M.D.
Hematologist-Oncologist
1991, Kumamoto University School of Medicine, M.D.
1995–1998, Resident, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia, PA
Ryotaro Nakamura, M.D., has been a driving force in advancing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation research since joining City of Hope® Cancer Center Duarte, where he serves as director of the Center for Stem Cell Transplantation and holds the Jan & Mace Siegel Professorship in Hematology and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation. Dr. Nakamura also contributes to research and care across the Hematologic Malignancies and Stem Cell Transplantation Institute, which includes the Judy and Bernard Briskin Center for Multiple Myeloma Research, the Toni Stephenson Lymphoma Center and the Gehr Family Center for Leukemia Research.
Dr. Nakamura’s research centers on improving immune recovery after transplant and finding better ways to prevent and treat graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). He also has clinical and research expertise in blood cancers and bone marrow failure disorders, including leukemia, aplastic anemia, myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and rare conditions such as paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria and large granular lymphocyte disease. His portfolio includes developing vaccines for transplant patients to protect against cytomegalovirus and COVID-19, testing bi-specific CMV-CD19CAR T cell therapies and exploring microbiome-based strategies to prevent GVHD. He has also led a national clinical trial investigating stem cell transplantation in older adults with MDS, helping define when and for whom transplant is most beneficial.
Recognized as a leader in both clinical care and scientific innovation, Dr. Nakamura holds several prominent roles within the transplant and cellular therapy community, including serving as co-chair of the Chronic Leukemia Working Committee for the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research; as a steering committee member for the Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network; and as director of community or clinical practice for the American Society for Transplantation and Cellular Therapy.
Originally trained in Japan, Dr. Nakamura completed a fellowship in hematology and oncology at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.