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I am the Director of Hematology/Oncology at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland, Adjunct Professor at University of California San Francisco, as well as the Director of the Northern California Sickle Cell and Thalassemia Centers. I am a board-certified pediatric hematologist/oncologist with a major interest in understanding and improving the care of patients with hemoglobinopathies. My career has focused on translational research in hemoglobinopathies to answer therapeutic questions in hematologic and iron overload disorders, including iron metabolism and its consequences in multiple diseases, alloimmunization, transfusion efficacy and risks in hematology.

Over 30 years ago, I established the hemoglobinopathy center at Children's Hospital Oakland to provide primary through tertiary care to pediatric and adult patients. I have been a federally-funded research investigator for over 30 years and national principal investigator for many successful trials -- including transfusion therapy and chelation therapy in hemoglobinopathies. I have been principal investigator or co-investigator on many of the key translational studies, including understanding the mechanism and treatment of neurologic injury in sickle cell disease; iron trafficking and iron overload in hemoglobinopathies, and new therapies to change the pathophysiology of sickle cell biology.

I have served as Editor-in-Chief of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology; Chairman of the Thalassemia Clinical Research Network, and Director of the Cooley’s Medical Board.