Dr. John Wagner Receives Lifetime Achievement Award from the Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplant Consortium

Dr. Wagner is an international expert on the translational development of hematopoietic and other stem cell populations for testing in humans in phase I-II clinical trials. His notable accomplishments include the first umbilical cord blood (UCB) transplant for leukemia worldwide in 1990, development of the double UCB platform for graft ‘engineering’ studies, establishment of a novel nonmyeloablative conditioning regimen in the setting of UCB transplant now referred to as the ‘Minneapolis Regimen’ worldwide, first use of preimplantation genetic diagnosis for HLA matching and absence of genetic disease (aka ‘savior sibling’), first-in-human study demonstrating the feasibility and safety of cGMP manufactured natural T regulatory cells in adults and first-in-human study of ex vivo expanded UCB hematopoietic stem cells using the aryl hydrocarbon receptor antagonist, StemRegenin- 1.

Other accomplishments include the first use of allogeneic stem cells to replace extracellular matrix proteins and treat severe forms of a rare skin disease called Epidermolysis Bullosa. Dr. Wagner will is the ninth recipient and will receive the Lifetime Achievement award during the 2017 Tandem BMT Meetings of the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation and the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research in Orlando, Florida on February 23.