Cynthia Dunbar, MD

Cynthia Elizabeth Dunbar, M.D., is head of the Laboratory of Molecular Hematopoiesis Hematopoiesis: (hi-mat-uh-poy-EE-suss) The process of making blood cells in the bone marrow. in the Hematology Branch at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Dr. Dunbar came to the NHLBI as a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Arthur Neinhuis in 1987, became a principal investigator in 1993, and has been head of the Molecular Hematopoiesis Lab since 2000.

Dr. Dunbar’s research group investigates the mechanisms by which 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… develop and differentiate differentiate: To become distinct or specialized. In the bone marrow, young parent cells (stem cells) develop, or differentiate, into specific types of blood cells (red cells, white cells, platelets). into other cell types, particularly in relation to hematopoiesis, which governs the formation of new blood cells. Using cell lines and animal models, her research goal is to gain insight into the factors that control stem cell development. Such insight will aid in manipulating and modifying hematopoietic stem cells for applications in gene therapy, stem cell transplantation and other clinical interventions. Applying the knowledge gained from her stem cell work, Dr. Dunbar also conducts detailed preclinical studies aimed at improving the delivery and effectiveness of gene therapy interventions for blood-related disorders.

Dr. Dunbar earned a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., in 1980 and a Doctor of Medicine from Harvard Medical School in Boston in 1984; she subsequently completed her medical internship and residency at Boston City Hospital, and hematology fellowship training at the University of California, San Francisco.

Dr. Dunbar has authored more than 200 peer-reviewed scientific and review articles, and has given dozens of invited lectures and presentations about her work. She is the Editor-in-Chief of the journal BLOOD, the flagship publication of the American Society of Hematology.

Areas of expertise: Stem cells and stem cell therapy, gene therapy.