Emmanuel Katsanis, MD

Dr. Katsanis is a Professor of Pediatrics, Medicine, Immunobiology, Pathology and a member of the University of Arizona Cancer Center, Steele Children’s Research Center and the Bio5 Institute.  He combines his expertise in the laboratory and the clinical arenas as the Director of the Blood and Marrow Transplant Program (adult and pediatric) and Division Chief of Pediatric hematology/Oncology.  He has more than 27 years of research experience in the field of tumor and transplant immunology.  His work has focused on enhancing anti-leukemia activity in hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) and chemo-immuno-therapeutic strategies that promote anti-tumor immune responses while overcoming cancer-induced suppression and elucidating the underlying cellular mechanisms involved.  Dr. Katsanis has particular expertise in adoptive T-cell therapy, cancer vaccines, chemo-immunotherapy, immunomodulating agents, experimental HCT models and murine models of cancer.  Throughout his career Dr. Katsanis has had strong collaborations, successfully mentored young investigators and have made significant scientific contributions that have moved from bench to bedside. Dr. Katsanis received his MD in 1980 from the National University of Athens Medical School in Greece. He did postdoctoral work in medicine (1981-1982) and a rotating internship (1982-1983) at McGill University, Montreal, Canada, followed by a pediatric residency (1983-1987) at the University of Ottawa in Canada. He then completed his fellowship in pediatric hematology, oncology and bone marrow transplantation (1987-1990) and postdoctoral work in tumor and transplant immunology (1990-1991) leading to an Assistant Professor position in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Minnesota (1991-1997). In 1997, he joined the faculty at the University of Arizona and was promoted to Associate Professor in 1998 and Professor in 2004. In 2005, he was named Head of the division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology and in 2012 appointed Director of the Blood and Marrow Transplantation Program. As a physician-scientist, Dr. Katsanis provides clinical care for children with cancer and blood disorders and conducts research at the UA Steele Children's Research Center. He currently serves on NIH grant study sections, numerous international granting organizations and on journal editorial boards. Dr. Katsanis has published extensively in the areas of cancer immunology and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. He has received grants from the Medical Research Council of Canada, the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense, the Canadian and American Cancer Societies and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. As a pediatric oncologist, Dr. Katsanis provides care for children with cancer and other blood diseases at Diamond Children’s at University Medical Center and the Hematology/Oncology/BMT Clinic, an outpatient clinic housed within Banner University Medical Center.