The “Celebration of Life” Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation Reunion not only celebrates and commemorates survivors’ lives, but also enables physicians and researchers to advance the science of hematopoietic cell transplantation, or HCT.

This year, the Gerhard Schmidt Memorial Lecture in Transplantation Biology and Medicine will be held at 4 p.m. on April 25 in Cooper Auditorium. Robert Negrin, M.D., professor of medicine and director of Stanford University’s Blood and Marrow Transplant Program, will deliver a lecture titled “Immune Regulation: Striking the Balance in Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation.” It will address the complex balancing act required to regulate a patient’s immune system during treatment.

Negrin focuses on the biology of cell populations capable of inducing or suppressing graft-versus-host disease, as well as cells capable of promoting a graft-versus-tumor effect. He has authored more than 145 original papers and 35 book chapters.

He recently served as president of the International Society of Cellular Therapy and is immediate past president of the American Society of Blood and Marrow Transplantation.

The lecture commemorates the work and dedication of the late Gerhard Schmidt, M.D., who joined City of Hope’s program in 1977 and established the Autologous Stem Cell Transplant and Histocompatibility Laboratory programs, among many other achievements. Schmidt lost his own battle with cancer in 1993. The Gerhard Schmidt Memorial Lectureship is awarded annually to physicians and researchers who are making advances in HCT. It is held annually in association with the “Celebration of Life” transplant reunion.