2026 President-Elect: Cynthia E. Dunbar, MD

Cynthia E. Dunbar, MD, is NIH Distinguished Investigator Emeritus with the Intramural Research Program of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD. She retired in 2026 as Chief of the Institute’s Translational Stem Cell Biology Branch after almost four decades with NIH. Dr. Dunbar is a member of the National Academy of Medicine, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and an alumnus of the Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine program.

Dr. Dunbar has previously served as editor-in-chief of the ASH flagship journal Blood from 2008-2013 after serving as associate editor from 1998-2007. She also served as a faculty member for the ASH-European Hematology Association Translational Research Training in Hematology Program from 2011–2016 and was co-director in 2016. She has served on the ASH Nominating Committee, the Program Committee, and completed a term as an ASH Councillor before becoming Secretary in 2021. Together with several other ASH leaders, Dr. Dunbar mobilized in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to develop a series of clinical FAQs to address the impact of COVID-19 on patients with blood diseases and assist hematologists in navigating the public health crisis. She received the ASH Public Service Award in 2022 in recognition of these efforts.

Dr. Dunbar’s research spans from basic laboratory studies through clinical trials focused on hematopoiesis, natural killer cell biology, hematopoietic stem cell and CAR-T cell gene therapies, and the pathophysiology and treatment of congenital and acquired bone marrow failure syndromes. As a prior hematology fellowship program director, and a founding member of the NIH Equity Committee, Dr. Dunbar is committed to developing and supporting a diverse hematology workforce.