The long term goal of my research is to identify genetic variants that affect the clinical severity of patients with sickle cell anemia (SCA). SCA is a common disorder caused by a single mutation of the beta-globin gene but the individual severity of clinical outcome is highly variable. It is increasingly apparent that some of this variability is due to co-inheritance of genetic variants other than the SCA mutation. I have a comprehensive background in the study of genetics and completed my postdoctoral training in the field of hematology. This has allowed me to complete several translational projects involving genetics and hematology. During my postdoctoral fellowships at The Scripps Research Institute and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, I carried out research projects that investigated the molecular mechanisms of iron overload and the genetic modifiers that affected patient response to the drug hydroxyurea. My laboratory is now working on identifying novel genetic variants that are associated with disease severity of SCA and using state-of-the art molecular biology techniques to decipher the molecular pathways that are involved.