Dr. Downing is on Doximity
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Office
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
262 Danny Thomas Place, MS 272
Memphis, TN 38105Phone+1 901-595-3301Fax+1 901-595-3749- Is this information wrong?
Summary
- James R. Downing, M.D., is president and chief executive officer of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. As the architect of a new six-year strategic plan, he is leading the expansion of St. Jude clinical care and research programs in Memphis and around the globe.
A renowned leader in pediatric cancer research, Dr. Downing focuses his work on understanding the genetic basis of cancer and using that information to improve the treatment of children with cancer. He was instrumental in launching the Pediatric Cancer Genome Project (PCGP), which has sequenced the normal and cancer genomes of more than 800 young cancer patients with some of the least understood and most aggressive tumors. The project made TIME magazine’s 2012 list of top 10 medical breakthroughs. In 2013, he was a finalist for TIME magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world. The PCGP has produced groundbreaking discoveries in brain tumors, leukemia, a cancer of the peripheral nervous system, an eye tumor and the degenerative disorder commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. The project has also produced new computational tools that benefit the broader field of genomic medicine.
Dr. Downing is a Detroit native who earned his undergraduate and medical degrees at the University of Michigan. He joined St. Jude in 1986 after training in anatomic pathology at Washington University in St. Louis and completing a fellowship in hematopathology at the University of Florida in Gainesville. Prior to taking the helm of St. Jude, Dr. Downing served as the institution’s scientific and deputy director and as an executive vice president in the organization. He became the hospital’s sixth chief executive officer July 15, 2014.
Education & Training
Washington University/B-JH/SLCH ConsortiumResidency, Pathology-Anatomic and Clinical, 1982 - 1983- Washington University/B-JH/SLCH ConsortiumInternship, Transitional Year, 1981 - 1982
University of Michigan Medical SchoolClass of 1981
Certifications & Licensure
TN State Medical License 1986 - 2024
AL State Medical License Active through 1986
Awards, Honors, & Recognition
- Elected Member The American Society for Clinical Investigation, 1998
Publications & Presentations
PubMed
- 3 citationsGenome-wide CRISPR/Cas9 screen identifies etoposide response modulators associated with clinical outcomes in pediatric AML.Nam H K Nguyen, Roya Rafiee, Abderrahmane Tagmount, Amin Sobh, Alex Loguinov, Angelica K de Jesus Sosa, Abdelrahman H Elsayed, Mohammed Gbadamosi, Nathan Seligson, Chr...> ;Blood Advances. 2023 May 9
- 84 citationsThe genomic landscape of pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia.Samuel W Brady, Kathryn G Roberts, Zhaohui Gu, Lei Shi, Stanley Pounds, Deqing Pei, Cheng Cheng, Yunfeng Dai, Meenakshi Devidas, Chunxu Qu, Ashley N Hill, Debbie Payne...> ;Nature Genetics. 2022 Sep 1
- 13 citationsAcute lymphoblastic leukemia displays a distinct highly methylated genome.Sara Hetzel, Alexandra L Mattei, Helene Kretzmer, Chunxu Qu, Xiang Chen, Yiping Fan, Gang Wu, Kathryn G Roberts, Selina Luger, Mark Litzow, Jacob Rowe, Elisabeth Paiet...> ;Nature Cancer. 2022 Jun 1
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Journal Articles
- Polygenic Determinants for Subsequent Breast Cancer Risk in Survivors of Childhood Cancer: The St Jude Lifetime Cohort Study (SJLIFE)Kim E Nichols, Melissa M Hudson, Chimene A Kesserwan, Matthew J Ehrhardt, James R Downing, Clinical Cancer Research
Abstracts/Posters
- A 5-Gene Ara-C, Daunorubicin and Etoposide (ADE) Drug Response Score As a Prognostic Tool to Predict AML Treatment OutcomeJames R. Downing, 61st Annual American Society of Hematology Meeting, Orlando, FL, 12/7/2019
- The Genomic Landscape of Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic LeukemiaJames R. Downing, 61st Annual American Society of Hematology Meeting, Orlando, FL, 12/9/2019
- Integrative Analysis of Pediatric Acute Leukemia Identifies Immature Subtypes That Span a T Lineage and Myeloid Continuum with Distinct PrognosesJames R. Downing, 61st Annual American Society of Hematology Meeting, Orlando, FL, 12/9/2019
Press Mentions
Donald Pinkel, MD: Celebration of a LegacyMarch 18th, 2022- Doctor Who Developed Cure for Childhood Leukemia Dies in San Luis Obispo at 95March 15th, 2022
- World Health Organization and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital to Dramatically Increase Global Access to Childhood Cancer MedicinesDecember 13th, 2021
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