As Associate Professor of Hematology at the University of Washington, School of Medicine, and as Director of Transfusion at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Dr. Sandhya Panch is committed to the pursuit of clinical and translational studies in the niche areas of hematology/transfusion medicine. Previously, she served as Medical Director of the Center for Cellular Engineering-Transfusion Medicine at the National Institutes of Health. Her research interests focus on evaluating auto and alloimmune causes of transfusion refractoriness.
As the first NIH Elaine-Sloand clinical fellow cross-trained in hematology/oncology and transfusion medicine in 2016, she was then chosen to participate in translational research involving pre-clinical transfusion/transplantation studies in rhesus macaques at the NIH. While at the NHLBI/NIH, she was the recipient of the AABB National Blood Foundation Award/Research Grant in 2017.
She has authored more than 60 peer reviewed publications, book chapters and invited lectures and presentations in areas of benign hematology/transfusion medicine. As co-chair of the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR) donor health and safety working committee and board member of the FDA Blood Products Advisory Committee, she provides consultation on quality/regulatory aspects of transfusion medicine and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. She also serves on the advisory board for the WAIHA warriors and is a physician representative at Platelet Disorders Society of America.
As a practicing clinical hematologist, she sees patients with a variety of hematologic conditions including immune thrombocytopenia, immune hemolytic anemias and immune neutropenia. At the University of Washington School of Medicine, she attends on the inpatient hematology consult service, performs electronic consultations, and serves as an Adjunct Professor of Pathology and Lab Medicine, covering the hospital Transfusion Service. She is interested in improving outcomes in hematology by evaluating and optimizing systems-based hematology practices in these areas.