Hematologist/Oncologist and the Jan Ellen Paradise, MD, Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School; Division of Hematology/Oncology at Boston Children’s Hospital; Attending Physician in the Dana-Farber/ Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center; Associate Member of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard; Recently Selected Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator
Dr. Sankaran’s work has focused on the genes and mechanisms underpinning blood cell development and disorders. He discovered the function of a particular gene involved in blood production that, when suppressed using specific techniques, could treat sickle cell anemia. He identified thousands of gene variants involved in multiple diseases, including blood cancers, and described the role of individual mutations in Diamond-Blackfan anemia, a life-threatening blood disorder. Additionally, Dr. Sankaran’s lab devised a method that can triple the production of red blood cells, which could lead to better, cheaper methods of manufacturing these cells for transfusion.