Transplantation Immunotherapy

Research in the Laboratory of Transplantation Immunotherapy, led by Dr. Richard W. Childs, is focused on finding ways to adapt and enhance immune cells to attack even the most entrenched cancers.

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RADM Childs R

Senior Investigator Research Interests

Research Interests

As tenured investigator in the NHLBI, Dr. Childs has focused his research on allogeneic stem cell transplantation and tumor immunology to treat aplastic anemia, hematological malignancies, and solid tumors. Dr. Childs and his research team were the first to establish the existence of a graft-vs-solid tumor effect mediated by transplanted donor T-cells that could cure patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma. Subsequently, his laboratory discovered a novel human endogenous retrovirus (HERV-E) to be the target for allogeneic graft-vs-tumor effects inducing tumor regression. Translational research being conducted in his lab is focused on developing novel T-cell based approaches to target HERV-E derived kidney cancer antigens in clear cell renal cell carcinoma. In this regard, his group has cloned T-cell receptors recognizing HERV-E antigens and in a first in human clinical trial being conducted at the NIH Clinical Center, is investigating the anti-tumor potential of adoptively transferring autologous T-cells genetically modified to express HERV-E T-cell receptors. Dr. Childs’ lab also has a major focus on NK Cell immunotherapy, conducting lab based and clinical research aimed at exploring a variety of different strategies to optimize adoptive NK cell therapy for cancer. Dr. Childs also serves as the principal investigator on several investigator-initiated clinical research protocols conducted at the NIH Clinical Center exploring novel hematopoietic stem cell transplant regimens aimed at improving transplant-outcomes for patients with treatment refractory severe aplastic anemia, and has performed over 400 hundred experimental stem cell transplants at the NHLBI.

Clinical Trials and Studies

Collection of Blood, Bone Marrow, Urine, and/or Tissue Samples from Patients with Solid Tumors, Hematological Malignancies or Non-Malignant Hematologic Disorders or HLA Compatible Family Members

Recruiting
All Ages
All Sexes
Accepting Healthy Volunteers
Do you or a child in your family have a cancerous tumor or blood disease? This study will collect blood, urine, or other samples to examine for potential new or improved treatments or prevention methods. Participants in this study must be 2 years or older and either have a cancerous tumor or a cancerous or non-cancerous blood disorder, or be a compatible family member for a stem cell transplant for the patient. This study is located at the NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.

Long-term Evaluation and Follow-up Care of Patients Treated With Stem Cell Transplants

Recruiting
All Ages
All Sexes
Accepting Healthy Volunteers
Have you received a stem cell transplant? This study aims to monitor the long-term health of patients who have received a donor stem cell transplant from the NIH Clinical Center. To participate in this study, you must be between 10 and 80 years old and had your transplant more than 3 years ago. This study is located in Bethesda, Maryland.

Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation for Severe Aplastic Anemia and Other Bone Marrow Failure Syndromes Using G-CSF Mobilized CD34+ Selected Hematopoietic Precursor Cells Co-Infused With a Reduced Dose of Non-Mobilized Donor T-cells

Recruiting
All Ages
All Sexes
Not Accepting Healthy Volunteers
Are you considering a blood stem cell transplant? This study is investigating a new method for collecting blood stem cells from donors to see if it reduces transplant complications, such as rejection, in patients who have blood diseases. To participate in this study, you must have a well-matched donor; you and your donor must be between 4 and 80 years old; and you must not be a candidate for immunosuppressive therapy. This study is located in Bethesda, Maryland.

Transplants With Unlicensed Preserved Cord Blood

Recruiting
All Ages
All Sexes
Not Accepting Healthy Volunteers
Are you scheduled for a stem cell transplant with cord blood? This study will assess the safety and effectiveness of certain cord blood transplants. The study will help researchers learn the best methods for collecting, storing, and using cord blood in transplants. To participate in this study, you must have a disorder that compromises your body’s ability to make blood cells. This study is located in Bethesda, Maryland.

Unrelated Umbilical Cord Blood Transplantation for Severe Aplastic Anemia and Hypo-plastic MDS Using CordIn(TM), Umbilical Cord Blood-Derived Ex Vivo Expanded Stem and Progenitor Cells to Expedite Engraftment and Improve Transplant Outcome

Recruiting
All Ages
All Sexes
Not Accepting Healthy Volunteers
Do you or your child have severe aplastic anemia or myelodysplastic syndrome? This study aims to find new ways to make stem cell transplants safer and more effective. Researchers are testing if treating people with severe aplastic anemia with a co-infusion of blood stem cells from a family member and umbilical cord blood stem cells from an unrelated donor is safe and effective. To participate in this study, you must be between 4 and 75 years old. This study is located at the NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.

Haplo-identical Transplantation for Severe Aplastic Anemia, Hypo-plastic MDS and PNH Using Peripheral Blood Stem Cells and Post-transplant Cyclophosphamide for GVHD Prophylaxis

Recruiting
All Ages
All Sexes
Not Accepting Healthy Volunteers
Do you have severe aplastic anemia, myelodysplastic syndrome, or paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria and a relative who is willing to donate blood plasma? This study is exploring whether these conditions can be treated using peripheral blood hematopoietic stem cells, which are easier to collect than bone marrow cells. To participate, you must be between 4 and 55 years old with severe aplastic anemia, myelodysplastic syndrome or paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria and have a relative who is between 4 and 75 years old who can donate peripheral blood stem cells. This study is located at the NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.

Featured Publications

In-vivo tracking of adoptively transferred natural killer-cells in rhesus macaques using 89Zirconium-oxine cell labeling and PET imaging.

Authors: Sato N, Stringaris K, Davidson-Moncada JK, Reger R, Adler SS, Dunbar C, Choyke PL, Childs RW.
Clin Cancer Res. 2020 Feb 07;Epub ahead of print:
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A prospective evaluation on the interaction of fluconazole and voriconazole on serum concentrations of budesonide in patients treated for gastrointestinal GVHD.

Authors: Hughes Te, Stansfield L, Kumar P, Worthy T, Tian X, Childs RW
Bone Marrow Transplant. 2020 Jan 17:
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Clonal expansion and compartmentalized maintenance of rhesus macaque NK cell subsets.

Authors: Wu C, Espinoza DA, Koelle SJ, Yang D, Truitt L, Schlums H, Lafont BA, Davidson-Moncada JK, Lu R, Kaur A, Hammer Q, Li B, Panch S, Allan DA, Donahue RE, Childs RW, Romagnaci C, Bryceson YT, Dunbar CE
Sci Immunol. 2019 Nov 02;3(29):
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Bortezomib sensitizes multiple myeloma to NK cells via ER-stress-induced suppression of HLA-E and upregulation of DR5.

Authors: Carlsten M, Namazi A, Reger R, Levy E, Berg M, St Hilaire C, Childs RW
Oncoimmunology 2019 Nov 02;8(2):e1534664
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Transfusion support for matched sibling allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (1993-2010): factors that predict intensity and time to transfusion independence.

Authors: Griffith LM, VanRaden M, Barrett AJ, Childs RW, Fowler DH, Kang EM, Tisdale JF, Klein HG, Stroncek DF
Transfusion 2019 Jan 01;59(1):303-15
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Meet the Team

RADM Childs R

Richard Childs, M.D.

Senior Investigator

Rear Admiral (RADM) Richard Childs serves as the Scientific Director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). He graduated from Georgetown University and Georgetown University Medical School. He completed his internship, residency, and a Chief Residency in internal medicine at the University of Florida in Gainesville followed by fellowships in Medical Oncology at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), NIH, and Hematology at the NHLBI, NIH. Following fellowship training, he was appointed a tenure-track investigator in the Hematology Branch of the NHLBI and received tenure at the NIH in 2006. He was the first investigator to show that metastatic kidney cancer could be cured by transplanted allogeneic immune cells through a graft-vs-tumor effect, a seminal discovery that was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. He continues to run a translational research lab that conducts first-in-human research in bone marrow transplantation and tumor immunotherapy. He is board certified in medical oncology, has performed more than 600 experimental bone marrow stem cell transplants at the NIH, holds more than 30 patents related to NK and T-cell based immunotherapy, and has published over 240 original research papers as the lead or senior author.

In his previous role as NHLBI Clinical Director, he directed one of the NIH’s largest clinical and translational science programs, having oversight of all of the NHLBI’s intramural research in heart, lung, and blood diseases, which includes over 250 investigator-initiated clinical trials. As Clinical Director, he spearheaded and operationalized a multi-million dollar strategic plan in 2015 that completely revamped his institute’s research infrastructure, revitalizing NHLBI’s clinical research enterprise which substantially improved and expanded its clinical research footprint and productivity.

Dr. Childs has been an active duty officer in the United Stated Commissioned Corps since 1995. He was promoted to Rear Admiral in 2015 and in 2020 received his 2nd star, and currently serves as an Assistant United States Surgeon General. In 2014, he deployed to Liberia, West Africa, as a part of the United States Ebola Crisis Response, where he served as the Chief Medical Officer caring for Ebola patients in the Monrovia Medical Unit (MMU). In 2020, he commanded a rapid response deployment team to Yokohama, Japan, that evacuated hundreds of COVID-19 infected/exposed Americans from the Diamond Princess cruise ship and provided compassionate use remdesivir for severe and critically ill passengers suffering with severe COVID-19, well before this drug received approval as a treatment for SARS-CoV-2. These actions earned him the United States Meritorious Service Medal, the Distinguished Service Medal with Valor, the Humanitarian Service and Global Health Award, and the Assistant Secretary of Health’s Exceptional Service Medal.

Stephanie

Stephanie Pierre

Postbaccalaureate Fellow
Ujjawal Savani

Ujjawal Savani

Postbaccalaureate Fellow
Stefan

Stefan Barisic, MD

Postdoctoral Fellow
Joseph

Joseph Clara, MD

Clinical Fellow
Yazan

Yazan Migdady, MD, MSc

Clinical Fellow
Larissa

Larissa Lushniak

Postbaccalaureate Fellow
Mohamed

Mohamed Samour, MD

Clinical Fellow
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