Judith Shizuru, MD

Judith Shizuru, MD is a member of the Stanford Blood and Marrow Transplantation (BMT) faculty, the Stanford Immunology Program and the Institute of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine. I have attended on the BMT clinical service since 1997, and I oversee a research laboratory. My current clinical efforts and basic research basic research: The study of a subject to increase knowledge and understanding about it. The goal of basic research in medicine is to better understand disease. In the laboratory, basic research scientists study changes in cells and molecules linked to disease. Basic research helps lead to better ways of… focus on improving the safety and efficacy of hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) which is the most widely practiced and powerful form of cellular therapy. To achieve this goal we address two fundamental issues of HCT – the preparation of the recipient to accept a transplanted hematopoietic graft, and the impact of the graft cellular content on the success of the therapy. We have applied our expertise to develop novel ways to achieve engraftment engraftment: Refers to how well a graft (donor cells) is accepted by the host (the patient) after a bone marrow or stem cell transplant. Several factors contribute to better engraftment - physical condition of the patient, how severe the disease is, type of donor available, age of patient. Successful… of blood forming stem cells stem cells: Cells in the body that develop into other cells. There are two main sources of stem cells. Embryonic stem cells come from human embryos and are used in medical research. Adult stem cells in the body repair and maintain the organ or tissue in which they are found. Blood-forming (hemapoietic) stem… with the goal to replace chemotherapy chemotherapy: (kee-moe-THER-uh-pee) The use of medicines that kill cells (cytotoxic agents). People with high-risk or intermediate-2 risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) may be given chemotherapy to kill bone marrow cells that have an abnormal size, shape, or look. Chemotherapy hurts healthy cells along with… and radiation. We have also developed the tools and methods that will allow us to transplant grafts of pure blood forming stem cells with the goal to eliminate potentially harmful passenger cells contained in a blood stem cell graft.