Dunbar to Deliver Anita Roberts Lecture
Dr. Cynthia “Cindy” Dunbar will deliver the Anita Roberts lecture on Monday, January 26 at 12 p.m. ET in Lipsett Auditorium.
Dunbar, chief of the Translational Stem Cell Biology Branch at NIH’s National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and head of NHLBI’s Molecular Hematopoiesis section, has had a distinguished career encompassing clinical investigation, translational laboratory science and education/administration.
Dunbar continues to be a pioneer in stem cell biology and molecular hematopoiesis, optimizing and assessing the potential of CRISPR/Cas gene editing to modify hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). The successful integration of gene editing into her research created predictive non-human primate models for multiple human blood disorders to validate editing safety and efficacy for future human trials.
Furthermore, she developed a powerful clonal tracking of the longitudinal output, lineage trajectories and geographic distribution of thousands of individual HSCs. These successes provide insights that could pave the way to improving HSC transplantation and gene therapies.
Throughout her career, Dunbar designed and led landmark clinical trials in congenital and acquired bone marrow failure diseases. One trial resulted in the first new FDA-approved drug treatment for aplastic anemia in over 30 years.
“My time in Cindy’s lab pushed me to see problems clearly,” said NHLBI Senior Investigator Dr. John Tisdale. “Cindy can identify with extraordinary clarity the crux of the problem and she is always looking after her mentees.”
Dunbar remains committed to the career development of physician-scientists. She has led the NIH clinical hematology fellowship program for 17 years, and over the years she has received numerous mentoring and public service awards from NHLBI, NIH and professional societies. She previously served as editor-in-chief of the premier hematology journal, Blood.
Dunbar’s former and current mentees consistently praise her leadership and guidance, noting her pivotal influence in shaping their scientific journeys.
“Cindy doesn’t merely train hematologists,” said NHLBI Senior Investigator Dr. Andre Larochelle. “She cultivates scientific citizens who are thoughtful, resilient and eager to mentor the next generation.”