Research Area
The primary focus of the laboratory is to improve transfusion practice through the use of genomics to bring personalized medicine to the field with a focus on patients with Sickle Cell Disease (SCD). The discovery that patients with SCD have increased RH genetic diversity has led to our current studies to address alloimmunization by implementing genetic matching.
A second focus is on the production of cultured RBCs (cRBCs) from stem and iPS cells, which hold the promise of revolutionizing the existing RBC supply system. However, the number of cells and the cost of production remain major road blocks. Our goal is to generate clinically useful rare reagent cRBCs to improve and expedite patient workups. This lays the foundation for the future by providing clinically useful products that require relatively small amounts achievable with today’s technology.
Funding Support
- NIH U01HL13469 PI: Chou; NYBC Subcontract PI (Westhoff) 09/15/2016 – 05/31/2023 “Improving transfusion for patients with sickle cell disease with pluripotent stem cell derived erythrocytes”
