Benign Hematology & Sickle Cell Disease Research at the Medical College of Wisconsin

Benign hematologic disorders are non-malignant disorders of the blood, including abnormalities of counts, bleeding, blood clots, and inherited conditions such as von Willebrand disease and sickle cell disease (see below). Patients with hemophilia or other severe inherited bleeding disorders are taken care of by the Comprehensive Center for Bleeding Disorders at Children's Wisconsin. The Benign Hematology Clinic has daily clinics and provides outpatient consultations, including second opinions, and 24/7 inpatient care.

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a genetic disease that primarily affects African Americans. It creates red blood cells that have an abnormal "sickle" shape instead of a normal disc shape. The Sickle Cell Disease Program works closely with the pediatric sickle cell program at Children's Wisconsin and provides care for most adults with SCD in the state of Wisconsin. The clinic provides comprehensive care including disease-modifying therapies, pain management, and urgent evaluations.

Faculty Researchers

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Lisa Baumann Kreuziger, MD, MS

Dr. Baumann Kreuziger is a clinical and translational researcher with a focus in thrombosis. She has an interest in device and cancer-associated thrombosis. She started the US network for venous thromboembolism research (VENUS), Additionally, she is the institutional PI for cancer-associated thrombosis trials. Lastly, she works in collaboration with Alan Mast, MD, PhD, in the Recipient Epidemiology and Donor evaluation program (REDS-IVP) to understand outcomes of patients receiving transfusion for hematologic conditions. Dr. Baumann Kreuziger also developed a study to evaluate a mechanism of how blood clots form in left ventricular assist devices that is funded through a pilot grant from the CTSI. She works in collaboration with Alan Mast, MD, PhD, to complete the biomarker studies involved in her clinical trials and understand the clinical implications of tissue factor pathway inhibitor.

View Dr. Baumann Kreuziger's publications

Joshua Field, MD | Section Head

Dr. Field's research program focuses on of clinical studies in adults with sickle cell disease. Particular areas of interest include acute and chronic pain, pulmonary complications, transfusion, and therapeutic studies.

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Patrick Foy, MD

Dr. Foy's current research focuses on management of bleeding in patients with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia with therapy designed to decrease blood vessel growth (VEGF inhibition). He also assists in ongoing clinical trials in hemophilia and thrombosis. He also is actively engaged in educational research designed to improve teaching of medical students, residents, and fellows in hematology and oncology.

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Kenneth Friedman, MD

Dr. Friedman is a clinical laboratory investigator who is involved with numerous clinical trials with several academic institutions, Industry and the NIH investigating the role of diagnostic laboratory hemostasis and thrombosis testing in the evaluation of patient cohorts.

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Juliana Perez Botero, MD

Dr. Perez Botero's research interest is in diagnosis and treatment of patients with inherited and acquired platelet disorders, specifically genotype-phenotype correlation in patients with inherited disorders of platelet number and/or function, development of new laboratory assays to evaluate platelet function and novel treatments of patients with immune thrombocytopenia.

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Roy Silverstein, MD

Dr. Silverstein's lab focuses on platelet and macrophage biology as they relate to common vascular diseases, including atherosclerosis and arterial thrombosis. His work centers on a cell signaling system mediated by the type 2 scavenger receptor CD36. As a receptor for long chain fatty acids CD36 mediates cellular metabolism in many cell types, including tumor stem cells and tumor infiltrating macrophages. As a pattern recognition receptor on macrophages and platelets for numerous “danger signals,” including oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL), glycated proteins, cell-derived extracellular vesicles and bacterial cell wall components, CD36 mediates innate immune responses that contribute to inflammation, thrombosis and atherogenesis.

View Dr. Silverstein's publications