Joseph C. Alvarnas, M.D., an expert in bone marrow transplantation, has been named director of quality systems for cellular therapeutics in the Division of
Hematology & Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation at City of Hope.
 Joseph C. Alvarnas (Photo by Paula Myers) |
Alvarnas will supervise the development and function of a quality management
program, overseeing projects in which hematopoietic cells are manipulated to enhance or target their function. He previously served as director of cell processing at the City of Hope-Banner Bone Marrow Transplant Program in Phoenix.
“Dr. Alvarnas’ leadership and expertise played a pivotal role in the growth of the City of Hope-Banner Bone Marrow Transplant Program, which provides patients with groundbreaking bone marrow transplantation therapies,” said Stephen J. Forman, M.D., the Francis and Kathleen McNamara Distinguished Chair in Hematology and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation and chair of the Division of Hematology &
Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation. “We are pleased that Dr. Alvarnas will join our Duarte staff, where his research will help us further accelerate advances in transplantation.”
Alvarnas helped create the City of Hope-Banner Bone Marrow Transplant Program in 1997. As director of cell processing and an adjunct associate professor in the Division of Hematology & Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation, he helped the program grow.
To date, nearly 800 patients have received bone marrow transplants through the City of Hope-Banner Bone Marrow Transplant Program. About 100 to 120 patients receive transplants through the program each year. The Hematopoietic Cell Transplant Program at City of Hope is one of the largest in the nation and has provided transplants to more than 8,700 patients.
“City of Hope is well-regarded for its collaborative clinical research environment. I am excited about coming to the City of Hope Duarte campus to continue my work,”
said Alvarnas.
Alvarnas’ research interests include expand therapy. (T cells are immune system cells that protect the body from disease.) His research also includes quality systems and outcomes research applied to novel cellular therapies.
Alvarnas obtained his medical degree from the University of California, San Francisco. He completed his residency and two fellowships in hematology and bone marrow transplantation at Stanford University Medical Center. He is a member of numerous professional societies, including the American Society of Hematology,
the American Association of Blood Banks, the International Society for Cellular Therapy and the American Society of Clinical Oncology. Alvarnas’ research has been published in major medical journals, including Blood and Oncology.
