Edward D. Ball, M.D.

Dr. Edward Ball has served as our medical advisor since 2003. He is the Chief of the Division of Blood and Bone Marrow Transplantation and Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). He is also the Program Leader for Tumor Immunology and Transplantation at the Moores UCSD Cancer Center. Dr. Ball received his B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of Maryland and his M.D. from Case Western Reserve University (CWRU). He completed hematology/oncology training at CWRU and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and is Board-certified in Hematology and Oncology. Dr. Ball previously served on the faculties of Dartmouth Medical School (1982-1991) and the University of Pittsburgh (1991-1998) where he was Division Chief of Hematology and Bone Marrow Transplantation. Dr. Ball has published extensively on his research in the development of novel treatments for leukemia and in the field of clinical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation including 155 original scientific articles, 62 book chapters, and edited three books. He is senior editor of the textbook Hematopoietic Stem Cell Therapy. Dr. Ball's research has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health since 1982. Dr. Ball was a Scholar of the Leukemia Society, received their Stohlman Award, and is a member of the American Society of Clinical Investigation. He has served as President of the Association of Hematology/Oncology Program Directors, Councilor to the Association of Subspecialty Professors, has served on the Board of Directors of the American Society of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, and is currently a Counsilor to the International Society of Experimental Hematology.

Shahin Rafii, Ph.D.

Dr. Rafii is the Arthur B. Belfer Professor of Genetic Medicine at Weill-Cornell Medical College. Dr. Rafii, who is a board certified Hematologist-Oncologist, is engaged in patient care, and basic and translational research. He has expertise in basic tumor biology as well as vascular and stem cell biology. He was recently appointed to spearhead the Ansary Stem Cell Center for Regenerative Medicine at Weill-Cornell.

Dr. Rafii graduated from Cornell University in 1982, with a degree of Cum Laude in Chemistry and was awarded Phi Beta Kappa. He received his MD degree from Albert Einstein College of Medicine with Honors and was elected to AOA society in 1986. Subsequently, in 1989, he completed his internship and residency in Internal Medicine followed by a fellowship in Hematology-Oncology at Weill-Cornell in 1992. By 1996, he completed his post-doctoral training in vascular and hematopoietic stem cell biology under supervision of Dr. Ralph Nachman at Weill-Cornell. He became a full professor in Genetic Medicine in 2002, at which time he was appointed to be the co-director of the Ansary Stem Cell Center.

Dr. Rafii is funded by multiple R01 grants from the NIH's Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, and is an active charter member of the Tumor Microenvironment Study Section at the National Cancer Institute. He is an elected member of the American Society of Clinical Investigation (Young Turks), an American Cancer Society Scholar, and a Translational Researcher of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

He has organized Keystone conferences, and actively participates in stem cell meetings both in the U.S.A., and internationally. He has trained many post-doctoral graduate students, and others, resulting in being appointed to independent tenure track positions in the U.S.A., Europe, and Japan. He is a consulting editor for the Journal of Clinical Investigation and is a member of Editorial Board of Stem Cells Journal and Journal of Cardiovascular Regeneration.

Dr. Rafii is principal inventor in several patents on therapeutic use of vascular stem cells for organ regeneration. Many of his basic science findings have endured the scrutiny of scientific enquiry and have been translated into the clinical arena.

William I. Bensinger, M.D.

Dr. Bensinger has served as our medical advisor since October 2004. Dr. William Bensinger is Director of the Autologous Stem Cell Transplant Program at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle Wa. He is a Full Member at the Center and Professor of Medicine at the University of Washington, Seattle, Wa. The FHCRC has a world-wide reputation in the field of cancer therapy and specifically in the field of stem cell transplantation where it’s former director, Dr. E. Donnall Thomas was awarded the Nobel Prize for his work in hematopoetic cell transplantation.

Dr Bensinger received his undergraduate and medical education at Northwestern University, Chicago, Ill. (1969-73) and interned at Washington University, St. Louis (1973-74). He worked for 2 years at the National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Md. In the field of cancer virology (1974-76) before moving to the University of Washington for completion of internal medicine residency (1976-77) and completion of subspecialty training in medical oncology (1977-1980).

In the field of both autologous and allogeneic stem cell transplantation, Dr. Bensinger has published numerous original manuscripts, reviews and book chapters. He has published more than 200 articles in refereed journals, books and monographs in the field of stem cell transplantation on the subjects of mobilization, collection and transplantation of autologous and allogeneic stem cells, especially as it relates to the treatment of multiple myeloma. Other publications include the use of CD34 selected stem cells and innovative transplant regimens. He holds several patents including one a co-inventor of the avidin-biotin bead selection system.