Section of Benign Hematology

The Division includes a Section of Benign Hematology with more than 10 physician-scientists and research investigators, and is of the largest benign hematology programs in the U.S. Areas of excellence include hemophilia and bleeding disorders, whose clinical and research activities are housed in the state-of-the-art Hemophilia Center of Western Pennsylvania (HCWP). Another area of excellence is sickle cell disease. The Sickle Cell Center of Excellence includes the UPMC Adult Sickle Cell Program, one of the largest in the country, and staffed by two dedicated faculty members, 3 APPs and other health care professionals. It also includes numerous scientists conducting basic and translational science research in sickle cell disease within the Vascular Medicine Institute (VMI) and elsewhere at the University of Pittsburgh. Additional areas of strength include transfusion medicine, inherited and acquired platelet disorders, and rare hematological diseases.

The Section of Benign Hematology clinical research team, named ARCH, includes 5 clinical research staff members and oversees >20 clinical studies, primarily in sickle cell disease, but with a growing number of protocols in other areas of benign hematology, such as acquired platelet disorders and autoimmune hemolytic anemias.

The Section of Benign Hematology has an established role in the trainees and fellows’ education by developing an extensive core-lecture curriculum that is presented primarily during the weekly benign hematology meeting. These conferences include didactic and clinical cases discussions. Various rotations in outpatient hematology, coagulation, blood banking and transfusion medicine for residents and fellows—along with active participation of the benign hematology faculty in all aspects of medical student, resident, and fellow training— actively train the next generation of bench-to-bedside clinical researchers as well as system-based clinical hematologists. As of 2020, The Pittsburgh Blood Science Center at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine has responded to the hematology training needs with a full-featured T32 training program in translational hematology science.