Wagner Named Chief Medical Advisor
Internationally recognized expert in the field of stem cell transplantation is unnanimously elected.
The Board of Directors is honored to have unanimously elected Dr. John Wagner, as Chief Medical Advisor of Children’s Cancer Research Fund. Dr. Wagner recently took the position of Division Director of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology and Blood and Marrow Transplantation at the University of Minnesota, replacing Dr. Norma Ramsay who recently retired.
Internationally Recognized
Dr. Wagner is internationally recognized as an expert in the field of stem cell transplantation having pioneered the use of umbilical cord blood in the treatment of leukemia and lymphoma. He joined the Division of Hematology-Oncology and Blood and Marrow Transplantation at the University of Minnesota in 1991. He is also the Scientific Director of Clinical Research, Blood and Marrow Transplant Program and Stem Cell Institute.
After receiving his M.D. degree at Jefferson Medical College in 1981, Dr. Wagner completed his internship and residency in Pediatrics at Duke University School of Medicine in 1984 and post-doctoral fellowship in Hematology-Oncology at The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in 1987 where he remained until joining the faculty at the University of Minnesota.
Since joining the faculty, Dr. Wagner has received numerous honors and awards. In 2000, he was elected to the prestigious American Society of Clinical Investigation. He received the Tenth Clinical Scholar Award, University of Minnesota Medical School and Fairview-University Medical Center in 2001. In 2002, he received the Recognition of Excellence, Academic Health Center, University of Minnesota and also the Pioneer Award for Therapeutic Advancement from the Fanconi Anemia Research Fund.
Pioneering Research
Over the years, Dr. Wagner has received multiple awards from Children’s Cancer Research Fund including:
- Investigating the limits of umbilical cord blood in the treatment of cancer?
- Exploring ways to expand stem cells
- Enhancing immune recovery after umbilical cord blood transplantation.
- Evaluating the benefits of transplanting two umbilical cord blood units simultaneously to increase the speed of marrow recovery and augment its leukemia-killing effect.
Most importantly, Children’s Cancer Research Fund’s financial support of Dr. Wagner’s research has led to millions of dollars in grants from the National Institute of Health and other major funding sources.