Craig T. Jordan, Ph.D., a leader in leukemia and stem cell research, was recently named director of the hematologic malignancies translational research program at the James P. Wilmot Cancer Center. He is an associate professor of medicine in the Hematology-Oncology Unit and associate professor in the Center for Human Genetics and Molecular Pediatric Diseases, Aab Institute.
Jordan was previously at the University of Kentucky’s Markey Cancer Center and he conducts research on blood-forming stem cells that become cancerous in leukemia.
“He is an outstanding and talented researcher and his collaborative programs will help us bring new therapies from the bench to the bedside faster and better care for our patients,” says Richard I. Fisher, M.D., director of the Wilmot Cancer Center and cancer services for Strong Health.
Jordan’s research is aimed at better understanding the molecular mechanisms that control the growth and development of stem cells. He is working to identify what controls the transformation and growth of leukemic stem cells.
He will be working closely with the hematologists and scientists in the Wilmot Hematologic Malignancy Program, which is growing into one of the best in the Northeast. In the last two years, several of the top hematologists in the country have joined the program, including Gordon L. Phillips II, M.D., director of the Blood and Marrow Transplantation and Leukemia Program; Steven H. Bernstein, M.D., Jonathan Friedberg, M.D., and Fisher.
He studied molecular biology at the University of California, Berkeley and earned his Ph.D. from Princeton University. He has done post-doctoral work at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and has conducted research for private pharmaceutical companies before joining the University of Kentucky Medical Center.
Jordan is a member of American Society of Hematology, International Society of Experimental Hematology, American Association for the Advancement of Science, and American Association for Cancer Research. He has published dozens of articles and serves on the editorial reviewer for several journals, including Leukemia Research, Leukemia, Current Gene Therapy and Biology of Blood and Marrow.
Craig Jordon’s research has been highlighted in several reputable publications, including: