Peter Kurre, MD, Appointed Director of the Comprehensive Bone Marrow Failure Center

Peter Kurre, MD Peter Kurre, MD, joined Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) as Director of the Comprehensive Bone Marrow Failure Center on August 31, 2018. In collaboration with bone marrow failure (BMF) experts at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, the center has built an international reputation of excellence in consultation and treatment of patients with BMF disorders, currently following well over 200 patients. Dr. Kurre will lead a world-renowned, multidisciplinary team in developing new therapies for BMF syndromes and in basic research to understand the causes of these syndromes.

Dr. Kurre received his MD from Aachen University (Germany) before completing his pediatric residency at the University of Chicago and fellowship training in pediatric hematology/oncology at the University of Washington/Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. Before coming to CHOP, Dr. Kurre spent more than 10 years as a faculty member in the Department of Pediatrics at Oregon Health & Sciences University (OHSU). Most recently, he was the Sada & Rebecca Tarshis Professor and Director of the Pediatric Blood and Cancer Biology Program at OHSU. As a physician-scientist, Dr. Kurre brings extensive training in stem cell transplantation and an NIH-funded research program focused on hematopoietic stem cell biology to CHOP.

Dr. Kurre’s clinical interests focus on improving diagnostic and therapeutic capabilities for patients with BMF. As a member of the Executive Committee of the North American Pediatric Aplastic Anemia Consortium, the American Society of Hematology, and the American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Dr. Kurre has served on numerous review panels for the NIH, DoD and philanthropic funding agencies. Dr. Kurre’s laboratory has longstanding expertise in Fanconi anemia (FA), a rare inherited genetic condition with prominent hematologic complications. This includes research to reveal the origins of bone marrow failure in FA during fetal development as well as preclinical approaches to developing stem cell gene therapy.

At CHOP, Dr. Kurre will lead collaborative efforts to leverage molecular technologies to improve diagnostic approaches to bone marrow failure. The center will partner with experts at CHOP to develop clinical trials for BMF patients, investigate their heightened risk for developing cancer, and champion the development of stem-cell-directed gene therapy.

“Dr. Kurre has a track record of promoting care for patients and families with a wide variety of bone marrow failure syndromes and related hematologic disorders, as well as advancing basic and translational research in these areas. He is also known for being an outstanding educator,” said Mortimer Poncz, MD, Chief of the Division of Hematology at CHOP. A Professor of Pediatrics at the Perelman School of Medicine, Dr. Kurre holds the Buck Family Chair in Hematology Research, which supports research in BMF syndromes.