Christopher G. Kanakry, M.D.

Dr. Kanakry’s research is in transplantation immunology and graft-versus-host disease, particularly focused on better understanding the immunologic mechanisms by which post-transplantation cyclophosphamide prevents graft-versus-host disease in order to rationally improve transplantation platforms using this approach. His work has disproven the previously widely accepted paradigm that post-transplantation cyclophosphamide works by selectively eliminating alloreactive T cells. Instead, his group showed that post-transplantation cyclophosphamide works by inducing alloreactive T-cell functional impairment and subsequent suppression by preferential recovery of regulatory CD4+Foxp3+ T cells. His current work centers on developing a comprehensive new model for understanding graft-versus-host disease prevention by post-transplantation cyclophosphamide, including examining the roles of other important immune players, and in translating these new findings to the clinic in early phase clinical studies to optimize post-transplantation cyclophosphamide dosing and integrate other cellular therapies with transplant using post-transplantation cyclophosphamide.

Dr. Kanakry received his undergraduate degree from Harvard College and his MD from Duke University School of Medicine. He completed his Internal Medicine residency and Hematology/Medical Oncology fellowships at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where he also carried out transplantation research under the mentorship of Dr. Leo Luznik. Dr. Kanakry joined the NCI at the end of 2014 as an Assistant Clinical Investigator, was awarded a Lasker Clinical Research Scholar tenure-track position within NCI in October, 2018, and was tenured and promoted to Senior Investigator in December, 2025.