Diana Wu, PharmD, is a clinical pharmacy specialist and residency program director at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, specializing in bone marrow transplantation and cellular therapy and overseeing the PGY2 Oncology Pharmacy Residency program.
During her undergraduate studies, Wu sought out opportunities to develop and solidify her interest in oncology, joining Dr. Jean Y. J. Wang’s lab at the Moore’s Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego as an advanced study student. Her undergraduate research focused on gaining exposure to oncology research that had the potential to translate into clinical practice. She worked on elucidating downstream targets in the BCR-ABL pathway to further understand the role of this fusion protein in the development of malignancy and potential drug targets for future therapeutic options in the management of BCR-ABL driven malignancies.
After completing her undergraduate degree, Wu pursued a Doctor of Pharmacy at the University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and completed two years of additional post-graduate training at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, focusing on pediatrics and pediatric oncology. These experiences allowed her to gain exposure to the design and conduct of clinical research to improve outcomes and future therapies in this patient population. She then served four years as a Clinical Pharmacist - Hematology/Oncology at the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago.
In her current role as Program Manager - Pharmacy Specialist at St. Jude, Wu has been actively involved in both retrospective research efforts to evaluate clinical practices and elucidate ways to improve clinical care of patients as well as prospective research protocols to develop improved or novel treatment strategies and options for pediatric oncology patients. Her current research focuses on improving the care of pediatric oncology patients with a specific focus on reducing toxicities associated with treatment of their malignant and non-malignant disorders and complications from these therapies. Identifying areas of therapeutic need within existing and older therapies may help guide the role of novel therapies or applications of existing therapies to reduce the burden of toxicities in survivors of childhood malignancies.
Wu's motivation to join the St. Jude Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and the Clinical Investigations program is rooted in a deep commitment to improving and advancing the treatment and outcomes of children with malignancies or undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and cellular therapies. She aspires to lead clinician-driven research to address critical gaps and challenges in pediatric oncology and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and cellular therapies such as treatment- and transplant-related toxicity and individualized dosing of lymphodepleting and conditioning regimens. By joining the MSCI program, she will be able to accelerate her development as a pharmacist-investigator, enabling her to make a lasting impact on patient care and scientific discovery.
Hometown: Oceanside, CA
Education:
2014 PGY2 Oncology Pharmacy Residency – St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
2013 PGY1 Pharmacy Residency – Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
2012 Doctor of Pharmacy – University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences
2009-12 Inpatient Pharmacy Intern – Children’s Hospital Colorado
2006 BS, General Biology – University of California, San Diego
Awards/Honors/Scholarships:
2020 Clinical Care Improvement Award for Clinical Pharmacy Services, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
Publications:
Wu D, Williams MR, Patwadhan AA, Bi Y, Selukar S, Pauley, JL, McCormick J, Sharma A. Concomitant Azole Initiation Decreases Time to Stable Goal Sirolimus Concentrations in Pediatric Allogeneic Transplant Recipients. J Pediatr Hematol Oncol. 2025 47(7):p e327-e331. DOI: 10.1097/MPH.0000000000003093
Wu D, Li Y, Bi Y, Lannom TM, Ward DA, Qudeimat A, Madden RM, Sharma A, Epperly R, Mamcarz E, Talleur A, Naik S, Selukar S, Triplett B, Srinivasan A. Outcomes following intolerance to calcineurin inhibitor-based graft-versus-host disease prophylaxis in children after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2023;e30517. https://doi.org/10.1002/pbc.30517
Anghelescu DL, Ryan S, Wu D, Morgan KJ, Patni T, Li Y. Low-dose ketamine infusions reduce opioid use in pediatric and young adult oncology patients. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2022;e29693. https://doi.org/10.1002/pbc.29693
Laurie KL, Lee P, Rademaker A, Alonzo TA, Wang YC, Powell BL, Wu D, Larson R, Kutny M, Gregory J, Hijiya N, Feusner J. Obesity in children with acute promyelocytic leukemia: What is its prevalence and prognostic significance? Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2022;69:e29613. https://doi.org/10.1002/pbc.29613
Anghelescu DL, Morgan KJ, Frett MJ, Wu D, Li Y, Yuanyuan H, Hall EA. Lidocaine infusions and reduced opioid consumption – Retrospective experience in pediatric hematology and oncology patients with refractory pain. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2021;e29215. https://doi.org/10.1002/pbc.29215
Huang X, Wu D, Jin H, Stupack D, Wang JYJ. Induction of cell retraction by the combined actions of Abl-CrkII and Rho-ROCK1 signaling. J Cell Biol. 2008 Nov 17; 183(4): 711-23