November 25, 2015

Dean Mark Richardson recently appointed Peter Kurre, M.D., to the Rebecca and Sada Tarshis Professorship in Pediatric Hematology Oncology. Dr. Kurre joined OHSU in 2004 and has joint appointments in the Department of Pediatrics and the Department of Cell, Developmental and Cancer Biology.

In keeping with tradition, Dr. Kurre was "knighted" by Dean Richardson during a ceremony with colleagues, friends and family members. The Rebecca and Sada Tarshis Professorship in Pediatric Hematology Oncology is one of the oldest endowed positions in the Department of Pediatrics. The endowment was created by the Doernbecher Children's Hospital Foundation from an unexpected estate gift from Rebecca and Sada Tarshis, in 2002.

"Our faculty members are the heart and soul of the Department of Pediatrics," said Jim Ervin, executive director of the Doernbecher Children's Hospital Foundation. "Sada and Rebecca's generous gift to establish this professorship assures the long-term continuation of the extraordinary work and research of Dr. Kurre. The OHSU and Doernbecher Foundations remain thankful to these two amazing sisters who kept a special place in their hearts for sick kids at OHSU Doernbecher."

Dr. Kurre is a member of the Papé Family Pediatric Research Institute and the OHSU Stem Cell Center. His research program places emphasis on the mechanisms by which cells interact with the surrounding microenvironment in the bone marrow. This involves studies on Fanconi Anemia, a disorder where the lab investigates the developmental programming of stem cell attrition and bone marrow failure. The laboratory also has longstanding expertise in retroviral gene transfer to hematopoietic stem cells where receptor specific and non-specific attachment profoundly influence retroviral gene transfer efficiency. These studies aim to develop new gene therapy approaches for Fanconi Anemia.

Additional recent research investigates cell-cell interactions in the hematopoietic microenvironment where microvesicle trafficking appears to promote the leukemia progression and the development of therapy resistance. Dr. Kurre's clinical research interest is in bone marrow failure syndromes, including Aplastic Anemia and Fanconi Anemia, an area where he has published numerous papers.

Pictured:

(top) Dr. Kurre, the Rebecca and Sada Tarshis Professor in Pediatric Hematology Oncology, OHSU School of Medicine.

(below) Dean Mark Richardson "knights" Dr. Kurre to the professorship.