Division of Leukemia / Lymphoma

The mission of the Leukemia/Lymphoma division is to advance cure rates for children with leukemia and lymphoma while minimizing acute and late sequelae of therapy. We strive to provide our patients the best possible treatment and facilitate interdisciplinary collaborations in clinical, basic and translational research related to the pathogenesis and treatment of childhood leukemia and lymphoma.

Because leukemia and lymphoma are heterogeneous diseases, clinical faculty are further sub-specialized based on their expertise and interest. These sub-specialties include acute lymphoblastic leukemia, acute and chronic myeloid leukemia, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma and histiocytic disorders. A team of physicians, researchers, nurse practitioners, clinical research staff, pharmacists, nurses, dieticians and social workers work collectively to enhance patient care and drive research focused on increasing our understanding of blood cancers.

The Leukemia/Lymphoma division focuses on seven areas: determining the prognostic importance of clinical features and genetic abnormalities of leukemia and lymphoma cells; optimizing treatment using pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamics principles and in vitro drug sensitivity testing (pharmacotyping); utilizing immunologic and molecular methods to detect minimal residual disease; elucidating host genetic determinants (i.e., pharmacogenomics) of treatment response and late effects; unraveling molecular mechanisms of leukemogenesis; developing targeted molecular therapy and immunotherapy; and evaluating acute and late effects to improve next generation treatment regimens.

Our findings have been consistently translated into clinical trials to evaluate treatment innovations and to improve leukemia and lymphoma outcomes nationally and internationally. Building on the impressive progress in treating many types of leukemia and lymphoma, our team continues to make advances that will increase cure rates and improve the quality of life of our patients.

St. Jude investigators have the freedom to focus on making big discoveries, backed by extraordinary resources and support teams. We are always looking for highly motivated scientists and engineers with passion and talent to join us!