Dr. Akiko Shimamura, MD PhD is Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and holds the Samuel E. Lux IV Chair in Hematology/Oncology.  She directs the Bone Marrow Failure and MDS Program at the Dana Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center.  Dr. Shimamura’s research focuses on laboratory and clinical studies of bone marrow failure and leukemia predisposition. Her group has identified new genetic causes of these conditions, and elucidated distinct acquired genetic mutation patterns that can either promote evolution to myeloid malignancy or relieve the underlying germline genetic stressor through somatic reversion.  These studies inform rational surveillance strategies to identify patients at high risk of leukemia which guide interventions to intercept leukemia development.   identify potential therapeutic targets to treat bone marrow failure and reduce leukemia risk.

Dr. Shimamura directs the Shwachman Diamond Syndrome Registry and the Severe Chronic Neutropenia International Registry (SCNIR) in the United States.  She co-founded with Dr. David Williams the North American Pediatric Aplastic Anemia Consortium (NAPAAC), and currently directs the NAPAAC Coordinating Center.  She serves on the medical/scientific advisory boards for the RUNX1 Foundation, the MDS Foundation, and the DADA2 Foundation.

Today, she will be presenting on "Bone Marrow Failure and Clonal Evolution"