a member of the American Society of Hematology, American Association for Cancer Research, Society for Pediatric Research, American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, American Society for Transplantation and Cellular Therapy and the Children’s Oncology Group.

    Specialties

    Board Certification

    Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates
    American Board of Pediatrics (Sub: Pediatric Hematology-Oncology)
    American Board of Pediatrics (Pediatrics)

  • Dr. Knoechel is a physician-scientist and Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Utah School of Medicine in the Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology. She is a member of the division of pediatric hematology/oncology at the University of Utah and Primary Children’s Hospital.

    Dr. Knoechel received her M.D. and Ph.D. degree from Albert-Ludwigs-University in Freiburg, Germany, completed her pediatric residency at UCSF and a fellowship in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology/Stem Cell Transplantation at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Boston Children’s Hospital, where she was chief fellow. She then joined the faculty as attending physician and independent investigator at Dana-Farber / Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorder Center and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School.

    Dr. Knoechel is board-certified in Pediatrics and Pediatric Hematology / Oncology. Her clinical expertise is in the treatment of children, adolescents, and young adults with hematologic malignancies such as leukemia and lymphoma, stem cell transplantation and immunotherapies.

    Dr. Knoechel is an independent investigator at Huntsman Cancer Institute, where her lab focuses on investigating epigenetic dependencies and their implications for cancer cell plasticity and the immune microenvironment in lymphoid malignancies with the goal to design the next generation of immunotherapies. She is a member of the American Society of Hematology, American Association for Cancer Research, Society for Pediatric Research, American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, American Society for Transplantation and Cellular Therapy and the Children’s Oncology Group.

    Board Certification and Academic Information

    Academic Departments Internal Medicine -Adjunct Associate Professor
    Pediatrics -Associate Professor
    Academic Divisions Hematology & Hematologic Malignancies
    Board Certification
    Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates
    American Board of Pediatrics (Sub: Pediatric Hematology-Oncology)
    American Board of Pediatrics (Pediatrics)

    Education history

    Professional Medical Medicine - University of Hamburg Physikum
    Professional Medical Medicine - Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg M.D.
    Graduate Training Immunology - Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg Ph.D.
    Residency Internal Medicine: Hematology/Oncology - University Medical Center, Albert Ludwig University Resident
    Residency Pediatrics - University Medical Center, Carl Gustav Carus University Medical School Resident
    Residency Pediatric Hematology/Oncology - University Medical Center, Medical School Resident
    Graduate Training Immunology - University of California, San Francisco Postdoctoral Scholar
    Residency Pediatrics - University of California, San Francisco Resident
    Fellowship Pediatric Hematology/Oncology - Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston Children¿s Hospital Clinical Fellow
    Fellowship Cancer Epigenetics - Massachusetts General Hospital, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard Research Fellow
    Fellowship Pediatric Hematology/Oncology - Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston Children¿s Hospital Chief Fellow

    Selected Publications

    Journal Article

    1. Luttmann W, Knoechel B, Foerster M, Matthys H, Virchow JC Jr, Kroegel (1996). Activation of human eosinophils by IL-13. Induction of CD69 surface antigen, its relationship to messenger RNA expression, and promotion of cellular viability. Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md., 157(4), 1678-83. (Read full publication)
    2. Julius P, Luttmann W, Knoechel B, Kroegel C, Matthys H, Virchow JC J (1999). CD69 surface expression on human lung eosinophils after segmental allergen provocation. The European respiratory journal, 13(6), 1253-9. (Read full publication)
    3. Lohr J, Knoechel B, Jiang S, Sharpe AH, Abbas A (2003). The inhibitory function of B7 costimulators in T cell responses to foreign and self-antigens. Nature immunology, 4(7), 664-9. (Read full publication)
    4. Dooms H, Kahn E, Knoechel B, Abbas A (2004). IL-2 induces a competitive survival advantage in T lymphocytes. Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md., 172(10), 5973-9. (Read full publication)
    5. Lohr J, Knoechel B, Kahn EC, Abbas A (2004). Role of B7 in T cell tolerance. Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md., 173(8), 5028-35. (Read full publication)
    6. Knoechel B, Lohr J, Kahn E, Abbas A (2005). The link between lymphocyte deficiency and autoimmunity: roles of endogenous T and B lymphocytes in tolerance. Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md., 175(1), 21-6. (Read full publication)
    7. Knoechel B, Lohr J, Kahn E, Bluestone JA, Abbas A (2005). Sequential development of interleukin 2-dependent effector and regulatory T cells in response to endogenous systemic antigen. The Journal of experimental medicine, 202(10), 1375-86. (Read full publication)
    8. Knoechel B, Lohr J, Zhu S, Wong L, Hu D, Ausubel L, Abbas A (2006). Functional and molecular comparison of anergic and regulatory T lymphocytes. Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md., 176(11), 6473-83. (Read full publication)
    9. Lohr J, Knoechel B, Wang JJ, Villarino AV, Abbas A (2006). Role of IL-17 and regulatory T lymphocytes in a systemic autoimmune disease. The Journal of experimental medicine, 203(13), 2785-91. (Read full publication)
    10. Barron L, Knoechel B, Lohr J, Abbas A (2008). Cutting edge: contributions of apoptosis and anergy to systemic T cell tolerance. Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md., 180(5), 2762-6. (Read full publication)
    11. Lohr JG, Stojanov P, Lawrence MS, Auclair D, Chapuy B, Sougnez C, Cruz-Gordillo P, Knoechel B, Asmann YW, Slager SL, Novak AJ, Dogan A, Ansell SM, Link BK, Zou L, Gould J, Saksena G, Stransky N, Rangel-Escareño C, Fernandez-Lopez JC, Hidalgo-Miranda A, Melendez-Zajgla J, Hernández-Lemus E, Schwarz-Cruz y Celis A, Imaz-Rosshandler I, Ojesina AI, Jung J, Pedamallu CS, Lander ES, Habermann TM, Cerhan JR, Shipp MA, Getz G, Golub T (2012). Discovery and prioritization of somatic mutations in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) by whole-exome sequencing. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 109(10), 3879-84. (Read full publication)
    12. Kluk MJ, Ashworth T, Wang H, Knoechel B, Mason EF, Morgan EA, Dorfman D, Pinkus G, Weigert O, Hornick JL, Chirieac LR, Hirsch M, Oh DJ, South AP, Leigh IM, Pourreyron C, Cassidy AJ, Deangelo DJ, Weinstock DM, Krop IE, Dillon D, Brock JE, Lazar AJ, Peto M, Cho RJ, Stoeck A, Haines BB, Sathayanrayanan S, Rodig S, Aster J (2013). Gauging NOTCH1 Activation in Cancer Using Immunohistochemistry. PloS one, 8(6), e67306. (Read full publication)
    13. Lohr JG, Stojanov P, Carter SL, Cruz-Gordillo P, Lawrence MS, Auclair D, Sougnez C, Knoechel B, Gould J, Saksena G, Cibulskis K, McKenna A, Chapman MA, Straussman R, Levy J, Perkins LM, Keats JJ, Schumacher SE, Rosenberg M, Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium, Getz G, Golub T (2014). Widespread genetic heterogeneity in multiple myeloma: implications for targeted therapy. Cancer cell, 25(1), 91-101. (Read full publication)
    14. Knoechel B, Roderick JE, Williamson KE, Zhu J, Lohr JG, Cotton MJ, Gillespie SM, Fernandez D, Ku M, Wang H, Piccioni F, Silver SJ, Jain M, Pearson D, Kluk MJ, Ott CJ, Shultz LD, Brehm MA, Greiner DL, Gutierrez A, Stegmaier K, Kung AL, Root DE, Bradner JE, Aster JC, Kelliher MA, Bernstein B (2014). An epigenetic mechanism of resistance to targeted therapy in T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Nature genetics, 46(4), 364-70. (Read full publication)
    15. Stoeck A, Lejnine S, Truong A, Pan L, Wang H, Zang C, Yuan J, Ware C, MacLean J, Garrett-Engele PW, Kluk M, Laskey J, Haines BB, Moskaluk C, Zawel L, Fawell S, Gilliland G, Zhang T, Kremer BE, Knoechel B, Bernstein BE, Pear WS, Liu XS, Aster JC, Sathyanarayanan (2014). Discovery of biomarkers predictive of GSI response in triple-negative breast cancer and adenoid cystic carcinoma. Cancer discovery, 4(10), 1154-67. (Read full publication)
    16. Riggi N, Knoechel B, Gillespie SM, Rheinbay E, Boulay G, Suvà ML, Rossetti NE, Boonseng WE, Oksuz O, Cook EB, Formey A, Patel A, Gymrek M, Thapar V, Deshpande V, Ting DT, Hornicek FJ, Nielsen GP, Stamenkovic I, Aryee MJ, Bernstein BE, Rivera M (2014). EWS-FLI1 utilizes divergent chromatin remodeling mechanisms to directly activate or repress enhancer elements in Ewing sarcoma. Cancer cell, 26(5), 668-681. (Read full publication)
    17. Yashiro-Ohtani Y, Wang H, Zang C, Arnett KL, Bailis W, Ho Y, Knoechel B, Lanauze C, Louis L, Forsyth KS, Chen S, Chung Y, Schug J, Blobel GA, Liebhaber SA, Bernstein BE, Blacklow SC, Liu XS, Aster JC, Pear W (2014). Long-range enhancer activity determines Myc sensitivity to Notch inhibitors in T cell leukemia. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 111(46), E4946-53. (Read full publication)
    18. Knoechel B, Bhatt A, Pan L, Pedamallu CS, Severson E, Gutierrez A, Dorfman DM, Kuo FC, Kluk M, Kung AL, Zweidler-McKay P, Meyerson M, Blacklow SC, DeAngelo DJ, Aster J (2015). Complete hematologic response of early T-cell progenitor acute lymphoblastic leukemia to the ¿-secretase inhibitor BMS-906024: genetic and epigenetic findings in an outlier case. Cold Spring Harbor molecular case studies, 1(1), a000539. (Read full publication)
    19. Drier Y, Cotton MJ, Williamson KE, Gillespie SM, Ryan RJ, Kluk MJ, Carey CD, Rodig SJ, Sholl LM, Afrogheh AH, Faquin WC, Queimado L, Qi J, Wick MJ, El-Naggar AK, Bradner JE, Moskaluk CA, Aster JC, Knoechel B, Bernstein B (2016). An oncogenic MYB feedback loop drives alternate cell fates in adenoid cystic carcinoma. Nature genetics, 48(3), 265-72. (Read full publication)
    20. Lohr JG, Kim S, Gould J, Knoechel B, Drier Y, Cotton MJ, Gray D, Birrer N, Wong B, Ha G, Zhang CZ, Guo G, Meyerson M, Yee AJ, Boehm JS, Raje N, Golub T (2016). Genetic interrogation of circulating multiple myeloma cells at single-cell resolution. Science translational medicine, 8(363), 363ra147. (Read full publication)
    21. Ramaswamy K, Forbes L, Minuesa G, Gindin T, Brown F, Kharas MG, Krivtsov AV, Armstrong SA, Still E, de Stanchina E, Knoechel B, Koche R, Kentsis (2018). Peptidomimetic blockade of MYB in acute myeloid leukemia. Nature communications, 9(1), 110. (Read full publication)
    22. Guo G, Raje NS, Seifer C, Kloeber J, Isenhart R, Ha G, Yee AJ, O'Donnell EK, Tai YT, Richardson PG, Bianchi G, Laubach JP, Warren D, Gemme E, Voisine J, Frede J, Kokkalis A, Yun H, Dimitrova V, Vijaykumar T, Meyerson M, Munshi NC, Anderson KC, Knoechel B, Lohr J (2018). Genomic discovery and clonal tracking in multiple myeloma by cell-free DNA sequencing. Leukemia, 32(8), 1838-1841. (Read full publication)
    23. Mandelbaum J, Shestopalov IA, Henderson RE, Chau NG, Knoechel B, Wick MJ, Zon L (2018). Zebrafish blastomere screen identifies retinoic acid suppression of MYB in adenoid cystic carcinoma. The Journal of experimental medicine, 215(10), 2673-2685. (Read full publication)
    24. Ariës IM, Bodaar K, Karim SA, Chonghaile TN, Hinze L, Burns MA, Pfirrmann M, Degar J, Landrigan JT, Balbach S, Peirs S, Menten B, Isenhart R, Stevenson KE, Neuberg DS, Devidas M, Loh ML, Hunger SP, Teachey DT, Rabin KR, Winter SS, Dunsmore KP, Wood BL, Silverman LB, Sallan SE, Van Vlierberghe P, Orkin SH, Knoechel B, Letai AG, Gutierrez (2018). PRC2 loss induces chemoresistance by repressing apoptosis in T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The Journal of experimental medicine, 215(12), 3094-3114. (Read full publication)
    25. Anand P, Guillaumet-Adkins A, Dimitrova V, Yun H, Drier Y, Sotudeh N, Rogers A, Ouseph MM, Nair M, Potdar S, Isenhart R, Kloeber JA, Vijaykumar T, Niu L, Vincent T, Guo G, Frede J, Harris MH, Place AE, Silverman LB, Teachey DT, Lane AA, DeAngelo DJ, Aster JC, Bernstein BE, Lohr JG, Knoechel (2021). Single-cell RNA-seq reveals developmental plasticity with coexisting oncogenic states and immune evasion programs in ETP-ALL. Blood, 137(18), 2463-2480. (Read full publication)
    26. Frede J, Anand P, Sotudeh N, Pinto RA, Nair MS, Stuart H, Yee AJ, Vijaykumar T, Waldschmidt JM, Potdar S, Kloeber JA, Kokkalis A, Dimitrova V, Mann M, Laubach JP, Richardson PG, Anderson KC, Raje NS, Knoechel B, Lohr J (2021). Dynamic transcriptional reprogramming leads to immunotherapeutic vulnerabilities in myeloma. Nature cell biology, 23(11), 1199-1211. (Read full publication)
    27. Waldschmidt JM, Kloeber JA, Anand P, Frede J, Kokkalis A, Dimitrova V, Potdar S, Nair MS, Vijaykumar T, Im NG, Guillaumet-Adkins A, Chopra N, Stuart H, Budano L, Sotudeh N, Guo G, Grassberger C, Yee AJ, Laubach JP, Richardson PG, Anderson KC, Raje NS, Knoechel B, Lohr J (2021). Single-Cell Profiling Reveals Metabolic Reprogramming as a Resistance Mechanism in BRAF-Mutated Multiple Myeloma. Clinical cancer research, 27(23), 6432-6444. (Read full publication)
    28. Waldschmidt JM, Yee AJ, Vijaykumar T, Pinto RA, Frede J, Anand P, Bianchi G, Guo G, Potdar S, Seifer C, Nair MS, Kokkalis A, Kloeber JA, Shapiro S, Budano L, Mann M, Friedman R, Lipe B, Campagnaro E, O'Donnell EK, Zhang CZ, Laubach JP, Munshi NC, Richardson PG, Anderson KC, Raje NS, Knoechel B, Lohr J (2022). Cell-free DNA for the detection of emerging treatment failure in relapsed/ refractory multiple myeloma. Leukemia, 36(4), 1078-1087. (Read full publication)
    29. Fishman H, Madiwale S, Geron I, Bari V, Van Loocke W, Kirschenbaum Y, Ganmore I, Kugler E, Rein-Gil A, Friedlander G, Schiby G, Birger Y, Strehl S, Soulier J, Knoechel B, Ferrando A, Noy-Lotan S, Nagler A, Mulloy JC, Van Vlierberghe P, Izraeli (2022). ETV6-NCOA2 fusion induces T/myeloid mixed-phenotype leukemia through transformation of nonthymic hematopoietic progenitor cells. Blood, 139(3), 399-412. (Read full publication)
    30. Montanaro A, Kitara S, Cerretani E, Marchesini M, Rompietti C, Pagliaro L, Gherli A, Su A, Minchillo ML, Caputi M, Fioretzaki R, Lorusso B, Ross L, Alexe G, Masselli E, Marozzi M, Rizzi FMA, La Starza R, Mecucci C, Xiong Y, Jin J, Falco A, Knoechel B, Aversa F, Candini O, Quaini F, Sportoletti P, Stegmaier K, Roti (2022). Identification of an Epi-metabolic dependency on EHMT2/G9a in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Cell death & disease, 13(6), 551. (Read full publication)
    31. Im NG, Guillaumet-Adkins A, Wal M, Rogers AJ, Frede J, Havig CC, Yang J, Anand P, Stegmann SK, Waldschmidt JM, Sotudeh N, Niu L, Voisine J, Schweiger MR, Grassberger C, Lohr JG, Knoechel (2022). Regulatory Programs of B-cell Activation and Germinal Center Reaction Allow B-ALL Escape from CD19 CAR T-cell Therapy. Cancer immunology research, 10(9), 1055-1068. (Read full publication)
    32. Li L, Mohanty V, Dou J, Huang Y, Banerjee PP, Miao Q, Lohr JG, Vijaykumar T, Frede J, Knoechel B, Muniz-Feliciano L, Laskowski TJ, Liang S, Moyes JS, Nandivada V, Basar R, Kaplan M, Daher M, Liu E, Li Y, Acharya S, Lin P, Shanley M, Rafei H, Marin D, Mielke S, Champlin RE, Shpall EJ, Chen K, Rezvani (2023). Loss of metabolic fitness drives tumor resistance after CAR-NK cell therapy and can be overcome by cytokine engineering. Science advances, 9(30), eadd6997. (Read full publication)
    33. Hernandez-Lopez P, Vijaykumar T, Anand P, Auclair D, Frede J, Knoechel B, Lohr J (2024). Dual role of signaling pathways in myeloma requires cell-type specific targeting of ligand-receptor interactions. Blood advances, 8(12), 3173-3185. (Read full publication)
    34. Abbas AK, Lohr J, Knoechel B, Nagabhushanam (2004). T cell tolerance and autoimmunity. Autoimmunity reviews, 3(7-8), 471-5. (Read full publication)
    35. Knoechel B, Aster J (2015). Metabolic Mechanisms of Drug Resistance in Leukemia. Cell metabolism, 22(5), 759-60. (Read full publication)
    36. Knöchel B, Luttmann W, Kroegel (1996). [Prevention of the development of immediate hypersensitivity and airway hyperresponsiveness following in vivo treatment with soluble IL-4 receptor]. Pneumologie (Stuttgart, Germany), 50(8), 569-70. (Read full publication)
    37. von Bernuth H, Knöchel B, Winkler U, Roesler J, Schlesier M, Gahr (2002). Immunodeficiency with recurrent panlymphocytopenia, impaired maturation of B lymphocytes, impaired interaction of T and B lymphocytes, and impaired integrity of epithelial tissue: a variant of idiopathic CD4+ T lymphocytopenia?. Pediatric allergy and immunology, 13(5), 381-4. (Read full publication)
    38. Li S, Li J, Faruque HA, Shami P, Knoechel B, Lohr J, Sborov D, Yang J, Kope'ek (2025). Self-Assembling Multi-Antigen T Cell Hybridizers for Precision Immunotherapy of Multiple Myeloma. Advanced healthcare materials, e02156. (Read full publication)
    39. Heavican-Foral TB, Korell F, Scarfò I, Wiggers CRM, B AT, Eisenbies Z, Powers F, Hegel J, Liu J, Kulp S, Silva H, Wu G, Letai A, Stegmaier K, Lohr JG, Weinstock DM, Maus MV, Knoechel (2025). Combining MCL-1 inhibition and CD37-directed chimeric antigen receptor T cells as an effective strategy to target T-cell lymphoma. Leukemia, 39(10), 2452-2464. (Read full publication)
    40. Wiggers CRM, Yüzügüldü B, Tadros NG, Heavican-Foral TB, Cho EY, Eisenbies ZC, Ozdemir M, Kulp SB, Chae YC, Gutierrez A, Lohr JG, Knoechel (2025). Genome-wide CRISPR screen identifies IRF1 and TFAP4 as transcriptional regulators of Galectin-9 in T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Science advances, 11(12), eads8351. (Read full publication)
    41. Waldschmidt JM, Sotudeh N, Arora S, Vijaykumar T, Anand P, Stuart H, Frede J, Campbell T, Kaiser SM, Zheng X, Munshi NC, Anderson KC, Einsele H, Yee AJ, Knoechel B, Lohr JG, Raje N (2025). Nivolumab to restore T-cell fitness in CAR-T refractory multiple myeloma. Blood advances, 9(5), 1132-1136. (Read full publication)

    Review

    1. Lohr J, Knoechel B, Nagabhushanam V, Abbas A (2005). T-cell tolerance and autoimmunity to systemic and tissue-restricted self-antigens. Immunological reviews, 204, 116-27. (Read full publication)
    2. Lohr J, Knoechel B, Abbas A (2006). Regulatory T cells in the periphery. Immunological reviews, 212, 149-62. (Read full publication)
    3. Abbas AK, Lohr J, Knoechel (2007). Balancing autoaggressive and protective T cell responses. Journal of autoimmunity, 28(2-3), 59-61. (Read full publication)
    4. Lohr J, Knoechel B, Caretto D, Abbas A (2009). Balance of Th1 and Th17 effector and peripheral regulatory T cells. Microbes and infection, 11(5), 589-93. (Read full publication)
    5. Knoechel B, Lohr J (2013). Genomics of lymphoid malignancies reveal major activation pathways in lymphocytes. Journal of autoimmunity, 45, 15-23. (Read full publication)
    6. Waldschmidt JM, Anand P, Knoechel B, Lohr J (2018). Comprehensive characterization of circulating and bone marrow-derived multiple myeloma cells at minimal residual disease. Seminars in hematology, 55(1), 33-37. (Read full publication)
    7. Waldschmidt JM, Vijaykumar T, Knoechel B, Lohr J (2020). Tracking myeloma tumor DNA in peripheral blood. Best practice & research. Clinical haematology, 33(1), 101146. (Read full publication)