Dr. Jose Cancelas

Jose Cancelas, MD, PhD is Professor of Hoxworth Blood Center Academic Department at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and Chairman and Director of Hoxworth Blood Center.  He is also leader of the Stem Cell group of the Cancer & Blood Diseases Institute (CBDI), Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC).  He is the Beatrice C. Lampkin Endowed Chair for Stem Cell and Hematotherapy Research.

Dr. Cancelas is also the Medical Director for Cell Therapies at Hoxworth Blood Center and the Medical Director of the Translational Core Laboratory of the CBDI at CCHMC.  As such, his work is focused on developing new blood and cell therapy products with augmented efficacy and/or safety profiles in the areas of transfusion, stem cell transplantation and immunotherapy.

Dr. Cancelas has published over 210 peer-reviewed manuscripts in the areas of hematopoiesis and transfusion/cell therapies. His laboratory is funded by the NIH, US DoD and different private foundations and corporations.  Dr. Cancelas has trained over 40 MD, PhD and MD, PhD professionals.  His basic biology laboratory has contributed to the elucidation of the cellular and molecular mechanisms of hematopoietic stem cell, granulocyte progenitor activity and platelet survival through the Rho family of GTPases in health and leukemia and provided the basis for understanding the physiological cell-autonomous and microenvironment/cytokine dependent mechanisms that control HSC activity in the BM microenvironment.  In normal and pathological hematopoiesis, his group defined the mechanisms that control oncogenic tyrosine kinase signals dependent transformation in leukemic progenitors through intrinsic and microenvironment-dependent signaling.  His transfusion medicine group is trying to identify novel methods to preserve red cell and platelet potency upon long-term storage and generate alternative blood products to cover unmet clinical needs.

• Autonomous University of Madrid, MD, Medicine 1984-90 Spain
• Hospital Ramon y Cajal, Madrid, Specialist, Hematology and Hemotherapy 1990-93 Spain 
• University of Alcala de Henares, PHD, Medicine/Hematology, 1990-96 Spain
• University of Cincinnati, Hoxworth Blood Center Fellowship,  Blood Banking & Transfusion Medicine 2002-03

• Stem Cell Biology & Hematopoietic Microenvironment
• Leukemogenesis & Leukemia Therapy
• Blood & Cell Therapies

1994 Spanish Health Ministry fellowship award

1997-1999 Areces Fund fellowship award

2002 Travel Award. International Society of Experimental Hematology

2005 UC Faculty Summer Fellowship Award

2005 National Blood Foundation (NBF) Award

2006 CHMCC Board of Trustees Award

2006 US Department of Defense (DoD) CML New Investigator Award

2008 David B. Pall Prize for Innovative Research in Transfusion Medicine, AABB Award

2010 Healthcare Heroes Innovator Award Winner, Business Courier of the Greater Cincinnati

2013 NBF Scholar Award

2016 Beatrice C. Lampkin Endowment for Stem Cell and Hematotherapy Research

2017 Elected to NBF Hall of Fame (awarded to former NBFgrant recipients who have become

leaders in the field of Transfusion Medicine)

2018 UC Office of Research Core Values Award

2020 Beatrice C. Lampkin Endowed Chair for Stem Cell and Hematotherapy Research

2021 AABB Research Innovation in Scientific Excellence (RISE) Award

2022 Hispanic Heritage Award, LifeCenter/Bengals