FOCUS ON CHILDHOOD CATASTROPHIC DISEASES
Nonmalignant Hematological Diseases GOAL
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Advance cures for children with nonmalignant hematological diseases, including sickle cell disease, coagulation disorders and bone marrow failure syndromes
St. Jude established a commitment to nonmalignant
such as sickle cell, bone marrow failure syndromes
hematological diseases before its doors even
and pre-malignant myelodysplastic conditions,
opened in 1962. The first grant the institution
to developing new therapeutic approaches to cure
received funded sickle cell disease research. This
these diseases.
focus endures today, as we strive to find curative treatments for children with some of the most devastating nonmalignant hematological disorders.
Experimental Hematology will complement cancer-focused research, especially in leukemia. The fundamental knowledge generated on normal
During the past six years, we have made significant
and premalignant hematopoiesis provides critical
progress in this area through investments in the
information for better understanding leukemia
Department of Hematology, institutional shared
and how best to treat subtypes with poor response
resources and the Children’s GMP, LLC. We are now
rates. Moreover, the work on bone marrow failure
poised to move forward by addressing the following
and myelodysplastic syndromes provides critical
strategic initiatives.
insights into myeloid leukemia in children and adults. Lastly, the Hematology department and
STRATEGIC INITIATIVE 1:
Experimental Hematology division faculty play
Expand the laboratory-based faculty in the Division of Experimental Hematology
critical roles in the St. Jude Pediatric HematologyOncology Fellowship Program and in the expanding educational efforts conducted by St. Jude Global.
In 2020, St. Jude recruited John Crispino, PhD, as director of the Division of Experimental Hematology, with a charge to expand the laboratory-based research faculty. He and Mitchell Weiss, MD, PhD, Department of Hematology chair, will recruit three to four new faculty members with research programs focused on developmental hematopoiesis, hematopoietic stem cell biology, transcriptional regulation of blood development, and/or gene therapy. These new faculty members will join the nine faculty currently in the division, building on their expertise. The combined efforts will span from discovery-based work on hematopoiesis to more disease-focused efforts ranging from understanding the pathophysiology of diseases,
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