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Explore our cutting edge research, world-class patient care, career opportunities and more.
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Home
- Fundraising
Divisional focus
The Division of Experimental Hematology encompasses the laboratory-based research within the Department of Hematology. Our mission is to make clinically relevant discoveries in non-malignant hematology. Current areas of interest include pharmacogenomics of sickle cell disease, gene therapy for hemophilia, hemoglobinopathies, and immunodeficiencies, and basic biology of hematopoietic stem cells. The Division is highly interactive with numerous collaborations between laboratories and prioritizes high quality translational research.
Faculty
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Yong Cheng, PhD
Associate Member, St. Jude Faculty
Affiliations
Research Interests
- Studying the functions of the human genome, focusing on non-coding regulatory elements
- Using high-throughput genomic approaches to investigate regulatory elements in blood development and disorders
- Exploring the use of regulatory elements in genome editing and gene therapy for genetic disorders
Contact Information
Yong Cheng, PhD
Hematology
MS 341, Room D3007F
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
262 Danny Thomas Place
Memphis, TN 38105-3678
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Wilson K. Clements, PhD
Associate Member, St. Jude Faculty
Associate Dean, Biomedical Sciences PhD Program
Wilson K. Clements, PhD
Associate Member, St. Jude Faculty
Associate Dean, Biomedical Sciences PhD Program
Affiliations
Research Interests
- Investigating how hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are specified from primitive endothelium in the dorsal aorta
- Identifying cellular and molecular factors in the "specification niche" that direct HSC development for regenerative medicine and gene therapy
- Establishing models of B-lineage leukemia to study oncogenes, tumor suppressors, and cancer-related genetic alterations
- Exploring how normal hematopoietic programs are coopted in cancer to influence tumor formation, metastasis, and treatment outcomes
Short Biography
Wilson Clements received his BA in English from Williams College, followed by postbaccalaureate training in Biochemistry at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He earned his PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Washington, where he studied early embryonic development and Wnt signaling. Wilson received postdoctoral training at the University of California at San Diego, where he investigated the genetic regulation of hematopoietic stem cell specification. He joined the faculty of Hematology at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in 2012 and the Clements group investigates the cellular and molecular microenvironment that directs establishment of the adult blood system during embryonic development: the hematopoietic stem cell specification niche.
At St. Jude, Wilson has been extensively involved in the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences since its inception—first in development of the curriculum and subsequently as the Developmental Biology Module Director and Chair of the Admissions Committee. Wilson is devoted to fostering the development of the next generation of research scientists and was recognized as the 2018 St. Jude Mentor of the Year. Alumni of the Clements group now hold positions as faculty, physicians, and senior researchers in industry.
Contact Information
Wilson K. Clements, PhD
Hematology
MS 355, Room D3022E
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
262 Danny Thomas Place
Memphis, TN 38105-3678
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John D. Crispino, PhD, MBA
Member, St. Jude Faculty
Director, Division of Experimental Hematology
Wall Street Committee Endowed Chair
John D. Crispino, PhD, MBA
Member, St. Jude Faculty
Director, Division of Experimental Hematology
Wall Street Committee Endowed Chair
Affiliations
Research Interests
- Mechanisms of leukemogenesis in children with Down syndrome
- Role of GATA1 in normal red blood cell and platelet development
- Development of novel therapies for benign and malignant blood disorders
- Malignant progression of myelodysplastic and myeloproliferative neoplasms
- Congenital anemias
Contact Information
John D. Crispino, PhD, MBA
Experimental Hematology
MS 341, Room D3007D
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
262 Danny Thomas Place
Memphis, TN 38105-3678
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Alyssa Lee Kennedy, MD, PhD
Assistant Member, St. Jude Faculty
Alyssa Lee Kennedy, MD, PhD
Assistant Member, St. Jude Faculty
Affiliations
Research Interests
- Inherited bone marrow failure disorders
- Clonal hematopoiesis
- Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome
- Discovery and developmental therapuetics
Contact Information
Alyssa Lee Kennedy, MD, PhD
Hematology
MS 344, Room D4007E
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
262 Danny Thomas Place
Memphis, TN 38105-3678
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Shannon McKinney-Freeman, PhD
Member, St. Jude Faculty
Shannon McKinney-Freeman, PhD
Member, St. Jude Faculty
Affiliations
Research Interests
- Cellular and molecular regulation of hematopoietic stem cell in vivo repopulating activity
- Hematopoietic stem cell development and specification
- Hematopoietic stem cell fitness during chronic hematologic disease
Contact Information
Shannon McKinney-Freeman, PhD
Hematology
MS 341, Room D3007E
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
262 Danny Thomas Place
Memphis, TN 38105-3678
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Shengdar Tsai, PhD
Associate Member, St. Jude Faculty
Shengdar Tsai, PhD
Associate Member, St. Jude Faculty
Affiliations
Research Interests
- Genome Engineering
- Improving genomic methods to define and measure gene editing “off-target” effects
- Protein engineering of CRISPR-Cas nucleases for precise gene correction
- Regulation of DNA damage repair choice between error-prone non-homologous end-joining and precise homology-directed repair
- Hematology
- Genome-scale CRISPR-Cas screening for novel effectors of hematological diseases
- Developing novel strategies for allele-specific editing of genetic mutations that cause sickle cell disease and other hematological disorders
Contact Information
Shengdar Tsai, PhD
Experimental Hematology
MS 355, Room D3022B
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
262 Danny Thomas Place
Memphis, TN 38195-3678
- Genome Engineering
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Marcin Wlodarski, MD, PhD
Associate Member, St. Jude Faculty
Marcin Wlodarski, MD, PhD
Associate Member, St. Jude Faculty
Affiliations
Research Interests
- Inherited bone marrow failure syndromes
- Childhood myelodysplastic syndromes and aplastic anemia
- Predisposition to myeloid malignancies
Contact Information
Marcin Wlodarski, MD, PhD
Experimental Hematology
MS 341, Room D3007F
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
262 Danny Thomas Place
Memphis, TN 38105-3678
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John D. Crispino, PhD, MBA
Division of Experimental Hematology
MS 341, Room D3007
St. Jude Children Research Hospital